Mothers' epistemologies, turn-taking, and contingent interaction with preschoolers

Mothers' epistemological perspectives were related to their turn-taking and contingency in interactions with their 3-6-year-olds. Thirty-seven mothers living in rural, impoverished, social isolation completed the Ways of Know ing (epistemological) Interview examining their understanding of the nature and source of knowledge and truth. Mother-child interactions were videotap ed at home in two contexts (free-play and semistructured teaching) and code d for maternal turn-taking and contingency. Proportion and frequency of typ es of maternal turn-taking were analyzed using 2 x 3 (Context x Epistemolog ical perspective) ANOVAs with repeated measures on Context. Mothers who bel ieved that acquisition and development of knowledge are beyond individuals' potential ("Silenced") provided less contingent responding to their childr en while their children's responding did not vary systematically. Both moth ers and children took more turns during the teaching than during free-play, but proportions of different types of turns were stable across context. Th e relationship between epistemology and parenting beliefs and behaviors, an d child outcomes is discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights re served.