Relations parents-enfant(s). Aperçu critique d'études expérimentales
In: Enfance, Band 32, Heft 2, S. 149-158
ISSN: 1969-6981
Research which resorts to observation and analysis of parent(s)-child'(ren) interactions has been developing since the second world war. Nowadays more than sixty-five studies have been recorded in this field. There is not one simple way to clarify and classify existing knowledge. Hence, we shall limit ourselves to two particular fields :
1) Educational practices as a process of influence,
2) Relationships between types of behaviour and any other factor either to be explained or explanatory.
1. Educational practices
We can distinguish ten themes or contributions, for example : the child's need for stimulation, the child as a mirror of the psycho-social environment, the importance of activity structuring, the notion of loops in teaching,...
2. Relationships
In relevant literature, two ontlooks are considered and often interconnected :
2.1 - To localize, in the statistical meaning, the factors which lead to social differences ; 2.2 - To describe the consequences of educational practices on the development and school adaptation of the child.
The différenciation factors are located at the levels of : behavioral meaning, teaching style, guidance behaviour, authoritarian practices, maternal presence, imperative or interrogative style, style similarity, presence of subroutines, child behaviour control.
Critical assessment.
As the variables are numerous and complex, it is difficult to identify them, namely as far as the universality of a code system is concerned. The papers dealing with their explanation (How do facts interact ?) are rare and remain cautious. Moreover, the methodological context is very often weak as far as sampling, observation situation, instruments and experimental design are concerned. It is therefore important to specify the limits of the generalization of results.