Child Rearing in a Group Setting

Abstract

Child care centers in Western countries are becoming increasingly culturally diverse, regarding both professional caregivers, children, and their parents. Child-rearing beliefs, which differ between cultures, are found to affect process quality and children’s developmental outcomes. The first aim of this study is to investigate cultural differences in caregivers’ cultural child-rearing beliefs through a semistructured interview. The second aim is to explore the relation between the centers’ cultural context and caregivers’ beliefs. Participants are 61 caregivers (20 Dutch, 20 Caribbean Dutch, and 21 Mediterranean Dutch) working in Dutch child care centers with 2- to 4-year-olds. Cultural differences between Dutch and immigrant caregivers are evident. Dutch caregivers mentioned independence as a socialization goal most, whereas Mediterranean Dutch caregivers stressed collectivistic child-rearing goals most. More years of experience and a positive orientation toward the Dutch society made caregivers value individualistic child-rearing goals more. Working in an ethnically diverse context made both immigrant and Dutch caregivers express collectivistic beliefs more. The results further demonstrate that all cultural groups valued dimensions of both individualism and collectivism, providing further support for the multidimensionality of child-rearing beliefs.