Metaferia Biruk K, Futo Judit, Takacs Zsofia K
Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
Neuropsychology and Child Development Research Group, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
Front Psychol. 2021 Apr 26;12:646074. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646074. eCollection 2021.
The present study investigated the cross-cultural variations in parents' views on the role of play in child development and the primary purpose of preschool education from Ethiopia and Hungary. It also examined the cross-cultural variations in preschoolers' executive functions (EF), the frequency of their engagement in home activities, and the role of these activities in the development of EF skills. Participants included 266 preschoolers (Ethiopia: 139 of which 44.6% boys; = 63.83 months; = 7.68 months; Hungary: 127 of which 48% boys; = 62.06 months; = 9.37 months) with their parents (Ethiopia: 45.32% male; M = 36.66 years; = 7.14 years; Hungary: 13.18% male; = 37.71 years; = 5.97 years). The independent samples -test showed that Ethiopian parents view fostering academic skills for preschooler significantly more important than their Hungarian counterparts do. We also found that while Ethiopian parents hold the belief that academic and cognitive development is the major purpose of preschool education, Hungarian prioritize social-emotional development and entertainment. Additionally, preschoolers in Ethiopia were reported to engage in academic and arts and crafts activities after preschool significantly more frequently than their Hungarian counterparts. On the contrary, preschoolers in Hungary were found to engage in fine-motor activities, solitary play, sports and other physical activities significantly more frequently than their Ethiopian counterparts. No significant differences were found in EF skills between preschoolers from Ethiopia and Hungary. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that, after accounting for age and SES, preschoolers' frequency of pretend play and their parents' play support beliefs were found to be small to medium-sized predictors of inhibitory control skills in both samples. However, children's frequency of having breakfast at home was another significant predictor in the Ethiopian sample only. The frequency of participation in arts and crafts and other fine-motor activities were found to be important predictors of preschoolers' visual-spatial working memory skills in the Ethiopian and the Hungarian samples, respectively. We also found that, after controlling for SES, parental play support was an important factor associated with preschoolers' shifting skills only in the Hungarian sample. Based on the findings, we made important conclusions.
本研究调查了埃塞俄比亚和匈牙利父母对游戏在儿童发展中的作用以及学前教育主要目的的看法的跨文化差异。它还研究了学龄前儿童执行功能（EF）的跨文化差异、他们参与家庭活动的频率以及这些活动在EF技能发展中的作用。参与者包括266名学龄前儿童（埃塞俄比亚：139名，其中44.6%为男孩；平均年龄 = 63.83个月；标准差 = 7.68个月；匈牙利：127名，其中48%为男孩；平均年龄 = 62.06个月；标准差 = 9.37个月）及其父母（埃塞俄比亚：45.32%为男性；平均年龄 = 36.66岁；标准差 = 7.14岁；匈牙利：13.18%为男性；平均年龄 = 37.71岁；标准差 = 5.97岁）。独立样本t检验表明，埃塞俄比亚父母认为培养学龄前儿童的学术技能比匈牙利父母更为重要。我们还发现，虽然埃塞俄比亚父母认为学术和认知发展是学前教育的主要目的，但匈牙利父母则优先考虑社会情感发展和娱乐。此外，据报道，埃塞俄比亚的学龄前儿童在放学后参与学术和艺术手工活动的频率明显高于匈牙利的同龄人。相反，发现匈牙利的学龄前儿童参与精细运动活动、独自玩耍、体育和其他体育活动的频率明显高于埃塞俄比亚的同龄人。埃塞俄比亚和匈牙利的学龄前儿童在EF技能方面没有发现显著差异。分层回归分析结果表明，在考虑年龄和社会经济地位后，学龄前儿童假装游戏的频率及其父母的游戏支持信念在两个样本中都是抑制控制技能的小到中等规模的预测因素。然而，孩子在家吃早餐的频率只是埃塞俄比亚样本中的另一个显著预测因素。参与艺术手工和其他精细运动活动的频率分别被发现是埃塞俄比亚和匈牙利样本中学龄前儿童视觉空间工作记忆技能的重要预测因素。我们还发现，在控制社会经济地位后，父母的游戏支持只是匈牙利样本中与学龄前儿童转换技能相关的一个重要因素。基于这些发现，我们得出了重要结论。
