One frequent question we get about the Simple Interactions Tool is: Are simple, everyday interactions different across cultures? And, should the SI tool change from country to country?
It is always our hope that the Simple Interactions Tool captures something universal about developmental interactions across settings (e.g., schools, home, informal learning) and cultures. In order for such a tool to be useful across cultures and settings, the design of the tool (as well as the uses of the tool) needs to embody a requisite humility and openness. Over time, we have adapted and revised the tool to be less “judgmental” about what mode of interactions (the X, Y, Zs) can best serve universal needs (the SI dimensions). The real test, of course, is when we bring the tool into different cultural contexts and engage with people in reflections and conversations about their interactions and relationships.
I recently had the opportunity to observe and lead workshops and presentations in China with three different early childhood audiences: 1) Pre-service teachers preparing to work in rural early childhood settings; 2) Educational and social service providers for parents with children from birth to five; 3) Parents. I was really curious to learn what people took away from these exchanges, and how these take-aways would compare to what we typically hear in the U.S. context. Switching between languages (on paper, in conversation, and in my mind), I also wondered how much is, or is not, “lost in translation” when the SI tool travels across cultures.
It was very interesting to observe that in these particular audiences, people are drawn to the dimension “reciprocity” and its X, Y, Z modes of who’s leading and following. Historically, China has a very “adult-led” family and educational culture. Families revolved around the elders, not the children, all the way through at least the 1970s when I was growing up. I recall at festive dinners, everyone would arrive near the table but would not take seats until the elders had arrived and seated. Teachers are revered as having parent-like authority. Yet, in the modern and westernized parts of China, there is an increasing emphasis on child-led interactions both in early childhood education settings and at home. “Child-directed play” as a concept is very much in vogue all across early education in the country, reaching as far as rural schools. However, China’s rigorous and stringent educational system exerts so much pressure on children and parents alike. When it comes to educational attainment, neither children nor parents feel they have much choice but to compete and compete early (into early childhood). Like it or not, children are pressed into learning music, English, chess, and many other skills and academic subjects that might distinguish them from a very young age. The cross-currents of who leads whom are so pronounced that, at the suggestion of our Chinese colleagues, we even added an extra figure into our reciprocity mode “Y” to explicitly capture it.
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