A Comparison of Maternal Developmental Milestone Expectations between Punjabi-Australian Mothers and Anglo-Australian Mothers
SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY
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A Comparison of Maternal Developmental Milestone Expectations between Punjabi-Australian Mothers and Anglo-Australian Mothers
Abstract
Social and physical environments, historically established customs, and the Zeitgeist of a specific culture influence perceptions of childrearing. Our study investigated parental ethnotheories via assessing developmental milestone expectations. Punjabi- Australian mothers and Anglo-Australian mothers filled out a questionnaire, and we found their expectations to vary. Punjabi-Australian mothers had earlier expectations of their children’s educational milestones and later or similar expectations in all other areas, namely self-are, compliance, peer interaction, communication, emotional control, and environmental independence. This is an important field of study for several reasons: to compare childrearing practices between parents and cultures, to broaden our knowledge about cultural differences, to foster tolerance and acknowledgement of these differences, and to ensure all children have the best transitions possible from the home environment into preschools and schools.
How does culture shape human development? We do not grow old in isolation, we are embedded in social and physical contexts of time, land, and culture. Culture sculpts families. Culture affects cognitions and practices related to childrearing and child development and thus determines the goals parents have for their children and ultimately childhood experiences (Bornstein & Landford, 2010). Science aims to describe, explain, and interpret why cultures differ from another and what it means for the children of that culture (Bornstein, 2010).
In a multicultural society like Australia it has become of great importance to study indigenous and immigrant parents and their children to prevent misunderstandings and to ensure each child is cared for to unfold the best of its potential. Looking at immigrants with curiosity arms us against an ethnocentric worldview that holds many dangers and restricts our perception and ability to make fair decisions and policies (Goodnow, 2010).
Developmental milestone expectations give us a lens to explore parental perceptions about childrearing and goals, and have been studied over many years, establishing a comprehensive collection of literature (Goodnow, Cashmore, Cotton & Knight, 1984; Hess, Kashiwagi, Azuma & Dickson, 1980; Sissons Joshi & Maclean, 1997; Winskel & Salehuddin, 2016).
Our study aims to add more differentiation and specific data gathered of Punjabi-Australian mothers compared to Anglo-Australian mothers. Children from Punjabi families who enter the education system, either in early day-care or kindergarten need to meet educators who are informed and well instructed about differences in ethnotheories (Super & Harkness, 2002) of childrearing. Child-care researchers have established that continuity, congruity and communication between the center and home are important factors to minimise stress for the child (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2000). Educators must create programmes that support each child’s needs and the mother’s efforts of parenting to ensure optimal social and educational outcomes (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2007).
When we are comparing cultures, we are also looking at the direction on the continuum of collectivism and individualism. Hofstede (2001) cites in his preface, “The survival of mankind will depend to a large extent to the ability of people who think differently to act together.” (p. XV). Australia and India are indeed remarkably different places. On the individualism index India ranks on place 21, whereas Australia ranks on place 2. Societal norms in India hold values that put the group and the society above the individual. Indians are family oriented and India additionally ranks high on a measure called ‘large power distance’ that refers to an emotional ‘dependence on more powerful people’ (Hofstede, 2001). In the Indian family context this means entwined lives with parents and grandparents. Australia ranks low on power distance; thus, Australians perceive themselves independent from groups and collectives (Hofstede, 2001).
When citizens from one culture migrate into another culture, they pass through an acculturation process. Berry (1997) investigated the psychological consequences of that process and termed four concepts how people acculturate: assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalisation. Assimilators give up their origin culture and interact mainly with the new culture. Separation happens when the immigrant avoids the new culture and holds onto the origin culture. Integrators maintain their roots as well as participating in the new society. Finally, marginalisation is defined when the individual loses the original culture, or is forbidden to express that culture, yet also does not find any affiliation or is not allowed to join the new culture (Berry, 1997). Acculturation has many impacts on how an immigrant family participates with the new host culture and how children adjust and lead successful lives within this new context.
Method
Participants
Our study included 80 female participants ranging from 22 to 48 years of age: 40 Anglo-Australian mothers who were born in Australia and 40 mothers of Punjabi Indian descent. The Indian participants were recruited through organizations or community groups. All mothers were the main carer of at least one child under 10 years of age.
Materials
The study used an adapted version of the ‘developmental milestone expectations questionnaire’ based on Sissons, Joshi & Maclean (1997). The questionnaire consisted of 43 questions grouped into 7 domains of competency (please note the appendix at the end of document): Education (2 items), self-care (6 items), compliance (11 items), peer interaction (7 items), communication (5 items), emotional control (8 items) and environmental independence (4 items). A Punjabi- English bilingual translated the items into Punjabi and back into English to ensure the questions capture the correct meaning in both languages. The participants filled out the questionnaire by individually deciding on an expected age of the developmental achievement in question.
Results
To uncover differences between the two groups, we used a series of analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Our gathered data revealed that the education domain was the only area where Punjabi-mothers had significantly earlier expectations than Anglo-mothers. There was no significant difference between Anglo-mothers and Punjabi-mothers in the domains of peer interaction, communication, and environmental independence. In the domains of self-care, compliance, and emotional control Anglo-mothers’ expectations were significantly earlier than Punjabi-mothers’ expectations.
Age Expectation
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
education
self-care
compliance
peer interaction
communication
emotional control
environmental independence
Anglo
4.85
4.6
4.88
4.92
4.86
5.72
8.3
Punjabi
3.97
5.76
5.55
5
4.98
6.56
8.58
Figure 1. Mothers’ mean scores of the expected ages of achievement of developmental milestones in children under 10 years of age.
Discussion
The aim of this study was to compare developmental milestone expectations between two cultural groups; Punjabi-Australian and Anglo-Australian mothers. Punjabi mothers had earlier expectations of their children’s educational milestones. Parental pre-immigration beliefs about a better future in a new country, combined with Indian beliefs about education being the key to success in life, set lofty expectations for children’s schooling levels and prospects of careers (Bhattacharya & Schoppelrey, 2004). Keller, Borke, Chaudjhary, Lamm & Kleis (2010) found in their study that New Delhi mothers’ style of play and conversation was more didactic, while German mothers encouraged more self-directed, autonomous play.
Punjabi mothers had later expectations for self-care, compliance, and emotional control. India has an indulgent view of childhood and Indian middle-class children enjoy a prolonged and carefree childhood, embedded deeply within the family system and customs (Saraswathi & Dutta, 2010). Apparently, child- centredness and indulgence has taken different forms. Middle- and upper-class parents are investing a lot of energy, time and money in their children’s extra- curricular activities and plan for advanced educational and professional outcomes (Saraswathi, Menon & Madan, 2018).
In 1997, Sissons, Joshi and MacLean found a delay in all domains with Indian mothers’ expectations compared to American and Japanese mothers. They argued that this is due to the collective society model and family compositions where multiple generations share one household and help each other. Such families might not have the need to prepare children for early self-care. A child’s emotional control and compliance is beared by many rather than one and therefore there might be a higher acceptance of such behaviour. Contrastingly, Tuli (2012) writes that behaviour regulation is of great importance to Indian mothers. Too many people involved can cause confusion for the child in that domain (Tuli, 2012).
Parenting ethno-theories are adapting with time and place. Our study demonstrates this interesting change: non-significant findings in the domains of communication, peer interaction and environmental independence show a rapprochement of the two groups’ expectations. Beliefs about family obligations are also shifting, for example the concept of atman, where a child is part of past and future family and must follow a path that honours the entire family system (Bhattacharya & Schoppelrey, 2004). In India today, independence is valued and encouraged, and the boundaries between care and control can be negotiated. Parent- child relationships seek to combine autonomy and relatedness (Saraswathi, Menon & Madan, 2018). This form of ‘autonomous relatedness’ (Lamm, Keller, Yovsi & Chaudhary, 2008) is reflected in the results of our study, but the change might be slow, especially when mothers and grandmothers share the same household and need to negotiate their parenting practices. This is often the case as Kôu, Mulder and Bailey describe in their study from 2017 where they analysed the closely liked family lives of Indian immigrants in England and the Netherlands.
Dosnahj and Ghuman (1997; 1998) followed Punjabi families in Britain for two generations and concluded that the second-generation adopted more western practices and customs because of their increased ability to communicate in English compared to the first-generation, thus having a greater understanding of the education and health system of their host country. But overall, they also observed a tendency of the parents to distinguish their family traditions from the western system and teach their children to appreciate and value familial interdependence.
Some limitations of our study need to be addressed for further research. A shortcoming of the study is the lack of information on acculturation of the Punjabi mothers. Further, we would recommend widening the repertoire of questions for the domain of education. Two items do not produce a representative mean age. Ideally, since one main aim of the study was to provide results for further government research in the childcare sector including suggestions for policies, it would be an advantage to align the questionnaire with the one used by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Alternatively, Grusec and Davidov (2010) proposed a different approach to measure parenting socialisation. Their new framework focusses on domain-specific parenting behaviours. They argue that five domains of socialisation are universal: protection, control, reciprocity, guided learning, and group participation. For future studies, a questionnaire could include these ideas, add additional items about educational expectations and complement the questionnaire with a section that measures the acculturation process of immigrant parents. We would also implement a semi-structured follow-up interview to ensure mothers get debriefed and to settle any uncertainty within the questionnaire.
Conclusion
Parents ethnotheories about childrearing, interdependent and independent cultures, immigration and acculturation and the kinds of transitions children experience when entering the education system prepare a script for migrant children and ultimately the future we share. The outcome of our study showed some significant differences yet also subtle variances in developmental milestone expectations between mothers of two cultural backgrounds. Educators and researchers are now aware of those nuances and we will look forward to their creative approaches to ease transitions between school and home, and to continue to improve communication between those two settings.
References
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Appendix
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES EXPECTATIONS QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT CHILDREN’S ABILITIES (based on Sissons Joshi & Maclean, 1997)
Background Information of Respondent (person who completes the questionnaire)
Gender:
Age:
Birth place:
First language spoken:
INSTRUCTIONS: Please write what age you believe a child should be able to achieve the following: (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, >12 years)
Education
1. Count to ten 2. Write alphabet
Self-care
3. Eat without help
4. Wash hands before meals
5. Use toilet without help
6. Dress alone
7. Brush teeth properly
8. Bathe alone
Compliance
9. Come or answer when called
10. Stop misbehaving when told
11. Not do things forbidden by parents
12. Do something immediately when told
13. Give up TV when asked to do something for mother
14. Keep feet off furniture
15. Give full attention to adults when they are speaking
16. Answer phone properly
17. Be polite to visiting adults
18. Not interrupt adults when talking
19. Show interest in wellbeing of relatives
Peer interaction
20. Allow others to play with his/her toys
21. Wait for turn when playing
22. Be sympathetic to feelings of other children
23. Take leadership role when playing
24. Get own way by persuading others
25. Resolve quarrels without fighting
26. Resolve quarrels without adult help
Communication
27. Answer a question clearly
28. Ask for explanation when in doubt
29. Explain why he or she feels angry
30. When asked, give own opinions
31. Phone by him/herself
Emotional control
32. Not bite or throw something in frustration
33. Control anger by self
34. Not cry easily
35. Not go on and on about wanting expensive toys
36. Stand disappointment without crying
37. Not laugh at another child’s misfortune
38. Not show disappointment with gift
39. Hide being upset at being teased by children
Environmental independence
40. Play in street without adult present
41. Go to school unaccompanied by adult
42. Stay home alone for 1-2 hours
43. Buy things on his/her own
Thank you very much!
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