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"What sort of an adult would you like your child to be?": Mothers' developmental goals in different cultural communities in Israel

Dorit Roer-Strier

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

This paper discusses the impact of changing ecological contexts on socialization, utilizing qualitative data obtained from 42 mothers of 3–4 year old children, in five communities in Israel. In depth interviews explored mothers' developmental goals concerning valued characteristics for their young boys and girls and valued goals for their children as adults. Similarities and differences in gender-related expectations are discussed in relation to cultural scripts. One major finding in this study is the great similarity between themes mothers used to describe the characteristics they valued in their young children and the themes that emerge from their descriptions of their long-term developmental goals for these children. Our study challenges the dichotomy between individualism and collectivism as a unit of analysis of parental socialization goals and suggests that parents' goals in different cultural communities ought to be characterized not only in relation to the underlying cultural scripts of their community but also in relation to: (a) the level of exposure to eco-cultural change; (b) the specific social structure of the community, or socio-cultural group, undergoing such a change; (c) the community's, or individual's attitude towards such a change; and (d) the host culture excluding or including attitudes.

Key Words: culture • developmental goals • early childhood

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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rosenthal, M. K. Articles by Roer-Strier, D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?