Volume 19 Number 1 
October 1979 

UNTIL recently preschoolers from minority families were thought to be better off if they could regularly attend some kind of compensatory education program. This approach to helping boys and girls get ready for the classroom reflected a widespread belief that poverty renders parents incapable of preparing children for success at school. We are now less inclined to suppose that parental competence depends upon socioeconomic status. Instead, it now seems that teaching parenting skills, which can be learned by people of every income group, is the best way to eliminate deprivation in childhood (see Note 21). 

American parents have begun to realize they all have in common the possibility of improving their childrearing influence. At the same time, some have also just begun to appreciate the need for preserving their differences, especially those aspects of lifestyle which attribute to ethnic and subcultural heritage. Accordingly, the design of a uniform parent curriculum intended to serve everyone is unacceptable. The key to successful program planning involves helping mothers and fathers achieve their childrearing objectives which flow from local custom or family tradition as well as those parent expectations which are given to us by the larger society. In the case of Indians, there are more than 200 separate tribes, each with its own history and set of priorities for child development (see Notes 1, 10, 14). 

The study we will describe examines the childrearing expectations held by members of two neighboring tribes. Navajo and Hopi Indians occupy adjacent reservations in Northern Arizona. The smaller Hopi population of 5,000 is completely surrounded by more than 150,000 members of the Navajo Nation. While Hopis live in stable communities and raise crops, the Navajos tend sheep and prefer to live miles apart in isolated family camps. Several times a year the Navajos move from winter quarters to summer camp and back again (see Notes 7 and 8). A long-standing controversy over the use of jointly-owned land has kept both tribes engaged in a legal battle for years. To further complicate their relationship, the warring tribes maintain customs which value dissimilar behavior (see Notes 23 and 24). Given these differences it would seem that Navajo and Hopi Indians may need a separate parent curriculum. We decided to further explore this possibility.  
 

A group of 70 Navajo and 70 Hopi parents were selected among participants in reservation Headstart, Homestart and other preschool programs. All 140 subjects, equally divided by sex, met the established criteria of having a three-to-five-year old child, being an enrolled member of their tribe and living on the reservation. Approximately 20% of all Hopi families with preschoolers and 1% of all Navajos with preschoolers were included in the study sample. The Navajo mothers and fathers came from 35 different locations which vary widely in population density, access to education and availability of employment. The conservative and progressive elements of Hopi life were represented by residents from four villages including Oraibi, the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States since the time of Columbus (see Note 25). 

The nature of the teaching-learning relationship between individual parents and their preschooler was assessed by the Parent As A Teacher Inventory, hereafter referred to as the PAAT. All the empirical criteria expected of commercially available instruments have been met by the PAAT (see Notes 18, 19, and 20). The instrument items include a variety of statements about what parents want or expect of their child, how they respond to specific aspects of interaction with the child and what actions they take in response to specific child behavior. A detailed exploration is provided for each of these five subsets related to parent curriculum: parental acceptance of creative functioning in their child and desire to encourage or suppress its development; parent child-rearing frustration and focus of the frustration; parent feelings about control and the extent to which control of child behavior is deemed necessary; parental understanding of play and its influence on child development; and parental perception of their ability to facilitate the growth process for their child. 

Ten items, designed to measure each of the five subsets, make a composite PAAT of 50 items. The items are patterned in such a way so that each variable occurs only once in every five items. STRONG YES, YES, NO and STRONG NO are the possible answers for each item. Scoring the inventory calls for assigning a numeral value of 4, 3, 2 or I to each of the 50 items. The most desired responses based upon child development research are valued 4, with lower values assigned to other responses on the basis of their distance from the most desirable. The inventory is constructed with approximately half of its items STRONG NO as the desired response and the remaining half reversed, thus having STRONG YES as the desired response. Assigned values for each response are summed by subset to derive separate scores for the creativity, frustration, control, play and teaching-learning process subsets. A person's total score represents the sum of all five subsets. 

Because of the widespread lack of employment on the reservations, few fathers can work and live at home with their families. Many fathers have jobs off the reservation and are away from home for weeks or months at a time. Even those who remain on the reservation sometimes have responsibilities far away from home and are periodically absent. As a result, it was impossible to assess both mothers and fathers in each family. In 27 cases, both mothers and fathers in the same family were administered the PAAT. In 43 cases, only the mother was assessed and in 43 other cases, only the father was assessed. The parents were administered the PAAT in groups of less than ten, most often singly or in pairs.  

In order to ensure uniformity of assessment, the instrument was given by means of prerecorded audio tape. Each subject was obliged to select the English, Navajo or Hopi version of PAAT. Almost all of the Hopis (90%) chose to hear the English version while most Navajos (72%) preferred their native language. A few years ago Spolsky (see Note 17)determined that the regional differences in Navajo language usage are not great enough to comprise different dialects. To be sure, there are distinctions in colloquial expression but the language is relatively constant across the reservation. Thus it was possible to use one Navajo translation. 

However, in the translation of the Navajo script, a single Navajo equivalent of the words 'my child' could not be found. There is a word which means 'my children', but it is used only in the plural form. Since the PAAT requires that the parent respond to items with regard to a specific preschooler, the plural form could not be used. Instead, four separate words were used to supply the concept of 'my child', depending on the sex of the parent being assessed and the sex of their preschooler. This sex of parent/sex of child distinction necessitated the making of four audio tapes, each using one of the four terms throughout. So fathers of daughters listed to one tape, fathers of sons another, mothers of daughters a third, and mothers of sons the last. This multiplicity of tapes complicated the administration procedure but it was necessary to guarantee accuracy of the Navajo translation. No such problem was encountered in translation of the Hopi script. 

Response sheets were devised which allowed subjects who could not read or write to participate in the study. All subjects were given five sheets, each containing ten lines, a total of 50 lines. Every line contained four faces indicating the responses of STRONG YES, YES, NO, and STRONG NO. For each item the parent was expected to mark X on the face which they felt best represented their feeling. Subjects were told to mark one of the large faces if they were sure about their response, and to mark one of the smaller, in-between faces if they had some doubt about their response. 

Directions for the PAAT preceded the audio tape reading of items and were always given in the subject's preferred language. To ensure comprehension, a separate response sheet was used to such practice questions as:  

My child likes to eat candy; my child likes to get a shot at the hospital; and Hopi (Navajo) boys like to ride horses. There were no time limits for completing the inventory. Each item was repeated twice in the taped reading and again at the subjects' request. There was an interpreter fluent in the appropriate language present at all times to clarify points of confusion. 

This comparative study was designed to determine the differences between responses of Hopi and Navajo parents of preschoolers on the PAAT. We initially sought to answer the question: In what ways do tribal affiliation, sex of parent, sex of child, geographical location of the home, and level of parent education influence PAAT scores? A five-factor analysis of variance was used to measure differences between and interaction among the variables. Two-way analyses were then used to examine the effects of tribe and sex of child, tribe and sex of parent, tribe and degree of isolation of the home, and tribe and educational level. Each procedure was repeated six times to analyze the responses on the total and each of five subsets of the instrument.* 

Items that Discriminate Between Tribes. After considering the sources of variance on PAAT scores, we sought to identify those particular items which discriminated significantly between responses of Navajo and Hopi parents. A frequency distribution was made for each item across all subjects for each tribal group. The mean response for each item was determined for each tribal group. Differences between the tribal means were tested with a t-statistic. The t values were ranked in descending order to determine which pairs of means differed significantly. Those items with a greater mean difference indicated a greater relative ability to discriminate between the two tribal groups. 

Considerable disparity was noted between the Hopi and Navajo respondents on 26 of the 50 PAAT items. Table I shows that all five subsets were nearly equally represented in the list of significantly different items. Slightly more significance was noted in the Creativity and Value of Play subsets than in the others. An item by item narrative explanation is included in the complimentary data analysis packet.  

The parent's educational experience was shown to be the most significant of all effects. Educational level ranged from six years of schooling or less to high school experience to high school completion to college experience. Responses on all five subsets were affected by increased in years of schooling. Responses on the creativity subset (p < .02), the frustration subset (p < .01), the play subset (p < .005), and the teaching-learning subset (p < .0005) became more desirable as educational level increased. College educated parents expressed a significantly lower need for control (p < .0002). Even though the degree of isolation of the home did not contribute significance as a main effect, it did assume significance when combined with sex of parent (p < .001)--(see Notes 3, 9, and 11). 

Items that discriminated between tribal groups were distributed almost equally through the five subsets indicating that the differences were pervasive, affecting all areas of child-rearing attitudes. Although differences existed, a comparative tribal profile illustrated that the overall patterns of responses of both tribes were somewhat similar, both groups showing the greatest need for intervention in the area of parental control. 

Areas of agreement among Navajo respondents were the value of play and the responsibility of parents to teach. Areas of disagreement included toleration of creative responses, the sharing of dominance with the child and the importance of verbal interaction during the play. Hopi respondents agreed on the value of peer play but disagreed on the value of parent-child play. They agreed on a low frustration, non-interfering response to children's play activities. 

They disagreed on the extent to which creative responses should be allowed and the degree of control a child should be permitted in a dyadic play situation. 

Indigenous leaders sometimes make the mistake of assuming that they have a lot of information about their tribal group, when they are relying on childhood memories, group folklore, and personal observation. For example, a tribal leader may have limited personal contact with parents and children, yet be in a position of formulating curriculum and policy for early childhood education programs. An investigation similar to this one conducted with the appropriate group would provide specific, useful information about directions for intervention. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs program planners can make use of these evaluative procedures to differentiate materials and other program elements between tribes. By reliance on PAAT data, the BIA can improve its effectiveness in responding to the special needs expressed by each tribe. For example, the in-service and consultation services offered by officials from the District and Washington offices can be more relevant if they have access to PAAT data prior to conducting any child development training sessions for tribal representatives. Given the large number of teacher aides and the usual child development focus of their training, this is an important issue. 

On the basis of this or a similar investigation, toys, games, and other materials can be selected which provide experiences in identified problem areas. For example, those responsible for acquisition of program materials should attend to the finding that Navajo children play alone more often than Hopi children. Toys for Navajo children would not include those that require four playmates. Instead, specific toys can be identified that are best for solitary play. Similarly, if high need for parent control is identified as a problem area, toys can be selected which minimize adult-imposed rules, and invite maximum child participation and shared dominance. 

Sensitive issues have been identified in this study which have implications for sequencing of experiences in a play curriculum. For example, Navajo subjects demonstrated a serious regard and respect for the supernatural. It is important that Navajo parents learn to accept their children's fears and at the same time maintain tribal traditions. To accommodate these dissident needs, play themes should focus on objects of fear other than ghosts and supernatural phenomena. Similarly, given the Hopi sentiments which oppose conflict, plots involving guns and fighting could be avoided until parents better understand the value of conflict play (see Notes 2, 13, and 18). 

Since verbal fluency is a highly significant factor in school success, those responsible for materials selection in early education programs would be well advised to make substantial investments in toys and games that encourage verbal communication in natural, uncontrived situations. Information gathered in this study suggests that Hopi and Navajo children tend to ask few questions and engage in limited play dialogue. When planning a play curriculum for such children and their parents, toys that demand language exchanges between players and the sharing of dominance in the play situation should be emphasized. Toys and games that require no language or that emphasize solitary play should be avoided (see Notes 6,12, 15). 

In efforts to identify and help parents who are abusive with their children, the PAAT can be used in conjunction with other observations and interviews to confirm suspicions about a parent in question. While a parent may be able to deceive an interviewer, it is far more difficult to maintain deceit in a natural play situation. High scores on the frustration and control subsets, along with other observations, may indicate a potentially abusive parent. 

Finally, it is important to emphasize that the individual family should become the unit of consideration in parent education. Even though they belong to the same tribe and value their collective background, parents may still disagree about whether to continue traditional child-rearing practices. The fact that some families prefer change could be honored by whomever is responsible for tribal parent training. Certainly the greatest benefit of the PAAT inventory lies in its revelation of specific needs being expressed by individual families. When used in conjunction with the PAAT profile, teachers and parents can work together on mutually understood and agreed upon child-rearing goals. 
 

Robert Strom is Professor of Education and Director of the Parent-Child Lab, Arizona State University, Tempe. Jane Hill is Assistant Professor of Education and Director of the Head Start Training Program, Roosevelt University, Chicago. An extended version of this paper was presented at the Bureau of Indian Affairs National Conference on Educational Evaluation in Tucson, Arizona, November 16, 1978.