Controlling involvement: A Naturalistic study of peer interaction in a bilingual, bicultural preschool

Abstract

This study was a naturalistic investigation of social interaction among Spanish-speaking, Mexican American 4-year-olds and English-speaking, African-American 4-year-olds in a Head Start center. Data were collected over a 7-month period using participant observation, interviews, and audio and video recordings of the children in a variety of classroom and playground settings.

The purpose of the research was to provide a detailed description of a bilingual, bicultural preschool setting and a theoretical analysis of the children’s interactional behavior. The principal questions addressed were how well the setting provided for peer social interaction and whether that social interaction facilitated the acquisition of English by the Spanish speakers.

The setting was shown to provide little opportunity for peer social interaction, because of the manner in which the center’s routines and activities were organized. This, combined with the children’s language differences and their limited interactional skills, led to a low incidence of collaborative peer interaction and social dramatic play.

The children’s social interaction was characterized by their determination to exercise control over their involvement with others: frequent avoidance of all social contact, willingness to enter only those social interactions that left them in control, and resistance to the access of others of ongoing interactions. The most significant result of this concern for control was the Hispanic children’s reluctance to enter into verbal play with English speakers. Social dramatic play was conducted in Spanish by the Hispanics and in English by the African-American children. There was little mixing except in more nonverbal forms of play.

Thus, the Spanish-speaking children received little English input from play with English-speaking peers. Most English acquisition occurred in teacher-structured activities.