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Measures for the Study of Maternal Teaching Strategies MTOT

Author(s):
Laosa, Luis M.
Publication Year:
1980
Report Number:
RR-80-14
Source:
ETS Research Report
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
31
Subject/Key Words:
Group Differences, Instruction, Mexican Americans, Mothers, Observational Studies, Parent Role

Abstract

A technique to measure maternal teaching strategies was developed for possible use in research and evaluation studies. Scores derived from the technique describe both quality and quantity of behaviors used by mothers to teach cognitive-perceptual tasks to their own young children. The maternal teaching observation technique (MTOT) yields scores on the following teaching strategy dimensions: inquiry, directive, praise, negative verbal feedback or disapproval, modeling, visual cue, physical affection, positive physical control, and negative physical control. English and Spanish versions of the technique were developed. The technique was administered to 83 different mother-child dyads of two sociocultural and language groups--Anglo-American and Chicano. The tasks and procedures were sufficiently engaging and appealing, in terms of difficulty level and ability to elicit and maintain the subjects' attention, for mothers and their 5-year-old children in both groups. Interobserver reliabilities and parallel-form consistency were adequate for both groups, indicating that each MTOT measure is at least a moderately stable attribute of maternal behavior. Group differences in intercorrelations suggest that construct invariance might not exist across sociocultural or language groups. (31pp.)

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