Recent experimental research highlights young children's selectivity in learning from others. Little is known, however, about the patterns of information that children actually encounter in conversations with adults. This study investigated variation in parents' tendency to focus on testable evidence as a way to answer science-related questions…

Everyday parent-child conversations may support children's scientific understanding. The types and frequency of parent-child science talk may vary with the cultural and schooling background of the participants, and yet most research in the USA focuses on highly schooled European-American families. This study investigated 40 Mexican-descent…

Two studies investigated science conversations between Mexican-descent parents and children during a visit to a children's museum and at home after a family science workshop. Although more-educated parents gave more explanations about science in the museum, all families engaged in causal conversations, especially at home. (Contains 42 references.)…

Examined 4- and 5-year-olds' drawing in context of a game in which they and their mothers took turns creating pictures of farm animals for each other to identify. Found that mothers and children often talked about their drawings, and many aspects of these conversations related to microgenetic changes in the sophistication of children's pictures.…

Interviews with parents from 50 Mexican-descent families revealed that parents encouraged their preschool children to ask questions about science and causal relationships; older and younger siblings learned different skills from one another; and children learned through observation and imitation. Discusses issues of "match" between home…