SPS 2 (077): Children learn by observing and contributing to family and community endeavors: A cultural paradigm

In this poster symposium, contributing authors to the Advances in Child Development and Behavior volume, Children Learn by Observing and Contributing to Family and Community Endeavors, will present posters on their chapters. They will be joined by two posters presenting new work that flows from the paradigm. The symposium focuses on Learning by Observing and Pitching In (LOPI) as a cultural paradigm for supporting children’s learning processes. LOPI is present in many communities around the world but appears prevalent in Indigenous communities of the Americas. In this paradigm, children are integrated into a wide range of important activities of the community. This integration allows children to be present, observe, and pitch in as they become more skilled with the task at hand and are able to contribute to the ongoing endeavor.

The ten posters examine LOPI in various Indigenous-heritage communities of the Americas including, Mayan, Mexican-heritage, Mestizo, P’uhepecha, and Mbya-Guarani among others. The papers address the following topics: theoretical orientation of LOPI, children’s learning by observing, children’s initiative in helping, children’s participation in ceremonial life, children’s patterns of collaboration and interactions with others, children learning about reciprocity, the interaction between children and adults in learning, and community forms of orienting children to adult work.

The poster symposium is designed to generate interaction with the audience and the diverse papers and provide ample space for a general discussion to highlight and propose future areas of collaboration on the cultural variation of children’s learning processes.