Book

Playing on the mother-ground: cultural routines for children's development

Guilford pressNew York • Published In 1996 • Pages: xii, 240

By: Lancy, David F..

Abstract
This book provides ethnographic account of childhood among the Kpelle of Liberia as observed in 1967-1973. The focus is on the processes through which children, who are 6-13 years old, learn the skills they need to succeed as adults. It argues that Kpelle children, unlike their counterparts in Western soceities,are not instructed but rather learn through observation and imitation. They author shows this through a careful documentation of child conversation and interaction in a wide variety of settings including playing, farming, hunting and gathering, marketing, weaving, building and making medicine and smithing. The author also uses this evidence to reflect on limits of Western psychological theories when applied to non-Western soceities.
Subjects
Techniques of socialization
Childhood activities
Games
Transmission of skills
Family relationships
Division of labor by gender
Education system
Students
Sociocultural trends
culture
Kpelle
HRAF PubDate
2009
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Western Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi A. Adem; 2007
Field Date
1967-1969, 1973
Coverage Date
1950-1996
Coverage Place
Liberia
Notes
David F. Lancy
Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-230) and indexes
LCCN
96033423
LCSH
Children, Kpelle-Education/Children, Kpelle-Games/Children, Kpelle-Cultural assimilation/Learning, Psychology of/Child development-Liberia-Gbarngasuakwelle/Child psychology-Liberia--Gbarngasuakwelle/Gbarngasuakwelle (Liberia)-Social life and customs