Mother-Child Mediated Learning Experience Strategies and Children’s Cognitive Modifiability: Theoretical and Research Perspectives

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is on the effects of mediated learning experience (MLE) interactions on children’s cognitive modifiability . The MLE theory is presented followed by selected research findings, demonstrating the impact of MLE strategies in mother-child interactions in facilitating cognitive modifiability. Research findings support the effects of distal factors (e.g., socioeconomic status) on MLE processes and the effects of the proximal factors (MLE) on cognitive modifiability. Mediation for Transcendence (expanding) was found consistently as the most powerful strategy predicting cognitive modifiability. Distal factors in samples of children with learning difficulties were found as directly pre- dicting cognitive modifiability. These findings might indicate a need to modify or refine the MLE theory. A few suggestions are offered for future research. the MLE theory. These findings indicate that the higher the severity of the child’s ADHD and the lower the mother’s SES level, the lower the cognitive modifiability of the child. Similarly, in Tzuriel and Shomron’s [ 25 ] study on children with learning disability (LD), one distal factor Home Environment (HOME [47]) explained directly children’s cognitive modifiability ( β = 0.60) together with a summed score of four MLE strategies ( β = 0.41). These findings indicate that for children experiencing learning difficulties, the distal factors influence directly the child’s cognitive modifiability. It is possible to explain these findings by the fact that in samples of children with learning difficulties (e.g., ADHD, LD), even adequate mother-child mediation is not sufficient to overcome or “nullify” the distal factors’ strength of predicting children’s cognitive modifiability. It should be emphasized that mothers of children with learning difficulties had no prior training for mediation. We assume that training of mothers to use better MLE strategies in their spontaneous interaction with their children would reduce significantly the effects of the distal factors on children’s cognitive modifiability. These findings offer an elaboration of the MLE theory. The effects of distal factors on children’s cognitive modifiability in samples of typically developing children are not direct (as conceptualized by the theory), whereas in samples of children with learning difficulties, distal factors have direct effects on children’s cognitive modifiability unless a more intensive level of mediation is applied. An intensive use of MLE strategies would minimize the effects of the distal factors. Enhancement of MLE strategies is essential to ameliorate the direct effects of distal factors on cognitive modifiability. This modification of the MLE theory should be investigated in intervention studies where mothers of children with learning difficulties will be trained to use MLE strategies. We suggest that mothers trained to mediate (experimental) would be compared with nontrained mothers and their interactions with their children should be observed a year later after the effects of training are internalized and assimilated into the mother-child interactional system. The children should then be administered DA measures to assess their cognitive modifiability.