Cultural variations in socialization for school achievement: Contrasts between Japan and the United States

Studies of family effects on children's school-relevant skills usually involve socioeconomic status (SES) or ethnic comparisons within Western cultures. This paper extends these cultural comparisons with results from a longitudinal study of family influences on school achievement in Japan and the United States. The initial project included 58 mothers and their 4-year-old children in Japan and 67 mothers and their children in the United States. Data were gathered by interview, tests of mental ability, and three interaction tasks. A follow-up phase included 48 mothers and their 11-year-old children in Japan and 47 mothers and their 12-year-old children in the United States. Ten maternal variables from the preschool phase were selected to examine the association between maternal behavior and school readiness at ages 5 and 6 and scores on tests of vocabulary and mathematics at follow-up. Maternal behavior was significantly related to both outcomes in both countries even after children's mental ability at age 4 was taken into account. The association of maternal behavior with children's school-relevant performance increased between preschool and follow-up periods in Japan but declined in the United States. Explanations are offered relating these trends to socialization patterns in the two cultures.