AM Building the Data Warehouse

Abstract

SUMMARY. In this paper we discuss a study of cultural perspectives on peer conflicts in multicultural child care centres. On the level of child behaviour we did not find differences between native Dutch, Moroccan-Dutch and Antillean-Dutch children with regard to occurrence, duration and actions to solve peer conflicts. On the level of mothers' opinions about interventions in peer conflicts of young children we did find more agreement than differences between the three cultural groups. On the level of images about cultural differences in parenting styles we found mutual negative stereotyping among the three cultural groups of mothers. Comparisons of their own childhood with current parenting behaviour showed that all mothers, irrespective of their cultural background, experience both continuity and adaptations to new life circumstances. Differences in style of discipline turned out to be the most critical issue in the comparisons between the generations and comparisons between the cultures.