The study examined (a) whether differences exist between Chicano and Anglo‐American families in the strategies that mothers use to teach their own children and (b) whether such differences, if they exist, are likely to persist or disappear as a result of effective social change toward increased educational and occupational equality in the society where the two groups coexist. Eighty‐three Chicano and Anglo‐American mothers were observed in their homes teaching cognitive‐perceptual tasks to their own five‐year‐old children. Significant differences in maternal teaching strategies were found between the two cultural groups. Results also showed that these differences appear to be the result of differences in the average level of formal education attained by the mothers in the two cultural populations. These results suggest that the observed differences in maternal teaching strategies may disappear as women in the two cultural groups attain similar levels of formal education.

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In contrast to the amount of attention and research devoted to the impact of schooling on individuals, relatively little research has been directed to answering questions about the effects of schooling on family interaction. Based on the available evidence, the author proffers a two‐fold general hypothesis: (a) Among the enduring effects of schooling on the individual are certain behavioral dispositions that determine how he or she will behave as a parent, e.g., how the person will interact with his or her children. (b) In turn, parental behavior will have important consequences for the child's development of specific cognitive skills, learning strategies, and personality characteristics. The primary focus in the article is a conceptual and empirical examination of the impact of schooling on the parent‐child relationship. In the course of a series of studies, attempts are made to determine whether parental schooling, parental occupational status, and maternal employment each have a distinct pattern of influences on educationally related aspects of the parent‐child relationship. The inquiry is conducted in the context of issues regarding ethnic diversity, individual variability within ethnic groups, and educational and occupational equity, giving particular attention to Chicano families. The findings regarding linkages between parental schooling and the parent‐child relationship suggest plausible explanations of the frequent scholastic failure observed among the members of certain ethnic minorities in the United States. Therefore, as a secondary focus, a broad theoretical model is presented that causally links parental schooling, family interaction processes, and children's scholastic performance.

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