African-American Children at Church : A Sociocultural Perspective

African-American Children at Church explores African-American socialization beliefs and practices, based on findings of a unique, four-year long study in a Baptist church in Salt Lake City, Utah. By combining the ethnographic approaches of anthropology with the detailed naturalistic observations of developmental psychology, Dr Haight provides a rich description of actual socialization practices along with an interpretation of what those patterns mean to the participants themselves. Based on extensive interviews with successful African-American adults involved with children, this book begins with the exploration of adults' beliefs about socialization issues focusing on the role of religion in the development of resilience. Drawing from naturalistic observations of adult-child interaction, the book then describes actual socialization contexts and practices that help to nurture competencies in African-American children. The text focuses on Sunday School and includes narrative practices and patterns of adult-child conflict and play. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Tables......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 13 PART ONE OVERVIEW......Page 15 CHAPTER ONE Introduction......Page 17 GOALS OF THE BOOK......Page 18 A SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESILIENCY......Page 20 THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH AS A CONTEXT OF SOCIALIZATION......Page 24 THE CASE: FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH......Page 26 AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK......Page 27 CHAPTER TWO The African-American Church and the Socialization of Children’s Resiliency......Page 33 THE CHURCH AS A CONTEXT OF PARTICIPATION FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN......Page 34 THE CHURCH AS A CONTEXT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALTERNATIVE BELIEF SYSTEM......Page 35 SOME GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THEOLOGY......Page 38 SPIRITUAL BELIEFS AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR......Page 40 SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH STORY TELLING......Page 43 CONCLUSION......Page 44 CHAPTER THREE Research Strategy......Page 46 The Pastor......Page 48 The Superintendent......Page 49 The Teachers......Page 50 Sunday School Classes......Page 51 Junior Class......Page 52 Entering and Sampling the Sunday School Classes......Page 54 Sunday School Observations......Page 55 Interviews......Page 56 Observations of Other Contexts......Page 57 Sustained Community Involvement......Page 58 Multiple Data Collectors......Page 59 CONCLUSION......Page 60 PART TWO PATTERNS OF SOCIALIZATION AND PARTICIPATION......Page 63 A BRIEF HISTORY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN UTAH......Page 65 THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN UTAHN COMMUNITY TODAY......Page 68 THE MORMON CHURCH AND THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY......Page 69 MEETING THE CHALLENGES......Page 71 CONCLUSION......Page 72 CHAPTER FIVE The Teachers......Page 73 THE TEACHERS......Page 74 Sister Katherine......Page 75 Sister Patrice......Page 77 Sister Justine......Page 79 Sister Ima......Page 80 CONCLUSION......Page 82 CHAPTER SIX Adults’ Perspectives on Spiritual Socialization......Page 83 THE INTERVIEWS......Page 84 African-American Children Develop within a Racist Society......Page 85 Interpersonal Relationships Are Key to Effective Socialization......Page 88 The Church Is a Haven......Page 90 Spirituality Is Protective......Page 91 The Role of Sunday School Is to Help Children to Learn and Then to Apply Biblical Texts......Page 94 Storytelling Is an Effective Context for Socialization......Page 96 CONCLUSION......Page 98 CHAPTER SEVEN Narratives Related during Sunday School......Page 100 DATA SET AND RELIABILITY......Page 101 EVENTS NARRATED......Page 102 Background......Page 103 First Baptist Church......Page 104 Background......Page 105 First Baptist Church......Page 107 Background......Page 110 First Baptist Church......Page 111 CONCLUSION......Page 114 CHAPTER EIGHT Socialization and Participation through Storytelling......Page 119 TEACHERS’ AND CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION IN NARRATIVES......Page 120 Children Actively Participated in Narratives......Page 121 Call-and-Response Sequences......Page 122 Spontaneous Contributions......Page 123 SOCIALIZATION STRATEGIES FOR LINKING NARRATIVE EVENTS TO EVERYDAY LIVES......Page 125 Direct Connections Regarding the Text’s Relevance......Page 126 Generalizations......Page 127 Figurative Speech......Page 128 Play with Roles......Page 130 Device Used Primarily with Young Children......Page 133 Code Switching......Page 134 Historical Present......Page 136 CONCLUSION......Page 137 CHAPTER NINE Adult–Child Verbal Conflicts......Page 143 Background......Page 144 Background......Page 145 Background......Page 146 First Baptist Church......Page 147 Background......Page 149 First Baptist Church......Page 150 CONCLUSION......Page 155 KEY WEEKLY EVENTS: THE CHILDREN’S STORY......Page 158 Animal Tales......Page 159 Famous African-Americans......Page 161 Church Etiquette and Christian Behavior......Page 164 KEY MONTHLY EVENTS: YOUTH EMPHASIS DAY......Page 168 The Christmas Program......Page 169 Easter Program......Page 170 Vacation Bible School......Page 171 SPECIAL EVENTS: BAPTISMS AND BLESSINGS......Page 173 OTHER WAYS OF RECOGNIZING CHILDREN......Page 174 CONCLUSION......Page 175 PART THREE RELATIONSHIPS OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE......Page 177 CHAPTER ELEVEN The Computer Club......Page 179 The Goals of the Intervention......Page 180 The Physical Context and Logistics......Page 181 The Social Context......Page 182 Conducting the Intervention......Page 183 CONCLUSION......Page 184 CHAPTER TWELEVE Enhancing University Students’ Understanding and Appreciation of Cultural Diversity......Page 186 CROSS-RACE HELPING RELATIONSHIPS......Page 187 A FRAMEWORK FOR FACILITATING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF DIVERSITY......Page 189 Service-Learning......Page 191 Overview of the Course......Page 192 University Students’ Responses to Service-Learning......Page 196 Emotional Valence......Page 197 Specific Negative Emotions and the Role of Context......Page 201 The Role of Development......Page 202 CONCLUSION......Page 203 PART FOUR CONCLUSION......Page 207 BELIEF SYSTEMS CAN BE PROTECTIVE FACTORS......Page 209 RELIGIOUS SOCIALIZATION AND PARTICIPATION ARE CHILD-SENSITIVE AND GROWTH-ORIENTED......Page 212 CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IS STABLE AND CHANGING......Page 214 RESEARCH AND PRACTICE ARE INTIMATELY RELATED......Page 215 “RESILIENCY” HAS LIMITATIONS......Page 216 References......Page 219 Index......Page 233 African-American Children at Church explores African-American socialization beliefs and practices, based on the findings of a unique, four-year study in a Baptist church in Salt Lake City, Utah. By combining the ethnographic approaches of anthropology with the detailed naturalistic observations of developmental psychology, Dr. Haight provides a rich description of actual socialization practices along with an interpretation of what those patterns mean to the participants themselves. Based on extensive interviews with successful African-American adults involved with children, this book begins with the exploration of adults' beliefs about socialization issues focusing on the role of religion in the development of resilience. Drawing from naturalistic observations of adult -- child interaction, the book then describes actual socialization contexts and practices that may help to nurture competencies in African-American children. The text focuses on Sunday School and includes narrative practices and patterns of adult-child conflict and play. A final section describes how this research was used in the development of a preventive, educational intervention program for children. In African-American Children at Church Dr. Haight provides a vital description of child rearing in a Black community in the western United States. Based upon an extensive, naturalistic study of adult-child interaction, the book describes the beliefs and childrearing practices of successful African-American adults, focusing on the role of religion in children's development. The book includes descriptions of adult-child storytelling, conflict, and play in Sunday School and describes how research results were used to develop a preventive, educational intervention for children. "African-American Children at Church provides a rich description of child rearing in a Black community in the western United States. Based upon an extensive, naturalistic study of adult-child interaction, the book describes the beliefs and child-rearing practices of successful African-American adults, focusing on the role of religion in children's development."--Ebook Library