Learning by observing and pitching in to family and community endeavors

The articles in this publication discuss a way of organizing learning opportunities in which children are integrated in the activities of their families and communities and learn by attentively contributing to the endeavors around them. This multifaceted process appears to be especially prevalent in many Indigenous American and Mexican communities. Cultural and historical variations in key aspects of learning by observing and pitching-in are examined, especially children’s initiative and adult support for children’s contributions in family and instructional settings. This publication is valuable reading for researchers with interests in learning, human development, agency and initiative, collaboration, children’s work, teaching, socialization, cultural and historical processes, the anthropology of childhood, schooling, and Latino and Indigenous families and communities.