Riding on the Backs of Crocodiles: Developing in a Social World

• In Event: Roundtable Session 111
  In Roundtable Session: Expressing Our Selves: Diversity and Self-Identity

Abstract

Through intent participation children learn in an informal way which involves a novice listening to an expert while the novice pitches in to help with day-to-day activities. This method of learning is also an important means for the socialization of children in family traditions, values, and community cultures (Rogoff, 2003, 2011). This paper argues that intent participation plays a key role in the socialization of two female Ethiopians as they become experts in the ritual of buna (an Ethiopian coffee ritual) while examining the way the women respond to the coffee ceremony and the things they say about the contribution this context has on who they believe themselves to be.

Author

• Jennifer A. Brinkerhoff, Brigham Young University