A reappraisal of educational traditions is also encouraged by the
anthropologist Ruth Paradise's research in Mexican communities. To
Western eyes, Mexican adults seem to make little conscious effort to
guide the learning of their children. Earlier studies had focused on the
problems which this created when the children entered schools (which
were inevitably based on the more interactive, interventional styles of
non-native American cultures). However, from her observations in Mazahua
communities in Mexico, Paradise suggests that the more passive approach
of adults there can produce 'children who are able to take
responsibility for their own learning, who are able to create situations
and activities from which to learn, children with a highly developed
capacity for taking the initiative and sustaining personal motivation'.
1. According to the writer, earlier research suggested that native
A. they had to become accustomed to the teaching style.
B. their parents frequently got involved in their education.
C. their level of knowledge was low at the outset.