The Literacy of Interaction: Are Infants and Young Children Receiving a “Mental Diet ” Conducive for Future Learning?

Abstract: There is a plethora of research on environmental effects on the development of infants and young children, and a general consensus regarding several basic requirements for quality of early education and care. However, there are still many questions that re-main relatively unanswered, particularly in relation to parental teaching behavior, which is one of the major objectives of adult-child interactions. Three main types of such ques-tions are as follows: 1. What are the specific processes within adults ’ teaching (mediation) behavior in in-teractions with young children that may have an effect on their potential to learn from new experiences? 2. How do these processes affect children’s flexibility of mind (readiness to learn)? 3. What are the differential expressions and potential effects of these components on children with special needs and with populations of children and families in dif-ferent cultures? Possible answers to these questions are suggested in this paper from the theoretical perspective of a developmental mediation approach, focusing on the quality of adult-chil