Changes in family life related to globalization may include reduction in the collaborativeness observed in many Indigenous American communities. The present study examined longitudinal changes and continuities in collaboration in a Guatemalan Maya community experiencing rapid globalization. Fluid collaboration was widespread 3 decades ago among…

Indigenous education in Guatemala is currently undergoing a massive overhaul in the depth and breadth of its reach in Maya areas. Although much can be said about the re-evaluation and incorporation of indigenous culture, language and worldview into the schools' curricula, it is still failing to reach the country's adult population. As a result of…

This study examined the social organization of Guatemalan Mayan fathers' engagement with school-age children in a group problem-solving task. Twenty-nine groups of Mayan fathers varying in extent of Western schooling and 3 related school-age children (ages 6-12 years) constructed a puzzle together. Groups with fathers with 0 to 3 grades more often…

In this article the authors tell the story of their separate but related journeys toward "coming of age in methodology," journeys that brought them, as non-indigenous women, into relationships with indigenous peoples, who challenged them to unlearn their taken-for-granted notions about research. The first study highlights the pervasive…

In this article, we apply tools from cultural historical theory to an analysis of a series of meetings between a group of linguists and one of Mayan women. The article describes a journey from the two groups' initial acquaintance to the formation of a shared object--a literacy project--thereby providing an analysis of six visits to Nebaj,…

This study examined the idea that toddlers in some communities are accorded a privileged status in which they are allowed what they want, assumed not yet to "understand" how to cooperate. U.S. middle-class and Guatemalan Mayan mothers and 3- to 5-year-old siblings were observed while the siblings and toddlers (14-20 months) both sought…

Based on research supported by the Peace Corps, this book about the Guatemalan Indians examines some of the cultural implications and problems of current efforts that aim toward national integration of traditional communities. There are seven major chapters. Chapter 1, "A Social History of the Guatemalan Indian," looks at the Indians…