Hypotheses were derived from the most recent formulation of field dependence theory, and tested, concerning (a) the role that cognitive styles play in determining individual differences in maternal teaching strategies; (b) the role of maternal teaching strategies as mediators of children's development of cognitive style; (c) the emergence of field dependence-independence as a coherent construct in young Chicano children; and (d) sex differences. Forty-three Chicano mothers were observed, in their homes, teaching cognitive-perceptual tasks to their own five-year-old children, and each mother and child was administered a battery of measures to assess field dependence-independence. Results were generally in line with the theory. (57pp.)