Problems encountered in cross-cultural research are discussed in this report which describes a study of the relationship between social class differences and maternal teaching patterns of 2- and 3-year-old children. The study involved a total of 63 mother-child dyads from middle- and working-class groups in Bristol, England and 34 Kuwaiti mother-child dyads from a traditional middle-class group and a group in which middle-class status was recently achieved. English mothers' teaching style and reinforcing patterns were observed as they asked their children to perform five cognitive tasks. Questionnaires which measured maternal stress were administered to these mothers. Kuwaiti mothers were asked to teach their children four tasks, and mother-child interactions were observed. Data were analyzed for material social class differences in: (1) verbal behaviors such as negative statements, imperatives, information-giving statements, and questions; (2) nonverbal behaviors including handling the materials and using physical guidance or restraint; (3) response consistency over the different tasks. In the English sample, the relationship of maternal stress to negative maternal behaviors was also investigated. Performance, as a function of social class, was compared between the English and Kuwaiti children. (BRT)