This study examined the relation between mothers' epistemological perspectives and their use of communication strategies with their children. A total of 47 mothers raising young children in rural and social isolation and economic poverty participated. The Ways of Knowing interview was used to assess mothers' epistemological assumptions. Mother-child interactions in a free play session and in two teaching tasks were videotaped and coded to determine mothers' communication strategies. A series of two-way multivariate analyses of variance on communication strategies was conducted. As expected, communication strategies were used differentially across task. In addition, women with the least developed ways of knowing used the most power-oriented strategies with their children. In the least structured teaching task, women at more complex epistemological positions were more likely to use strategies that placed significant cognitive demands on the children. Implications of the findings for promoting mothers' intellectual development, and thereby supporting productive parenting skills and the healthy development of children in an impoverished, rural environment, are considered. Appended are three tables of related material and four references. (Author/GLR)