Capstone Project
Burmese Parents’ Perspectives
Toward Education
By
Kyaw T. Soe
soek@ipfw.edu
History
Burmese Immigrant in Ft. Wayne

Approximately 6,000 Burmese live in Ft. Wayne.
 The first wave of Burmese immigrants arrived in Ft.
Wayne in the early 1990’s. A majority of them were
former university students and educated individuals.
 Today, Burmese immigrants hold a variety of
immigration statuses i.e., refugee visas, asylum visas,
spouse visas, green card lottery winner visas, etc.
 Most of the Burmese, who were granted resettlement
visas to the U.S., stayed in refugee camps between 1 to
5 yrs or longer before granted visas to a third country
like the US.
 In 2007 to 2008, the largest influx of 1,500 Burmese
newcomers arrived in Fort Wayne alone.
Purpose of the study

To identify educational needs of the Burmese
immigrant population in Fort Wayne
 To share insight, information & concerns
regarding Burmese parents’ viewpoints on
education, e.g., communication between
schools & homes, and access to services and
opportunities available
 To find a common ground for local schools
 To work together to address the group’s
concerns and needs
Literature Review



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Immigrant parents value education and want to help their
children to be successful but they do not know how (Thao,
2009).
Immigrant parents believe their way of helping their children
is preparing them for school and teaching them to work
hard and be respectful (Smith, Stern, & Shatrova, 2008).
Parents need guidance, schools need to introduce them to
school policies, procedures, and grading systems (Rhodes
& Paez, 1998).
Parents’ high expectations help motivate children’s learning
(Zhou & Booth, 2009).
Schools are obligated to include parents as partners …. It
is a good policy on paper that must be carried out into
practice (Mitchell, 2008).
Communication strategies must be carefully planned and
schools must initiate action (Keanne, 2007).
Why is this study important?
This is the first pilot study in Fort Wayne
that focused on educational needs of
Burmese immigrant community.
 Limited researches/studies have been
done in this area; It is hard to find studies
on this particular group.
 The Burmese children are struggling in
schools. There is a sense of urgency.

Method

A survey consisted of 22 questions regarding
parents’ opinions related to educational
issues. Ten Burmese fathers and eight
mothers represented 18 families from the New
Immigrant Literacy Program (NILP).
 Questions and answers were written in
Burmese and all written responses/comments
were translated into English.
 Statistical Package for the Social Science
(SPSS) was used to analyze the data.
Participants
Marital Status
Ages
Gender
Gender
Ethnicity
20-25 26-35 36-45
Burman
Single Married
Male
-
Yes
6
Mon
1
-
Yes
1
Kayin
1
-
Yes
2
1
-
yes
1
1
10
8
1
1
2
Education
Level
Female
7
Muslim
5
46-55
Gender
Total
Male
Female
Elementary
0
1
1
Middle School
4
1
High School
2
Some college
Time in the
U.S.
Total
Male
Female
Less than 2 yrs.
1
2
3
5
5 – 10 yrs.
9
6
15
5
7
11 – 15 yrs.
0
0
0
4
1
5
More than 15yrs.
0
0
0
10
8
18
Total
10
8
18
6
Total
18
Demographics:
 100% Married with children
 55.6% Male, 44.4% Female
 66.7% Barman, 16.6% Kayin,
11.1% Muslim, 5.6% Mon
Total

Educational background:

5.5% Elementary,27.8% Middle School,
38.9% High School and 27.8% Some
College.

Time in the US: 22.2% less than 2 yrs,
77.8% stay between 5-10 yrs.
Data Analysis I
Parents’ Expectation of Their Children’s Education
What do you like about America?
Starting
new life
6%
Job
opportunity
6%
Edcuation
opportunity
88%
Data Analysis: II
Parental Involvement

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Immigrant parents have
different definitions of
parental involvement.
Parental involvement is
not limited to “showingup” at schools’ activities
or events.
Their expectations and
supports should be
taken into account.
Do you think you are involved in
your child's education?
Not sure
17%
No, I
don't.
6%
Yes, I do.
77%
Do you like to attend your child's
school activities?
It's not
worthwhile.
50%
want to be
invloved in.
50%
Data Analysis III
Communication between Schools and Homes

How often do you
respond to any school
survey or letter?
Does your child’s school
send important documents/
letters home in the language
that you understand?

Always
22%
Seldom
39%
Sometimes
39%
Always
39%
Seldom/Never
39%
Sometimes
22%
Data Analysis IIII
Communication between Schools and Homes (cont.)
Do you know your child's teacher and
school's contact number?
11.1% No, I don't.
88.9% Yes, I do.
Data Analysis V
Parents’ Knowledge of Available Services

Immigrant parents have depended on
classroom teachers to inform and to address
their children’s learning progress.
 Schools and classroom teachers should inform
the parents about educational services such
as after school tutoring programs.
Findings
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Regardless of the parents’ educational backgrounds,
Burmese parents share a similar dream: a college
degree for their children. They value education.
Schools should be aware of cultural differences.
Communicating in the parents’ language helps gain
collaboration from the parents; translator and
translation services should always be available.
Verbal communication would be more effective than
documents/flyers.
Language is not the only barrier preventing immigrant
parents from connecting with schools; cultural
differences, lack of knowledge of available
educational services and a sense of welcoming at
school environments.