University of Calgary, Canada
Exploring Immigrant
Parents’ Contributions to
Education
ATA ESL Council Conference
Nov 7/08
Yan Guo, Ph.D.
Context
• Almost 6,293,000 people, that is about one out of five
people in Canada, speak languages other than English or
French as their mother tongue (Statistics Canada, 2008).
• Calgary is the largest recipient of immigrants and ESL
students in Alberta, and the fourth largest such urban area
in Canada, after Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal .
• 44,996 ESL students in Alberta in 2007 (Alberta
Education, 2007); The Calgary Board of Education in
2006 enrolled about 20,000 ESL learners.
Issues
• ESL parents are promising untapped sources of knowledge
and wisdom about teaching their children.
• Nonetheless, teacher education programs rarely consider
their perspectives in the preparation of teachers.
• Pre-service teachers are not prepared to work with parents
from diverse backgrounds (Guo, 2006; Turner, 2007;
Wasonga, 2005).
Issues (continued)
•
Many pre-service teachers have limited prior
experiences with parents from diverse backgrounds
(Stachowski & Frey, 2003).
•
Many pre-service teachers have biases towards these
parents (Hale, 2008; Lenski et al., 2005; Pang & Park,
2003; Turner, 2007 ).
•
This study explores how immigrant parents construct
their knowledge regarding their ESL children’s learning
and how they contribute to their children’s education.
Transcultural Knowledge
• Culture as a dynamic entity
• Considering ESL parents’ and students’ experiences in
countries of origin, in transition, and in residence in the
local community, to make sense of transcultural flows and
attachments to locality (Appadurai, 1996; Hannerz, 1992)
• The process of individuals and communities changing
themselves by integrating diverse cultural life-ways into
dynamic new ones (Hoerder et al., 2006)
• “World”-travelling (Lugones, 1987)
The Study
• Phase 1:
– Interviews with 27 parents
– China, India, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Nepal,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, Ghana, Somalia, Sudan,
Columbia, Belize, and Suriname
– 22 female; 5 male
– 9 held master’s degrees; 17 bachelor’s degrees; 1 Grade
12
– University instructors, teachers, researchers, engineers,
accountants, and housewives (formerly)
Results of the Study
• Understanding students’ culture
• Respecting students’ first language
• Accommodating students’ religious needs
• Becoming agents of social change
Understanding students’ culture (1)
• You know how she (the teacher) started, ‘I think
your son doesn’t respect women…He doesn’t look
at me when I talk to him’…In our culture, it is a
sign of respect. When the children talk to their
parents and elders, they look down…(Aneeka,
Pakistan)
Understanding students’ culture (2)
My daughter likes to help people all the time. The
teacher tells her that she shouldn’t do that in the
classroom…it is none of your business. But that’s
how she is. She is so caring. When she sees
something going on with somebody, she wants to
go and see and listen, just help that person…it is a
culture clash because my culture is like that.
(Kaya, Ghana)
Understanding students’ culture (3)
One of the most important aspects of Indian
culture is respect for parents and for
elders…When my older sister visited me, I hugged
her, kissed her, and touched her feet…I want my
children to blend the fusion of mixing
cultures…They don’t have to touch the feet, but
they need to respect the adults and never talk back
to parents. (Neera, India)
Respecting students’ first language (1)
• I want my children to keep up with Punjabi, so
that they can talk to their grandparents. (Neera,
India)
• I think these days having more than one language
is a good skill. You know our country is growing
and there are many immigrants coming. I think
most jobs will require additional languages.
(Sana, Pakistan)
Respecting students’ first language (2)
• Language is culture…It is my language that makes my
colour, who I am, and my culture. (Tamika, Somalia)
• One of the reasons I help him maintain Nepalese is that he
can translate the concepts in Nepalese into English, so it
will help him with his school learning. (Parveen, Nepal)
Accommodating students’ religious needs (1)
• This kid came and was crying because she was not
allowed to wear the swimming suit…The teacher
was in fact forcing her to wear swimming
suit…The only thing that this person had in her
mind is that you can only swim in the swimming
suit. That’s not true, a real mistake. (Aneeka,
Pakistan)
Accommodating students’ religious needs (2)
We are not supposed to show our bodies in front of other
men. We are supposed to be covered. That is part of our
religion…the teacher understood that they (girls) can
swim, wearing full clothes, and there should be no men
with them. So she would close the door and they have a
separate swimming time for the girls…She respects our
religion… I was very satisfied. (Manibha, Bangladesh)
Accommodating students’ religious needs (3)
A friend of mine…told the principal that her
daughter has to pray... ‘Could you just give her
five minutes in any corner of the room?’ The
principal told her, ‘I’m sorry. I can’t do that…I
don’t want to make the school into a mosque’.
(Manibha, Bangladesh)
Becoming agents of social change (1)
When my daughter was erasing the board, behind her a
student said to my daughter, ‘Korean student, you have to
go back to your country. Why are you here?’ She heard that
because she was the only one in the classroom, but she
couldn’t recognize that voice. She turned around, but she
couldn’t find out who said that…She was very upset…I
went to her teacher and we had a conversation about
it…I’m glad that the teacher did some follow-up. She had a
kind of class meeting about diversity. (Shin, Korea)
Becoming agents of social change (2)
My child told me somebody called me Osama bin
Laden. I asked him, ‘are you?’ ‘No, mom.’ ‘Don’t
worry. You know you are not anything like that.
You are a good Muslim boy. You believe in peace.
You are not a terrorist. Don’t let them make fun of
you.’ (Aneeka, Pakistan)
Mirror Image
Whatever you call me,
Different could be my name;
The color you see in my skin-outside,
Might not be your same;
But don't create a wall in between
Thinking me a "creature new"
If you look deep down your heartYou'll find -I'm you!!
You might be fair Snow-white of my fairytale
I might be black demon or brown Gin,
but Oh well,
Skin is our armor; not what we really are,
Same red blood we have and salty tear.
Don't pull a curtain between us twoIf you wipe clouds of your eyesYou'll see -I'm you!!
I'm alien in your country;
so you'll be in mine.
English is my second language, but I've an open mind.
Don't hit me with Racism-thinking “Me” not “You”
If you ask alone with your heartYou'll find I'm you!!!
Implications
• To acknowledge immigrant parent
knowledge
• We have so many educated people. How many of
them are really exercising their knowledge or
potentials in the school program? (Sarita, India)
Implications (continued)
• To understand children’s backgrounds: How first
cultures, languages, and religions affect student
learning
– Not to misjudge students and parents based on race,
ethnicity, and religion
• To become agents of social change
– To examine our own biases
– To be open to different perspectives
– To educate non-immigrant students
Implications: Understand the School
Community (continued)
• I would be very disappointed, let’s say [xxx, school name]
gets a new teacher and doesn’t know predominantly she
will be interacting with a lot of East Indians. I mean you
need to be open to learning and reach out to them…
Getting to know that climate and work with that. You might
come across one or two that don’t fit that mould. To me
that’s not stereotyping. That’s becoming aware of the key
elements, values, and beliefs of that people. (Abril, Belize)