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Explore Chinese, Muslim, and Filipino parenting styles to enhance understanding of immigrant children and parents. Embrace cultural diversity in education. Reflect on assumptions, biases, and identities for effective teaching.
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Strong Start Cultural Responsiveness and Linguistically Appropriate Practice for our Immigrant Children and Parents
Criteria for Cultural Responsiveness • The belief that ALL children can learn • An open mind and willingness to change • Knowing who you are • Knowing who your students (and families) are • Knowing WHAT and HOW you are teaching
Reflect upon where your own assumptions, attitudes and biases come from. How do you view the world? Can this view lead to misinterpretation of behaviors in your parents and students?
Hello, my name is… Who are you? What is your own cultural lens? Take a moment to identify at least 5 cultural aspects that are part of your make up. These should include religion, gender, nationality, politics, age, class (social status), race, and ethnicity. Our behavior is determined by these identities (with the exception of race). Really focus on the deeper ingredients of your cultural identity.
Our children have diverse backgrounds • Nanaimo schools are enrolling more students with diverse backgrounds. • Nanaimo schools have students speaking more than 50 different languages at home. • Our schools and our strong starts need to be inclusive spaces for languages and diversity. • Many of our new immigrant population are Arabic, Chinese or Tagalog speakers.
Chinese Culture and Parenting • Known for hard work ethic, discipline and excellence • Emphasis on family and ancestral traditions • One-Child Policy since 1979, just recently changed to a Two-Child Policy 2016. There was/is a preference for healthy male children and significant amounts of money and high expectations are focused on the child. • Highly involved and have great influence on their child’s upbringing • Strong connection between mother’s adherence to traditional Chinese values and their parenting: authoritarian, demanding, not permitted to question their parents.
Belief that the child must undergo a tedious and strict process of pressure and discipline by parents, teachers and coaches. • Shame as a model for instilling principles of right and wrong and a focus on negative behavior and decisions of the child • In comparison to American and Western styles of parenting, in which praise and positive reinforcement are emphasized to protect and promote self-esteem • May scold or even physically punish the child for the bad behavior. • This is changing though as the concepts of independence and allowing room for failure and improvement are growing in popularity among Chinese parents and caregivers with a move from authoritarian to authoritative parenting.
Little Emperor Syndrome • Bear the burden of heavy expectations. • Parents put immense pressure on these children to succeed and compete academically. • From an early age parents push their only child to educational extremes as they cater to their whims; "though many of these precocious kids can recite the English alphabet or read newspapers in traditional Chinese characters by the time they're 10, their parents often still perform basic tasks for them: fixing their hair, tying their shoes, wiping their bottoms."
Parenting Styles of Muslims • Are used to living in extended families, the extended family enjoys the support of many members. Our Newcomer families are experiencing a loss of this extended family dynamic. • Traditionally, women manage the household while men oversee the family’s property and finances. • The parenting style is typically authoritarian. • Parents use verbal commands, guidance and advice to control their children. Moralizing and belittlement, deprivation and corporal punishment can also be used. • While fathers are stricter and enforce discipline, mothers are typically more intimate with the children and will cushion punishment.
Children generally accept their parents’ control and can feel reinforced by the authoritarian style. In contrast to children from Western cultures, their self-esteem and identity are not as fractured by humiliation and corporal punishment. • Girls must observe certain prohibitions that only become stricter as they mature into adolescents • Things are beginning to change as relationships between husband and wife and father and children are growing more equal. • Education of females is a decisive factor. Muslim girls grow more valuable in the eyes of other family members and mothers become more permissive and democratic in their child-rearing practices.
Parenting Styles of Filipinos • Female elders are critically important, whether a relative, a trusted family friend, or the traditional grandmother. Many of our newcomers are missing this key element to their family. • A sense of family closeness is cultivated at an early age “We place a great emphasis on our kin and family who provide help in times of trouble. We learn to get along with people and tend to put their interests ahead of ours. And even when the child grows up and works, he continues supporting his parents.” An increase in women going abroad. If these women are mothers, the father is left to act in dual roles. A consequence for this role shift is depression; in some cases, the father is ostracized by the in-laws for not being the ‘provider’.” Many families have become fractured.
How does all this cultural influence appear in our Strong Starts?
Eight Aspects of Immigrant Children’s Language Lives Immigrant Children Are emergent bilinguals, Have language lives beyond the classroom, Can successfully navigate two languages, Have dual language and literacy needs, Risk losing their home languages, Experience isolation and loneliness, Experience language shock and remain silent, and Often hide their home language
Linguistically Appropriate Practice (LAP) • Roma Chumak-Horbatch (Canadian Researcher!!) • Make children interested and curious about languages and literacy
Immigrant children are absorbed into the majority language and culture. “My language does not matter here.” “This is an English zone.” “English is more important than the language I speak at home.” “If I learn English, I will make friends and be accepted.” • Teaching and learning English is priority. • The importance of home languages is acknowledged. • Cultural differences are celebrated.
Children’s development in the home language is a strong predictor of their development in English. • Well developed home language and literacy skills help children acquire literacy and academic language skills in English. • Help children promote bilingual and bi-literate skills • Bilingualism has positive effects on personal, social, cognitive, and linguistic development. • The focus on learning English in the early years can negatively affect immigrant children’s overall development, resulting in the loss of home languages and weakened family communication dynamics.
A holistic approach to language and literacy learning • Highlights the importance of “active bilingualism” sustaining the first language while learning English • Proactive cooperation between family and Strong Starts enhances the opportunity to promote children’s active bilingualism • Provides educational and social success for ALL children along with the opportunity to become proud of their identity, background and culture.
LAP Goals! • Proactive and varied teaching strategies • Multicultural Education with English as an Additional Language and active bilingualism • Working with parents and families to engage and encourage • All teachers and staff are responsible for building positive attitudes and respect towards all first languages • Language and literacy learning should be a part of the whole curriculum both in Strong Start and elementary school
Preserving and respecting languages • Identity texts • Book bags • Star of the week • Families engaged in literacy projects/ Dual Language • Event books • First language speaking facilitator/bridge • English courses for parents (LINC) • International day of heritage languages
Communication with Parents • We have workshops at CVIMS discussing entry into Kindergarten and general knowledge of Elementary and Secondary school. • Do we need a Strong Start specific workshop available at the CVIMS so parents can understand what Strong Start is and how they are to be involved. Any volunteers to speak at this workshop?? • We can get interpreters if necessary. If the parents are clients of CVIMS and are low income the cost can sometimes be covered. Translation of documents is costly and not encouraged by CVIMS. • Google Translate is FREE and can be on any device. It is good for quick instructions or directions. Not good for entire newsletters.
