Early Education Foundation: Portuguese Canadian Mothers’ Preferences and Choices
In August 2011, I defended my thesis entitled Early Education Foundation: Portuguese Canadian Mothers’ Preferences and Choices, for the degree of Master’s of Education at Brock University, Ontario Canada. The major findings of this research revealed that: Portuguese Canadian mothers value early care and education, and are conscious that their choices regarding their child’s early education impact their child’s trajectory toward academic success. These mothers contribute valuable knowledge to the Portuguese community. In addition, they have identified themselves as being Portuguese Canadian (versus just Portuguese or Canadian); they celebrate their heritage, and felt rooted in the Canadian culture.
Despite the many types of care available today, three major categories emerged from my research: Home-Care, Day-Care and Blended-Care. Contrary to my initial assumptions, there were no participants that used Babysitters as a Type of Child Care.
Notwithstanding the type of care setting, participants were thoughtful of their choices with regards to their child’s care and early education. Participants are engaged in their children’s socialization and development and provided their children with educational tools, celebrating early learning as the foundation to academic achievement.
These participants revealed a persistent mindset concerning their Portuguese cultural identity and recognized that both Canadian and Portuguese cultures have come together to form their personal bicultural views concerning different aspects of their lives . Maintaining family ties, cultural heritage, and language are essential for participants’ definition of their identity. They stated that extended family was very important for their lives as they assist in passing on their cultural values. All participants wanted to keep the family cultural heritage intact, encouraging their children’s’ appreciation for the Portuguese language and their own cultural roots as a source of adjustment and adaptation.
Important Themes that Emerged
The participants perceived that their spouses/partners have placed an emphasis on education and they felt that their expectations were the same as theirs. They asserted that their spouses/partners do mother their children. These participants wanted to expose their children to different kinds of learning; they gave what they considered the best (unconditional love and protection), and they wanted to cover many different “things” to have an open mind.
It is interesting to recognize that participants were interested in providing education for their children that their own parents had considered not worthwhile for them. Hence, participants encouraged their children towards a different educational path and assign a purpose to education different than most of their parents.
The three types of care (home-care, day-care and blended-care) that emerged were largely based on their beliefs, personal experiences and circumstances, and family economic constraints. Regardless of the type of care chosen, Portuguese-Canadian mothers were thoughtful of their decisions with regards to their children’s development. Hence, early childhood choices were very personal, and mothers proceeded with what they thought was best for their children. The analysis of interview data showed that home-care (maternal and relative) and day-care were the prevalent options among the Portuguese-Canadian mothers in this study.
My findings revealed the significance of family as a re(source) for maintaining cultural heritage and attachment via the Portuguese language. Portuguese-Canadian mothers wanted to keep the family cultural heritage intact. This was often accomplished indirectly through home-care (maternal and relative care).
In the light of the findings of this study, participants praised their mothers, as the influential and guiding force that was instrumental in passing on values and mothering beliefs. When this theme emerged, I was touched and surprised by the vigour that the participants associated with their bond and relationship. It was apparent in their script that there was no difficulty expressing this bond and pride regardless of the participants’ life experiences and hardships.
They have also entered the realm of professional environments and want their children to be exposed to this. They did not identify with this image and questioned the statistical evidence of underachievement for both the second and third Portuguese-Canadian generations that were perceived as being immersed into the Canadian mainstream. They were also determined to make a difference and ensure that their children’s accomplishments will be the best legacy for the Portuguese community’s history in Canada.
These fathers do “mother” their children through active care. They transposed the value of hard work into an education that in turn provided their children with the same monetary finality as well as social mobility without having the hardships endured by their immigrant parents.
From what I heard through the accounts of your lives and your memories, you give a “voice” to your beliefs, values, and opinions in a manner that there will be acknowledgement and honour of your life experiences. Furthermore, you were proud of your cultural and ethnic background, and you have made an effort to transmit to your children your learned values, cultural heritage, and traditions: a pillar structure for the preservation of your community’s entity.
Hence, for this study the most important contribution is the value that Portuguese Canadian mothers, placed on early education and care and your ability to transmit your inspiration to their children. They were fostering the message that their children were capable of achieving anything they wanted, as other children in Canada.
Laudalina Estrela Rodrigues
(Unpublished text)
March 2012
Laudalina Estrela Rodrigues holds a Master’s of Education from Brock University. She lives in Toronto, Canada.
Source of Image (Paula Rego ‘The Family’, 1988): http://www.iniva.org/dare/themes/play/images/rego4.gif
