When I moved to the United States 12 years ago, I thought I was going to complete my Masters Degree in Educational Policy then go back to Manila shortly after and help with our family business. As things turned out, my experience working as a research assistant during the program on a project that involved understanding how preschool teachers were using a newly created curriculum made me realize that I wanted to learn more about applied education research. I decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stay a little longer, gain more experience and see where this work would take me. This has led me to work as a data collector visiting preschools and elementary schools across 6 states, a research analyst travelling all around Illinois interviewing people who worked in home visiting programs, visiting elementary schools in Ilocos and Laguna and and finally going back to school (for the last time!) to earn my Phd in Child Development.
Image Source: Pixabay
My research has been related to home, school and community partnerships, family engagement and dual language learners’ (DLLs’) school readiness. The goal of my research is to improve the quality of educational experiences for young children in the United States and in low- and middle- income countries, like the Philippines. My research interest in dual language learners stem from my personal desire to learn more about what will make it more likely for my children to speak Filipino as they grow up in Seattle.
I only realized how important speaking Filipino was to me when I left the Philippines. It’s one of those things that you take for granted until you live in a different country and realize how much you need to explain yourself to others who are not familiar with your culture and feeling limited to describing your ideas and emotions through the words of a particular language.
On the flip side, when I meet a fellow Filipino, it is such a great feeling when they speak Tagalog and I am able to let my guard down, talk and express myself freely and get to know them a little bit better by asking where they are from in the Philippines and what brings them to the US.
Not only do I want my children to speak Filipino, I also want my daughters to learn more about Filipino culture and the community I grew up in and am still a part of, now in a different way living in the United States. The term cross-cultural kid (CCK) has emerged to describe children who have meaningfully interacted with two or more cultural environments for a substantial amount of time.
Researchers Van Reken and Bethel (2005) provide different examples of groups of CCKs which include children whose parents move to a new country where they were originally not citizens voluntarily (i.e. children of immigrants) or due to circumstances such as war or other natural disasters (i.e. children of refugees). Other CCK groups are children born to parents from at least two cultures or races (i.e. bi/multi-racial children) or parents who belong to a racial or cultural group which is not part of the dominant country in which they live in (i.e. children of minorities).
Image Source: Pixabay
The ability for CCKs to maintain flexible identities and integrate multiple facets of self is a crucial developmental task. A child learning to navigate his or her culturally and linguistically diverse background needs to deal with how certain characteristics, such as physical features, dress, accent, or the food they eat can highlight how different they are from the majority of children and families where they currently live. Studies have found that children who are encouraged to achieve bicultural competencies or biculturalism are better prepared to take full advantage of opportunities in an increasingly global economy.
Parenting comes with many challenges and figuring out how to help your child understand their multiple identities on top of everything else can be overwhelming. This is why I try hard to regularly skype with family and friends back in Manila. I have also made an effort to build my own little Filipino community wherever I settle. We gather and eat Filipino food, talk in Filipino, share stories about the latest Filipino pop-up or happening in our area and our different experiences about what it means to be Filipino, and hopefully in the future, part-Filipino in my daughter’s case, with others who can relate.
Image Credit: Burst
Fortunately, technology and science has made the world smaller place and while connecting to your culture from afar will always have its share of struggles, many parents are finding ways to do so in small, yet meaningful ways. This blog and our Facebook group is our way of connecting to other Filipino parents who are raising CCKs and documenting all our efforts that help us maintain our Pinoy-ness (and other culture) wherever we are in the world. We hope you join our community and feel comfortable contributing your ideas on how you share your pinoy with your children so they are able to find value and pride in belonging in their multiple identities and use it to their advantage.