Saving Face and the Educational Consequences for Children in Undocumented and Mixed-Status Chinese Families

• In Event: Analyzing cultural production: immigration status, transmigrant youth, and education response

Proposal

Research on Chinese immigrants in the U.S. has focused on their upward trajectories and successful integration into U.S. society, which is reflected in high levels of socioeconomic attainment (Zong & Batalova, 2017). The narrative of success among Chinese is often described using the broader Asian American stereotype of the “model minority” (Peterson, 1966): the idea that Asian Americans are successful because they possess cultural traits that foster academic and career success. Many scholars have challenged aspects of this model minority stereotype, yet still center on theories and mechanisms that seek to explain the high achievement of Chinese immigrants (Lee, 2009; Portes & Zhou, 1993; Wu, 2014).

Missing in these studies and frameworks, however, are Chinese immigrants who fall outside of the model stereotype. In contrast to Chinese Americans who have high socioeconomic attainment, there are many Chinese Americans who have disproportionately high rates of poverty (Zong & Batalova, 2017), and in urban locations such as New York City, have consistently had some of the highest poverty rates of all ethnic groups (NYC Mayor’s Office of Operations, 2017). Many of these differences fall along citizenship lines: 86 percent of U.S.-born Chinese, ages 25 and older, have more than a high school degree, compared to only 64 percent of foreign-born Chinese (Pew Research, 2017). These differences are increasing as immigration from China also increases. Moreover, Chinese are the largest group of asylum grantees in the U.S. and the second largest undocumented population in New York State (Migration Policy Institute, 2014; Mossaad, 2015).

Chinese immigrant children with unauthorized parents in the U.S. are most likely to experience negative educational outcomes and life trajectories. Even though educational attainment is known to be essential and directly correlated to the social mobility of all children (Kasinitz et al., 2008; Portes & Rumbaut, 2006; Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 1995; Zhou & Bankston, 1998), immigrant parents and children are prone to encounter more structural barriers – lack of language fluency and unfamiliarity with the U.S. educational system – than other non-immigrant families. These barriers are exacerbated for families with fewer economic and educational resources, resulting in tremendous disconnect and isolation between schools and the students (Dumais, 2006; García Coll et al., 2002; Portes & Rumbaut, 2006; Spindler, 1973; Turney & Kao, 2009). Therefore, children with unauthorized parents are more susceptible to developmental and educational vulnerabilities, including children having lower high school graduation rates compared to children of legal immigrants, that can persist into later generations (Bean et al., 2011; Yoshikawa, Suarez-Orozco, & Gonzales, 2016).

For these Chinese parents and children who fall under the radar of society and research, there remains much to understand. Research on Chinese families have revealed cultural practices that may help us understand how undocumented Chinese families function and fare in the U.S. A prominent cultural and social practice used by the Chinese to achieve harmony is saving face (Chen, Lai, & Yang, 2013; Ho, 1976). From sociologist Erving Goffman’s perspective, face is a positive social value that is used for individuals to maintain and thrive in society while face-work is defined as the actions taken by a person to maintain face (1955, 1959). Building on Goffman and other scholars’ contributions, we ask the following question: What role does the cultural practice of saving face play in the lives of undocumented and mixed-status Chinese families, when it comes to addressing educational barriers in the U.S.?

In this study, we follow ethnographically three Chinese families of different documentation status residing in New York City for three years. We describe using a Goffmanian lens how the cultural practice of saving face helps us understand the consequences and downward mobility that undocumented and mixed-status parents and children experience. From our preliminary findings, we find that while Goffman’s concepts focus on how individuals maintain positive social value and thrive in society through social interactions, saving face for these Chinese families emphasizes and prioritizes the family over the individual. Therefore, to save the family’s face, we find that 1) undocumented parents only share highly manicured narratives to their relatives in China and school personnel (teachers, guidance counselors); 2) children of undocumented parents feel the burden to hide from their parents any school-related struggles. As a result, saving and prioritizing the family’s face ultimately cuts off emotional and educational support for these children, which significantly harms their educational attainment and future in the U.S.

Author

• Hua Yu Cherng, New York University