Central and Eastern European immigrant family’s engagement in child’s education: beyond culture myths and social class

• In Event: Contesting borders and centering learners: Global migration across four continents

Proposal

Immigrant families face unique challenges in supporting children's educational achievement due to language barriers, lack of familiarity with the educational system and downward social mobility in the host country. The paper takes Central and Eastern European migrant families case studies conducted in England and Scotland (UK) to examine their school choice, peer networks and community support, culture values and family aspirations and barriers and parental empowerment to engage with children’s education.
Despite the clear evidence supporting the benefits of parental engagement, there is often a disconnect between schools and families. Schools traditionally operate as separate entities, responsible for the academic development of students, while families are seen as having a limited role in the educational process. This separation can hinder the potential for collaboration and limit the positive impact that parents can have on their children's learning (Goodall, 2018). This is particularly true, for migrant families that face unique challenges to their involvement due to language barriers, lack of familiarity with the educational system and often experience downward social mobility in the host country due to limited employment opportunities or recognition of qualifications (Moskal 2014; 2016). This change in social class can affect their resources and ability to engage compared to their previous circumstances. But more importantly, the migrant status is often interpreted by the mainstream society, including education system as a social class status which influence school expectations regarding parental involvement in education.
The contemporary Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrants in the UK, are often perceived as marginalised and precarious as they experience precarious lives because of their labour market positions, often in temporary work and low-wadge economy and dwelling in disadvantaged neighbourhoods (Duda-Mikulin, 2023; McCollum & Trevena, 2021; Nowicka, 2018) that included a large influx of families who often perceived their children education as a key to achieving the ‘better life’ they migrated for (Trevena at al., 2016: 87; Anonymised, 2014). After EU enlargement in 2004, the UK noticed the sharpest increase in new arrivals from the A8 (new eight accession) countries, especially Poland but also Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary (Lulle at al., 2022). The EU Brexit referendum in 2016 introduced further insecurity and uncertain future for many migrants (Moskal & Sime 2022), which has been previously claimed in relation to CEE communities in the UK (Key and Trevena, 2018; Kilkey, 2017; Moskal 2013). The peripheral position of CEE migrant families in the UK is important to consider when examining migrant parents' engagement with education. Here, the paper looks at the intersection between perceived migrant status/ culture and social class. While is crucial to avoid generalisations, as experiences and perspectives can vary significantly among migrant families, ‘cultural myths’ exist and refer to stereotypes or assumptions about specific cultural groups. These myths can influence expectations and perceptions of migrant parents' engagement with education. The paper argues that ‘cultural myths’ often negatively associate migrant parents’ engagement with working class and low-income parents’ involvement traditionally perceived as problematic. The lack of meaningful connection and communication with the school means that educators are unaware of family circumstances, their values and the ways in which they engage with their children’s education (Rogers, 2018: 178). Culture myths may also be influential for mainstream schools and teachers’ perceptions of their culture as monolingual despite changing school’s demographics.
The paper discusses specific challenges and contributions of CEE migrant families using data generated through 20 family case studies in urban and rural areas across England and Scotland. The case studies with families involved Central and East European young people aged 14−18 years, first generation migrants attending secondary schools and their family members, mostly parents and siblings living in the UK. Three main questions define the focus of the analysis: What is the parent’s knowledge about the school education? How migrant families get involved in their children’s education and education decisions? What are the barriers to migrant parent’s engagement with school system? While employing a parental engagement model proposed by Goodall and Montgomery (2014) it demonstrates benefits of moving away from the relationship between family and schools and focusing on the relationship between family and their children’s learning to advocate greater collaboration between teachers and parents, drawing on the resources that families can offer.

Author

• Marta Moskal, University of Glasgow