Qualitative inquiry on parental involvement in children’s education: Perspectives of parents, children, and teachers in select elementary schools in the Philippines

This is a qualitative inquiry looking into the experiences of parental involvement in the context of Philippine public elementary education. This paper has two goals. First, it aims to present the strategies that Filipino parents employ in order to influence children’s education. Second, it aims to examine unique involvement strategies among Filipino parents. Data of this paper were culled from 12 focus group discussions conducted in 5 provinces of the country. The results of the study suggest that there are parental involvement strategies unique to the Philippine context owing to the poor economic conditions of some Filipino families. While it is not directly related to education, making ends meet and providing food for the family’s table were seen as parental involvement strategies. To compensate for the limited direct involvement in education, Filipino parents looked for other means to be able to help their children excel such as exempting the latter from doing household chores, avoiding vices, and maintaining quality family relationships. It against this backdrop that this paper recommends that future quantitative studies on parental involvement in the Filipino parents’ context need to consider indirect parental involvement strategies as indicators or variables as these may have spillover impacts on children’s schooling. © 2020 National Institute of Education, Singapore

Educational challenges of a Japanese-Filipino child in a Japanese classroom

Research on bicultural children remains limited. Little is particularly known about their educational experiences. Therefore, this article aims at addressing such research gap. In its entirety, this research piece describes the lived experiences of a bicultural child as he immersed himself in the Japanese educational system. Its sole purpose is to highlight the problems of the bicultural child which may provide school personnel insights on how best they can help bicultural and immigrant children adjust. While this paper only tackles one specific subject, this includes discussions on how the child\u27s school and mother responded to his educational experiences. Thus, it provides a detailed exposition reflecting his school challenges and a comprehensive and in-depth discussion on Japan\u27s elementary education. The data for this article were drawn from my field work in a Japanese elementary school which is the initial phase of my doctoral dissertation on Japanese-Filipino children\u27s educational outcomes and experiences in Japan. The child\u27s school challenges revolved around the issues of language, classroom discipline and practices, and parent-school relationships

Filipino mothers\u27 involvement in children\u27s education: Experiences and challenges

This study describes the different parental involvement strategies of Filipino mothers in relation to their children\u27s public elementary education in Oita Prefecture, Japan. Data of this paper were obtained from the in-depth interviews of eight purposively and conveniently selected Filipino mothers. This is an offshoot of the author\u27s dissertation on the educational outcomes and experiences of children ( aged 10-12 years old) of Japanese-Filipino marriages. All eight Filipino mothers reported diverse ways in which they have participated in their children\u27s elementary education. Involvement of Filipino mothers in their children\u27s education were both direct (e.g., monitoring child\u27s homework; attending school activities; helping child accomplish homework) and indirect (e.g., providing nourishment to children; preparing lunch box). As reported by the Filipino mothers, the challenges they have encountered in their participation include (a) feeling of discomfort in attending PTA meetings, (b) issue of efficacy, (c) time constraints, and (d) language issues

Social capital among school children of Japanese-Filipino marriages

The paper aims to explore the formation and deployment of social capital in the education of children of Japanese-Filipino marriages in Oita Prefecture, Japan. It is based on 32 key informant interviews involving children, their parents, and their homeroom teachers. Social capital, in the form of parental involvement and the positive relationships of children with their teachers and classmates, was seen to help develop a positive environment for learning in both home and school environment

The identity of children of Japanese-Filipino marriages in Oita, Japan

This paper examines the identity of children of Japanese-Filipino marriages from the perspectives of children, their parents, and their homeroom teachers. Eight family cases were involved in the study. Thirty-two informants were interviewed face-to-face. Results indicate that the children viewed themselves as being either Japanese or half. The fathers and the homeroom teachers viewed the children as being Japanese due to their Japanese physical attributes, their proficiency in the Japanese language, and their being born and raised in Japan. The Filipino mothers viewed their children as having a mixed cultural background, although it was evident that the children were not adept to the Filipino culture in general or the language in particular. Overall, the children exhibited an identity closely associated with being Japanese. These results suggest that the stereotype that children of intercultural marriages necessarily reflect the cultural values and behaviors of both their parents needs to be reconsidered. Second, the very effectiveness of the terms intercultural, cross-cultural , and bicultural are problematized

Factors influencing health-seeking behavior among overseas Filipino workers

This paper investigates the various predictors of health-seeking behavior among overseas Filipino workers. More specifically, this determines the influence of sociodemographic factors, perceived health status, and knowledge on PhilHealth insurance to health-seeking behavior. It is based on a study that involved 3001 survey respondents. Findings reveal that the respondents in general perceived themselves to be healthy. Their knowledge about PhilHealth, however, is limited. The respondents preferred to seek medical care from a physician. Results also indicate that when illnesses are manageable, the respondents resort to self-medication instead. This paper concludes that perceived health status, sickness in the past two years, level of education, age, and no. of children predict health-seeking behavior particularly seeking medical care from a doctor. Moreover, income and sickness in the past two years were significant predictors to seeking care from a traditional health provider. Sickness in the past two years, sex, perceived health status, and age influence self-medication. Lastly, sickness in the past two years, perceived health status, age, and income were significant predictors to a hospital visit. Summarily, the findings suggest that to increase health seeking, health promotion should consider the various sociodemographic and personal characteristics of individuals. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Battlegrounds of marriage: Conflict experiences of Filipino wives in intercultural marriages

Intercultural marriage as a subject of research remains unpopular despite its rich history. With this scarcity of literature base, most studies regarding the topic described the general aspects of marriage while specific issues of it such as marital conflict leave much to be investigated. Such research gaps warrant the writing of this report. This report aimed to describe the conflict experiences of Filipino wives in intercultural marriages. Specifically, this report looked into the sources, experiences, and typologies of conflict as perceived and experienced by 15 Filipino wives in intercultural marriages

Parental involvement as a form of social capital in Japanese elementary school

This study examines parental involvement in a Japanese elementary school in the context of social capital theory discourses. It is part of an on-going doctoral dissertation on bicultural children\u27s educational experiences and outcomes. Data for this paper were drawn from a 5-month field work in a Japanese elementary school. This paper describes the various school activities, programs and norms aimed at enhancing parental involvement in children\u27s education. To mobilize capital resources, the school has initiated programs to ensure that parents and school authorities meet each other\u27s expectations via school orientation, and school and home visits. The school also requires parents to provide capital resources ( economic and material) to support their children\u27s schooling. School activities such as PTA meetings, undoukai (sports fest), and renrakumou ( contact network) allow parents to establish rapport and trust with the school personnel and their fellow parents thereby increasing their social closure (i.e. contacts with other parents) and access to both material and non-material resources

How do Japanese schools promote parental involvement?

This study describes the different practices in Japanese elementary and junior high schools aimed at forging partnerships between teachers and parents and among parents through parental involvement. The different types of parental involvement are arranged following Greenwood and Hickman’s typology (1991) namely, parents as audience, volunteers, paraprofessionals, teachers, learners, and decision makers. Additionally, two other types of parental roles—parents as partners of teachers and other parents—are identified. The data for this paper were drawn from the author’s limited participant observation in Japanese schools as part of a larger doctoral study on educational outcomes and experiences of bicultural children in Japan. This paper aims to contribute to the different approaches in understanding parental involvement