Strength Behind the Sociolinguistic Wall: The Dreams, Commitments, and Capacities of Mexican Mothers

Abstract

Deficit views of Mexican parents are pervasive and hinder both parents and school staff from effectively supporting student achievement. Analysis of the qualitative results from a larger study of school-based adult ESL classes yielded findings about the motivations and capacities of Mexican mothers that critique these deficit views and illuminate ways to support meaningful parent–school collaboration. These findings revealed that all of the participating Mexican mothers (N = 87) were highly motivated to support their children's school success and brought numerous skills to this task. Final analysis also showed that the mothers who received meaningful support of their goals actively engaged with their children's education and took steps to collaborate with teachers and principals, in contrast to mothers who did not receive an intentional and informed form of support.

Key words:

• deficit views
• parent involvement
• Mexican mothers

Notes

¹I use the term parent involvement because it is widely recognized by the field. In another paper (Waterman, 2006b), I argue that an alternative term, parent–school collaboration, is more appropriate.

²The names of all places and people mentioned in the text are pseudonyms.

³In this one case, the mother expressed that she hoped that her children would one day own and operate their own business.

⁴In most cases, the spouses of the women in the study worked manual labor, usually in construction. And in the case of the mothers who worked, they often worked cleaning houses or buildings or worked in a factory.

⁵It is worth noting that Sara's oldest daughter has just earned a bachelor's degree in social work.

⁶Her home had a dirt floor, which she would sweep with a broom made of tree branches and stiff hay.

⁷There was no electricity, so ironing meant using a metal instrument filled with hot coals from the fire.

⁸All of the mothers in the study wanted to learn English as a way to become bilingual—and never toward a goal of functioning exclusively in English. The intervention central to the larger study shared this value.