Article presented on the international conference on ‘LEGACY OF SLAVERY AND INDENTURED LABOUR’. Conference on Bonded Labour, Migration, Diaspora and Identity Formation in Historical and Contemporary Context.
Paramaribo, Suriname, June 6th. – 10th, 2013
Title: Genderrelated upbringing and educational succes. Gender related factors in the upbringing that improve educational success of Dutch academics of Moroccan, Hindustani and Dutch descent with lower social-economic background.
Author: PhD Anita C. Nanhoe
Institutional affiliation: Municipality of Rotterdam
Abstract
This research deals with the question ‘What gender related factors have contributed towards the upwards educational mobility of Dutch academics of Moroccan, Hindustani and Dutch descent with lower socio-economic backgrounds in the Netherlands?’ The study pays attention to factors within economic, cultural and social capital and addresses the influences of class, ethnicity and gender. The study was performed among 18 academics of Moroccan descent, 20 of Hindustani descent, and 17 native Dutch academics from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The non-native respondents were first generation immigrants. Each respondent was interviewed according to the biographical interview method. The results show that gender related differences in upbringing resulted into both positive and negative influences on the educational careers of women.
Within economic capital the seriousness of the (threat of) poverty in the lives of the parents is relevant. Also the groups’ different visions on the origin of the family income and the division of financial responsibilities appear to be essential for success. Libraries, student grants and subsidized jobs promoted success also, especially for women who continued their educational career later in life. Within cultural capital, the importance given to education in the upbringing is essential. The results show that the parents of the Moroccan and Hindustani respondents initially did not value educational qualifications for the future prospects of their daughters. But also that Moroccan and Hindustani parents’ educational ambitions for daughters gradually grows, but does not replace other upbringing targets.
Within social capital, the fact that at least one parent encouraged the educational career was of major importance to al respondents, but especially for women. Non-native respondents also refer to siblings and family members as sources of positive social capital. After the stay in the Netherlands, educational qualifications tend to become a source of competition within families and the social environment, for men and women. The results also show that teachers and peer groups prove to be of greater importance for non-native schoolchildren, because they usually have fewer information sources available at home, and their families frequently fail to appreciate higher educational qualifications, especially for girls.
The interviews show innate strength as the factor that explains why under the same conditions, one individual perseveres whereas another quits. This innate strength is a part of cultural capital. Migrants fight for better live standards and value the upward mobility highly in the upbringing of their children.
The complete article is published and available in Social and Cultural Dimensions of Indian Indentured Labour and its Diaspora.