Attitudes Towards Schools, Schooling and Post-Secondary

Education, Amongst Portuguese-Canadian

Youth

Fernando Nunes, PhDAssistant Professor

Department of Child & Youth StudyMount Saint Vincent University

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Presented at:16 International Metropolis Conference

Migration Futures: Perspectives on Global Changes Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal

September 13, 2011

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Portuguese-Canadians

Approximately 411,000*

70% in Toronto, Montreal, Kitchener & Vancouver

30% (122,000) Canadian born and over 15*

23% (93,000) under 15*

11% (43,000) between 15-24*

(Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006012)

Portuguese Ethnic Origin, by CMA (2006 Census)

Toronto 188,110Montreal 46,535Vancouver 20,335Kitchener 19,500Hamilton 17,095London 12,465Ottawa/Gatineau

12,045

Winnipeg 10,305…. …..

Halifax 1,825Source: Statistics Canada (2008). Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada Highlight Tables, 2006 Census. Cat. N. 97-562-XWE2006002

Portuguese-Canadian Strengths Stable, established

community

Levels of poverty lower than average

High levels of home ownership

Less likely to report suffering racism

Most consider their lives as having improved in Canada

(sources: Matas & Valentine, (2000); Nunes, (1998, 2003); Ornstein, (2006); Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006012)

Portuguese-Canadian challenges

Concentrated in unskilled construction, manufacturing and service occupations

Significantly lower average incomes

Disproportionately fewer individuals earning in upper income brackets

Lowest education levels of any minority, including the First-Nations

Youth dropping out in disproportionate numbers

Sources: Toronto Board of Education Reports from 1970 to 2004; Brown, (2006); Giles (2002); Matas & Valentine, (2000); Nunes, (1998, 2003; 2004, 2005); Ornstein, (2006); Santos, (2004); Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006012.

Population 15 or more by selected ethnic origins and highest level of schooling (2006 census)

North American IndianPortuguese

BlackJamaicanCanadianGuyaneseSri Lankan

West IndianLatin Am. N.i.e.

VietnameseHaitian

DutchItalianFrench

NorwegianGermanEnglish

UkrainianGreek

Canada

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

3938

2722

272325

1824

3326

2227

232123

2122

30

24

79

91011111111

111312

1314131414

141516

14

2232222232333444444

4

NO certificate diploma or degree

High school certificate or equivalent

Some post-secondary below Bachelor's

University certificate diploma or degree at bachelor's level or above (except Graduate degree)

Graduate Degree

Compiled from Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population, Statistics Canada catalogue no. 97-564-XCB2006007.

Ornstein, M. (2006, April 04). Moving the watermill: Collectively addressing the needs of Luso-Canadian “At-Risk” youth. Paper presented at a meeting with Chief Justice of Ontario Roy McMurtry & the Portuguese-Canadian National Congress, University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall, Toronto, ON.

Ornstein, M. (2006). Ethno-Racial Groups in Toronto, 1971-2001: A Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile. Toronto: York University, Institute for Social Research.

Ornstein, M. (2006, April 04). Moving the watermill: Collectively addressing the needs of Luso-Canadian “At-Risk” youth. Paper presented at a meeting with Chief Justice of Ontario Roy McMurtry & the Portuguese-Canadian National Congress, University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall, Toronto, ON.

Ornstein, M. (2006). Ethno-Racial Groups in Toronto, 1971-2001: A Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile . Toronto: York University, Institute for Social Research.

Luso-Canadian Youth and the Dropout Problem

Entering into 3rd Canadian-born generation

Proportionately more numerous than Canadian average

Dropping out in disproportionate numbers Evidence from Ontario, Quebec & B.C. Highest dropout rate in Toronto (2005) (43%) Predominantly a male phenomenon

Community concerned with social reproduction of youth in parents’ marginalized socioeconomic role

Sources: Toronto Board of Education Reports from 1970 to 2004; Brown, (2006); Giles (2002); Nunes, (1998, 2004, 2005); Ornstein, (2006); Santos, (2004).

Questions Why are Portuguese-Canadian youth dropping

out in disproportionate numbers?

What influences have contributed to their decision regarding entering college or university?

What factors have prevented Portuguese-Canadian youth from integrating fully into Canadian society?

Portuguese-Canadian Youth

Barriers and Supports Study

Approach Critical Pedagogy & Participatory Research Paulo Freire’s (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed

21 Focus group meetings Based on Freire’s “circulos de cultura” (culture circles, or study

circles) 6 in each of Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg & Vancouver

50 individual interviews 10 in each city Focus group participants develop questions to be asked in interviews

Partnership with Portuguese-Canadian National Congress

Community Advisory Committee

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

The Structure of Underachievement

Strong Family Support System• Mediates worst consequences of dropping out• Provides safety net for essentials (but not luxuries)• Extensive network for securing manual labour employment• System of reciprocal rights & responsibilities

School System Barriers• Streaming• Biased IQ tests• Not eligible for ESL• Poor success in teaching

reading & writing• Non-reflective curriculum• Low teachers’ expectations• Teachers’ stereotyping• Little value placed on

international languages & cultures

Cultural, Class & Linguistic Barriers

• Lack of tradition of higher education

• Canadian-born entering school system as non-English speakers

• Parents unable to assist children

• Limited parental experience with education system

• Lack of role models• Oppositional identity• Lower income levels• Disparaging view of

community & ethnicity (in Toronto & Montreal)

Dropout and/or failure to enter higher education

Question

What are the attitudes of Luso-Canadian youth, regarding their schools, schooling in general and post-secondary education?

What role do these attitudes towards schooling play within this phenomenon?

Attitudes Towards Schooling

School is difficult Many are having academic difficulties

Curriculum and workload is hard, particularly for those performing badly

Lack of parental assistance towards school work and decisions

You get to high school and I don’t even bother to ask my parents for help. I have to find other people to ask for help, straight up; because they don’t know anything.

Toronto non-post-secondary-bound 3 focus group (male)

Motivation and assistance often comes from an older sibling, often a female

Attitudes Towards Schooling, cont’d

Many disengaged from school Lack of engagement with schooling

Boredom

Don’t see schoolwork as relevant to their lives

Would like to see more practical courses

I hated school. I started at 8, I couldn't wait till 2:30. I just wanted to get out of there. And the tutoring was after school, so I didn't want to stay…. …I just hate doing schoolwork. School was just not for me. I prefer a hammer and a nail than a book and a pencil

Toronto 5, Aug. 6, 2010 (male)

Attitudes Towards Schooling, cont’d Making money immediately and “starting

one’s life” are regarded as important Because parents prioritize children’s immediate

needs, but youth must work for extras

I’m 24, you know. You want to get married, have kids, have your own house, have a car. You don’t have time to get yourself in debts because of school.

Montreal, Focus Group (male)

It’s also like a money thing; it’s like, no offence, but Asians come in, they’ve got their whole high class, Gucci glasses and here I am with my Payless shoes…. ….and you are just like ‘What did you do this weekend?’ ‘Oh I spent four hundred dollars on a purse’ and I’m like ‘I spent forty dollars on my shoes and I feel broke,’ do you know what I mean?

Vancouver 2, Focus Group (female)

Attitudes Towards Schooling, cont’d

Many youth working excessive part-time hours Some students working 20+ a week Particularly those doing badly Immediate reward of employment is enticing

(Student previously working two part-time jobs)

I was a lot more tired… one time, I almost fainted once in class… ...I just started thinking about money… …every cent went into the bank […] school never came to mind, at the time.

Toronto 3, Aug. 4, 2010 (male)

Attitudes Towards Schooling, cont’d

Females don’t have access to good-paying jobs, like males

I know that, with my degree, I can make so much more money… …I think going to school and knowing that I’ll get paid much more after influences me more than going to work now and making, like, $10 an hour

Toronto 6, Aug. 6, 2010 (female)

I will always be able to get by, because I’m a guy. If I can’t get a good job from school, I can always do construction [because it pays better]. For my sister, […] if she doesn’t go to school, she’ll never be able to do construction. She has to do a small job that pays a lot.

Toronto 5, Aug. 6, 2010 (male)

Young girls have been affected positively by global equal opportunity movement, to empower women Counters the effects of Portuguese-Canadian stereotypes

Attitudes Towards Their Schools

School climate (especially peers) can be a negative influence

I'd just come from Mississauga… …I was better than a lot of kids in Toronto. So, it was like, 'I can do good here...' And then, other students start influencing, and you started following…. ….everybody wants to be a gangster and all that crap. Nobody wants to go to class. Everybody wants to make money and smoke weed, and stuff like that. And then the teachers aren't that good anyways. And then, you just lose like, lose hope.

Toronto, Feb. 23, 2011 (male)

School wasn't really important. You were lucky if half the students showed up to class. They were more into partying and doing drugs. It affected and influence me as well, in a bad way.

Toronto 2, Aug. 4, 2010 (female)

Feeling that school had abandoned them

I would skip class, and I wouldn't get the phone call until the end of the semester. So, I never got a phone call asking, 'do you need a tutor?' 'do you need extra help?' 'why are you skipping class?' 'Is it too hard for you?' I never heard those questions. It'd just be at the end of the semester, they'd call you in the office, it would be like 'you're wasting our time and our patience’

Toronto, Feb. 23, 2011 (male)

Attitudes Towards their Schools, cont’d Teachers are a crucial source of both positive and

negative support Many cited individual teachers as having helped them

I had this one teacher in grade 12… …she pushed me to be all I could be. She keeps pushing me still to be all I can be. I go to her, I trust her. She talks to me, I talk to her. She basically saved me from nearly failing high school, this year. She called me on all my mistakes, showing me them, and then told me what I had to do to fix them... ...I would skip a lot, she called me, she told me to stop. She told me what would happen if I didn't stop. She helped me in school, whenever I needed it.

Toronto 5, Aug. 6, 2010 (male)

However, students doing badly reported that teachers had given up on themThe teachers didn’t really care. They didn’t care at all. Like if you didn’t show up, you didn’t show up, they weren’t on top of you, they didn’t like encourage you to go to school, it was just like they had given up

Toronto, May 17, 2011 (female)Moderator: What do your teachers see you as?R 1 - A piece of meat…R 2 - A piece of meat, yeah.R 1 - And then, once you’re done, you get the f**k out.

Toronto, non-post-secondary-bound 2

Negative teachers’ attitudes usually attributed to lack of caring or a personal bias Not to ethnic or racial prejudice

Attitudes Towards their Schools, cont’d

Dropouts and the disengaged internalize blame for their failure Even when teachers gave up on them

I was going through a rough time, at that time. They’d understand if I was feeling down, or stuff at school, because I just went through some stuff…. …personal stuff, like, at home, parents getting divorced, grandfather dying… …they understood, they helped. They understood when I missed class a few times. But I kind of went overboard and thy just, they kind of stopped caring after a while. It was my own fault because I kept missing too much school.

Toronto 4a, August 5, 2010 (male)

Common Themes Regarding Schools in Smaller Communities

Isolation in school Distinct from both mainstream and visible-minority peers Community Isolated from school curriculum and mainstream

cultural expressions Portuguese culture ignored or disparaged

Perception of not being “white”in (Vancouver, Winnipeg & Halifax)

I’ve never thought that being a minority was negative… …I have never really been shunned or put like, there’s no big racism at our school… …they see that I’m not really white like them… …but they don’t really acknowledge it too much, which is a good thing.

Winnipeg, post-secondary-bound 1

The Impact of Caring Teachers

Interviewee: At X school they didn't really help you too much, they didn't really wanna help you. They just, like, if you get in trouble, they just [yelled] 'go to the office. I don't wanna deal with you.' But, when I went to Apple program, (Alternative school) they were really supportive and they would really wanna help you. […] In the Apple program I just had like an epiphany that I just need to change… …it just hit me that, if I just focus my mind and put my skills to work, then I can do it….

Interviewer: Was that due to anything that the school did?

Interviewee: yeah, like… …just the support. I just realized that, people are there for me. It's not just me thinking in my head that, everybody's against me, that it's me against the world. It's not like that. People are there. If you need help, you can just talk to them and they'll help you.

Toronto, Feb. 24, 2011 (male)

Attitudes Regarding Post-Secondary Education

Post-secondary education is not always recognized as a good investment Particularly by some drop-outs/pushouts

I can go to college and spend a lot of money and then be the same way like I was in High School… …I might slack off… …Or even go to college, pay all this money and then there's no jobs available... ...I heard that its more difficult right now to get a career than jobs.

Toronto 3, Aug. 4, (male)

College is perceived as easier and more accessible

Motivators for entering post-secondary education To get a good job and make more money

Especially for women To beat the negative stereotypes and/or statistics Making parents proud

Support Mechanisms Across Focus Groups and Interviews

Studying in schools that were perceived to be of good reputation

Close attention and mentorship by individual teachers (caring teachers)

Early assistance with academic issues

Parents with post-secondary education, or highly-skilled technical jobs

Active involvement of parents (especially fathers) favoured education

Positive (not negative) motivation on the part of parents (authoritative, not authoritarian)

Support of parents for student career choices

Community involvement anecdotally associated with positive attitudes towards education

Implications School policies and practices

Teachers’ attitudes towards students are important Focus on discipline should always be second to close mentorship and support Foster and promote mentorship by individual teachers Target and promote support to at-risk youth (ex. Who have family breakup) Actively discourage excessive part-time work More discussion of the financial return of post-secondary education Discussion of Portuguese history and culture in high school curriculum

Anti-racism Education Theory (Dei, 1996) Portuguese suffering similar institutional racism as visible minorities Not recognized in anti-racism education theory

Caste theory (Ogbu, 1978, 1987) States immigrant groups don’t suffer long-lasting the effects of racist barriers Portuguese are an immigrant population that is suffering generational

underachievement

Employment Equity The Portuguese are not included in the Federal Government’s Designated

Equity Groups

Settlement and community programs Still being used by community up to second and third generation Do not reflect the needs of Portuguese-Canadian youth

Youth programs Need for Luso-specific youth programs

Thank You

The many youth who contributed their experiences to this study

Portuguese-Canadian National Congress

Abrigo Centre (Toronto)

Dufferin Mall Youth Services

Portuguese Associations in Halifax, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Montreal

Carrefour Lusophone

Research Assistants: Sabrina Domingues, Diana Cohen-Reis, Lisa Santos, Andrea D’Sylva, Gorette Imm, Amanda Nunes, Michele Greencorn, Melissa Caines