Parents Share Their Thoughts
Second-Generation Nigerians
In the opening paragraphs of her memoir, Patricia Anekwe said that she had sent out her questionnaire, seeking students who are high achievers. She was in the process of gathering people for her work. She planned an in-service study and the more limited focus group.
She was pleased to learn that some parents were “so excited . . .that they volunteered their children for the study.”
In the end, she accepted the eleven children in the in-person study and the six who answered the questions for the focus group.
The first piece of advice I’ll tell you is that Patricia noticed that the achievements of the young people mirrored or even exceeded the educational achievement of their parents. She noted that those parents already had the highest level of educational achievement in the United States when she wrote this.
When she started, she found that:
According to the study participants, Nigerian parents favor high-status and high-earning careers such as law, medicine, and engineering for their children.
This quote came from a student:
Everyone is going to be a doctor, engineer, or lawyer because these are the professions that are worth more and you are always going to have a job.
Many parents during the study urged their children to first pursue a field where they are sure to have a job, before following their passion of writing, acting, or being in the musical fields.
Yet even in her day some children followed their goals to achieve success outside of the “chosen” fields. She quotes the Ogwumike sisters in Texas where the four sisters are Division 1 basketball players. These parents have found that playing the game is the way the children can do more than earn their keep!
Nigerian parent with her older child
Parental Factors
In Patricia’s chapter on “Parental Factors” she began with the engagement Nigerian parents have with the school. Many are actively engaged with the Parent Teachers Association or another group. One student said she was now capable of caring for herself, but still told her parents about the activities. Another student said his dad was engaged with the PTA but left it as the mother became more engaged with counselors.
One parent decided to organize a Nigerian parents’ association. This, she believed, would help the student to gain a coveted place in her school.
Home Structure and Routines
The routines parents set up for their children to follow were fairly strict. There was limited TV time, including in some households, there was no TV during the week. Some parents gave their children assignments outside of school.
One student created a new assignment during the summer when his daughter had swimming lessons. She was asked by her father to research “how to build and maintain a swimming pool.”
Parental Engagement Through Motivation
All of the parents used motivation, especially rewarding good grades. When children achieved the grades, the parents took them out to dinner or shopping. When the children did well, parents told them stories about life in Nigeria and how much better they now have it.
One student said he refused to go to his dad, because his father told him frequently, he never had sneakers when he was young! He had enough of the father’s motivation!
Cultural Socialization
The cultural socialization refers to the process though which these students achieved Nigerian values. Most parents held events where they invited their children to accompany them. One student said that her being Nigerian gave her the jumping off point to achieve!
Others said the same. The students generally believed being Nigerian was a motivating factor for all of them.
