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Struggling to Preserve HomeLanguage: The Experiences ofLatino Students and Families inthe Canadian School SystemVeronica Pacini-Ketchabaw a , Judith K. Bernhard a &Marlinda Freire ba Ryerson University , Toronto, Canadab University of Toronto , CanadaPublished online: 22 Nov 2010.

To cite this article: Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw , Judith K. Bernhard & MarlindaFreire (2001) Struggling to Preserve Home Language: The Experiences of LatinoStudents and Families in the Canadian School System, Bilingual Research Journal:The Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 25:1-2, 115-145, DOI:10.1080/15235882.2001.10162787

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2001.10162787

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Struggling to Preserve Home Language:The Experiences of Latino Students and Families

in the Canadian School System

Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw and Judith K. Bern hardRyerson University, Toronto, Canada

Marlind a FreireUniversity of Toronto, Canada

Abstract

Latinos in Canada are receiving attent ion because of frequent poorperformance in school. This phenomenon turns out to be connectedto a numb er ofbasic problems that can only be understood throughinvestigation of institutional processes with routine opera tionsthat may disad vanta ge certain minorities. This paper presents anddiscusses part of the data collected in a larger research proj ect onLatino families and Canad ian schoo ls. Bilingu al Latina researchersused participant observation and action research techn ique s toreport on the home language practices of45 Latino fami lies and howthe school's routine processes influen ced those practice s. Find ingsinclude the following: (a) parent s saw Spa nish maintenance as away to fos ter family unity, Lat ino ide ntity, and professionaladvancement ; (b) the strong assimilative pressure s experienced byparent s often result ed in the ir doubting the desirability of openlyspeaking Spanish at home; (c) because the children were losin g theirhome langu age rapidly, the parents used a numbcrof strategies; and(d) there are seve ra l thin gs that paren ts would like to see happenthat would enab le them to maintain Spanish. Our findin gs indicatethe nece ssity for school s to proa ctively recognize and build on thefamil y 's cultura l capital, including their home language .

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Introduction

Cuando el niho empezo la escuela, yo Ie puse en la planilla que si t

primer idioma era ingles. La persona que me estaba ayudando ahacer los papeles me dijo que era mejor que Ie escriba eso para queno tenga problemas en 10 escuela. Si yo decia que su primera lenguaera el espait ol, 10 discriminarian, no recibiria ayuda y terminarlanpon iendolo ell ingles como segundo lengua . Entonces yo tuve quecambiar mi respuesta y escribir que ingles era su primera lenguaporque sino no 10 iban a poder ayudar en nada.

[When my son started school, I wrote down on the form that his firstlanguage was English. The person who was helping me to fill out thepapers told me it would be better to write that, so that he would nothave problems at school. If I said that his first language was Spanish,he would be discriminated against, would not get any help, and wouldbe placed in English as a Second Language. So I had to change myanswer and write that English was his first language. Otherwise theywould not be able to help him with anything.]

Mrs. De Santos, a Guatemalan mother of two , like many other Latinamothers is receiving a clear message about the lack of value placed onmaintaining a home language other than English or French. In spite ofofficialmulticulturalism policies in Canada, Mrs. De Santos will have a difficult timeraising bilingual children. The loss of the home language is likely to haveprofound effects not only on the children 's academic achievement but also onthe family's ability to nurture their children and on familial relations.

Bac kground

Latin Americans, as part of one of the fastest growing ethnic groups inCanada. are receiving attention because of frequent poor performance inschool. The vast majority of the newer migrants are from Central and SouthAmerica. Approximately 50,000 peop le in Toronto, Canada's largest city, havebeen identified as having Spanish as their first language (Statistic s Canada.1999) . Tables I and 2 show the number of Latin American children andadolescents living in Canada and in Ontario by ethnic origin and age . Thenumber of Latin Americans in Canada is close to 400,000; about 51% simplyidentify themselves as Spanish, and the remaining ones identify themselvesaccording to country of origin.

In Canada, the children of Latin American migrants often show lowacademic achievement; only 65% obtain a high school diploma. and universitygraduates account for barely 10% ofthis group (Ornstein, 1997). Two studiesreported poor outcomes for the Latino publ ic school population in the Toronto

11 6 Bilingual Research Journal, 25:1 & 2 Winter & Spring 200 1

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Table I

Number ofLatin American Children and Adolescents in Canada by Ethnic Origin and Age

Geography: Canada Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin:Total

All Ages Under 5 5-9 years 10- 14years old old years old

Argentinean 7, 115 690 715 795

Ce ntraVSouth American Indian 9,285 965 870 775

Chilean 33,835 3,230 3,2 10 3,080

Colombian 8,525 1,010 825 725

Costa Rican 1,115 165 120 180

Cuban 4,265 460 445 310

Ecuadoran 6,9 10 655 6 15 695

Guatemalan 8,460 1,235 1,090 815

Hispanic 5,275 580 485 485

Honduran 1,820 265 280 170

Latin/Central/South American n.i.e. 30,365 3,320 3,290 3,095

Mexican 23,300 3,110 3,055 2,320

Nicaraguan 4,895 500 555 585

Panamanian 1,690 215 110 155

Paraguayan 705 120 130 80

Peruvian 14,160 1,545 1,650 1,320

Salvadoran 24,125 2,690 3,030 2,570

Spaniard 204,365 18,970 17,875 17,635

Uruguayan 2,940 300 345 235

Venezuelan 4,580 655 495 425

Total (less Spaniard) 397,730 40,680 39,190 36,450

Note: Special Tabulations from the 1996 Census ofCanada prepared by Statistics Canada forthc Department of Canadian Heritage, The authors wou ld like to thank Fernando Mata ,Research Officer of the Mult iculturalism Program, Department of Canadian Heritage formaking these tables avai lable for the study.

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Table 2

Number ofLatin American Children and Adolescents ill Ontario by Ethnic Origin and Age

Geography: Canada Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin: Total

All Ages Under 5 5-9 10- 14years old years old years old

Argentinean 3,540 365 395 335

Central/So uth American Indian 4,380 520 420 350

Chilean 10,875 1,000 975 1,000

Co lombian 4,145 460 350 340

Costa Rican 435 85 15 55

Cuban 2,305 255 280 170

Ecuadorian 5,930 585 470 590

Guatemalan 2,960 435 385 225

Hispanic 3,260 400 275 285

Honduran 440 50 60 40

Latin/Central/South American n.i.e. 16,185 1,790 1,665 1,525

Mexican 8,2 10 1,075 1,040 775

Nicaraguan 2,480 280 290 300

Panamanian 925 85 70 80

Paraguayan 120 30 30 --

Peruvian 5,570 650 670 445

Salvadoran 9,480 1,065 1,130 1,110

Spaniard 96,280 8,940 8,575 8,585

Uruguayan 1,850 200 225 145

Venezuelan 1,945 210 180 135

Total (less Spaniard) 18 1,3 15 18,480 17,500 16,490

Note . Special Tabul ation s from the 1996 Census of Ca nada prepared by Statistics Ca nada forthe Department of Canadian Heritage. The authors wou ld like to thank Fern and o Mata,Research Office r of the Multi culturali sm Program, Departm ent of Canadian Herit age formaking the se tables available for the study.

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area (Brown, 1994; Drever, 1996). Brown's (1994) study found low academicachievement as a general characteristic for both Lati n Americans and AfricanCanadian students. Spanish-speaking students in the high schools who makeup the Toronto District Board ofEducation were found to be under-representedin the advanced classes and achieving at a lower level compared to the overallstudent population and most other ethnic groups. In addition, Drevers (1996)study of the population of one Toronto high school showed how rapidlyLatin American students become disengaged from school.

Many consider the academic difficulties of Latin American immigrants ingeneral to be linked to a number of basic problems the communities face .Prominent among them are unemployment, housing, and relative poverty(Borjas & Tienda, 1985; Kazemipur & Balli, 1998). The effect ofde-skilling andunderemployment on parental morale should also be considered; suchdifficulties have a strong linguistic component besides the class component.The assimilative pressures toward abolishing Spanish as a language of thehome must be taken into account. In short, the functionality and integrity ofthe families is threatened in a number of ways.

To shed light on the phenomenon described, several studies have beenconducted in Canada among Latin Americans. The experiences of immigrantand refugee Latin American women living in Canada have been examined insevera l situations (Damaris, Carrasco, & Charbonneau, 1998; Israelite &1lerman, 1999; Rockhill & Tomic, 1992; Rublee & Shaw, 1991) . Research hasalso focused on the range of problems that Salvadoran refugees face as theymigrate to Canada (Durst & Lange, 1999; Jacob, 1994) . Taking a differentperspective, Carrillos and Simmons ( 1999) investigated the identity politics ofLatin American youth in Toronto.

The present study grows out orour earlier work with the Latino population.One ofour earlier studies (Bernhard, Lefebvre, Chud, & Lange . 1996; Bernhard.Lefebvre, Murphy Kilbride, Chud, & Lange, 1998) incorporating variousimmigrant communities, viewed the language socialization of children andhighlighted how the early childhood educational system operates under anassimilative approach, contributing to the eventual loss of children's homelanguage. A second study, conducted with Latin American parents. indicatedthat elementary school -age children tended to lose their mother tongue duringthe "normal processes" of institutional functioning of the Canadian schools(Bernhard, Freire, Torres , & Nirdosh, 1998). The issue ofadditive bilingualismhas been researched for a number ofyears in Canada (Cummins, 1993; Genessee,1983, 1987; Harley, Hart,& Lapkin, 1986; lanco-Worrall, 1972;Lambert & Tucker,1972; Swain & Lapkin, 1982).Cummins ( 1991 , 1993, 1995)and others have pointedout the rarity of additive as opposed to subtractive outcomes. In simple terms,a number of minority language communities are likely, within a generation, tohave no young adult speakers of the language. In order to better understandthis phenomenon, this study focused on the lived experiences of Latin Americanparents raising their school -age children in their mother tongue. Here , we report

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on the home language pract ices of45 families and how the schoo ls' institutionalprocesses influenced these practices.

We recognize that Latin Americans in Canada, not unlike Latin Americansin other parts of the world, are a diverse demographic and socioculturalpopulation (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 1993). Therefore, the views ofthe parents participating in this study are not to be generalized , and claimsabo ut Latin American parents as a hom ogeneous gro up ca nnot be made.Furt her, the situation of the parents participating in th is study should not beviewed as though culture alone can ade quately explain the circumstances andlived experiences ofparticipants. Interactions of race, class, and gender affectedthe sit uatio ns of the mothers, who came from vario us educa tio nal, socio­eco nomic, political, and professional backgrounds that infl uenced how theyeng aged their ro le as immigrants and newcomers to this society.

Theoretical Framework

Power relations shape language practices between fami lies and schoo lsand the roles that families, groups, and institutions play in the process of fi rstand seco nd language acqu isition . Following Michel Foucault (1972), power isnot "held" in the hands ofan elite; our analysis focuses on the micro-organizationof daily practices and on the ass umptions of dom inant discourses includingsoc ial and educational theory (Foucault, 1972; Gramsci , 1998; Smith, 1990;Walkerdine, 1990). Parents' practices, often seen as ineffective or characterizedas passive, are the commo n resu lt of present inst itutio nal practices. As hasbeen po inted out by severa l invest igat ors, these pract ices illu strate theconnections between powe r and knowledge and, in particular, serve to maintainthe power differences of group s in our soc iety. The knowledge required inschoo l systems, including an understanding of how the systems themse lvesoperate, reflects the present network of power relations.

According to Bourdieu ( 1994), the dominant structures ofsociety, especiallyits educational institutions, determine the role of the schoo l in maintaining theschool culture and represent an essential element for acquiring and maintainingsocial power relation s. Besides content, the manner in which subjects are taug hthas differential effect s on the children of those in dominant and subordinatepositions. The children of those in the dominant gro ups are given ski llsrecognized as "capital," or those beliefs , skills, and abilities necessary to achievesucce ss as defined by the domi nant soc iety. Hence, those who pass throughthe educational system acquire differing amo unts and kinds ofcapi tal reflectingthe existing power relations. Thus, it is clear that all groups have some form ofcapital enabling them to maintain themselves in human society, and it may besaid that certai n kinds of capital are devalued or ignored in the funct ioning ofthe dominant institutions. Specifically, the cultural capital ofboth minority familiesand those ofthe work ing class (Lareau, 1989) are genera lly deva lued at schools.

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with the minority disadvantage being multiplicative with other disadvantages.The consequences of the situation described are high drop-out rates and otheracademic problems already described.

We do not consider language maintenance as an isolated issue. Rather,language maintenance is considered within the broader framework of social,political, and ideological factors , particularly when analyzing the situation ofculturally diverse students at schools (Corson, 1993, 1994, 1995; Cummins,1995, 1996, 1997; Macedo, 1997; Nieto, 1996, 1999). Language operates as oneof the most important practices within our society wherein cultural productionand reproduction take place (Corson, 1998; Darder, 1991) . The vitality of alanguage indicates how well a group is maintaining itselfin society.

A number of studies have investigated language issues throughout thediscourse ofpower relations (Corson, 1995, 1998; Cummins, 1995, 1996, 1997;Bernhard, Freire, Torres, & Nirdosh, 1998; Schecter & Bayley, 1998; Soto,1997; Walsh , 1991; Zentella, 1997) . Cummins (1996) argues that teachers'attitudes and behavior toward the language and culture of students largelyaffect how students perceive their own background. Students are empoweredor disempowered as they interact with educators . Their interactions aremediated by the role that teachers assume in relation to language incorporation,community participation, pedagogy, and assessment. Teachers mayunwittingly contribute to students ' feelings of shame about their cultural andlinguistic background.

Research findings have extensively documented both the positive impactofbilingualism and biculturalism among culturally diverse students as well asthe negative consequences that often result from language assimilation(Cummins, 1996 ; Wong Fillmore, 1991a, 199Ib). Yet, bilingualism andbiculturalism are still very rare in our society. The present study exploreshome language practices and experiences ofa group of Latin American parentsfacing enormous pressures in their decisions about their children's language.In particular, we look at parents' reactions to assimilative pressures andinteractions with school personnel , as viewed by the parents, and we takeinto account such variables as the use of the mother tongue in the home.

Methodology

This study is part of an extensive research program on Latin Americanimmigrant children and their teachers and families (Bernhard & Freire, 1999;Bernhard, Freire, Pacini-Ketchabaw, & Villanueva, 1998; Bernhard, Freire, &Pacini-Ketchabaw, 2000). The families who are highlighted in this article werepart ofa two-stage ethnographic study ofhow 45 Latin American families supporttheir children's efforts to adapt to the Canadian educational system. Because ofthe authors' familiarity with the language and culture, it was our intention to usewhat has been called "action research" (Lather, 1986) and participant observationmethods, as described in the following section.

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Stage One: Exploratory Study

In Stage One we assessed the context of the educational system in oneparticular school and developed an in-depth understanding of all the actorsinvolved (i.e ., children, teachers, support staff, principal, vice-principal,families). The school was chosen because of its prox imity to the homes ofLatin American refugees and the principal 's reputation for being responsiveto family needs. During three school terms offive months each, we immersedourselves as participant observers in three classrooms to study the day-to­day practices of the classroom with a particular focus on the Latin Americanchildren. We spent three halfdays in the school following the 10 Latin Americanchildren in two classes through their daily routine in academic andnonacademic activities, to recess, gym, special education classes, and theheritage language program (Spanish). We collected field notes and tape­recorded all interviews. We also talked formally and informally with schoolpersonnel and the children's families over a period of 18 months during 1996­1998. Our ethnographic method was based on a naturalistic, cultural contextualparadigm (Cole, 1992; Harkness & Super, 1996; Levine, Dixon, LeVine, Richman,Leiderman, Keeter, & Brazelton, 1994). Bernhard and Freire (1999) give detailsof the methodology. In our findings, we identify several themes, which wereaddressed in the second phase and are reported here .

Stage Two: Confirmatory Study

In Stage Two, we involved an additional 35 families in the following manner.We contacted several agencies that oiler services to the Latino community inthe same Canadian city and asked for names offamilies with school-age childrenwho had been in Canada for less than 10 years . We received the names ofsuch families, contacted them, and informed them ofthe purpose of the study:to gain knowledge of children's learning and adaptation to the Canadianeducational system. The third criterion for participation was that the familymembers had not been seen by mental health professionals and had not formallyreceived services for psychoemotional problems, and none of them declined.Thus, five families were excluded leaving the sample at 35 .

ProcedureAfter the initial telephone contact and selection, each family was

interviewed on two occasions in Spanish at the family's home (each interviewlasted 2-3 hours) . After establishing rapport, background information wassought. Parents were then asked questions that had the same content as thatdescribed in Stage One of the family consultation. Additionally, parents wereasked to show us documentation from the school, including report cards andother correspondence, and to explain their content. Behavioral observationswere recorded after the interviews.

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Table 3

Demographic and Family Charact eri stics of'Mothers Interviewed

Name Ye ar of Focal child's Country of Occupation in country Occupation in Canada Education inarrival age and gender origin of origin country of origin

Mrs. Balnear 1988 8, girl Venezuela F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Sec retary M: Cleaning M: Post sec .

Mrs. Ramirez 1986 I I, boy EI Salvador F: Vet F: Vet asst. F: Post sec .M: Teacher M: Student M: Post sec.

Mrs. Roman 1992 7, girl Peru F: Co mputer analyst F: Computer technician F: Post sec .M: Financial advisor M: Babysitter M: Post sec.

Mrs. Rivera 1995 7, boy Peru F:N/A F: House painter F:N/AM: Retail sales M: Babysitter M: High School

Mrs. Perez 1995 8, boy Peru F: Deco rator F:N/A F: Post sec .M: Secretary M: Student M: Post sec.

Mrs. Rodriguez 1985 13, boy Guatemala F:N/A F: Student F:N/AM: Teacher M: Seamstress M: Post sec .

Mrs. Valdez 1997 8, girl Peru F: Sales F: Waiter F: Post Sec .M: Tailor M: Home parent M: High Schoo l

Mrs. Moreno 1991 8, boy Uruguay F: Shoe maker F: Waiter F: High SchoolM: Shoe rranufactor M: Home parent M: High Schoo l

Mrs. Gonzalez 1986 10, girl Ecuador F: Electrician F: Construction F: Post Sec.M: Accountant M: Home parent M: Post Sec .

F=Fa thcr. M=Mothcr

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Table 3. co nt.

Demograph ic and Family Cha rac te ris tics of Moth ers Int erviewed

Name Year of Focal child's Country of Occupation in country Occupation in Canada Education inarrival age and gender origin of origin country of origin

Mrs. Portes 199O 6, boy Venezuela F: Computer analyst F: Computer repairs F: Post Sec .M: Teacher M: Herre parent M: Post Sec .

Mrs. Torres 1997 6, girl Venezuela F: Sales F: Cleaning F: High SchoolM: Tailor M: Student M: High School

Mrs . Lopez 1980 8, girl El Salvador F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Secretary M: Home parent M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Chavez 1997 9, girl Guatemala F: Agricu1ture F: Landscaping F: Elem Schoo lM: Home parent M: Home parent M: Elem School

Mrs. Cervantes 1996 7, girl Mexico F: Public administrator F: Cleaning F: High SchoolM: Supervisor M: Home parent M: High School

Mrs. De Santos 1987 8, boy Guatemala F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Nurse M: Cleaning M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Burgos 1972 10, girl Ecuador F: N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Jewelry sa les M: Home parent M: Elem Schoo l

Mrs. Gutierez 1988 10, girl Peru F: N/A F:N/A F: N/AM: Secretary M: Student M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Romero 1995 10, boy Ecuado r F: Supervisor F: Factory worker F: Post Sec.M: Seamstress M: Horne parent M: High Sc hoo l

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Mrs. Garcia 1995 II, boy Chile F: N/A F:N/A F: N/AM: Perfume distnbutor M: Herre parent M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Ballesteros 1996 II , boy Cub a F: Lawyer F: Factory worker F: Post Sec.M: Horne parent M: Babysitter M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Pulido 1991 6, girl Peru F: Engineer F: Construction F: Post Sec.M: Teacher M: Student M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Calderon 1983 8, girl Ecuador F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Clothing sales M: Factory employee M: High School

Mrs. Hernandez 1987 7, boy Chile F: Geographer F: Computer analyst F: Post Sec.M: Teacher M: Babysitter M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Barrera 1991 8, boy Ecuador F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Sales M: Cleaning M: Elem School

Mrs. Morales 1991 6, boy El Salvador F: Airplane technician F: Hardware store sales F: Post Sec .M: Student M: Babysitter M: High School

Mrs. Ovando 1986 9, boy Chile F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Secretary M: Receptionist M: High School

Mrs. Rivas 1995 9, boy Honduras F: Factory employee F: Hotel employee F: Post Sec .M: Secretary M: Student M: Post Sec .

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Table 3, cont.

Demograph ic and Family Cha racteris tics of Mothers i nterviewed

Name Year of Focal child's Country of Occupation in country Occupation in Canada Education inanival age and gender origin of origin country of origin

Mrs. Fernandez 1991 7, boy EI Salvador F: Technician & repairs F: Mac hine operator F: Post Sec.M: Hairdresse r M: Waitress M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Mendoza 1987 II , girl EI Salvador F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Tailor M: Factory worker M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Mendez 1988 8, girl Guatemala F: Gov't Employee F: Student F: Post Sec.M: Teacher M: Factory Employee M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Valenzuela 1990 10, boy Colombia F: Factory supervisor F: Sales clerk F: High SchoolM: Student M: Postal worker M: High School

Mrs. Guzman 1989 6, girl Co lombia F: Sales clerk F: Cleaning F: Post Sec.M: Home parent M: Cooking M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Lorca 1883 7, girl Mexico F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Tailor M: Seamstress M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Martinez 1983 7, boy Co lombia F: Public administrator F: Machine operator F: High SchoolM: Secretary M: Factory employee M: Post Sec.

Mrs. Madeiros 1988 10, girl El Salvador F:Farmer F: Cons truction F: Elem SchoolM: Secretary M: Factory employee M: High Sc hool

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Mrs. Cortez 1988 10, girl N icaragua F: Welder F: Welder F: Elem SchoolM: Secretary M: Babysitter M: High School

Mrs. Lucas 1988 8, boy Colombia F: Student F: Computer technician F: Post Sec.M: Student M: Cashier M: High School

Mrs. Villanueva 1989 5, girl Colombia F: Public Administrator F: Factory F: Post Sec .M: Seamstress M: Home parent M: High School

Mrs. 1989 11 , girl Colombia F: Public administrator F: Factory worker F: Post Sec .Montenegro M: Seamstres s M: Home parent M: High School

Mrs. Solis 1994 11 , boy Chile F: Teacher F: Factory worker F: Post Sec.M: Teacher M: Factory work er M: Post Sec .

Mrs. Sanhueza 1984 5, boy EI Salvador F: Carpenter F: Cleaning F: High SchoolM: Home parent M: Cleaning M: High School

Mrs. Marti 1984 9, girl Mexico F: Electrician F: Cleaning F: High SchoolM: Teacher M: Babysitter M: High School

Mrs. Escobar 1975 7, girl Ecuador F:N/A F:N/A F: N/AM: Student M: Receptionist M: Elem School

Mrs. Vallejo 1991 8, girl Ecuador F:N/A F:N/A F:N/AM: Teacher M: Factory worker M: Post Sec .

Mrs. Mena 1990 11 , girl Nicaragua F: Community organizer F: Factory F: Elern, SchoolM: Home parent M: Cleaning M: Elem School

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The fami lies lived in di fferent parts ofthe city had immigrated to Canadain the last 10 years from Central or South America, and had chi ldren atte ndingpubl ic schools in the Toronto area . Background characteristics ofall the familiesare given in Tab le 3.

Because the selection cri teria for the fami lies in the two stages of the studywere identical, and the exploratory findings were supported by the confirmatorystudy, all findings are reported together. The prese nt paper reports the datagleaned from these extensive interviews. Although the fami lies were recruitedthrou gh "snowballing" referrals, the gro up essent ially consti tutes a samp leof convenience.

Findings

Spanis h Maintenance

Although the parents faced strong assimi lative pressures, they viewed theraising of bilingual children as an important task and saw Spanish maintenance asa way to foster fami ly unity, Latino identity, and professional advancement. Theparen ts interviewed expressed a number of reasons for wanting their children togrow up knowing Spanish as well as English. First, knowing Spanish was seen asessential for maintaining contact with relatives and keeping links with their nativeculture. Mrs. Guzman, a mother ora 6-year-old daugh ter who emigrated with herhusband from Colombia 10 years ago, said:

[Espahol] es importa nte pa ra que se pueda comunicar con susfamiliares. Cuando vantos a nuestro pais. ella debe hablar con susabu elos y e/los /10 hablan ingles. Tambien con sus primos y con sustios. Yo pienso que es muy bueno para ella. Mi esposo tam bien tratade que ella aprenda e/ esp aii ol. E/ /e hab la en esp aii ol.

[(Spanish) is important so that she can communicate with her relatives.When we go to our co untry, she has to speak with her grandparents,and they don 't speak English. She also has to speak wit h her co usinsand her aunts and uncles. I th ink that it is very good for her. Myhusband also tr ies to help her to learn Spanish. l ie speaks to her inSpan ish.]

Mrs. Ma rtinez, a Co lombian mother of two chi ldren, ages 7 and 9, alsorecogn ized the va lue of Spanish for develop ing a sense of Latin o ide ntity.

}o quiero que ellos hob/ell e/ idioma. Yo a veces escucho a nihos quehablan el idionta y 10 hablan mal. Eso no esta bien. Noso tros S0l/10S

Latinos y es importante que hablemos en espaii ol. EI idioma que sehabla en mi casa es e l espaiiol, Por q ue'! Porque somoslatinoatnericanosy esa es nuestra identidad. }{) vine a este pais. perono naci en este pais. no me eduque en este pais, no creci en este puis.

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Mis valores y 10 que soy viene del pais de donde provengo. Yo puedoaprender las costumbres de este pais. Yo he aprendido la Iengua deeste pais pero yo sigo teniendo mi identidad y parte de mi identidades mi idioma y por eso se habla esp ahol. Porque estoy orgullosa dedonde vengo y quien soy.

[I want them to speak the language (Spanish) . Sometim es I hear the.ch ildren speaking the langu age , and they are speaking it wrong. Thatis not good. We are Latin os and it is important that we speak inSpanish.The language that they speak in my home is Spanish , becau sewe are Lat in Americans and that is our identity. 1came to this country,but I was not born in this country, I was not educated in this country,1did not grow up in this country. My values and what I am come frommy nat ive country. I can learn about the customs ofthis coun try. I havelearned the language of this country, but 1still have my identity andpart ofmy identity is my language, and that is why we speak Spanish.Because 1am proud of where 1come from and of who I am.]

Most of the parents spoke of the benefits of grow ing up bilingual. Mrs.Madeiros, a Salvadoran mother of three children, like the other moth ers,envisioned greater professional opportunities as a result of having twolanguages:

No queremos que elias pierdan el idioma. La comunidad hispanaestd creciendo y el dia de manana es buena que tengan dos a tresidiomas. De esafo rma pueden trabajar como bilingue ell cualquierlado. Nosotros consideramos que si usted es bilingue, usted tienemuchasposibilidades de trabaj o con empresas pri vadas americanasyeuropeas. Par eso a nosotros nos interesa que elias aprendan bienel espahol y el frances tambien.

[We do not want them to lose the language. The Hispanic communityis grow ing and it is good for them to have two or three langu ages forthe future . That way they can work as a bilingual person anywhere.We believe that if you are bilingual, you have many job opportunitieswith private Americ an and European businesses . That is the reasonit interests us that they learn good Spanish and French as well.]

These examples illustrate the parents ' positive attitudes toward raisingbilingual children and their satisfaction in seeing children become capable ofcommunicating in both langu ages.

Strong Assimilati ve Pr essures

Strong Assimilative Pressures experienced by parents often resulted intheir doubt ing the wisdom of speaking Spanish at home. Although all themoth ers favored the use ofSpani sh at home with their children, many of themperceived a number of threat s in this practice. Some mothers routinely related

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suspicious comments about the negative role of Spanish use in ch ildren'sEnglish acquisition. Mrs. Valenzuela, who emigrated from Colombia nine yearsago , recounted her experiences with her two sons:

Los ma estros saben que y o hablo espaiiol con los nihos en la casa.Una profesora me dijo que yo les tenia que hablar en ingles porqueellos 10 pronunciaban mal. Ella me dijo que el niho necesitaba masingles porque el pronunciaba muy mal, y que el hablarle espaho l enla casa 110 les estaba ayudando.

[The teachers know that I speak Spanish with the children at homc.One teacher told me that I had to speak English with them becau se theydo not pronounce it properly. She also told me that my son needed tospeak more English because ofhis poor pronunciation, and that I wasnot helping them by speaking Spanish at home.]

Mrs . Guzman's experience also shows that the school did not attach anyparticular value to Spanish:

}o Ie dije un dia a la ma estra que a mi me gustaba hablarle en esp aiiola la niha porque yo querla que ella aprendiera los dos idiomas. Lamaestro me contesto que yo deb eria hablarle en ingles y no enesp aiiol. Me dijo que ella pensaba que yo Ie deberia hablar en inglesa la nina. Pero yo 110 Ie hice caso porque para mi era demorar a laniita en aprender el espaiiol. Yo Ie dije eso a la ma estra. Y ella mevolvio a decir que a ella Ie parecia que y o Ie debia hablar en Ingles.Ella siempre dijo que era mejor que Ie hablara en Ingles.

[One day I told the teacher that I like speaking in Span ish with mydaughter because I wanted her to learn both languages. The teacheranswered me that I should speak in English and not in Spanish. Shetold me that she thought that I should speak to my daughter in English.I didn't do what she suggested because for me that was to slow herdown in learning Spanish. I told this to the teacher. And she told meagain that she thought that I should speak to her (my daughter) inEnglish. The teacher always said that it would be best if I spoke inEnglish (to my daughter).]

Although not all parents faced explicit disapproval regarding Spani shmaintenance, they talk cd about the constant subtle messages they receivedfrom school personnel. The school psychologist diagnosed Mrs. Madeiros 'sson as having language and speech problems, and he was attending a specialprogram offered by the school. Mrs . Madeiros was required to attend monthlymeetings to discuss her son's progress with school per sonnel. In all themeetings, she heard school personnel discuss the possibility that her son 'sproblem could be linked to the use of Spanish at home. During the researchinterv iews, Mrs. Madeiros stated that after attending the meetings she doubtedher decision to raise her children in her moth er tongue:

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Mi niiio esta en un programa especial porque esta un poco atrasadoen la esc uela. A mi me preguntaron s i en la casa hablabamos so loespahol. }o Ie dije que s f. En la escuela estaban tratando de ver siera que el hablarle espaiiol en la casa Ie afectaba y que por eso noIe estabayendo tnuy bien en la escuela. Eso es 10 que elias comentaronen la reunion a la que yo asisti . Entonces alii se pusieron a discutirsi tal vez elproblema que el tiene en la escuela seria porque hablamosotro idioma en la casa. Yo les digo que yo hablo en espaii ol, pero deninguna manera quisiera que eso 10 perjudicara a el en la escuela .Tal vez sea mi culpa.

[My son is in a special prog ram because he is falling behind in school.I was asked (at school) ifat home we only speak Spanish. I told themyes. The school was trying to see whether talking to him in Spani shat home was affecting his poor performance at school. Thi s is whatthey were discussing at the meeting I went to. So there , they discussedthat the problem he was having at school may be because of thelanguage we speak at home. I told them that I speak in Spanish.However, by no means wou ld Iwant to cause any harm to him in regardto school. It might be my fault.]

Another example of the subtle messages parents perceived from schoolsdevalu ing bilingualism is Mrs. Martinez's case . She was a strong advocate ofusing Spani sh at home. However, she questioned whether this practice wouldbe detrimental to her children. While school personnel did not make remarksabout the use of Spanish, neither did they act ively encourage the use of themoth er tongue at home . Mrs. Martinez felt that her two children's ditliculty inreading and writing could be due to her not speaking English:

Los profesores nunca me han dicho nada acerca de que yo les hableen espaiiol en la casa, ni que es malo ni que es bueno . Pienso queestan de acuerdo que les enseite espahol. Pero no se. A 10 mejor 10bueno seria que nosotro s siempre les hablemos en ingles. De esamanera nosotros aprenderlamos a hablary tal vez eso les ayudariaa ellos a que les vaya mejor en la esc uela. Yo no puedo hablar muybien ingles. He estudiado y he aprendido un poco a hab/ar y a leer;p ero no se escribirlo. Yo me siento muyfrustrada cuando les tengoque ayudar can las tareas. }oa veces pienso que nosotros fallamosporque no tenemos la preparacion y el conocimiento para ayudarlesa ellos en ingles.

[Teachers have never told me anything abo ut me speaking Spani sh inmy home, whether it is a good orbad thing. I think that they agree withme teaching them Spanish. But I don't know. Maybe the best thingwould be for us to always speak to them in English. In this way, wewould learn how to speak it and that might help them to do better in

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school. I cannot speak Engli sh that well. I have studied it but I havelearned to speak and to read only a bit. But I don't know how to wr iteit. I feel very frustrat ed when Ihave to help them with their homework .Sometimes I think that it is our fault. We are not prepared and do notknow enough to help them with their English.]

In Mrs . Martinez's case, the teacher had not explicitly advised her to switch toEnglish in the home , but her acceptance of her chi ld's Spanish languageability was passive; she paid no attention to that language in the cla ss. Th ismessage gave Mrs. Martinez the impression that her children would benefit ifshe would speak better English.

Some parent s also felt bombarded with outs ide assim ilative pressures.Mrs . Rodriguez, a Guatemalan mother of one , was very aware of constantmessages from the dominant society suggesting that maintaining a sense ofLatin American identit y was negatively percei ved :

Es dificil porque es un bombardeo cons tante desde afuera . Porqueafuera hay dos mensajes: el de querer crear nuestra propia nuevaidentidad, que es Canadiense; y el de conse rvar nuestra culturahipocritamente. Digo hipocritamente porque eso 10 quieren hacerpara discriminarnos, no para resp etar nuestra propia identida d,sino para exc luirnos . Porque si miramos cudntos latinoamericanosestan ahorita en lugares depoder o estan saliendo de las uni versidades)' los co lleges. vemos que hay muy p ocos. Si realmente Canada 110

tiene ningun problema COli el multiculturalismo,p or que la mayoriade los que estan ell el poder son blan cos y 110 p ersonas de nuestrospaises?

[It is hard (to maint ain the language) because there is a con stant attackfrom the outside. Outside there arc two messages: to create your ownidentity,which isCanadian, and to preserve yourculture ina hypocriticalway. I mean hypocritical because that is what they do to discriminateagainst us, not to respect our own identity, but to exclude us. If youtake a look at the number of Latin Americans who arc in powerfulpositions orwho graduate from university and college, there arc a few.If Canada does not have any problem with multi culturalism, then whyis that the majority of those who are in positions of power arc whiteand not persons from our countries?]

Parents' intentions and desires to maintain their mother tongue and thei rLatino identity became overwhelmingly di fficult as they got littleencouragement from dominant institutions. For some of these mothers, theirfeelings of insecurity, and sometimes gu ilt, led them to abandon the usc ofthe ir moth er tongue with their ch ildren resulting in the loss of Spanish. Mrs.Mad eiro s 's children, like other children, were able to understand only someSpanish word s and tended to speak more English than Spani sh:

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El espahol no 10 hab/an bien. Cometen muchos errores. Hab/an linpoco en espaholy linpoco en ingles. Entre los niiiosy con sus amigoscotnunmente hablan en Ingles. A veces miran algun programa entelevision que han traducido al espaiiol: Magic School Bus. Y ella[la nina} me pregunta palabras que no entiendc. Lo entiende sololin poco. A veces hablan de cosas que ellos no saben. La mayoria delas veces elias me contestan en ingles. El mas grande que tiene 16aiios habla mejor el espaiiol, pero los mas chicos no 10 hablan muybien.

[They (my children) do not speak Spanish well. They make a lot ofmistake s.They speak a bit in Spanish and a bit in English.They usuallyspeak English among themsel ves. Sometimes they watch sometelevision show that has been translated into Spanish, The MagicSchool Bus . And, she (my daughter) asks me words that she does notunder stand . She understands the show only a little bit. Sometimes theshow deals with topics that they do not know about. Most ofthe time ,they answer me in English. The oldest is 16 years old and he speaksSpanish better than the younger ones . The younger children do notspeak it (Spani sh) very well .]

Mrs. Guzman, a mother oftwo who emigrated from Ecuador,also mentionedhow hard it was to influence the children to appreciate the value of Spanish:

Es lin poco diflcil para ml que ella mantenga el espaiiol. Ella estaen la escuela mas de la mltaddel tiempo hablando ingles. Se me hacemuv duro para ml porque cuando vuelve de la escuela ella continuahablando el ingles. Casi siempre habla en Ingles en la casa.

[It isa bit difficult forme that she (my daughter) maintains the language.She spends more than halfher time in school speaking in English. Itis very hard for me because when she comes home from school shecontinues speaking in English. She speaks in English at home most ofthe time.]

Although all parents expected the ir children to be bilingual in Spanish,many of them observed that their children slow ly became more and moreassimila ted to the dom inant culture and langu age . Neither the schools norsociety at large helped to encourage paren ts' desires regarding bilingualismand biculturalism.

Parental Strategies

As illustrated in the above section, bilingualism and biculturali sm werenot eas y to atta in for thes e moth ers. They named several strateg ies theycommonly used in order to challenge the messages surrounding them :

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Making their voices heard at home and schoo!Mrs. Ballesteros, a Cuban mother of three, provided an example of how

she encountered the situation of bilingualism at home:

Una de las cosas que nosotros estamos luchando aqui es que hob/enespaitol en la casa. Aqui en la casa todos hablamos espaiioly si salealguna palabra ell ingles 0 si ellos me empiezan a pedir cosas eningles, 110 se las doy 0 les rectifico. Creo que dehen mantener suespaiiol, Ellos conviven con nosotros que somos hispanos. YlJ mepreocupo mucho para que ellos hahlen el espahol. Yo les entiendo10 que me dicen ell ingles pero no se los acepto. A veces no les doy10 que quieren hasta que no me 10 dicen en espahol.

[One of the things we are fighting for is that they speak Spanish athome. IJere, at home, we all speak Spanish, and if an English wordcomes up, or if they start to ask for something in English, I don't giveit to them, or I correct them. I think that they should maintain theirSpanish. They live with us, and we are Hispanic. I worry a lot and I tryvery hard so that they speak Spanish. I understand what they say tome in English, but Ido not accept it. Sometimes Ido not give them whatthey want until they ask for it in Spanish.]

Mrs. Valuenzuela, on the other hand, as an attempt to ensure her twosons did not assimilate too rapidly to the dominant culture, challenged theresistance she encountered at school:

Cuando la profesora me dijo que yo les tenia que hahlar en ingles,yo Ie dije que no. Yo no se mucho ingles. Pero aim si 10 supiera yo Iedije a ella [Ia profesora] que el ingles 10 aprendian en la escuela yque yo les iba a ensehar el espahol. YoIedije que se suponia que ellosIe ten ian que ensehar el ingles en la escuela, y yo el espaitol ell lacasa . Sino como me voy a comunicar con ellos?

[When the teacher told me that I had to speak to them in English, I toldher that I was not going to. I do not know much English. But eventhough I knew it, I told her (the teaeher) that they would learn Englishat school and that I was going to speak to them in Spanish. I told herthat she had to teach them English at school, and I had to teach themSpanish at home. Otherwise how am I going to communicate withthem?]

This mother took the courage to stand up to the authority of the teacher andmade her case heard. However, this situation may not be possible in all cases.Parents often feel that is not their position to make their views known toteachers as they initialIy view them as authority figures.

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Participation in heritage language programsMany parents encouraged children to parti cipate in heritage programs and

found it important to challenge the obstacles they identified. Although theschoo l boa rd oft en provided heritage language program s, th e par entsparticipating in the study had to pay to send their children to Spani sh school.Mrs. Martinez explained her reasons for send ing her children to Spanish classesand how rewarding this has been for her as a mother. She felt that she could helpher children with homework, as she was fluent in the language of instruct ion :

Yo los lIevo a clases de espa iiol. Son fantdsticas. Es alga increible.Mi hijo esta aprendiendo a leer )' a escribir. Me gusta mucho quevayan a las closes de espaiiolporque es linda cuando elias empezarona leer y a escribir ell espaito l. POI' ejemplo, )'0 les pregunto como seescr ibe caballo. Yellos empienzan a decirme. Todavia no 10 escribenperfe cto porqu e 110 tienen la ortografla . Pero estan aprendiendo. Laescuela de espaii ol a la que van los niitos es muy buena. Los niiioshacen muchos proyectos. Nos toea trabajar mucho con elias tambi encan sus tareas. Y en este caso yo les puedo ayudar:

[I take them to Spanish class. They are fanta stic . It is somethingincredible. My son is learning to read and write. I really like them goingto Spanish clas s because it was very nice when they started to readand write in Spani sh. Forexample, I ask them how to spell horse. Andthey start to tell me. They don't write perfectly yet, because theycannot spell very well. But they are learning. The Spani sh school thatmy children go to is very good. The children do a lot of projects. Wealso have to work a lot with them on their homework. And in this caseI can help them.]

Visiting relatives in their country of originMaintaining con tact with extended family was another strategy used by

some parents trying to encourage their ch ildren to maintain the language.Mrs . Rivas, a Honduran mother of two, exp lained :

Yo estoy tratando de que ellos vayan a mi pais para que no pierdanel contacto. Peru eso es de acuerdo a las posibilidades de cada 11110.

En mi pais vall a tener que hablar en esp ahol sino no vall a poderidentificarse.

[I am trying to get them to go to my country so that they do not losecont act. But that is according to the possibilities ofeaeh family. In mycountry they will have to speak in Spani sh, otherwise they will not beable to identi fy (with their family).]

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Providing resources at homeSome parents believed that it was important to provide as many resources

as pos sible at home in order to maintain and strengthen the links with thelanguage:

Yo les hago escribir a supapay a su abu elo en espaholy asi los obligoa que 10 practiquen. Tambien les compro libros en espahol.

I make them write to their father and grandfather in Spanish.That way,I force them to practice. I also buy them books in Span ish.

Talking to children in SpanishOther mothers mentioned that using Spanish in parent-ch ild interactions

was important for teaching the language. Mrs . Ovando, a Chi lean mother ofa9-year-old boy, ment ioned:

Mi relacion COli e! es en esp ahol y siempre Ie estoy corrigiendo . 0a veces me habla maly yo Ie repito la palabray se da cuenta que estamal )' 10 corrige . Le estoy enseiiando espaiiol habldndolo.

[My relationship with him (my son) is in Spanish and I am alwayscorrecting him. Or, at times, he speak s incorrectly and I repeat the wordto him and he realizes that is wrong and corrects it. I am teaching himSpanish by speaking it.]

Having fri ends who speak SpanishMrs. Pulido, who emigrated from Peru where she was a teacher, felt that

deve loping friendships with other Latin Americans would help her children tobe fluent in Spanish:

Yo no voy a muchas actividades de nuestra comunidad peru si tengomi circulo de amigos de mi pais. Yotrato de que mis hijos esten en eseambiente. Eso para mi es tnuy importantepara quepuedan mantenerel espahol.

[I do not go to many community activities, but I do have a circ le offriends from my country. I try to have my children invol ved in thatenvironment. Tome,this isvery important for them to maintain Spanish.]

It is important to note that often parents' behaviors did not make adifference. As we saw in the prev ious section, many of the children wereslowly losing their first language. I lowe ver, we should understand that parent swere very con cerned about the issue and tried their best to maintain theirchildren's Latin American cultural and lingu istic ident itie s:

Aunqueyo trato de hablarles espait ol en 10 casa , me ha resultado queellos me hablan en ingles. Yo trato de que me hablen espahol en Iacasa 0 cada vez que anden conmigo , pero como )'0 soy una madre

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so/tera y no tengo muchos familiares aqui, /10 los puedo obligortanto. Es dificil mantener nuestro cultura . A mi me cuesta tnucho quee//os se acostumbren.

[Even though I try to speak Spanish with them at home, it has ended upthat they speak to me in English. Itry to have them speak Spanish at homeor whenever they are with me. But becau se I am a single mother and donot have a lot of relatives here, I cannot force them. It is difficult tomainta in our culture. It is hard for me to get them used to speaking it.]

The example abo ve shows the importance of community support andhow difficult it became for parents participating in the study when supportwas not present. Unfortunately, the isolated efforts that parents made werenot taking them far enough. Societal and school supports are essential forbilingualism and biculturalism. Home support appears to be just one aspect ofbilinguali sm.

The man y strategies and efforts used to maintain the Latin Americanidentity show the importance and value these parents assigned to themaint enance of their mother tongue. Although their efforts were not totallysuccessful in the end, these mothers felt that pursuing them was an importanttask for the betterment of their children.

Specific Changes in the Schools

Parents participating in the study provided examples of what theyenvisioned for a multilingual and multicultural society. Mrs. Valuenzueladreamed of schools actively encouraging and promoting the establishment ofheritage language programs:

}o pienso que en la escuela deberian darle clases de la /engua nativade cada nino 0 de la lengua que mas sobrasa/ga en /a escuela. Porejemplo, en la escuela donde van los nihos hay muchos Latinos. Laescuela deberla tener un programa de espaiiol. Seria mucho masfa cilpara que nosotros les ayudemos. Para mi es muy dificil ayudarles.Hay muchas palabras que no les se el significado (en Ingles) entoncesse me haec muy dificil. Primero tengo que entender 10 que dicen eningles. DeSplU?S se 10 tengo que decir a ellos en espaitol. Yellos 10tie/len que entender en espaitol para poder traducirlo ell ingles. Al'eces ellos se enoj an.

[I th ink that each school should offer classes in each child's nativelanguage, or in the language that stands out the most. Forexample, inthe school my children go to, there are a lot of Latinos. The schoolshould have a Spanish program. It would be a lot easier for us to helpthem. It is very difficult for me to help them. There are a lot ofwordsthat I do not know the meaning in English, so it becomes very hard .First, I have to understand what the activity is in English. Then , I have

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to tell them what it means in Spanish. Finally, they have to understandit in Spanish to be able to translate it into English. Sometimes they getmad.]

Mrs. Mendoza, a single mother from EI Salvador, also expressed the desirethat schools participate in the promotion of Spanish among students:

Nosotros decimos que es bueno que nuestros nihos dominen sulengua materna. Por eso seria bueno que los maestros se preocupenpara que los niiios hab/en su idioma.

[We think that it is good that our children master their mother tongue.For this reason, it would be good that teachers made the effort that thechildren speak their own language.]

Further, Mrs . Pulido talked about the crucial role that Spanish shouldplay in Canadian society:

Para mi seria importantlsimo que no 10 perdieramos. Si el alumnoquiere aprendersu idioma materna y hayposibilidades de ofrecerlesla oportunidad, la escuela deberia considerarlo. Yo creo que lasexperiencias de los hispanos aca pueden ser mucho mas positiva sillOS dan /1UlS oportunidades. Yo quislera que el gobierno apoyaramas a nuestra comunidadya que el espahol es el segundo idioma delmundo.

[For me, it would be extremely important that we don't lose (Spanish).If the student wants to learn his/her mother tongue and it is possible,then the school should consider it. I think that Hispanics' experienceshere (in Canada) could be much more positive ifwe were given moreopportunities. I would like that the government provides support toour community, since Spanish is the second language in the world.]

As minority-language members of Canadian society, these parents wereaware of the need to support their children to function in English. However,they prized their own cultural and linguistic backgrounds and wished to transmittheir ethnic pride to their children. In order to attain these goals , schools mustundergo democratic transformations, some of which are indicated in ourrecommendations below.

Discussion

While the phenomenon of assimilation has been widely discussed,detailed investigations of the experiences of those being assimilated are lesscommon. Structural models have been proposed that help to understand, at amacro level, how minorities are disadvantaged in the educational system(Cummins, 1996; Darder, 1991; Ogbu, 1978). Our data, however, are intendedto illustrate the personal impacts of such assimilative structures on the Latino

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children's educational experiences and illustrate the micro-processesconstitutive ofpower. We have shown how both the child and family's culturalcapital has little impact on the educational system in which they lind themselves.Knowledge ofthe outcomes of routine and institutional actions as experiencedby families is necessary in order to be in a position to help educators andfamilies improve their relationships. Through fuller understanding of families'experiences, educators would be able to build on and recognize the families'cultural capital including their home language (Moll, Amanti, Neff: & Gonzalez,1992). It is an assumption of our analysis that the teachers themselves aregenerally without ill intent or conscious bias. lienee, when the effects ofexisting routines are understood, beneficial change is possible. The parents,likewise, are assumed to be willing and capable ofdeparting from their presentposition of powerlessness, given an improved understanding of the situationand political activity.

Even if we believed in the inevitability of assimilation. we think thepsychological and educational price paid by minority students could bereduced. Our preferred route is toward bilingualism in the educational process.While we will not reiterate the earlier findings ofbenefits ofbilingualism here(see Cummins, 1996; Wong Fillmore, 1991a, 1991b), we endorse a variety ofbilingual approaches suited to particular contexts in order to enhance students'educational outcomes and Latino families' life in general. Given that we wishto reach appropriate bilingual outcomes, the present data are useful in indicatingobstacles and impediments to these goals. Our earlier studies have foundevidence that educators and teachers are often unaware that seemingly well­intentioned practices and procedures have often led to poor outcomes, notonly loss oflanguage but also impaired educational achievement and damageto career prospects. It is important for educators and teachers to understandthe seemingly impersonal processes by which the cultural capital of minoritystudents is modified or rendered irrelevant. Although our data do not indicatethe problem that parents strongly believe in assimilation, we believe thatthose designing a bilingual program should expect to encounter resistancefrom certain parents and that resistance is not simply a problem to be overridden. A bilingual program must honor the various sensitivities of familieswho choose to be involved or who choose not to be involved.

It is worth noting that although Latinos in the United States have beeninvestigated extensively in view of their substantial population (e .g., Schecter& Bayley, 1998; Soto, 1993, 1997; Walsh, 1991; Zentella, 1997), significantlyfewer research efforts have been directed toward the situation of the relativelysmaller Latino population in Canada. Yet, as we stated earlier, the numbers arelarge enough to warrant attention, and there is reason to expect an increasedpercentage of Latinos in the school population. It is probable that some ofourfindings about doubts or demoralization of the parents reflect the fact thatthey arc a much smaller minority in Canada than in the United States and that

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the Latino community is relatively fragmented. In another Canadian study,investigators looked at ways in which networking among parents can beencouraged (Bernhard, Freire, Pacini-Ketchabaw, & Villanueva, 1998). Webelieve that schools can do much to facilitate the formation , operation, andeffectiveness of such networks.

Because of the small size of our Canadian sample and the methods bywhich it was drawn, the above results cannot necessarily be general ized toother Latino populations. The findings are intended to be a basis for preliminaryhypotheses to be tested in more extensive investigations. In particular, sinceLatinos are found in a number of major Canadian cities, an attempt to picturethe situation necessarily involves multi-site investigations of various citiesand ofparticular neighborhoods. We educators can do much to improve howour schools are functioning , to recognize the experiences offamilies and buildupon their cultural capital. It is our hope that through deeper understanding,the diverse structural mosaic of Canadian society can be strengthened.

Recommendations

I. School personnel would do well to familiarize themselves with the findingsof the present research and other investigators on the subject ofbilingualism and its possible benefits.

2. Parents would benefit if school personnel were to have a greaterunderstanding of bilingual issues and to successfully communicate tofamilies the benefits ofbilingualism as well the value ofmaintaining homeculture and language.

3. Parents, through their school councils, can encourage teachers to take aproactive attitude toward children's languages by organizing projectsfocu sed on home languages, acknowledging children's linguisticaccomplishments, learning some of their children's languages, andgenerally taking a proactive stance toward working with parents tomaintain minority languages (c.g., Edwards , 1996, 1998).

4. Parents would do well to form groups that meet outside the schools inwhich problems can be shared and common approaches can be developed.Based on their participation in such groups, parents can do more tocommunicate their views about home language maintenance to schoolpersonnel. A goal of parents' groups and parent organizations should beto give the families hope for achieving their goals and a belief thatinteractions with school personnel can be successful.

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Authors' Note

Funding for the projec t described has been gen erously provided by theSocial Science s and Humanities Research Counci l of Canada and by RyersonUniversity. Special thanks to all the children , famil ies, and teachers for theirparticipation in the study. We gratefully acknowledge the helpful commentsofour colleagues Jim Cumm ins and David Corson. Special thanks to FernandoMata, research officer of the Multiculturalism Program, and the Department ofCanadian Ileritage for support with cen sus tabl es. Canadian statisticsinformation is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users areforbidd en to copy the data and redisseminate them, in an orig inal or modifiedform, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permis sion ofStatisti csCanada. Information on the availability ofthe wide range ofdata from Statist icsCanada can be obtained from Statistics Canada's Regional Office s, on its Website at http ://www.statcan.ca. or its toll-fre e number 1-800-263-1136.

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