Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, Volume 5, Number 3, 2004
COLLOQUIUM
Filipino Mothers’ Beliefs about Parenting: a question of independence PAMELA A. SCHULZE University of Akron, USA
ABSTRACT The author discusses research on Filipino mothers’ socialization goals and beliefs about the role of other adults in disciplining their children. The results reveal that Filipinos have a collectivistic orientation, but that they nevertheless encourage independence in their children. The implications of these results are discussed in light of the current debate about the usefulness of individualism and collectivism as a heuristic for interpreting cultural differences.
There has been growing recognition that cultural beliefs and practices are an important part of the environment that exerts an influence over child development. This recognition has brought about a growing number of crosscultural studies in child development. The individualism–collectivism construct has become increasingly popular among cultural researchers as a heuristic to interpret cultural differences (Triandis, 1989). Individualistic cultures have been described as cultures that focus on the maximization of the individual. According to Oyserman et al (2002, p. 4): ‘The core element of individualism is the assumption that individuals are independent of one another.’ Collectivistic cultures focus on the individual’s connectedness with others in society. Although often depicted as opposites on a single continuum, many theorists conceptualize individualism and collectivism as simply two differing world views (Oyserman et al, 2002). As Harkness et al (2000) pointed out, Western cultures have been depicted as individualistic, whereas primarily non-Western cultures have been described as sociocentric or collectivistic. Although there is support for this assertion, there is substantial variability between cultures that fall into either category (Oyserman et al, 2002).
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Several researchers and theorists have called for further differentiation and elaboration of the individualism–collectivism construct. As Kagitçibasi (1997, p. 9) pointed out: ‘If individualism–collectivism is used to explain everything, then it may explain nothing.’ Furthermore, some (Goodnow & Collins, 1990; Norimatsu, 1993) have suggested that there may be many other dimensions along which cultures may be compared. Research contrasting Asian (collectivistic) and Western (individualistic) cultures can elucidate the possible multidimensionality of the individualism– collectivism construct. Whereas Asian cultures have beliefs and practices that are consistent with their sociocentric orientation, some beliefs and practices can appear to be at odds with that orientation. In Norimatsu’s (1993) study of Japanese and French mothers, Japanese mothers were found to encourage more ‘emotional independence’ in their children. Emotional independence refers to the ability of the child to learn to be alone and assert himself or herself with minimal emotional support. Norimatsu contrasted this with ‘instrumental independence,’ which is defined as the child’s ability to be self-reliant and perform tasks without help. Moreover, the results of this and other studies (Osterweil & Nagano, 1991; Norimatsu, 1998) have suggested that Japanese mothers use childrearing strategies that are adaptive to their children’s signals and that allow children the freedom to learn with minimal intervention.[1] Although there has been a growth in research with Asians, there is very little research on parenting practices and child development in the Philippines. The Philippines has had extensive exposure to Western cultural influences, particularly the influences of Spain and the USA. Indigenous Filipino cultural beliefs nevertheless exert directive force on the behaviors of Filipinos (Lin et al, 1990). Historically, Filipino culture has been family-oriented. According to Palattao-Corpus (1993, p. 431): ‘Early in the recorded history of the country families banded together for mutual protection and support to form a “barangay”, or “small village”.’ Family members, particularly female family members, took responsibility for the care of children. Three hundred years of colonization by the Spaniards did little to influence these practices. Filipinos made a conscious effort to retain their sense of cultural identity throughout their colonization by Spain and the USA respectively. Since becoming an independent republic in 1946, the Philippines has transmuted some of the cultural influences of its neighbors and the former imperial powers to constitute a cultural identity that is uniquely Filipino (Smolicz & Nical, 1997). A study by Schulze (1995) examined the socialization goals of middle-class Anglo and first-generation, middle-class Filipino mothers in the USA and their beliefs about the role of other adults in rearing and disciplining their children. The Socialization Goals Inventory (SGI, Harwood, 1992) was used to determine the socialization goals of the Filipino and Anglo mothers. The results indicated that, relatively, the Filipino mothers placed greater value on respectfulness as a long-term socialization goal for their children, whereas the 392
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Anglo mothers showed a preference for individual autonomy and a capacity for empathy. An unexpected finding was that the Filipino mothers were more likely to value qualities associated with achievement, such as being talented, smart, hard-working, goal-oriented, and responsible. Additionally, when responding to vignettes involving another adult (e.g. the child’s aunt or a new neighbor) correcting a child in the presence of his or her mother, the Filipino mothers rated the other adult’s behavior as being more desirable than did the Caucasian mothers. This finding is interpreted as evidence that, for the Filipino mothers, other adults have a legitimate role in the disciplining of their children. The apparent willingness to allow other adults to play a role in the disciplining of their children is consistent with a more collectivistic orientation. It is also in keeping with the logic of non-Western collectivism that the Filipino mothers placed a greater value on respectfulness compared to the Anglo mothers in the study. The surprising finding was that the Filipino mothers placed a greater value on their children’s achievements than the Anglo mothers. If one views individualism and collectivism as a simple dichotomy, this finding would seem contradictory. It would be naive to contend that in individualistic cultures there is an absence of sociocentric values, or that in individualistic cultures there is an absence of relatedness or collectivistic values. When confronted with a seeming contradiction, however, one is left to wonder how an individualistic belief can be consistent with the overall collectivistic belief system, since cultural beliefs are generally believed to be systematically related rather than being random. The same apparent conundrum occurred in Norimatsu’s (1993) study, where the Japanese mothers appeared to encourage an individualistic value (emotional autonomy). Whereas the Japanese mothers in Norimatsu’s (1993) study emphasized a kind of ‘felt’ autonomy, the Filipino mothers in Schulze’s (1995) study seemed to be striving for more of an ‘instrumental’ type of autonomy: to achieve in one’s academic and professional life. As has been argued elsewhere (see Schulze et al, 2002), seemingly individualistic behaviors can serve collectivistic goals. In the case of the Filipino mothers, the achievements of their offspring would bring prestige and economic security not only to the individual, but also to the family. The individualism–collectivism framework seems to have more interpretative value when it is coupled with other dimensions of cultural comparison, such as the emotional–instrumental dimension proposed by Norimatsu (1993), or emotional closeness versus separateness as proposed by others (Harkness et al, 2000). Goodnow & Collins (1990) described two general viewpoints about the significance of early experience, especially early skill acquisition. The first is the ‘role theory point of view’, which contends that behaviors should be built in as early as possible. The other point of view is called the ‘trait theory view’. According to this view, if a child does not acquire an attitude of willingness and some skill in a particular area at an early age, he or she will never accept the tasks willingly or perform them well as an adult. 393
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All these dimensions of cultural difference point to the need to examine further the relationship between the individualism–collectivism construct and the concepts of independence and interdependence. All cultures encourage varying degrees of both independence and interdependence. What often differentiates cultures are the ways in which interdependence and independence seem to be related to broader cultural themes, and to elucidate these would warrant further investigation. Correspondence Pamela A. Schulze, School of Family & Consumer Sciences, 215J Schrank Hall South, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-6103, USA (
[email protected]). Note [1] It is interesting to note that many Western cultures strive toward this particular goal in early childhood programming. In the USA, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) advises parents to search for childcare centers in which ‘learning is playful and exploratory, children contribute their own ideas, use their own problem-solving strategies, and pursue their own interests’ (NAEYC, 2003, para. 8).
References Goodnow, J.J. & Collins, W.A. (1990) Development According to Parents: the nature, sources, and consequences of parents’ ideas. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Harkness, S., Super, C.M. & van Tijen, N. (2000) Individualism and the ‘Western Mind’ Reconsidered: American and Dutch parents’ ethnotheories of the child, in S. Harkness, C. Raeff & C.M. Super (Eds) Variability in the Social Construction of the Child: new directions for child and adolescent development, vol. 87, pp. 23-40. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Harwood, R.L. (1992) The Influence of Culturally Derived Values on Anglo and Puerto Rican Mothers’ Perceptions of Attachment Behavior, Child Development, 63, pp. 822-839. Kagitçibasi, C. (1997) Individualism and Collectivism, in J.W. Berry, M.H. Segall & C. Kagitçibasi (Eds) Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol. 3, 2nd edn, pp. 3-49. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Lin, K., Demonteverde, L. & Nuccio, I. (1990) Religion, Healing, and Mental Health among Filipino Americans, International Journal of Mental Health, 19(3), pp. 40-44. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (2003) Preschool – academics or play? Early Years are Learning Years, Release # 01/4. Available at: www.naeyc.org/resources/eyly/2001/05.pdf
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Norimatsu, H. (1993) Development of Child Autonomy in Eating and Toilet Training: one- to three-year-old Japanese and French children, Early Development and Parenting, 2(1), pp. 39-50. Norimatsu, H. (1998) Child Autonomy and Mother–Child Interaction in Feeding Situations – a Japanese–French comparison, paper presented at the XVth biennial meetings of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Berne, Switzerland, 1-4 July. Osterweil, Z. & Nagano, K.N. (1991) Maternal Views on Autonomy: Japan and Israel, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 22(3), pp. 362-375. Oyserman, D., Coon, H.M. & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002) Rethinking Individualism and Collectivism: evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses, Psychological Bulletin, 128(1), pp. 3-72. Palattao-Corpus, L.G. (1993) The Philippines, in M. Cochran (Ed.) International Handbook of Child Care Policies and Programs, pp. 431-451. London: Greenwood Press. Schulze, P.A. (1995) Socialization Goals and Parental Purview of Authority among Filipino and Anglo Mothers in the United States, unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Connecticut at Storrs. Schulze, P.A., Harwood, R.L., Schoelmerich, A. & Leyendecker, B. (2002) The Cultural Structuring of Parenting and Universal Developmental Tasks, Parenting: science and practice, 2(2), pp. 151-178. Smolicz, J.J. & Nical, I. (1997) Exporting the European Ideal of a National Language: some educational implications of the use of English and indigenous languages in the Philippines, International Review of Education, 43(5-6), pp. 507-526. Triandis, H.C. (1989) The Self and Social Behavior in Differing Cultural Contexts, Psychological Review, 96, pp. 506-520.
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