Transnational Mothers and School Related Decisions
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Transnational Mothers and School Related Decisions Gabrielle Oliveira1
© Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract This article addresses the question of how transnational Mexican mothers negotiate and participate in the educational trajectories of children in the United States and in Mexico. It illustrates how mothers in New York City are central decision-makers in school-related issues in Mexico and in the United States, even when there is lengthy separation from the children in Mexico, language and legal status barriers with children in the United States. This article argues that mothers in New York and grandmothers in Mexico go through similar challenges when interacting with teachers and school staff in both countries, as they feel like they have little power or influence to assist children. Theoretically, this article is rooted in an anthropological tradition of transnational migration and advances a discussion of the role of gender in migration and education. This article shows a “split-screen” format, comparing the experiences observed on both sides of the border regarding school interactions. Data from phone calls and text messages, across border are used to show the reach of mothers in New York goes beyond formal boundaries. Thus, this article shows how Internet and Communication Technologies (ICT) foster regular interactions between mothers and grandmothers, between mothers in New York City and teachers in Mexico, and between separated siblings when they are doing homework and/or playing. Keywords Transnational · Mothers · Immigration · Education · Ethnography An increasing number of Mexican female migrants migrate to the United States alone, leaving their children behind in the care of relatives or friends (FernandezKelly 2008). Although mothers leaving children behind is not a new phenomenon, the number of years mothers stay separated from their children has increased due to longer periods of settlement stemming from the need to reduce the risks of exit and re-entry to the United States. This paper argues that the role women have in the transnational lives of their children “here” and “there” is not diminished by physical * Gabrielle Oliveira [email protected] 1
Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Ave, Campion Hall 115, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
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Vol.:(0123456789)
The Urban Review
distance. Instead mothers and grandmothers alike re-conceptualize understandings of what it means to care and provide and education for children. The goal of this paper is show how transnational care crosses borders and how ultimately schooling and education become the sites where care is enacted. Thus, the research questions that inform this paper are: (1) How are immigrant mothers in New York City participating in school-related issues of their children in Mexico and in the United States? (2) How do the experiences of transnational parenting of immigrant mothers in New York and grandmothers in Mexico parallel in regards to education and schooling? The feminization
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