Challenging the Tiger Mother Stereotype? Christian Chinese Immigrant Homeschooling Mothers’ Parenting Practices

Abstract

Good parenting has a major influence on positive child outcomes (Baumrind1983; Darling & Steinberg, 1993), and parents often seek information about how to raise their children according to their personal and cultural values. Young Chinese parents tend to seek information and materials originating in the West for good parenting references because of the lack of indigenous parenting studies (Goh, 2011) and because of their higher regard for Western society (Fong, 2004; Goh, 2011). However, Chinese immigrant families who live in the United States increasingly choose to homeschool their children for academic reasons and/or religious reasons (Fu, 2008; Sun, 2007). The purpose of this ethnographic study is to explore three evangelical Christian Chinese immigrant homeschooling mothers’ cross-cultural parenting practices in the United States. This study addresses three research questions: (1) What does it mean for evangelical Christian Chinese immigrant mothers to home educate their children? (2) How do evangelical Christian Chinese immigrant homeschooling mothers and their children interact with each other when confronting conflicts in the homeschooling setting? and (3) What stories do evangelical Christian Chinese immigrant homeschooling mothers tell regarding their parenting beliefs and practices in the homeschooling setting in the U.S.? These research questions emerged from an extensive literature review. Three evangelical Christian Chinese immigrant homeschooling mothers were recruited to participate in this study. Data were collected through intensive participatory observation, interviews, and selective documentary collection at each mother’ home. The findings suggested that identity is subjective and context oriented. Additionally, three parenting patterns were illustrated from these Christian Chinese immigrant homeschooling mothers’ parent-child conflict management: (1) pushing for obedience and immediate discipline, if needed; (2) negotiated child obedience; (3) letting go without pushing for obedience. Implications from this study suggest the need for individualized and cultural-sensitive parent education programs.