How immigrant parents of three to five year old children decide which values are most important to transfer to their children and the reason for their importance

Term

Spring 5-15-2015

Capstone

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair

Walter Enloe

Secondary Advisor/Reader One

Monica Potter

Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two

Donna Miller

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn how immigrant parents of three to five year olds decide which values are most important to transfer to their children and the reasons for their importance. Qualitative framework was used for this research. The goal of this study was to obtain the answers by interviewing six immigrant parents who had been in the United States for less than ten years and had different countries of origin. Schwartz’s Survey of Values (2012) was used to survey the parents’ ratings of values at the start of the interview. The findings showed all six parents changed the order of value importance after living in the United States, whether they thought they would change or not before arriving in this country. They made conscious decisions based on observations and education of what would help their children be successful in this country and made conscious decisions about what was important to keep from their homeland. My recommendation is to expand research in value transference by comparing other variables and the effects they may have on value transference. Additional research could be done by combining theories and surveys developed to recognize cultural values. The results of this research can affect the curriculum required in the education of parent educators. Many organizations working with immigrant families can benefit with the understanding of this information. By understanding the process immigrant parents’ use when assessing values, professionals and community members can have an appreciation of different cultural lenses and the role values play in those decisions.

Keywords

Parent Education

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