Foreign mothers' cultural and social capital and maternal involvement in their children's education: Case study of a community in South Korea

Cross-border marriages, which typically involve female marriage immigrants (so-called "foreign brides"), have increased in South Korea in recent years. Only a limited number of interracial children from those marriages currently attend the extremely homogenous South Korean schools yet, but more are expected to do so in the near future. This dissertation explores the process of foreign mothers' involvement in their children's education, particularly their access to, and use of cultural and social capital. I present a, conceptual framework, "The process of foreign mothers' involvement in their children's education," To help understand these mothers' experiences regarding their children's education Twenty foreign mothers were interviewed in a rural community in South Korea about their social and cultural capital surrounding their home-based and school-based involvement in their children's education. Social events that foreign mothers attended were also observed, and ten additional people were interviewed including foreign mothers' spouses, friends, neighbors, and Korean language teachers. Findings show that most foreign mothers took the roles of the major caregivers' and educators' in their family, had high aspirations regarding their children's education, and were therefore willing to support them. Frequently, however, foreign mothers were perceived by both themselves and their family members as incapable of properly engaging in their children's education. Given their immigrant background, their knowledge of Korean language and culture were presumed to be insufficient. Nonetheless, they were expected to be involved in their children's education in the manner of South Korean mothers. Their original languages and cultures were often considered irrelevant for their children's development. Accordingly, most foreign mothers appeared to be frustrated with the standard of parenting that required them to emulate South Korean mothers. The exception to this was a minority who refused the monolingual and monocultural ideologies or who were already proficiency in Korean language and culture at the time of immigration. Most foreign mothers' social relationships were restricted within the boundaries of geographic proximity or the same ethnic groups and rarely included native South Koreans, which explains their limited information channels. In some cases, Korean language teachers and families acted as bridges for mothers to Korean society. Findings increase the understanding of immigrant mothers' experiences in South Korea and provide important education policy implications.