The recent surge in international marriages is one of the factors contributing to the rise of multi-cultural families in Korea. According to the National Statistics Office, one out of every three marriages for people engaged in farming or fisheries is...
The recent surge in international marriages is one of the factors contributing to the rise of multi-cultural families in Korea. According to the National Statistics Office, one out of every three marriages for people engaged in farming or fisheries is an international marriage, making it an increasingly prominent family structure in the rural regions.
Such a trend is leading to a steady increase in the number of children from international couples. By 2010, biracial children entering the public education system are expected to expand substantially. Although the growing number of such children portends potential problems in school adjustment arising from cultural differences, dissimilar skin tone, facial features etc, and thus requires greater attention and assistance, as of yet, research and literature in this area are scarce in the Korean academia. Therefore an investigation into the implications of this issue for the social welfare community at large should be most meaningful.
This study aims at identifying ways for the social welfare community to assist the school adjustment of children from international marriages. To this end, an assessment on the current status of these children were made based on examining their unique multicultural characteristics, the kinds of social support provided, and level of adjustment in school life. Afterwards the degree of influence different variables play had been analyzed.
Data for the study was collected over a five week period, during which written questionnaires were distributed to biracial children in their 3,4,5,6th grade, residing in northern Cholla province. A total of 110 copies of the questionnaires were answered and returned, and subsequently used in the analysis.
The results of the analysis are summarized as follows.
First, the socio-demographical attributes were examined, which included gender, grade in school, religion, nationality of mother. The sex ratio was almost equally balanced, with 49.1% male, 50.9% female. In terms of grade, there were more third, fourth graders compared to fifth and sixth graders. Religion wise, 38.2% Protestant, 30.0% none, 12.7% Unification church, 10.0% Catholic, 5.5% Buddhism. Survey of nationality showed Japanese, Chinese, and Philippine women making up the majority with 36.4%, 34.5%, 23.6% respectively.
Second, bi-linguistic and bi-cultural characteristics were examined. The results show that in 90.9% of the case, parents of respondents always or at times spoke in the Korean language. To the question of whether the respondents were taught the native language of the mother, 66.4% replied in the positive. 73.6% believed themselves to proficient in Korean, and 48.2% indicated an ability to speak (no matter how poorly) the native language of the mother. Among the children surveyed, 69.1% displayed knowledge of the mother's country of origin, 73.7% had a positive opinion of the mother's country. 32.7% perceived his/her features and appearance negatively. 70.9% indicated a willingness to introduce their parents (both mother and father) to friends while 29.1% were against the idea.
Third, with regards to level of social support received and school adjustment, the average level of social support received was found to be high at 3.17. Sub-variables in this category were family support (3.36), peer support (3.13), teacher support (3.01). The average for school adjustment was 2.80 slightly higher than the norm. In this category, the sub-variables were relationship with the teacher (2.94), observance of rules (2.88), relationship with peers (2.85), participation in school events (2.69), class activities (2.62)
Fourth, upon examining the difference in major socio-demographic variables, significant correlation was found among the degree of usage of Korea, degree of teaching the children the mother's native language, and appreciation of one's looks. Also depending on the nationality of the mother, the respondent's proficiency in Korean and in the mother's native language differed significantly. No significant differences were found with regards to school adjustment based on socio-demographic characteristics.
Fifth, the difference in school adjustment based on bi-cultural characteristics were identified to be significant for all seven variables with the exception of the degree of usage of Korean.
Sixth, with respect to the level of influence socio-demographic characteristics, social support, bi-cultural attributes have on school adjustment, the stronger the social support received, the more positive an attitude one has toward one's own bi-cultural environment, in case the nationality of the mother was China, Japan, Philippines (countries where the majority of the international spouses come from) the higher the probability of the child adjusting well at school.
In conclusion, in order to facilitate children of international marriages adjustment to school life, the development and application of programs incorporating the characteristics of bi-cultural attributes are necessary. Such children require a higher level of social support than the average school child, and in particular, the teachers should be trained in multi-cultural awareness and outreach thereby enabling them to serve as solid supporters of these children. In addition, a climate in which the children feel pride in their mothers and form positive attitudes toward their bicultural environment should be encouraged. Effective community welfare strategies should be devised so that the local community has a high level of bi-cultural understanding and respect for other countries. Such programs must be rapidly put in place especially in the rural areas witnessing a considerable growth in their migrant population.
Also, mothers of all nationalities must be encouraged to form a network of support groups to share information and assist each other. Finally, an essential factor in facilitating a child's adjustment at school is language education. Should language pose a barrier, the children will undergo severe difficulties in following class activities. Therefore policies to provide them with the necessary educational programs are urgently called for.