Characteristics of Hispanic Families

1
Characteristics ofHispanic Families

• Developed by
• Dr. Laurie R. Weaver
• Dr. Judith A. Márquez
• University of Houston-Clear Lake

2
Objectives

• At the end of this module, the participant will
  be able to
• Distinguish between race, ethnicity and culture
• Describe characteristics of Hispanic culture that
  may affect students in the school setting

3
To Think About

• If you were asked to identify your race, what
  would you say? Your ethnicity?
• If you were asked to describe your culture, what
  would you say?

4
Hispanization of the United States

• Read this information from the US Census
• As of March 2002
• There were 37.4 million Hispanics in the US
• Hispanics make up 13.3 of the total US
  population
• Examine the next slide. What information does it
  provide about the Hispanic population in the US?
• (Ramirez, R., de la Cruz, G. P. (2003, June).
  The Hispanic population in the United States
  March 2002. US Census Bureau.

5
Hispanization of the United States
6
Hispanization of the United States

• You should have noted that
• on the Census survey, people of Hispanic origin
  reported their origin as Mexican, Puerto Rican,
  Cuban, Central and South American, or some other
  Latino origin
• people of Mexican origin comprise 66.9 of the US
  Hispanic population
• 30 of the US Hispanic population, however, is of
  other than Mexican origin

7
Hispanization of the United States

• What impact does the following information have
  for schools? Discuss this with a partner.
• The Hispanic population grew four times the rate
  of the US population overall during a two year
  period (2001-2003).
• From April 2002 to July 2002, the Hispanic
  population grew 10.

8
What Does Hispanic Mean?

• To understand what it means to be Hispanic, it is
  important to understand the difference between
  race and ethnicity. Working with a partner,
  define race and ethnicity, then read the
  definitions on the following slide.
• How similar are your definitions to the ones on
  the following slide?

9
Race/Ethnicity

• Race
• is a socially determined category.
• is related to, but not bound by, physical
  characteristics (Jacobson, 1998).
• Therefore, two individuals with physical
  characteristics that are almost identical could
  be categorized as different races in different
  societies.

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Race/Ethnicity

• Example A middle class person who looks
  Caucasian but acknowledges African ancestry would
  be classified Black in the mainland US.
• However, in Puerto Rico this person would be
  considered White. In Puerto Rico in determining
  race, a greater emphasis is placed on social
  economic standing (Banks, 2003).

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Race

• What are the racial categories in the US,
  according to the US government?
• Go to the following link and examine the five
  racial categories established by the US Office of
  Management and Budget.
• http//www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/brief
  s.html
• Click on Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin,
  (p. 2).

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Race and Ethnicity

• Does the US government consider Hispanic to be a
  race?
• If Hispanic isnt a race, what is it?
• Hispanic is an ethnicity.
• Ethnicity relates to
• Sharing a common national origin/heritage
• May share a common language

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Race and Ethnicity

• Example
• A person from Mexico with indigenous ancestors
  who moves to the US would be considered Hispanic,
  as would a person from Mexico with Spanish (from
  Spain) ancestors.
• Two different races are represented (Native
  American and White), but one ethnicity (Hispanic).

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Race and Ethnicity

• Thus, an Hispanic (ethnic background) person
  could be White, Black/African American, Asian,
  Pacific Islander and/or Native American (race).

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Hispanic and Latino

• So what does Latino mean? Discuss with a partner
  what you think the difference is between Hispanic
  and Latino.
• People whose heritage is from Mexico, Central or
  South America use various terms to refer to
  themselves. Go to the following links to read
  about some of these terms
• http//www.lasculturas.com/aa/aa070501a.htm
• http//www.azteca.net/aztec/chicano.html

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Hispanic and Latino

• Assess what you have learned about these terms.
• Tell your partner one fact you have learned so
  far.

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Stereotyping

• As you work through the rest of this module,
  remember to avoid stereotyping.
• This module presents information about some
  general characteristics of the Hispanic culture.
• However, many factors will influence a persons
  culture.
• You must be careful not to assume that just
  because a person is Hispanic, that he will
  exhibit the following characteristics. He may,
  but then again, he may not.

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Culture

• With your partner, define culture. Then compare
  your definition to the ones that follow on the
  next two slides.

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Culture

• Culture includes knowledge, belief, art, law,
  morals, customs and any other capabilities and
  habits acquired by man as member of society
  (Kroeber Kluckhohn, 1963, p. 81).
• Culture consists of ideals, values and
  assumptions about life that people widely share
  and that guide specific behaviors (Brislin,
  2000).

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Culture

• Culture is learned and shared (Ovando, Collier,
  Combs, 2003).
• Culture is transmitted from generation to
  generation, and is considered self evident and
  thus, is not widely discussed (Brislin, 2000).

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Factors that Influence Culture

• An individuals culture is affected by many
  factors.
• Consider two Hispanic students.
• Both are ten years old, both are of Mexican
  ancestry.
• One was born in a rural village in Mexico and
  moved to the US a year ago. His father is a day
  laborer and they attend the local Evangelical
  church.

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Factors that Influence Culture

• Two Hispanic Students
• The other student was born in the US.
• His grandparents immigrated from Mexico City to
  the US when his grandfather decided to pursue his
  medical studies in the US.
• Members of the local Catholic church, this
  students family speaks both English and Spanish.

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Factors that Influence Culture

• Do you think that these students, both of whom
  are Hispanic, have the same culture? Discuss
  this with a partner.
• What are some of the factors illustrated in the
  example that can impact an individuals culture?
  Make a list with your partner.

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Factors that Influence Culture

• There are many factors that impact an
  individuals culture. Some of these factors are
  listed on the next slide.

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Factors that Influence Culture

• Gender
• Religion
• Race
• Language
• Health

• Age
• Socioeconomic Level
• Ethnicity/Heritage
• Educational Level

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Factors that Impact Culture

• The next slide illustrates some of the factors
  that may influence your own culture.
• Copy the illustration and write your name in the
  middle.
• Write down a few key words for each of the
  factors that you feel influence your culture.
• Share these factors with a partner.

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Ethnicity
Race
Gender
Religion
The Individual
Education
Age
Health
SES
Language
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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Familism
• Bien/Mal Educado
• Collectivism
• Simpatia
• Respeto

• Importance of Education
• Language
• Personal Space
• Time Orientation

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Familism
• An individual is strongly identified with and
  attached to his family.
• Family refers to both the nuclear family and the
  extended family.
• There are strong feelings of loyalty and
  reciprocity among members of the family.
• Familism may serve to protect individuals against
  stress by providing a support system (Triandis,
  Marin, Betancourt, Linsansky Chang, 1982).

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Bien/Mal Educado
• Related to the importance of the family is the
  importance of being bien educado.
• A direct translation of this term is well-
  educated.
• However, in Spanish bien educado refers to being
  brought up well, that is, that an individuals
  parents brought the individual up to be a
  well-behaved, respectful person.

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Bien/Mal Educado
• To tell a Spanish-speaking parent that his/her
  child is bien educado is a compliment and is
  greatly appreciated.
• Conversely, to say that a child is mal educado is
  saying that the family did not fulfill its
  responsibility in terms of teaching an individual
  to behave properly.
• Because of this, children learn that their
  behavior is a reflection on the entire family.

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Collectivism
• Related to the importance of family is the belief
  in collectivism.
• Hispanics tend to view the needs of the group as
  superceding the needs of the individual.
• This means that sometimes the individual has to
  sacrifice something for the good of the group
  (Marin Triandis, 1985).

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Collectivism
• For example, a student may have to be absent from
  school to go to Mexico for a relatives funeral.
• This behavior does not mean that the family
  doesnt value education.
• It does show, however, that an extended family
  member (aunt) is as valued as is a member of the
  nuclear family (familism).

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Collectivism
• It also illustrates the value of collectivism.
  In this example, the student is asked to
  sacrifice an individual need (attending school)
  for the good of the family (attending the
  funeral).

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Simpatía
• This word appears to mean sympathy but has a
  different meaning in Spanish. It better
  translates to pleasantness and congeniality.
• Simpatía refers to behaviors and actions that
  promote pleasant relationships.
• These behaviors include behaving respectfully and
  in ways which promote harmony and avoid conflict
  (Marin and Marin, 1991).

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Respeto
• Respeto is related to simpatía.
• Personal power is derived from being treated
  respectfully in interpersonal relations.
• Therefore, a person who is considered to be
  powerful is treated very respectfully (Marin
  Marin, 1991).

37
Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Importance of Education
• There is a stereotype that Hispanics dont value
  education.
• In fact, Hispanic families do greatly value
  education.
• In a recent poll, 95 of the Hispanic parents
  surveyed responded that they believed a college
  education was very important (Brown, 2004).

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Characteristics ofHispanic Families

• Importance of Education
• What may differ, however, is how they show that
  they value education.
• Traditionally in Hispanic culture, the teacher is
  viewed with great respect.
• The teacher and the school are seen as the
  experts in education.

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Importance of Education
• Because of the high respect with which the
  teacher is held, parents will be reluctant to
  question the teacher, to give suggestions, or to
  appear to be interfering in the educational
  process.
• This may give the appearance of not valuing
  education.

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Characteristics ofHispanic Families

• Importance of Education
• As a result, parents do not interfere with the
  experts job. This is a different view of the
  role of parents in education.
• This differing view is sometimes perceived as a
  lack of interest in the childrens education.

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Characteristics ofHispanic Families

• Importance of Education
• In addition, Hispanic immigrants tend to have a
  lower educational level which means they have
  less experience with an educational system and
  how it functions.
• Also, some Hispanic parents do not speak English.

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Importance of Education
• In addition, socioeconomic status can affect how
  a parent interacts with the school.
• Parents with low SES may be working several jobs
  which do not allow the parent to attend school
  meetings.

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Importance of Education
• A lack of homework help and low attendance at
  school meetings, however, should not be perceived
  as not valuing education.
• These factors combine to make it appear that the
  parents do not value education (Brown, 2004).
• However, in general, Hispanics do believe that an
  education is important for their children.

44
Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Language Use
• Some Hispanics are bilingual. Other Hispanics
  are monolingual Spanish-speaking or monolingual
  English-speaking.
• In other cases, a Hispanic family may speak an
  indigenous language as a first language, Spanish
  as the second language and English as a third
  language.

45
Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Personal Space
• Personal space refers to the amount of physical
  space that is considered culturally appropriate
  between people (Hall, 1969).
• Hispanics have been found to prefer a smaller
  personal space
• That is, they feel more comfortable when
  physically close to others (Marin Marin, 1991).

46
Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Time Orientation
• There is a difference between future and
  present-oriented cultures.
• Future-oriented cultures emphasize planning for
  the future and value punctuality.
• Present-oriented cultures tend to place more
  emphasis on what is occurring at the present
  moment. There is a more flexible view of time.

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Time Orientation
• Hispanics tend to be more present-oriented. The
  quality of the interpersonal interaction is more
  important than the length of time (Hall, 1969
  Hall, 1983 Marin, 1987, Marin Marin, 1991).

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Characteristics ofHispanic Families

• Imagine that you are holding a family literacy
  workshop for Hispanic families in your library.
  What implications might the characteristics of
  Hispanics have on your workshop? Make a list
  with a partner.

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Characteristics ofHispanic Families

• Some possible implications
• There may be a larger audience than expected
  (family means both nuclear and extended family).
• You might not have all your audience present at
  your start time (present-oriented, more flexible
  view of time).

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Characteristics of Hispanic Families

• Some possible implications
• You may need to have translators, if you are not
  proficient in Spanish (language use).
• You will need to allow for time to establish
  respect for your audience as well as show an
  interest in them and their lives (respeto and
  simpatía).
• There may not be as many questions as you
  anticipate (education and the parents role).

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References

• Banks, J. (2003). Multicultural education
  Issues and perspectives, 4th edition. New York
  John Wiley Sons.
• Brislin, R. (2000). Understanding cultures
  influence on behavior, 2nd edition. New York
  Harcourt School Publishers.
• Brown, S. (2004, Fall). Confronting myths about
  Hispanics. Community Connections Local
  Education Funds, 11(1).
• Hall, E. T. (1969). The hidden dimension. Garden
  City, NY Doubleday Anchor Books.
• Hall, E. T. (1983). The dance of life The other
  dimension of time. Garden City, NY Anchor
  Press/Doubleday.

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References

• Jacobson, M.F. (1998). Whiteness of a different
  color European immigrants and the alchemy of
  race. Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press.
• Kroeber, A. L., Kluckhohn, C. (1963).
  Culture A critical review of concepts and
  definitions. New York Vintage Books.
• Ovando, C. J., Collier, V. P. , Combs, M. C.
  (2003). Bilingual and ESL classrooms Teaching
  in multicultural contexts, 3rd edition. New
  York McGraw Hill.
• Marín, G. Marín, B. V. O. (1991). Research with
  Hispanic populations. Applied Social Research
  Methods Series, Vol. 23. London Sage
  Publications

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References

• Marín, G. Triandis, H. C. (1985). Allocentrism
  as an important characteristic of the behavior of
  Latin Americans and Hispanics. In R.Díaz-Guerrero
  (Ed.), Cross-cultural and national studies in
  social psychology (pp. 85-104). Amsterdam
  Elsevier Science Publishers
• Triandis, H. C., Marín, G., Betancourt, H.,
  Lisansky, J., Chang, B. (1982). Dimensions of
  familism among Hispanic and mainstream Navy
  recruits. Chicago University of Illinois,
  Department of Psychology.