Transnationalizing lifelong learning: taking the standpoint of Chinese immigrant mothers

Zhu, Yidan

doi:10.1080/14767724.2020.1762168

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Education in China, from an educational standpoint, is founded on the notion of survival-competitive exam-oriented education (Zhu, 2020;Han et al, 2013). The students are proficient at responding to questions on a variety of board exams, but they have received little instruction in critical thinking skills that enable them to be creative regardless of whether they choose to study locally or internationally (Chen & Wang, 2018;Yang & Chen, 2017).…”

Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Thinking Instruction Incorporated in Cross-Cultural Communication Course Design: A Needs Analysis Report Based on Voices of Chinese International College Undergraduates

Huang¹,

Chang²

2022

JEL

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Critical thinking represents one of the most absolutely vital talents for every individual, both in the workplace and in their personal lives. Critical thinking has become a primary concern for all educational institution students in recent decades, particularly Chinese undergraduates. The intention of this study was to investigate the needs analysis of Chinese international college undergraduates’ perceptions of critical thinking skills incorporated into a cross-cultural communication course, as well as their expectations of critical thinking skills instructional coursework throughout the cross-cultural communication context. Throughout this mixed-methods investigation, 78 Chinese international college students volunteered to complete a critical thinking disposition inventory (CTDI) as the primary research instrument, in addition to a semi-structured interview. The research uncovered that Chinese international undergraduates exhibited unclear notions of critical thinking abilities. As a byproduct of China’s education system, the majority of Chinese international college undergraduates were flooded with dismissive attitudes toward critical thinking abilities. In order to control their academic advancement in a more critical and analytical fashion, Chinese students expressed a pressing need for critical thinking skills to be included in their cross-cultural communication course.

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Section: Statement Of the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Thinking Instruction Incorporated in Cross-Cultural Communication Course Design: A Needs Analysis Report Based on Voices of Chinese International College Undergraduates

Huang¹,

Chang²

2022

JEL

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“…This conflict assumes a different significance for immigrant mothers as ideal mothering and working can help women who are trying to perform the roles of a mother and a professional in a foreign country address some unique needs. For instance, immigrant mothers might strive for ideal mothering to preserve their cultural heritage while learning the ways of parenting in a new country ( Alfonso-Forero, 2007 ; Zhu, 2020 ). They may cook an ethnic meal alongside preparing a Western style “healthy” food or they may invest time to ensure that their children are learning indigenous cultural traditions through arts and poetry, but also take up elite sports like tennis with their children in order to maintain good mothering as practiced in the Western countries ( Zhu, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, immigrant mothers might strive for ideal mothering to preserve their cultural heritage while learning the ways of parenting in a new country ( Alfonso-Forero, 2007 ; Zhu, 2020 ). They may cook an ethnic meal alongside preparing a Western style “healthy” food or they may invest time to ensure that their children are learning indigenous cultural traditions through arts and poetry, but also take up elite sports like tennis with their children in order to maintain good mothering as practiced in the Western countries ( Zhu, 2020 ). Furthermore, immigrant mothers might use gender roles (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immigrant academic mothers negotiating ideal worker and mother norms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Duoethnography as a co-mentoring tool for transformative learning

Ghosh

Chaudhuri

2022

Management Learning

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How are immigrant academic mothers negotiating the confounding terrains of work and family during the pandemic? How can they support each other in learning how to resist the prevalent notions of ideal working and mothering amidst the demanding schedule of working remotely and parenting? This study addresses these questions through sharing a narrative of how two immigrant mothers in academia challenged and began the journey of transforming their gendered work and family identities. Building on personal essays and 6 weeks of extensive journaling that reflected our positionalities and experiences of motherhood, work-life, and intersections between work and home during the pandemic, we offer a fine-grained understanding of how we helped each other as co-mentors to identify moments of our lived experiences as triggers for transformative learning. In doing so, we realized how duoethnography could be more than just a research methodology in helping us co-construct a relational space to empathize and challenge each other’s perspectives about our roles as mothers and professors and the gendered nature of social forces shaping those roles.

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“…Moreover, middle-class Chinese migrant mothers tend to mobilize mothering practices as a form of cultural capital through transnational networks in China and the host society (Zhu, 2019(Zhu, , 2020. The evolving notion of "good mothering" also reflects the changing perception of "success" of their children in an increasing competitive society, which extends beyond mere academic and economic achievements, highlighting cultural and social capital as integral components of children' s future accomplishments.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From conception onwards, women are expected to bear full responsibilities for the health and development of their offspring, and they are often pressured to conform to health guidelines in order to ensure delivering "perfectly" healthy babies . Chinese migrant mothers living overseas often integrate their knowledge and values concerning modern motherhood within their strong transnational connections to contemporary China (Zhu, 2020;Vo & Desai, 2021). More recent studies have shed light on the connection between increased maternal stress due to the intensive mothering ideology and its adverse effects on maternal efficacy, self-confidence and women' s well-being, including elevated levels of anxiety, fear, and guilt .…”

Section: The Notion Of Mothering In Urban China and Its Relations Wit...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of Peripartum Depression among Middle-class Chinese Mothers in Urban China and the Netherlands

Shan

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This research is grounded in (digital) ethnographic fieldwork, offering an in-depth exploration into the dynamics of contemporary motherhood, particularly women’s experiences of peripartum depression. The study places an emphasis on a frequently understudied group: highly educated and seemingly privileged middle-class Chinese mothers residing in urban China, as well as those who have chosen to migrate to the Netherlands. It also examines of the quality of the maternity care provider-woman relationship within the interactions involving midwives and maternity care assistants with middle-class Chinese migrant women in the Netherlands. Chapter 1 aims to define the vulnerability to developing postpartum depression of middle-class migrant women as an intersubjective phenomenon undergoing transformation due to individual's social, cultural, and intergenerational interactions within transnational families. This article specifically focuses on middle-class Chinese migrant women, representing an often-overlooked subgroup within the burgeoning global middle-class migrant populations. Notably, it provides insights the pressures induced by the dominant public discourse of “good” mothering and explores how women who feel compelled to meet the standards of a "good" mother often exhibit lower levels of maternal self-efficacy, leading to heightened stress and anxiety. Chapter 2 is grounded in semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 43 Chinese mothers residing in urban China. This study examines the prevailing mothering paradigm embraced by the majority of middle-class Chinese mothers—termed "scientific mothering" (kexue yu’er). This conceptual framework places a premium on the authority and accountability of modern science, particularly drawing from the perspective of developmental psychology. Implicit in the notion of scientific mothering is the expectation for women to self-sacrifice their individual needs and pursuits for the purpose of fostering high-achieving children. A growing number of middle-class Chinese women find themselves in a dilemma, navigating the tension between self-sacrifice for intensive mothering and asserting autonomy as a new generation of women. This dichotomy limits their freedom to raise children according to their own desires. Despite the fact that many of them emotionally struggled with the loss of their autonomous self in the process of navigating first-time motherhood, a noteworthy development is the gradual learning process among these individuals. Most importantly, they have gradually learned to prioritize self-nurturing through practices of self-care. Chapter 3 addresses the multifaceted psychosocial challenges encountered by Chinese migrant women during the peripartum period, specifically within their relationships with intimate partners, mothers, and mothers-in-law. Many participating women with peripartum depressive symptoms in the study faced challenges in the transition into motherhood due to the unmet self-expectations regarding the pursuit of a good quality of life and a happy motherhood. Also, tension and conflict arose during interactions with women's mothers and mothers-in-law, contributing to the accumulation of stress and anxiety, particularly in the context of adopting the postpartum ritual such “doing the month”. Drawing upon interviews conducted with 46 middle-class Chinese migrant women, 13 midwives, and 12 maternity care assistants in the Netherlands, Chapter 4 employs three key concepts: interpersonal trust, culturally sensitive health care, and women's autonomy in shared decision-making. Through these lenses, this study offers insights into the formation and functioning of interpersonal relationships in the context of maternity care. The finding highlights the general trend of medicalization of surrounding pregnancy and childbirth in urban China and its impact on the expectations of care among Chinese women. The discrepancy between the inclination of Chinese migrant women towards more medicalized care and the Dutch midwives' emphasis on promoting the natural course of pregnancy and birth often lead to the suppression of women's concerns and anxieties.

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Transnationalizing lifelong learning: taking the standpoint of Chinese immigrant mothers

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Critical Thinking Instruction Incorporated in Cross-Cultural Communication Course Design: A Needs Analysis Report Based on Voices of Chinese International College Undergraduates

Critical Thinking Instruction Incorporated in Cross-Cultural Communication Course Design: A Needs Analysis Report Based on Voices of Chinese International College Undergraduates

Immigrant academic mothers negotiating ideal worker and mother norms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Duoethnography as a co-mentoring tool for transformative learning

Experiences of Peripartum Depression among Middle-class Chinese Mothers in Urban China and the Netherlands

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