I am more thankful than ever for having the privilege of having learned so much about motherhood from so many incredible women and children in this research. My son Jack teaches me about family, love, and sacrifice every day and I will try to be as good of a mother to him as the women who are participants in this research try to be to their own children. As I sit here and hold my baby Noah, I am in awe of the women and children around the world who make it work through love, sacrifice, and dedication. We need this strength today more than ever.
APPENDIX A
Transnational Care Constellations
APPENDIX B
Schooling Systems Here and There
Mexico
United States
Curriculum
National
National
Systemic organization
Jardin de los niños (kindergarten): ages 3–5.
Universal Preschool; Preschool: Not mandatory; operated by independent organizations and not part of the state education system.
Primária: grades 1–6, ages 6–14, compulsory. Students older than 15 who have not finished their primary education may attend primary school classes for adults.
Primary or Elementary school is comprised of seven levels/grades (kindergarten to grade 6) for children ages 5–12.
Secundária: Grades 7–9, compulsory since 1993, it is designed for students ages 12–16 and takes three years to complete. Secondary education also provides learning opportunities for students older than 16 and working adults. Completing this level of education is required for students who want to advance to preparatória.
Middle or Junior High School: Depending on the organization of the school district, the next level of education is called either “middle school” or “junior high.” These schools are composed of two or three school years for children ages 12–15. Students must finish elementary school before advancing to middle school. Completion of this level of education is mandatory.
Telesecundaria: Can be found in rural areas and is equivalent to grades 7–9 in junior high schools in the US. Every hour the students are given 15-minute televised lessons followed by 45 minutes to complete assignments in their national text book with support of a teacher or para professional.
Preparatória: Students in preparatory school have three educational options. They can take general education classes, complete technical or vocational training (Bachillerato), or obtain a degree that prepares them for higher education.
High school includes four years of courses and is required for students ages 14–18. Students are prepared to transition to various types of subsequent education or training. Upon completion of high school, students receive a diploma and can then enter into technical training or university. A high school diploma is required for most jobs in the United States.
Hours and schedules
Until preparatória or bachillerato there are two shifts: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Usually from morning to afternoon.
Grading practices
Number system: “10” is the best grade, “6” passing poorly, “5” failed course/subject.
Letter system: “A” is the best grade, “D” passing poorly, “F” failed course/subject. Number systems are also available.
Types of schools
Public and private schools
Public and private schools
Expectations of parent involvement
Parents are not part of the governing boards of schools; legal mandates don’t require parental participation.
Parents are invited to school with the expectation of monetary or in-kind support. Parents are expected to help in physical aspects of the school (painting, building, etc.). They are also expected to attend parties and celebrations.
Parent-teacher conferences, chaperons, positions within the school, fund-raising.
Classrooms and facilities
Varied according to location.
Varied according to neighborhood.
APPENDIX C
Mexican Migration to the United States by State and Sex, 2010
Entidad federativa
Total
Men
Women
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
1,112,273
832,441
279,832
Aguascalientes
17,057
12,239
4,818
Baja California
18,432
10,912
7,520
Baja California Sur
2,966
1,477
1,489
Campeche
2,155
1,450
705
Coahuila de Zaragoza
14,795
10,459
4,336
Colima
7,118
4,522
2,596
Chiapas
21,797
18,115
3,682
Chihuahua
30,313
18,941
11,372
Distrito Federal
50,281
32,556
17,725
Durango
18,808
13,171
5,637
Guanajuato
119,706
100,952
18,754
Guerrero
43,111
31,173
11,938
Hidalgo
40,659
33,992
6,667
Jalisco
86,152
60,641
25,511
Mexico
75,694
57,995
17,699
Michoacan de Ocampo
85,175
65,207
19,968
Morelos
20,898
14,984
5,914
NaYazmint
15,585
11,654
3,931
Nuevo Leon
16,448
9,839
6,609
Oaxaca
58,913
45,975
12,938
Puebla
73,458
57,898
15,560
Querétaro
26,424
22,546
3,878
Quintana Roo
4,401
2,961
1,440
San Luis Potos
34,044
26,594
7,450
Sinaloa
15,427
10,565
4,862
Sonora
18,243
10,068
8,175
Tamaulipas
21,671
14,882
6,789
Tlaxcala
12,947
10,441
2,506
Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave
62,720
50,488
12,232
Yucatan
6,909
5,300
1,609
Zacatecas
31,205
24,615
6,590
No especificado
52,954
35,272
17,682
Note: Migration according to place of residence five years before, between June 2005 and June 2010. Figures for June 12. Source: INEGO Censo de Poblacion y Vivienda 2010. Cuestionario ampilado.
APPENDIX D
Demographic Profile of Research Sites in New York City
Poverty Rate
Total Population
Percentage of Mexican-born
Queens
Jackson Heights
&nb
sp; 20.1
25,919
14.31
Western Astoria
12
2,343
11.61
Long Island City
18.5
749
14.04
Brooklyn
Bushwick
29.9
8,975
13.45
Brighton Beach
25.7
3,095
15.81
Sunset Park
24.5
13,000
14.00
Manhattan
East Harlem
33.6
6,239
12.45
Bronx
Long-Wood-Stock
44.2
1,659
9.78
Mid-South Bronx
35.3
1,974
12.07
South Bronx
44.8
2,846
10.84
Belmont
43.7
3,095
15.81
South West Bronx
41.8
3,017
11.49
Staten Island
North East Staten Island
25.1
681
4.36
North West Staten Island
15.5
2,758
11.56
Rest of the City
16.9
101,833
1.33
Source: US Census 2010.
APPENDIX E
A Note on Methods
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Transnational ethnography requires a variety of research techniques. Participant observation was documented through detailed field notes. Most families lived in close proximity in the Mixteca Poblana; though I lived with each household for a specific period of time, I was able to interact with the other families at school, public markets, parties, church, and places of work. For the families that lived in different states, I stayed with them for seven to ten days each time I went to Mexico. In New York I participated in teacher-parent conferences, observed after-school programs, and interviewed teachers, principals, and nurses at the schools. In New York City my time was split between the South Bronx, Sunset Park, East Harlem, and Jackson Heights, where I conducted research for a period of 12 (16 families) to 24 months (four families). I visited families in the different boroughs every day and took one day off during the week. I was able to be part of families’ weekday routines as well as weekend activities.
Interviews with children under the age of ten in Puebla and in New York were less structured and centered on the elaboration and explanation of drawings of (a) their families and their communication with relatives in Mexico/New York; (b) their school; (c) their ideal school; (d) how they imagine the school their siblings attend in the other country; and (e) where they would like to be living in the future. Interviews with immigrant children in New York who were older than age ten included topics such as: their thoughts on school and education; their perceptions/memories of school in Mexico; their future aspirations; their thoughts on high school and college; their performance in school; their behavior in school; language barriers; their involvement in extracurricular activities; and their relationships with their mothers, siblings, peers, teachers, and school staff. The same topics were discussed when interviewing US-born children living in New York who were older than age ten, except the topics related to schooling experiences in Mexico.
As I interviewed children and youth older than age ten in Mexico, topics included: their educational experiences, including the quality of education and social relationships with peers; thoughts on immigrating; how the mother’s absence influences the migration plans and educational investment of girls and boys; chores boys and girls have at home; their thoughts on high school and college; their performance in school; their behavior in school; their involvement in extracurricular activities; and their relationships with their mothers, caregivers, siblings, peers, teachers, and school staff. I accompanied the focal children to school, where I observed classrooms and informally interviewed teachers and administrators. I observed gender roles in the home and assessed the academic climate at school. When I interviewed caregivers in Mexico, the topics included: their involvement in the children’s schooling activities; their ability to help the children with homework; their idea of the value of schooling; and their relationships with the biological mothers of these children. Almost all caregivers in my study were grandmothers (17 maternal, two paternal, and one aunt).
Many anthropologists who work with children have developed specific techniques that take into account children’s attention spans and daily activities. Some of these techniques involve interpreting children’s paintings and drawings, which allows younger children to participate in research (Montgomery, 2009). Many scholars (Dreby, 2010, 2009a, 2009b; Glockner, 2002) have used child-friendly methods when talking specifically about separation from parents in migrant families. Inspired by the work of Dreby (2010), I used drawings as a child-friendly method because drawings were part of their everyday lives. Sometimes children did not respond well to one-on-one interactions and visual aids were often helpful. Punch (2002) points out, though, that drawings are not necessarily a simple, “natural” method to use with children, as drawing depends on children’s actual and perceived ability to draw. Punch (2002) notes that some children, particularly older children, are more inhibited by a lack of artistic competence, and may not consider drawing to be a fun method. The methods I used looked at children as actors and “pivotal points” in the construction of a transnational field (Orellana et al., 2001). Using this strategy, I asked children to engage in pictorial representations when I interviewed them in their homes. I also held art workshops while in Mexico where more than 20 children participated each time. Each workshop lasted two to three hours and each child would draw two to three pictures in one session. Each was asked with minimal instruction to first draw a picture of his or her family, then a picture of how the child imagined New York or the United States, and last, to draw his or her house. I used these drawings as tools for children to narrate their experiences of separation and migration and to understand when and where mothers and fathers showed up in these pictorial representations.
As previously mentioned, I also collected data from cell phones (such as text messages and pictures) and content from social networks websites like Facebook. The most common communication between mothers and their teenage children in Mexico took place through these two vehicles. I had a Facebook account where I was able to chat and see the exchange of messages through the network even from a distance. The text messages were shown to me and I wrote them in my notebook. I was also able to witness and document phone conversations between mothers and caregivers, mothers and children, and separated siblings. Most of the time, the families would put the call on speaker mode (if it was not a land line) and I was able to hear both sides. In addition, I observed separated siblings interacting over Facebook and playing video games remotely from a small town in Mexico to an apartment in the South Bronx. These siblings interacted with each other, talked, cursed at the game, and laughed together.
In order to analyze my data, I embraced an iterative approach to qualitative research and data analysis (Maxwell, 2005). Each interview and observation was documented through intensive field notes completed on the same day as the research. After completing half of the interviews in each category, and again after completing all interviews, I repeatedly reviewed interview transcripts and notes, modified (when needed) the interview protocol, and coded the interviews inductively and then deductively. I treated children’s explanations of their drawings as interview data, but I also analyzed the visual products to look for recurring details, especially in relation to representations of mothers, schooling, and migration. After completing the observation phase, I started coding, seeking discrepant data, and looking
for recurring patterns in the experiences of the children, especially related to education, academic achievement, and social opportunities. As I finished transcribing interviews and organized my data, I developed a thematic analysis and coded the data. I worked on an outline to answer each of my research questions. Then, when I completed coding, I looked for discrepant data and for recurring patterns related to education, migration, and transnational motherhood. I reduced and combined codes, documented relations between codes, and developed visual displays of the data, which included giant white boards covered in post-its. I developed an outline to answer each of the research questions, checking the outline against memos and original data, and from there I developed research reports. A large part of my time was spent writing portraits of families and transcribing recorded dialogues. Interviews and observation were done in Spanish and English. Interviews were translated to English with the exception of some words.
This research design required a great deal of flexibility. I attempted to engage in “real time” research by going back and forth from New York City to Mexico often. My observations were “quicker” since I was able to ask a mother something that had happened within recent months or weeks. I wanted my observations and interviews to have the flexibility of organization that these constellations have in their own way of structuring.
NOTES
INTRODUCTION
1 In some cases, women are victims smuggled into the United States and other wealthy countries to be exploited as sex workers (Dwyer, 2004).
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