Raisa Akifeva

How migrants negotiate and adjust to new cultural settings and how they transmit culture to their children are key questions for migration researchers. This paper explores how culture is experienced and negotiated among Russian-speaking migrants, drawing on interviews and observation data collected in Perth, Australia, and Madrid, Spain, together with online forum data and documents. Analysis reveals that long-term socio-historical processes taking place within the post-Soviet space generate certain similarities among its inhabitants. These shared features, which Norbert Elias (1996) called ‘national habitus’, include internalised dispositions and behavioural patterns evident and reproduced in everyday life, such as hygiene and healthcare practices, norms of conduct in public places, and practices and beliefs related to the control of children’s behaviour and discipline. Many migrants come to realise that they are bearers of these similarities only in the process of the migration experience. This process of recognition of their habitus, including realising the cultural nature of certain standards of behaviour perceived as ‘civilised’ and ‘rational’ in the past, and the making of decisions about what is important to keep and what is not, we refer to as ‘cultural continuity dilemmas’. Participants resolve these dilemmas in three main ways: reinforcing their cultural classification systems through condemnation or attempts to correct; adopting the new standards; or adjusting perceptions to find a compromise. In these processes, certain practices and norms may come to be recognised as Soviet in both positive and negative senses, as being acceptable, or outdated remnants of a totalitarian system. Solving such dilemmas creates a unique combination of practices, forming a common cultural hybridity and generating new awareness of cultural and national identities.

Background. Previous research shows that incorrect teacher expectations about students can affect students' academic success. Moreover, students' ethnicity was found to be one of the most influential characteristics affecting teacher expectations, which can be based on ethnic stereotypes. Most studies test this relationship by comparing teacher expectations of multiple ethnic groups; however, we propose here another perspective, assuming that the connection between ethnic stereotypes and expectations may be determined by the content of the stereotypes. Objective. This study examines the influence of students' ethnicity on teacher expectations and stereotypes, as well as the relationship of teacher expectations and stereotypes toward ethnic minority students, by including the stereotype content model in the analysis. Design. Thirty-four primary school teachers participated in the experiment in which they analyzed six fictional profiles of students, two of which were experimental. The experimental profiles contained identical information (annual school grade, a teacher testimonial , gender), but differed in names of the students and their parents, and in their migration background. Thus, we manipulated only the information related to ethnicity and migration history of two students. Results. Teacher expectations about the performance of minority students were always unfavorable compared with expectations about the performance of the majority students , but their expectations about the abilities of minority and majority students, which include teachers' beliefs about students' educational skills, attitudes and motivation, and capacity for school work, were mixed. We also discovered that the teacher expectations were positively related to perceptions of competence and not to perceptions of warmth. However, the minority student was evaluated by teachers as just as warm and competent as the majority.

The working paper presents the results of a study of language transmission in small communities of Russian-speaking migrants living in Madrid. The research seeks to clarify the role played in this process by the characteristics of the environment, the resources of small communities and families, as well as the motivation of parents, the barriers and difficulties they face, and the strategies they use to overcome them. The empirical base consists of interviews with Russian-speaking parents, teachers and organizers of Russian-language structured forms of activities for children, as well as data of observation conducted during visits to these programs, meetings and walks with parents and children. The study demonstrates that while the super-diversity framework describes well what happens with the first-generation migrants, intergenerational changes in the practices of the use of language are great relates to the main conclusions of the assimilation theory. Using the superdiversity lens to study the language transmission has made it possible to pay attention to various combinations of migrants' attributes, which ultimately determine the existing diversity in the language practices and communicative environments of first-generation migrants. There are important similarities, which lie across borders of the dichotomy of mixedness - migrantness of a family. Many parents consider bilingualism as an integral part of good parenting, possess a number of techniques that are considered important, but in practice they face a lot of difficulties caused by specific features of family, “communities” and social context that they cannot overcome.

В данной статье представлены результаты исследования практик воспитания детей русскоязычными женщинами-мигрантками, проживающими в Мадриде, которые проявляются в организации повседневной жизни ребенка, в выборе образовательных и досуговых программ и площадок. Целью исследования является изучение влияния особенностей района проживания и миграционной специфики семей на практики воспитания детей. Эмпирическую базу составляют интервью с русскоязычными родителями, педагогами и организаторами русскоязычных структурированных форм активности для детей, а также дневники наблюдений, проведенных в ходе посещения данных программ, встреч и прогулок с родителями и детьми. Результаты исследования демонстрируют, что институциональные ресурсы района могут определять разнообразие и выбор структурированных форм активности, в которые оказываются вовлечены дети. Родители используют ряд стратегий, чтобы преодолеть ограниченность востребованных ресурсов и неблагоприятные условия проживания. Миграционная специфика семей, проявляемая в таких особенностях как уровень владения языком страны рецепции, представления о важности передачи родного языка ребенку, ориентированность на русскоязычное сообщество, опосредуют влияние района на практики воспитания.

This article presents the results of a study on child-rearing practices of Russian-speaking migrant women living in Madrid, including the organization of children’s daily lives and the choice of educational and structured programs and institutions. The aim of the research is to study the influence of neighborhoods and the migration backgrounds of families on child-rearing practices. The empirical base of the research includes interviews with Russian-speaking parents, as well as teachers and organizers of Russian-structured programs for children, together with the data from fieldwork conducted during visits to these programs, meetings, and walks with parents and their children. The results of the research demonstrate that the institutional resources of the neighborhoods
can determine the diversity and the choices of structured activities in which children are involved. Parents follow a number of strategies to overcome a limited availability of resources and unfavorable living conditions. The migration background of families indicated by the level of Spanish-language proficiency, shared ideas about the importance of the transfer of the mother tongue to children, and the orientation of the Russian-speaking community can mediate the influence of the neighborhoods on child-rearing practices.

В статье представлены результаты исследования различий в структурированной активности школьников, а также причин, которые эти различия определяют. Эмпирической базой исследования послужили данные опроса (опрошено 208 школьников) и интервью (25 интервью), проведенных в 2013 - 2014 годах в гимназии и двух общеобразовательных школах «спального» района Санкт-Петербурга. В ходе исследования мы отвечали на следующие вопросы: Какие отличия существуют между структурированными формами активности старшеклассников? Как эти отличия соотносятся с ресурсами, которыми обладают школьники и возможностями, предоставляемыми школами?
Мы делаем вывод, что структурированная активность школьников может определяться спецификой школьной среды, а также восприятием себя и своих возможностей. Школы выступают не только в качестве площадок, предоставляющих разные виды и количество дополнительных занятий и других форм внеучебной активности. Они транслируют разные подходы к реализации внеучебных программ. Старшеклассники из разных школ по-разному объясняют выбор досуговых практик, проявляя различные специфические особенности в восприятие себя и в том, на кого они возлагают ответственность за сложившуюся ситуацию. Эти особенности можно проинтерпретировать в терминах самооценки и локуса контроля. Обнаруженные различия в ответах школьников, на наш взгляд, не имеют классовую природу. Хотя школьники по образованию матери распределены по школам неравномерно, внутри школ наблюдается больше стилевых сходств в ответах, чем между школами.
The article reports the results of a study of differences in structured activities of students, as well as the reasons that determine these differences. The empirical base of the research includes the data of survey (208 students) and interviews (20 interviews) in 2013 - 2014 in three schools a residential district of St. Petersburg. In this study, we have answered the following questions: What is the difference between structured activities children from different schools? How do these differences relate to the resources possessed by the students and the opportunities offered by the schools?
We have concluded that the students' structured activities can be determined by the specifics of the school environment, as well as the perception of themselves and their capabilities. Schools are not just places that provide different types of extra-curriculum activities and the number of them. They follow different approaches to implementation of extra-curricular programs. The students from different schools explain their choice of structured activities differently, share different specific features in the perception of themselves and in whom or what they blame for the current situation. These features can be interpreted as differences in self-esteem and locus of control. The indicated differences in responses of students, in our opinion, have no class nature. Although students are unevenly distributed across schools in terms of mothers’ education, there are greater stylistic similarities in their responses within schools than between schools.

This working paper is based on the results of a study of the child-rearing practices of Russian-speaking women in the context of a migration perspective focusing on their migration experience, language, and other features that are perceived as cultural and an integration context as determining many important aspects of child-rearing. The analysis shows that a mother’s choice of structured activities for the child can be caused by structural factors, such as the national peculiarities of the system of school and pre-school education, family policy, the specifics and set of programs offered at schools and available in the area. Regardless of the social segment, in which migrants are incorporated, children begin to prefer speaking Spanish than Russian if there is not any special effort from the adults. This leads to the fact that the study of the Russian language in some families affects all spheres of life, and many aspects of child-rearing. Many women develop and share ideas about the differences in the parenting approach and style of women from the post-Soviet space and from Spain. Women perceive the stylistic features of the behavior of Russian women as highly demanding and share the view of the low demands of Spanish parents, yet differ in how they perceive their level of responsiveness to them.

This research studies the child-rearing strategies of Russian-speaking women who live in Madrid by focusing on their children's participation in structured activities. The study answers the following questions: what attitudes to structured activities do the women have, what determined their choice of structured activities, what are the differences in such choices between working-class and middle-class families? The results are based on semi-structured interviews with Russian-speaking women (26 interviews) whose children attend after- or pre- school programs for Russian children, as well as with the teachers or coordinators of these programs (4 interviews). The findings make it possible to formulate conclusions that the class differences in the activities of children are determined by structural factors rather than the cultural logics of parents. All parents reproduce the idea that organized activity has a beneficial effect on a child's development, although they differ in their views on what kind of activities can bring benefits.

This study examines the influence of ethnicity on stereotypes and expectations of teachers, as well as the relationship of teacher expectations and stereotypes in relation to ethnic minority students by including the stereotype content model in the analysis. 34 primary school teachers participated in the experiment in which they analyzed six personal profiles of students, two of which were experimental. Experimental profiles contained identical information (annual school grade, testimonial, sex), but differed in names of the students and their parents and additionally in migration background. Thus, we manipulated only information related to ethnicity and migration history of two students. This allowed us to create a typical image of one and a half generation migrant child, who moved to St. Petersburg from Central Asia.
Teacher expectations about the performance of the minority student were always unfavorable compared with the expectations about the performance of the majority student but expectations about the abilities of minority and majority students, which include teacher beliefs about students’ educational skills, attitudes and motivation, capacity for work in school class, were mixed. We also discovered that the expectations of teachers positively related to the perceptions of competence and were not related to the perceptions of warmth. However, the minority student was evaluated by teachers as warm and competent as the majority. This study shows the relevance of the problem of correct expectations of teachers in relation to students with different ethnic backgrounds.

Статья основана на результатах исследования русскоязычных женщин, эмигрировавших или планирующих эмиграцию в Нидерланды к голландскому партнеру. Анализ интервью с ними показывает, как в процессе миграции формируются и меняются культурные практики и идентичности. Несмотря на культурный компромисс, в той или иной степени свойственный всем транснациональным союзам, на уровне идентификации и культурных практик мы в некоторых случаях наблюдаем тенденции к этнизации: респондентки начинают интерпретировать в этнических категориях широкий спектр явлений и ситуаций, актуализировать этнические особенности и различия, формировать ориентации на национальную культуру. При этом этничность как женственность может служить символическим капиталом, женщина не хочет его утратить, и он высоко оценивается ее партнером. В статье делается попытка объяснить эти тенденции в интеграционных терминах.

В статье на основании эмпирических данных анализируется потенциал досуговых учреждений Санкт-Петербурга в решении задач эффективной работы с детьми мигрантов и их родителями. Факторы, которые могут оказывать положительное влияние на интеграцию детей  изучаются в рамках экологического подхода. Существующие досуговые площадки обладают ресурсами и возможностями в оказании социальной поддержки детям мигрантов. Эффект может быть усилен при соблюдении определенных контекстуальных и организационных условий.

В статье на основании эмпирических данных (интервью с родителями- мигрантами и родителями-россиянами, проживающими в Санкт-Петербурге) описываются различия и сходства в представлениях о школе и досуге, в стратегиях выбора школы и внешкольной активности, в практиках воспитания, которые определяют образовательные и досуговые траектории детей. Вариативность в существующих представлениях, притязаниях и стратегиях может лежать поверх этнических и классовых границ. Многие выявленные в данном исследовании различия между мигрантами и немигрантами связаны со структурными условиями и зависят от того, в какие образовательные и досуговые институции оказывается включенным ребенок.

В данной статье, основываясь на результатах анкетного опроса молодежи, посещающих различные досуговые площадки одного из центральных районов Санкт-Петербурга, обсуждаются следующие вопросы:

Существуют ли отличия между досуговыми практиками детей с миграционной историей и без миграционной истории? Как различные досуговые практики, рассматриваемые в контексте родительского воспитания, соотносятся с образовательными притязаниями, культурными и социальными ресурсами семей с различным миграционным статусом?

The article is drawn on a study of the families of migrants, having school-age children, from Central Asia. The transnational practices of migrants are closely tied to integration processes, and this is reflected in generational differences. In some families, children that, unlike their parents, go or used to go to a Russian school, try to distance themselves from their parents’ generation, refuse to identify with it, and do not want to speak the native language of their parents. In some ways, these trends are a consequence of parentage practices that orient children toward the local social milieu and encourage the use of Russian. Despite the significance of transnational practices in the life of migrant families, the outcome of the study demonstrates the importance of examining the intergenerational dynamics in the incorporation process.

Статья основывается на результатах исследования семей мигрантов из Центральной Азии с детьми школьного возраста. Транснациональные практики мигрантов сложно взаимосвязаны с интеграционными процессами, что отображается в межпоколенческих различиях. В некоторых семьях дети, которые посещают или посещали российскую школу, в отличие от своих родителей, пытаются дистанцироваться от сообщества родителей, отказываются от идентификации с ним и не хотят говорить на родном языке родителей. Отчасти данные тенденции являются следствием практик родительства, ориентирующего детей на местное окружение и всячески поощряющего использование русского языка. Несмотря на значимость транснациональных практик в жизни семей мигрантов, результаты исследования демонстрируют важность изучения межпоколенческой динамики в процессе инкорпорации.