School – Parental Engagement of Filipino Women Married to Koreans: Inputs for Policy Formulation

Abstract

With the increasing number of multicultural families in Korea, opportunities and challenges arise, particularly in terms of children’s welfare and education. The present study investigates the experiences of Filipino women married to Koreans and their school parental engagement. Through unstructured interviews, 13 Filipino women participated in the study regarding their involvement in school affairs regarding their child’s attendance at Korean schools. The challenges faced by the participants were also explored. Findings show Filipino mothers’ eagerness to attend to the academic needs of their children through various programs and activities. Responsibilities and challenges faced by Filipino women span teaching their children and academic monitoring at home, despite not being fluent in Korean. Discrimination and social exclusivity have also been reported as experienced by some participants due to their multicultural backgrounds. Inputs to policy formulation have also been proposed based on the findings of the study.