Illustration by Afshin Sabouki

For a lot of immigrants, education remains an important aspect of life in Canada. Indeed, the 2001 survey on immigrants by Statistics Canada showed that about 67% of the target population planned to further their education.

“Immigrants, by and large, do better [in education] on average than people who were born in Canada. But it varies enormously depending on the group we’re talking about,” says Neil Guppy, head of the Sociology Department at UBC.

Guppy proposes that one possible factor for determining the educational success of children of immigrants is the socio-economic status of the families. He explains that one of the ways sociologists understand social mobility is by looking at the parents’ background – how much do origins influence the destination. He suggests that it may have something to do with entitlement.

“People that come from middle and upper class backgrounds feel that education is an entitlement,” says Guppy, “…people that come from less prosperous backgrounds don’t see education so much as an entitlement.”

However, Leo Chow, owner of Brickhouse Pub, doesn’t fit into the pattern of graduating from post-secondary school and getting a corporate job, despite having the right equation for this particular path.

Chow arrived in Vancouver with his family during the seventies when he was fourteen years old. His father went to the Beijing Air Force Academy and they were in good economic standing.

Although he attended university for three years, Chow chalks up not completing his studies to youth rebellion.

“I think when you’re at that age, 18-19 years old…you think you can do it without the guidance and advice of other people,” says Chow. “School wasn’t difficult for me. I think maybe deep inside I was looking for other challenges,” he recalls.

But Chow maintains that education was important for his parents. Like Evelyn Chua, a first-generation immigrant with three children, where education remains a significant part of their life.

“It’s not because of career,” says Chua. “Education also helps [you] to be a better person. Through education, the character is formed and you’re taught the right behaviour.”

Still, there is much difficulty in explaining why different ethnic groups perform differently, and to what extent parents influence the future of their children.

Guppy says that there is some evidence to suggest that parental support for education is important, and that Asian kids have traditionally adhered to the expectations derived by looking at their parents’ background.

However, he also recognizes that this has been changing recently. Guppy points to recent economic difficulties as one of the reasons why many immigrant groups are struggling a bit more. For Chow, everything was set for him to do well.

“The opportunity was there and I wasn’t handicapped with the language barrier,” says Chow.

He recalls how certain life events changed his perspectives and priorities in life. The first was immigrating. The other was in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, when he travelled to San Francisco and witnessed first-hand the civil unrest happening at the time.

“Your parents can only do so much for you,” says Chow. “At the very end, you still have to make a decision [of] how you’re going to walk and what shoes you’re going to wear.”

Evelyn Chua agrees. She thinks that parental influence and advice is not as important as her children’s personal decisions.

When talking about her daughter who is pursuing a master’s degree in engineering, Chua asserts, “I think her personal interest matters more…if we keep pushing, it will go nowhere and the child will not feel happy.”

Regarding the future of education in Canada, both Chow and Chua agree that the Canadian system is too lax, while education in Asia is too strict. Both believe that the middle path is best – a system that is not too strict, but still encourages hard work and discipline.

For Guppy, he hopes to have a multicultural education system that continues to be tolerant. An education system that continues to have more people of different ethnic backgrounds included and that continues to receive the funding that it needs.

“A challenge to multicultural education is a challenge to education itself,” says Guppy.