Haitian and Spanish-speaking Caribbean Migrants: Implications
for Florida Educators
María D. Alvarez, Ph.D.School Psychologist
Center for Latin American Studies and Clay County Schools
6 February 2010
Workshop Objectives
• Background Information on the Caribbean• Overview of Caribbean migration to the U.S.
and inter-island migration• Overview of Haitian migration to the U.S.• From Haiti to Florida– Family Transformations – Schooling Issues
Workshop Objectives (cont)
• Overview of Puerto Rican migration to Central Florida
• Caribbean family systems• Framework for analyzing family stresses and
support systems
Florida and the Caribbean
Haiti: A Mountainous Country
Comparative Population Statistics
Territory sq.miles pop pop/sq.mi
Haiti 10,714 9,035,536 843Florida 58,560 18,300,000 313Puerto Rico 3,435 3,971,020 1,156 Dom. Rep 18,816 9,650,054 513Cuba 42,827 11,451,652 267
Foreign-born Haitians in the U.S. Area Number Percent United States 419,317 100.0 Florida 182,224 43.5 New York 125,475 29.9 Massachusetts 33,862 8.1 New Jersey 31,963 7.6Rest of U.S. 45,793 10.9 Source: U.S. Census 2000
Total Population of Haitians in the U.S.
• Total population of Haitians in the U.S. (foreign-born and U.S. born) is 735,233, +/- 29,491 (USCB, 2006 Community Survey).
• Total estimated by community leaders comes closer to 1 million.
Haitian immigrants over time by type of immigrant
Migration Stages
• 1960s & early 1970s: – Mostly middle class Haitians, escaping Duvalier
(Papa & Baby Doc) regimes. – Focused on northeastern hubs.
• Late 1970s/early 1980s: – Boat people. – Substantial migration to South Florida begins. – FL Haitians cluster in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach
Counties.
Haitian Age Structure in South Florida
• Haitian pop in South FL is young: –20% < 14 –42% between 30 and 44 –<6% >55
• Population grows more from immigration than from new births.
Top 5 Languages Spoken by ELLs in Florida
• Spanish (76%)• Haitian Creole (12%)• Portuguese (2%)• French (1%)• Vietnamese (1%)• All others languages (8%)
Facts about ELLs in Florida
• ELLs constituted 9.9% of public school enrollment in 2000 (Kindler, 2002)
• Growth of ELL student population from 93-94 to 03-04 = 94.9%
• Decrease of general student population from 93-94 to 03-04 = -10.3%
• 50.9% of Florida public school teachers instructed ELL students in 1999-2000.
Family: Overview of Issues
• Conjugal union types• Household composition• Child care arrangements• Family support systems• Economic contributions of family members• Discipline and parental authority• Health-seeking behaviors• Relation to schools
Conjugal Union Types
Rural Haiti• Common law unions (plasaj)
are the statistical norm
• Legal marriage (civil or religious) often come later in life
• Polygamy socially acceptable
Florida• Legal marriage the norm
– Immigration requirements
• New variants of marriage– Mariaj rezidans – Mariaj bay bous– Mariaj biznis– Mariaj de gaudin
• Polygamy unacceptable
Household Composition
Haiti• Mostly nuclear family kin• “gran moun pa ret ak gran
moun.”• May live in same compound
(lakou) next door to extended kin.
• Missing members who have emigrated.
• In urban areas, many servant children “restavek”
Florida• Extended kin under the
same roof. • Young children may be
absent.• Children may not be living
with their parents.• Family members at various
stages of adaptation – to U.S.– to the family unit
Child Care Arrangements
Haiti• Child care a family affair
– Older children care for younger children
– Elderly kin serve as caretakers
• Non-kin assigned child care duties– Paid: maid (bonn)– Unpaid: child servant
(restavek)
Florida• Child care a major dilemma
for parents that may have two jobs
• Child care options– Leave/send back child to Haiti– Bring kin to live w. the family– Family, church, school, or
commercial day care– Latch-key child– Leave child at sitter’s home
• Overnight or M-F
Family Support Systems
Haiti• Reliance on personal-level
and family-level resources
• Low availability of community-level resources
Florida• Increased importance of
personal and family-level resources – Finding a place to stay– Finding a job– “Learning the ropes”
• Increased reliance on community-level resources– Churches– Schools/After-school – Community agencies
Economic Contributions of Family Members
Haiti• Active contributions
expected of all family members– Income-generating work by
parents• Females play active role in
income-generating activities– In-kind contributions by
children and teens• Cooking/doing dishes• Cleaning, fetching water• Child care
Florida• Most jobs secondary and
informal sector• Active contributions by
parents and teens– Income –generating work by
parents– Income-generating work by
teens– In –kind contributions by
children
• Remittances sent back to Haiti
Discipline and Parental Authority
Haiti• Discipline measures and
lines of authority clearly delimited.
• Commands stated in no uncertain terms.
• Corporal punishment used widely.
• Corporal punishment also used by teachers in schools.
Florida• Harsh talk and discipline
incompatible with U.S. child-rearing and school practices.
• Intergenerational clashes re. parental authority
• Corporal punishment banned from schools
• Legal action against harsh punishment.
Health-Seeking Behaviors
Haiti• Heavy reliance on home
remedies.• Reliance on endogenous
healers.• Modern care sought for
accident/injuries or persistent illness.
Florida• Reliance on home and
purchased remedies. • Less use of endogenous
healers.• Curative services sought
late in illness or at ER
Schooling: Overview of Issues
• Language of instruction• Instructional strategies• Structural characteristics of schools• Age/grade compatibilities• Discipline and authority• Expectations re. parental involvement
Language of Instruction
Haiti• Instruction may be in
French (urban)
• Instruction may be in Creole (rural)
• Instruction may be in both French and Creole
Florida• Instruction in English
– “sink or swim” approach
• Various levels of support for English acquisition– ESOL pullout programs– ESOL push-in programs– Bilingual/trilingual
monoliterate programs in other parts of U.S.
Instructional Strategies
Haiti• Verbatim memorization
expected• Convergent thinking
encouraged• Learning centralized on the
teacher• Few classroom resources
• Much homework expected
Florida• Discovery learning
emphasized• Divergent thinking
encouraged• Visuals, audials, computers,
decentralize instruction away from the teacher
• Little homework in primary grades
Characteristics
Haiti• School size is small, children
known by name• Class size is large• Open-air and makeshift
schools• Uniforms required in most
schools• Books/school supplies
provided by students
Florida• School size is large,
especially high schools• Class size is small• Formal, large buildings• Uniforms only required in
parochial schools• Books/supplies provided by
public schools
Age/grade Compatibilities
Haiti• Age/grade correspondence
fluid
• Grade repetition widespread
• Multi-age classrooms
Florida• Age/grade correspondence
rigid
• Grade repetition discouraged
• Multi-age restricted
Discipline and Authority
Haiti• Teachers expected to
require, impose, enforce discipline
• Corporal punishment allowed
• Lack of academic preparation considered infraction
Florida• Multiple authority figures
besides teacher– Deans, BRT, AP
• Corporal punishment banned • Variety of disciplinary actions
– Classroom discipline systems– Time-out, office referrals– ISS, OSS, work-detail– Tiers 1, 2, 3 measures
Parental Involvement
Haiti
• Teaching is left to educators
• Involvement not expected and considered interference
Florida• Parents are viewed as
partners in education.• Involvement expected; lack
of it perceived as indifference
• Work schedules, hourly wages, language barriers militate against involvement
Challenges Faced by Haitians in Florida
• Bad press (boat people, TB, AIDS, voodoo), though earthquake has elicited an outpouring of good will towards Haiti and Haitians
• Prejudice and discrimination, even by other Haitians
• Attain job mobility: Secondary & Informal sector to more skilled, stable, higher-paying jobs. Gradually being recognized as reliable, eager workers.
Hispanics in Florida (arranged by order of prominence)
• Cubans (ca. 1 million)• Puerto Ricans (ca. 600,000) • Colombians• Nicaraguans• Mexicans• Venezuelans• Dominicans
Patterns of Puerto Rican Migration to Florida
• 1940s: Small number of agricultural business owners
• 1950s: Migration shifts to working class and seasonal workers for vegetable harvests
• 1960s: Puerto Ricans respond to real estate promotions and begin settling into Central Florida from island and mainland (NY, NJ, IL)
• 1970s: Sugar cane workers, plus white collar workers.
Patterns of PR migration to Florida (cont.)
• 1980 and 1990s: Disney World and expansion of Orlando area attracts steady influx from both island and mainland Puerto Rican hubs.
• 2000s: Orlando becomes 4th U.S. city in terms of numbers of Puerto Ricans, after NY, Philadelphia, and Chicago, followed by Miami and Tampa/St Pete. Census reports 482,027 Puerto Ricans in Florida.
• 2003: Census reports 571,755 Puerto Ricans in Florida, largest Hispanic group in Central Florida.
Largest clusters of Puerto Ricans in Florida (2003)
• Orlando area 206,000• Miami-Dade & Broward 155,000• Tampa Bay/Hillsborough 68,000
Percentage over 5-y-o who Speak a Language other than English at Home• Miami-Dade 70%• Osceola 42.2%• Orange 31.4%• Hillsborough 24.4%• Alachua 12.0%• Clay 8.9%
• Better educated (74% had completed H.S.; median school years = 13 vs. 12 for island)
• Show higher English proficiency (63% speak English well vs. 28% in island)
• Predominantly white-collar workers (53% employed in administrative support, technical, service, managerial, real-estate, trade, )
When Compared to Island or Mainland Puerto Ricans, Central
Florida Puerto Ricans are:
Challenges Faced by Puerto Ricans in Central Florida
• Despite achievements, lower income, lower ed levels, lower representation in upper economic echelons than other Hispanics.
• Most children not fluent in English when they arrive from PR. In 2000-01, 21% of children receiving language enrichment services in Orange County were Puerto Rican.
• High school dropout rates• More reported illnesses than other Hispanics
Caribbean Family Systems
• Nuclear Family• Three-generation (g’parents, aunts/uncles)• Extended Family (a variety of kin)• Salad-bowl family (usually mother w. children of
several unions)• Blended family (parents & their children plus
children of previous unions) • One-parent family (mother, aunt, or older sister
with children)
Caribbean Family Systems (cont)
• Accordion families (mom or dad absent for long periods of time due to seasonal work; family has two modalities)
• Two-person families (adult/child)• Families with ghosts (parent lost to death,
divorce, separation but still present)• Host families (families that incorporate an
unrelated child, given or informally “adopted.” In Haiti this may be a restavek child)
Structure & Process of Family Functioning
Support Systems of Family Functioning
Bibliography• Carrasquillo, A.L. (1991). Hispanic children and youth
in the United States: A resource guide. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
• Duany, J. & Matos-Rodriguez. (2006). Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida. Available at http://www.centropr.org.
• Stepick, A. (1998). Pride against prejudice: Haitians in the United States. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
• Suarez-Orozco, C. & Suarez-Orozco, M. M. (2001) Children of immigration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.