Chasing Rainbows

DVD

Scriptwriter

Maruja M. B. Asis

Director

Fabio Baggio

Video Editing

LC Photo-Video

Php 300

US$ 30.00

 

Chasing Rainbows Young Pinoys Ponder the Future

 

Providing children with a good education is a desideratum among Filipino families. There are many accounts, thus, of parents who have made great sacrifices to see their children through school. The desire to support their children's education is one of the reasons that have propelled many Filipinos to work in foreign lands. Studies confirm that an investment in children’s (or siblings’) education is one of the uses to which remittances are channeled.

 

Findings from the 2003 study on young children (10-12 years) and families left behind found that children of migrants were more likely to attend private schools than children of non-migrants. Children of migrants also reported higher participation in extra-curricular activities. These factors may explain the study's observation that children of migrants, contrary to perceptions, did well - if not somewhat better - than children of non-migrants in terms of academic performance. The same study also reveals that children's future plans had migration dimensions, and this was more pronounced among children of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Close to half of the children reported that they had plans of working abroad someday; among children of OFWs, the percentage went up to 60 percent. The courses that children planned to pursue were courses that are in demand overseas, e.g., nursing among girls or maritime studies among boys. It appears that the country's long experience with overseas employment may have influenced young children's work and career plans. One of the concerns about the extended absence of parents is that children may be unable to finish schooling because of lack of parental guidance. There are also some speculations that children aspire to become OFWs like their parents - particularly if their parents work in less skilled jobs, education is not essential to get into these jobs.

 

In 2005, the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC), in cooperation with the ISMU Foundation of Milan, conducted a study on youth in two communities in Luzon (Philippines), which are known to be communities of origin of migrants to Italy. The study focused on the children of migrants, whose parents are working in Italy.

SMC aimed to investigate how the migration experience of parents shape the work and career aspiration of the younger generation. This question has been tackled by examining the work and career aspirations of children who have joined their parents based abroad, and compare them with children left behind in the Philippines. Three main questions have been guiding the research:

• How does the parents’ migration affect children’s educational aspirations and performance?

• What kind of work do the children of migrants aspire to go into?

• How do children of migrants compare with children of non-migrants in their education and work aspiration?

After several visits and consultations with community members, SMC researchers identified participants for the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews. During four months, ten (10) FGDs with children in the ages 15-21 and several in-depth interviews have been hold, with a special attention to the following groups:

• Young adults, children of migrants in high school (15-16 y/o);

• Young adults, children of migrants in college/university;

• Young adults, children of migrants and non-migrants who have dropped out of school;

• Young adults, children of migrants and non-migrants who have transited to “adult roles” (working, married, with child)

• Young adults, children of non-migrants in late high school and college/university.

In each area, 10 key informant interviews with caregivers and community influentials, like youth council officers, officers of youth organizations, have been undertaken.