Parenting the Chinese Way in America

Abstract

This paper illustrates a case study on two Chinese American families with gifted children, and the major topic focuses on the influence of parenting beliefs and practices on children's talent development. In-depth interviews were employed to collect data from the Chinese parents who lived in America, and research questions include the daily practice of parenting, and parents' beliefs concerning how to nurture talented achievements among children. This paper starts with a narrative account of cases of two gifted children, and then examines the background of Confucian philosophy of learning and its fundamental influence on Chinese traditional parenting practices. Evidences are provided from the case study on the Chinese parents' beliefs, values, and attitudes regarding their children' talent development. Implications are discussed at the end of the paper, which draws attention to the interesting mixed strategy of the Chinese American parenting which combines traditional Chinese parental expectations with an adopted Western notion of respect for a child's own decision-making.