Between Home and School: Guatemalan Maya Students and Cultural Gender Roles in South Florida

Second-generation Guatemalan Maya children and adolescents who were born in
Palm Beach County had to balance two cultures. As children of Guatemalan Maya
parents, these youths belonged to Guatemalan Maya households--but many of their other
roles in the United States, particularly their roles as students, involved the wider American
culture. As such, they endured many of the same acculturation challenges that first
generation immigrants do. They often had to choose between fulfilling student roles,
family roles, and contrasting cultural beliefs and values, and negotiate shifting cultural,
familial, community, and gender dynamics. My primary research interest was to
understand how home, community, and cultural roles and identities affected students'
school experiences and how their student identities and school experiences affected their
home lives.
1 found that second-generation Guatemalan Maya faced maJor obstacles as
students such as poverty, language barriers, and rigid grading standards and views of knowledge that educational institutions adhere to. In addition, because of the extreme
persecution against indigenous Maya in Guatemala. most of the students' parents
received little fonnal education; thus, they were often unable to help their children with
homework. Further, Maya also have adopted cautious views of fonnal education
because of the tendencies of mainstream curriculums to devalue an indigenous lifestyle.
Maya beliefs about the usefulness of a Western education also influenced students'
perceptions of school. Moreover, most Maya immigrants came to the United States
poor, and often had to work several jobs and long hours to financially support their
families. Poverty was the primary factor that created hardships in students' lives.
Families faced challenges of poverty by staying interdependent and working
together to maintain the household. Thus, Guatemalan Maya children were expected to
fulfill Maya adult roles, which varied for women and men, and contribute to the
household by doing chores. Students' responsibilities at home diverted time and energy
away from school, but these roles also gave students a greater understanding of adult
roles and responsibilities. Thus, Guatemalan-Maya students gave family, home,
community, and adult Maya roles priority while giving school identities and roles
second priority.