Attitudes of Lithuanian imigrants towards their children’s Lithuanian-oriented education

Abstract

The article is based on the analysis of the data of a qualitative research conducted by the Centre of Social Anthropology at Vytautas Magnus University in 2007–2008. The attitudes of the first generation Lithuanian imigrants towards their children’s Lithuanianoriented education and the factors influencing these attitudes are examined. The patterns of Lithuanian identity that parents anticipate for their children influence the
parents’ attitudes towards children’s Lithuanian-oriented education. The attitudes most favourable for successful Lithuanian-oriented education are connected with the models of transcultural identity, while models oriented towards the domination of the mainstream culture give less support to such education. The parents’ education and social class factors also exert an influence on these attitudes.