Tibetan Parenting: An Ethnographic Study
A Field Study Proposal
I. Purpose
My intention on my field study is to investigate parenting styles in Tibetan families located in McLeod Ganj, India. I specifically intend to learn what Tibetans in this area consider to be good parenting, and how their current exiled situation plays into this. I am also interested in how their religion has an effect on their parenting. Personally, my intentions are to have a deeper understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, and to become closer to understanding the beliefs and rituals that have such a dramatic affect on Tibetan’s lives and family interactions. If I can understand that, then I can better remove myself from my preconceived notions and have a more successful attempt of seeing the world through these peoples’ eyes. It would be a great way for me to completely immerse myself and be able to observe individuals and families in their natural settings. This way, I can get the cross-cultural research that can be beneficial for me as I pursue my education through graduate school and eventually become a counselor. I want to understand different cultures and be able to tie them to my work, because I will be working in the greatest melting pot here in the United States, as well as possibly proceeding in other international studies. Academically, my field study is non-scientific, in that it will be an ethnographic observational study. The question I would like to answer with this study is “what do Tibetan parents in McLeod Ganj, India consider do be good parenting?” This study will be a good experience and help me further my education in Human Development.
II. Background, Significance, and Literature Review
The reason I’m working on this specific project is because I am interested in learning about families that have different beliefs, backgrounds, and culture than what I’m studying here at BYU. I am happy to gain an education here in the states, but I want to take it a step further and explore other systems and communities that are influenced by very different things. So my proposed project deals primarily with interest, rather than any problems or concerns. When it comes to information or history on this specific topic, I haven’t really found much at all. There is a book written towards Western audiences called The Tibetan Art of Parenting: From Before Conception Through Early Childhood by Anne Maiden Brown, Edie Farwell, and Dickey Nyerongsha. This book is really the only thing I’ve found that deals directly with Tibetan parenting. It’s intended to be more of a parenting guide for Western parents who want to incorporate Tibetan parenting traditions into their child rearing. It gives a brief introduction to these practices from a family in Tibet point of view, rather than from that of a Tibetan family in exile. It aims to give a traditional perspective on Tibetan parenting in order to give those who didn’t grow up or raise children in Tibet an opportunity to learn more and incorporate more of these traditions. However, I feel as if this may set a limit on the information that’s applicable to my project, because I want to learn more about how being in exile has changed the parenting styles; how practices have changed in order to preserve tradition.
III. Methodology/Procedures
My plan to enter into the community and gain rapport is to live with a host family and begin to volunteer in the community to make friends and acquaintances. The specific group I would like to learn from and use to answer my project question is Tibetan families in exile; this includes children, parents, and grandparents, possibly even extended family. I want to get information from all perspectives. In order to accomplish my study on Tibetan parenting, I will be conducting interviews that range from unstructured to structured. I will also conduct surveys in which I will be gathering information from Tibetans of almost all ages. I would like to interview 7 children ages 4-12, 4 adolescents ages 12-18, 4 young adults ages 19-30, 7 middle-aged adults from 31-50, and 4 older generation adults ages 51-80. The reason there are more middle-aged and children interviewees is because those are the age groups that are most likely either parenting or being parented at the present. The following is my approach to prepare and conduct my studies for my project:
∙ library research
∙ in primary documents
∙ in books and periodicals
∙ interview schedule
∙ develop interview questions
∙ identify participants
∙ observations or site visits
∙ note taking
∙ textual analysis
∙ prepare written report
Some sample questions I would ask adults are things such as:
· How should a child act?
· What’s an important thing to teach your children?
· What should a parent do if they’re child is being good?
· What should a parent do if they’re child is being bad (disobedient)?
· Etc
Some sample questions I could ask children/adolescents are:
· What kinds of things do your parents like to teach you?
· What are the things your parents teach you that you like to learn?
· What do you do with your parents for fun?
· Etc
A major barrier I might and probably will face is the language barrier. Although I am trying to learn basic Tibetan language, I will not be able to maintain any sort of deep conversation. To address this concern, my goal is to make a friend or a few friends that I can use as interpreters. Another barrier I will probably face is a lack of willingness to either participate or consent for children to participate. To address this, I will need to develop a back up plan.
IV. Ethics and Approval
Before I enter the field, I will be submitting an application for my project to IRB to get approved. While in the field, I will maintain confidentiality on all of my reports, and will make sure that all of my interviews are given after consent from the interviewee is given. If I am having an unstructured interview (such as a conversation with someone on a bus, at the market, etc) then, if my topic and possible interview come up, I will make sure that the individual is ok with me writing down or making notes on things they say later on, and make sure they are ok with our conversation taking form of an interview.
V. Preliminary Plans for Post-Field Application
This project helps me immensely by furthering my education in Human Development. I will be able to learn the things abroad that will help me better understand parenting in different contexts and circumstances. This helps me to be able to accomplish my internship and prepare for graduate school. I am also interested in being a Cross-Cultural Family researcher, and if this is the career path I choose, then this project well help me put a sure foot forward in that direction.
VI. Qualifications and Limitations
I am a young student and not far into my newly-switched major. However, I have taken a parenting class that studied parenting styles and outcomes, and received an A-. I am currently taking a Family Processes class, in which we study families, their development, and interactions. I am also taking a methods (Critical Inquiry and Research Methods) class, a field study preparation class, a Tibetan language class, and a statistics class. These classes qualify me to carry out this study properly and efficiently, and my parenting class will help me interpret my findings. Although I am trying to learn the Tibetan language, there will still be a significant language barrier, so I plan on using an interpreter to help me with this limitation.
VII. Qualifications of Primary Faculty Mentor
Although I have a meeting soon with a BYU employee who will hopefully be my mentor, this section is not yet set in stone.
VIII. Justification of In-Field Coursework and Faculty
This section is also not completely set in stone, but my project will probably count towards my capstone requirement as an international internship. The classes that I am planning on fulfilling through my project are Cross-Cultural Family and Human Development, and Religion in the Home. The former applies to my project because I am studying the family structure, specifically between parent and child, of a different culture. The later applies because I want to study how Tibetan Buddhism has an affect on the parenting in these families.
IX. Schedule
This project will be conducted beginning May 11th, 2011 and ending August 8th, 2011. My final paper will be due December 15th of the same year. The following chart shows how I hope to spend my weeks in the field:
| Week | Activities |
| 1 | Intro to the area: find a place to volunteer, get to know my host family, etc |
| 2 | 4 interviews/transcription |
| 3 | 4 interviews/transcription |
| 4 | 4 interviews/transcription |
| 5 | Conduct 3 surveys at homes |
| 6 | Conduct 4 surveys at homes |
| 7 | 4 interviews/transcription |
| 8 | 5 interviews/transcription |
| 9 | 5 interviews/transcription |
| 10 | Conduct surveys at school |
| 11 | Content analysis |
| 12 | Content analysis |
X. Budget
I will need outside funding for this project. The following chart lists the expenses required to carry out this project.
| Program fees | $125 (includes application and acceptance fees) |
| International Health Insurance | $50 |
| Immunizations | $150-200 |
| Airfare | $1,400 |
| Tuition | $2,200 |
| Lodging | $1,350 (3 months, $450/month) |
| Survey supplies/printing cost of surveys | $100 |
| TOTAL | Approx. $5,400 |
I still need to meet with a mentor and discuss any other things I will need and research the cost of those things.
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