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Research
Portuguese and Portuguese-descendant youths of the diaspora: cultural heritage and attitudes towards education. |
| Type: |
Article |
| Contributed by: |
Armando Oliveira |
Submitted for publication in the AEMI Journal (March 2004).
SUMMARY
The present paper takes a look at the poor school achievement which has, traditionally, been the norm among young Portuguese and Portuguese-descendents in the Diaspora. Calling attention to the weaknesses of traditional explanations of that phenomenon – namely poor command of the dominant language, lack of parental help and guidance, as well as some characteristics of the local school systems – the author concludes that the main causes for that low degree of achievement are rooted in cultural factors, and perpetuate themselves through what he calls ‘the vicious circle of failure’: being the heirs to a culture which has never regarded education as a fundamental value, the youngsters thus lack encouragement and motivation to undertake the effort that would lead to success; then the ensuing (poor) results end up triggering a loss of confidence in their own abilities, reinforcing the fear of failure and opening the way to school abandonment. |
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