EUROPEAN AMERICAN

CHILDREN AND
ADOLESCENTS

Dejana Kumaraku
Briana Munoz
Edu 280

OVERVIEW
European Americans are Americans with ancestry from Europe. The
Spanish were the first Europeans to establish a continuous
presence in what is now the United States.
European American cultures bring a plethora of differences that
perceptive educators will want their students to understand and
appreciate. European Americans Originate from a lot of different
locations, such as France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Poland and many more.

ORIGINS
Around 1830-1930, 32 million left Europe for the United States,
contributing enormously to the nations expansion and industrial
growth.
European Americans came from western and southern portion of
Europe and the eastern portion and the Soviet Union.
Reasons for moving:
For social and economic strains on the rural systems of Europe.
(large populations, and lack of farming land for all people)
Some came to earn money and return to their country
others planned to make the US their home.

EUROPEAN AMERICANS
TODAY
European Americans today live in many geographic areas in the
United States. According to the US Census Bureau, during 2005,
approximately 46,500 Europeans entered the United States as
permanent residents. The largest numbers arrived from Bosnia and
Herzegovina and came from Russia and Poland. 35% of European
Americans are located in states in the west, 31% in the South, and
15% in the Northeast. Regardless of the numbers, the United
States is a country of destination for many people of differing
cultures, languages, and traditions.

STEREOTYPING OF
EUROPEAN AMERICAN
CHILDREN AND
ADOLESCENTS
European cultures are not immune to the stereotyping that has
dogged American Indian, African, Asian, Arab, and Hispanic
cultures. Stereotyping, racism, and discrimination can affect
European Americans, just as they can affect people from all
cultures.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb4Aygk3NUs

CULTURAL
CHARACTERISTICS
European Americans can be best described as holding firm beliefs
in support of inalienable rights (e.g. , privacy), free enterprise, and
private property. They place importance on time, cleanliness, hard
work, material comforts and material wealth. Greek Americans take
a lot pf pride in individual achievement and consider themselves as
individuals. Italian Americans have a strong allegiance to family
and tend to live where they grew up. They also believe that young
people should learn from their elders and have allegiance to a
church.

GENDER
Girls and boys have different learning styles, worldviews,
perceptions of motivation and school success, and learning
strategies.
For Boys, European American parents value independence,
achievement, individualism, and hard work.
For girls, parents expect them to dependent on others (a man) and
to lack confidence in their abilities. They should focus more on their
relationships and toward home-centered family-orientated
achievement.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
There both wealthy and poor European Americans.
Determines Socioeconomic Status:
Is the husband or father present?
Does the wife work?
How many children are in the family?
Are the people living in a part of the country where the cost of
living is high or low?
How well does the family manage its money?

FAMILIES
Parents and families are expected to be involved in their childrens education. European
American children's how chore duties within the household and have part-time jobs as
adolescents. Families expect the to establish their own indentions, leave the family
home, and create their own families.
Italian American Families: The fathers responsibilities are to his family. It is the
mother's responsibility for the emotional aspects of the family. The sons are given more
latitude in what they do. They expect the daughter to assume major responsibility for an
aging or sick parent.
Greek American Families: Men provide economic necessities and believe that the
womans place is in the home, and women cater to mens desires and wish to be good
wives.
Irish American Families: More Irish women have immigrated to the US than men.
They pay equal attention to their daughters and their sons. Children are raised to be
polite, respectful obedient, and well-behaved.

FAMILIES CONT.
Polish American Families: the husband is the leader of the
household and the family must obey his wishes. Children are raised
very obedient to their father and have very strict discipline.
Portuguese American Families:. Family members keep feelings to
themselves to avoid the loss of power or respect. The womens role is
to love, honor, and obey her husband. Children receive most physical
and emotional attention from their parents from infancy to school age.
German American Families: the husband or father is the head of the
household. He is less emotionally available to the children. The
womans responsibility is toward household and family duties. They are
also hardworking and dutiful.

RELIGION
European Americans religion depends on its specific geographical
origin. Most Major religions Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Judaism.

LANGUAGE
Germany and the United Kingdom have less difficulty with the
English language whereas Italians have a difficult time with the
language.
Factors that influence learners ability to speak English:
Parents live where people speak native languages.
Whether the parents speak the native language at home
Schools efforts to provide programs in English as a second
language

SCHOOL PRACTICES
PROMOTING EUROPEAN
AMERICANS PROGRAMS
Some schools fail to provide adequate ESL programs, as a result
learners are taught in a language dont understand.
Sometimes European Americans are placed in a group that is
academically too high or too low for their abilities
Teachers fail to realize that learners in various cultures have
different learning styles and school success
Educators should help European Americans children understand
culture, recognize how culture affects peoples lives and
understand they cant place values on culture.

VIDEOS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iBps5R81GE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_jRjPl9iRQ