European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL IDENTITY(IES) OF PORTUGUESE ... 217Do schools support the development of transcultural identities?In the scenario portrayed above it seems that the lived experiencesof these Portuguese students would support the development oftranscultural identities. This type of construction would enable them tocontinue supporting their families and at the same time adjust to life inBritain. When we look closely at our case studies we realise that only atiny minority seems to «fit» into this style. In this part of the analysis Iexamine the role of teachers in constraining and enabling the developmentof transcultural identities.Nadia’s narrative emphasised that when at school she and herPortuguese peer group did not experience their bi-cultural identities asaccepted by their peers. It is also clear that they had developed someresistance to this non-acceptance. In the above examples this resistancewas expressed by seeing advantages in speaking more than oneEuropean language, by seeing the English peers as lacking in anunderstanding of their biculturalism, and by criticising the Portuguesecolleagues who opted for belonging to English peer groups at school.But, Nadia also felt uneasy about «being pointed out as different». Thislatter aspect was the one stressed in the official discourse of the schooland the one which informed the school practices. Sarah, an English asan Additional Language (EAL) coordinator assistant in the schoolargued thatOnce they are settled, they’re fine and they tend to want thesupport to cease because they don’t want to be seen as different.Um, so they don’t like having help [from Portuguese peers] there allthe time. I think it is just a comfort blanket to start with. They arevery insecure. They are in a new environment and they don’t reallyunderstand what is going on around them.In this teacher’s view it is the girls that do not want to be seen asdifferent. This view was further elaborated when she explained thefollowing on being asked whether Portuguese pupils talk often aboutPortugal.Um, the girls from Madeira don’t. Um, but the ones who havehad… sort of from the mainland, have more. I think they do withtheir friends more than they do with us… But it’s not something thatcomes up every day. A lot of them seem to feel the need to fit in. Sothey don’t want to highlight that difference.Sarah uses her experience to justify her view that Portuguese pupilsare anxious not to appear different to their peers and thus to ‘fit in’.For young people whom have come from a different country, the