University of Sunderland

Ironoretown Participants' Interim Dissemination Bulletin

As you will know, members of your family have taken part in the APSSE Project which is based at the University of Sunderland . The project started in May 2002 and will continue until April 2004. We are now in a position to share some of our findings with you. As the project is still on-going, we must stress that these findings are only interim. We will have more to say by the end of the project.

As you also know the research is focussing on parents and young people of Bangladeshi origin in Shipton and Pakistani origin in Ironoretown. This bulletin will present some of the findings from the Ironoretown families.

What are the aims of the research?

• Just to remind you, the aims of the research project are to:
  
  develop knowledge of the understanding that parents of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origins have of the education system and of their children's educational experience,
• how they see their own role in relation to their children's education,
• their views on the nature of the relationships between home and school,
• find out the views of young people themselves about their school experience and their views on their parents' involvement in their education.
  

What have we done so far?

We have carried out interviews with mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. We have focussed on young people who were in their last year of primary school and those at secondary school or college or university. Most of these interviews have been carried out in people's homes although we have also interviewed some groups of young people in youth clubs and schools.

In total we have interviewed 89 Pakistani families in Ironoretown and we have conducted a total of 261 interviews with parents and young people.

We have also visited a number of  schools and have interviewed headteachers and teachers. We are currently collecting details of exam results and other information from schools.

What have we found out about parents' views?

There is a wide range of views amongst parents about the schools in Ironoretown. All families of course are not the same and this must account for some of these differences. However, children in Ironoretown attend a range of schools and it is clear from our findings that different schools provide different experiences.
What do you like about the schools?

Some parents view their children's schools as being `good'. By this they mean the school is a place that:

• keeps parents informed;
• has no trouble;
• has strong discipline, lots of homework and assessment;
• has good teachers and by this they mean the teachers support the child;
• has good facilities, and looks good;
• where teachers put themselves out for children and the school looks after the child.

Some parents like the ways in which the schools monitor their children both in terms of their behaviour and safety, and in terms of their work, particularly homework;
Some parents seem happy with the channels of communication that exist between home and school and some were also happy about the amount and quality of information that they receive about their children.

What you would like to change?

• Some parents report concerns about racism and about teachers not being fair to their children. Some parents recall their own experience of racism in schools but how things tend to be better now. There is a view that schools don't deal well with racial harassment or bullying.
• Some schools are not as tight on discipline as others, and as parents would like.
• Some parents felt that schools were not equally resourced.
• It was felt by some parents that schools assume that families have resources especially computers and this isn't always so. In some schools families are expected to pay for school trips but if the parents are not in waged work then it is difficult.
• Some parents suggested that the information they received form schools was not specific or detailed enough and did not make it possible for them to provide support at home. Furthermore, a number of parents felt that they were not really given a clear indication of the progress that their children were making and that often, by the time they found out there were any concerns, it was too late to do anything about it.
• Some significant responses included some parents who were not satisfied with the contact that they had had with schools. Some felt that they were not always `listened to' and some expressed disappointment in the ways that they had been treated by the schools.

Where there is a need for further discussion and development

• Parents often say that if you ask for information you will receive it but if you don't ask, it isn't forth coming and this shouldn't be the case.
• There is dissatisfaction with certain schools and in particular some parents are concerned that not enough is being expected of their children and that they are not given enough homework.
• Some parents did not feel as confident as others in approaching the schools. Reasons given were a lack of confidence in spoken English and a fear of the negative repercussions on the child.
• Very few parents were involved with the school governing body or Parent Teacher Associations. The majority of parents also tended not to attend school social activities unless their child was directly involved, for example in a school concert. Reasons given for this were that they were often not appealing or were considered to be inappropriate.
• Although some families praised the attempts that schools made regarding religious and cultural issues for example, provision during Ramadan, and holding Eid parties, others criticised the schools' lack of understanding of religious or cultural influence. We feel that this suggests that there are differences between the schools in terms of how well they understand, and communicate with the communities that they serve.

What have we found out about young people's views of school?

Students, like their parents, have a differentiated view of Ironoretown schools often based upon a perception of their reputation. Most young people felt that education is important both in terms of securing a job but also in terms of personal, and in some cases, religious fulfilment.
The following points try to capture the range of viewpoints that have emerged to date.

What do you like about school?

In particular, young people enjoyed the social aspects of school ie seeing their friends. However, they also had clear views about what they liked about school and what they considered to be a `good' school. This included:

• having teachers who give support and provide extra booster classes;
• having nice food, nice classrooms, good facilities and not too many rules;
• having teachers who don't "nag";
• having high standards, good discipline and no bullying
• having teachers who are `good' and `really dedicated'.

Where there is a need for further discussion and development

• Some young people criticised some teachers for having low expectations of Asian students. Some young people also talked about the variability of the quality of teaching which could impact on their view of the subject and also their ability to achieve. Some teachers were also reportedly more sensitive to religious and cultural needs than others.
• A number of young people talked about encountering racism in school and there was a view that this occurred in some schools more than others. There appears to be evidence of racial harassment  (although some more than others) in most of the schools where the young people attend. One student suggested that such incidents are kept quiet and are dealt with in a discrete manner. Some respondents, both young people and parents suggested that since post September 11th and the war in Iraq, the issue of racial harassment has got worse.
• Some children admitted to truanting sometimes because they were bored.

What happens next?

We will hold a final dissemination event in March or April 2004 and you will be invited. We are also planning smaller dissemination activities with schools, and the Local Authority. We have contacted the Department for Education and Skills and Minister for School Standards; the Commission for Racial Equality, and the Director for Standards at Key Stage 3. We will be informing them of our findings and will request meetings to discuss these with them. We really hope that the project will bring about some positive changes which will be influenced by what you have said.

You can contact us :

Gill Crozier Project Director    
gill.crozier@sunderland.ac.uk   
0191 515 2364

Jane Davies
Project Manager   
jane.davies@sunderland.ac.uk
0191 515 2367

Sofina Khatun Researcher
sofina.khatun@sunderland.ac.uk    
0191 515 2380

Deborah Booth Researcher
deborah.booth@sunderland.ac.uk  
0191 515 3509

Dawn Osguthorpe Administrator
dawn.osguthorpe@sunderland.ac.uk
0191 515 3509

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents and young people who have participated in this research for their time and patience.