Asian-named minority groups in a British school system: A study of the education of the children of immigrants of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin from the Indian sub-continent or East Africa in the City of Bradford.

Abstract

This thesis was planned as an -interdisciplinary work, a possible exemplar of 'a peace study' (see Appendix 5). It offers an analysis of the situation of the Asian children of immigrant families, socially and racially disadvantaged in Britain, in the Bradford school system from the mid-1970's to 1980*, and their relative success in terms of external examination assessment in comparison with their peers. This is seen against the backcloth of pioneering Local Authority policies to support their education and observations of practice in schools. The findings are generalised as models of what is perceived by the policy-makers and practitioners to be progress towards racial justice and peace. It is argued that the British school system has shown limited facility to offer equal opportunity of success to pupils in socially disadvantaged groups and that this is borne out in an analysis of the situation of the Asian pupils in the County Upper schools in Bradford (CB), less likely to be allocated to external examination-orientated groups or to gain success in these than their peers. There are indications that their potential may not be being realised. It is argued that while language support for the bilingual child is important, account should also be taken of a more general cultural dominance in the school system and stereotyped low expectations from teachers which may feed racial bias in institutions. The data show that the LEA policies, though benevolent in intention, demonstrate institutional racism in effect. With four case studies from observations in Bradford schools, models are developed for practice that has potential for power-sharing and greater equity of opportunity -for pupils, involving respect for cultural diversity and antiracist education strategies supporting and supported by community participation in schools. It is argued that white educationists need to listen to black clients, pupils and their parents, involving them in dialogue to ascertain their real needs, to implement appropriate policy. As there was a considerable lapse of time between the field work research and writing up of this thesis, and its final presentation, an addendum (with bibliography) reviews some of the research and literature in the fleld since 1980. This situates the field work historically. The issues raised and discussed in the context of the 1970's are still far from being solved. The additional work stregthens, rather than changes my original conclusion that society is locked into a cycle of inequality. A counter-hegemony must emerge from 'grass-roots', community initiatives with a values-base linked not to self-seeking or confrontational power group politics but to a notion of the common good.