British Pakistani students’ experiences in multi-ethnic secondary schools in England
Authors
Chaudhry, JaveriaIssue Date
2019-02-08Subjects
British PakistaniSecondary Education
Prevent
Culture
Multiculturalism
Subject Categories::X330 Academic studies in Secondary Education
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Multicultural educational policies in school advocate respect for all cultures. These policies are considered important in facilitating the inclusion of students from ethnically diverse backgrounds (Banks, 2008, 2019). Multicultural policies aim to increase equality and social acceptance of minority ethnic communities by decreasing negative racial attitudes and racial inequality (Bourne, 2007; Howarth and Andreouli, 2012). Therefore, multiculturalism is a key to the development of positive attitudes amongst ethnically diverse communities and it aims to challenge and prevent racism or prejudice (Bourne, 2007). The aim of this study was to analyse experiences of British Pakistani students in schools; to investigating how the concept of multiculturalism with multicultural policies is promoted in schools, to ensure their inclusion. The situation of British Pakistanis is complicated by issues relating to how the Muslim faith is perceived, and in particular the Prevent Agenda. Both of these topics are covered within this study. This study investigated the experiences of British Pakistani students in multi-ethnic secondary schools in England in order to understand how BPS as a minority ethnic group are culturally supported and included in schools. This study focused on multiculturalism by using Banks’ (2008, 2019) theory of multiculturalism with his model of multicultural education as a conceptual framework. Hence, year 9 BPS’ experiences in relation to multiculturalism, multicultural education policies including the Prevent Agenda and FBV in three different multi-ethnic secondary schools in the East of England were explored. All three schools were multi-ethnic in nature and more than enough to provide sufficient data to do a good cross-section from schools with differing level of BPS, through student and teacher interviews, in addition to document analysis of school policies. The major findings of the research revealed that the case study schools have a positive inclusive cultural environment and the more general inclusive policies schools employ seem to meet a number of elements and dimensions that Banks (1989b, 2008, 2019) has identified in relation to multiculturalism. Findings also indicated that no single model espoused by Banks (2008, 2019) could fully capture the range of themes emerging when focusing on issues related to multiculturalism when applied to this group of students in the current context. BPS identify themselves as British Pakistani and prefer dualism/integration to carry two different cultures together. There are no concerns that Prevent is impacting on teachers in terms of the way BPS behave, and teacher training in relation to this was perceived as insignificant. BPS generally experience positive attitudes from their peers and teachers. British Values caused a variety of responses indicating lack of clarity about what British Values are, and that they are not required for the integration of BPS in schools. Overall, the findings concluded that although British Pakistani students’ needs are being met by current practices in schools, some aspects of Banks’ (2008, 2019) model could be beneficial in reducing potential issues faced by this group of students.Citation
Chaudhry.J. (2019) 'British Pakistani students’ experiences in multi-ethnic secondary schools in England'. PhD thesis. University of BedfordshirePublisher
University of BedfordshireType
Thesis or dissertationLanguage
enDescription
"A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy"Collections
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