Eldridge, Graham Edgar; (1989) A comparative study of the education of young West Indian children in the United Kingdom : with particular reference to those from Jamaica. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the way in which children of West Indian parentage and in particular those from Jamaica have settled into Primary schools in the United Kingdom since the 1960's. Two contrasting areas in the United Kingdom - the I.L.E.A. and Suffolk are reviewed in order to highlight their respective provisions with regard to Multi-Ethnic education. The thesis commences with a short survey of the background and movement of Jamaican parents to the United Kingdom. A comparison is made between migration from Jamaica and that from other West Indian territories, and the process of integration with regard to employment, housing and education into the United Kingdom is briefly described. The aspirations and frustrations of West Indian communities with regard to the education available to their children are described together with reactions of both indigenous British and West Indian adults toward education in English schools in which a large proportion of the children are from ethnic minorities. In order to highlight the possible problems faced by both black and white communities in U.K. schools the model of "an ideal typical English Primary school" is established with regard to such aspects as administration, appointment of staff, organisation and curriculum, and methods of training teachers. The question is then asked - how successful is the typical English Primary School with regard to the needs and requirements of pupils from ethnic minority groups? Following this, changes in perception in Multi-cultural education during the 1970s and 1980s are discussed with particular regard to the multi-cultural policies and practices of the I.L.E.A. and Suffolk County Council Education Authority. Local Education Authority Racial Policies and Practices in the U.K. during the 1980s are briefly surveyed and the thesis includes observations in five Primary Schools in the I.L.E.A. and in Ipswich, Suffolk in order to assess whether the multi-cultural policies of these two Authorities have been implemented in these particular schools and how. The thesis concludes by discussing the applicability of multi cultural policies in the U.K. with the intention of assessing whether the policy of "Education for All" is an attainable or realistic goal with regard to the diversities of practices in British Primary Schools. This is discussed with particular reference to the higher valuations of Plowden, Swann and Anti-Racism as compared with those of the Ideal Typical Model.

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