The Home and the School in the Educational Achievements of South Asians

This article explores how South Asian parents and teachers affect the educational achievements of South Asians in schools and colleges in the city of Birmingham, England. The research undertaken for this study was principally qualitative, based on in-depth interviews with and surveys of pupils, students and parents from different schools and colleges across the city. Respondents were asked to discuss the importance of the home and the school for educational achievement, exploring, at one level, perspectives on teachers and schools and, at another, religion and culture within the home. It was found that given the different socio-economic positions, ethnicities and genders of South Asians, the experiences of South Asian Muslims (Bangladeshis and Pakistanis) suggested greater disadvantage, necessarily because of their attending less effective schools, an adverse religio-cultural effect within the home, and how Muslims are negatively perceived by the majority. In contrast, Indians (Hindu and Sikh) experience education favourably, in essence, because of attending schools that are more effective, religion and culture having less of an impact on their lives at home, and how they are positively perceived by the majority.