Parenting, schooling and carribean heritage pupils

Abstract

This article describes part of an ESRC-funded project on the school achievement of pupils of Caribbean heritage in Britain. The project was small-scale, with research located in homes and in schools. It developed case studies to identify the wide-ranging set of influences on achievement. Caribbean heritage parents are typically second generation settlers. They are believed to value education but how, if at all, this affects their parenting is unclear. With the exception of some research from the early 1980s and limited research in recent years, the potentially positive role of Caribbean heritage parents is generally neglected. This is true in research on Caribbean heritage pupils' school experiences and in research relating to the wider community on parental involvement in education. This article examines what was done by the project parents to try to promote achievement. It was found that parents valued education and that this was reflected in the support and encouragement that they gave for schooling despite the many other pressures on their time. It was also found that parenting strategies varied, with a marked difference between the parents who had a personal interest in education and other parents.