99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
An Investigation of Young People’s Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Scottish Youth Work in Supporting Wellbeing Post COVID-19 Pandemic
Haley Sneed
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Presenting Author: Sneed, Haley
The aim of the research is to investigate how young people’s wellbeing priorities and how different forms of youth work participation in Scotland impact their ability to take action to address those priorities, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bynner et al. (2020) note that the climate of lockdowns, isolation, and social distancing has contributed to substantial shifts in our daily lives, resulting in severe repercussions for health and wellbeing. Adult populations have been at the forefront of many COVID-19 wellbeing studies, but there is a lack of research on young people’s experiences (Guessoum et al., 2020; Suhail, Iqbal, and Smith, 2020).
Research shows that people belonging to Scottish communities of multiple deprivations are facing extensive challenges, which, although predating the pandemic, have been exacerbated by it (The Scottish Government & COSLA, 2020). Specifically, it has worsened the disproportionate effects for “…households on low incomes or in poverty, low-paid workers, children and young people, older people, disabled people, minority ethnic groups, and women” (Scottish Government & COSLA, 2020, p.4).
The literature provides strong evidence that the detrimental impacts of the pandemic have hit young people hardest out of any group (Hagell, 2021; Leavey, Eastaugh, and Kane, 2020). It has deeply intensified poverty, impacted employability and education outcomes, and hindered wellbeing (Bynner et al., 2020; The Scottish Government and COSLA, 2019; The Scottish Government, 2021).
Recent research argues that community organisations, such as youth projects, are ideally placed to address and solve local problems caused by the pandemic (Leach et al., 2020; O’Sullivan et al., 2021; Suhail, Iqbal, and Smith, 2020). For example, Stansfield, Mapplethorpe and South (2020) argue that communities and youth work have been paramount in helping meet the needs of the most vulnerable. Youth work services articulate that they have been significant in supporting young people throughout COVID-19 (UK Youth, 2021; Youth Scotland, 2020; YouthLink Scotland, 2020), but young people’s views are missing.
This research addresses this gap in the literature by investigating the experiences of those young people who have been most detrimentally impacted by COVID-19. This project seeks not only to speak to young people about their experiences but to find out what they need from youth work in Scotland. How much do youth work services listen to young people? Is there meaningful engagement of young people in youth work? This study will get to the heart of these issues by investigating young people’s perspectives on the role of Scottish youth work in supporting youth wellbeing.
The primary research question of this research is: How can young people’s wellbeing be better supported by Scottish youth work? The sub-questions are: How do young people define wellbeing?; What are young people’s priorities concerning wellbeing, Scottish youth work, and the impact of COVID-19?; How can young people be supported to take control of their wellbeing?
Empowerment theory has been chosen as a focus of the theoretical frameworks of this research because of its emphasis on social justice, where the individual is an active participant in the empowerment process (Rappaport, 1981). Additionally, this theory has become a focus due to its acknowledgement of the inextricable link between power and empowerment (Page & Czuba, 1999). This theory is vital in enabling power to be disseminated and rightfully restored to individuals. The shift from tokenistic engagement in the name of empowerment is at the heart of this research and consequently creates space for highlighting youth perspectives, a central aim of this study. Lastly, empowerment theory and its key concepts will contribute to the lens from which the data will be analysed.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis research employs a qualitative methodology within a participatory paradigm grounded in constructivist beliefs. The paradigm relies on a relationship between researcher and participant based on collaboration and allows for the creation of co-constructed knowledge grounded in emancipation and transformation (Howell, 2013).
In this study, participatory visual methods will be utilised to conduct research with young people as co-creators of knowledge. Photovoice is the intended primary method from the outset. It requires the participants to be responsible for taking their own photographs. However, participatory visual methods challenge participants and have “…the potential to reinforce rather than disrupt existing social conditions and dominant arrangements of power and participation” (Cook-Sather, 2007, p.389). Therefore, photo-elicitation, a less demanding data collection method, is also built into the methodological framework from the beginning by way of risk mitigation.
This methodology will employ the following methodological instruments:
1. Photovoice/Photo-elicitation:
a. One of the primary purposes of the research is to highlight young people’s perspectives which photovoice and photo-elicitation can facilitate.
b. Photovoice is a process by which participants take photographs in everyday life representing the issues within the study's remit. Their photographs will then be used in discussions allowing participants to discuss issues and identify priorities.
c. For photo-elicitation, the researcher will provide photographs instead (Harper, 2002).
d. Using the SHOWeD method (Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988; Wang & Burris, 1997), participants will write short stories about the photos they identify as most important.
e. They will write three short participation stories describing how prepared they felt to take action to address the priorities they identified throughout the project.
f. Lastly, there will be an exhibition to enable local stakeholders to observe and discuss the participants’ work.
2. Open-ended Questionnaire:
a. Employed after the exhibition.
b. Elicits information from stakeholders, including their position, attitudes towards the photos and themes the young people produced in the photovoice sessions, and their plans to address these themes.
3. Semi-structured Interview:
a. Participants will be asked about one or two of their photos, accompanying photo stories, participation stories, and experiences within the photovoice project.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe young people’s photographs will undergo participant-led coding and reflexive thematic analysis. All other data will undergo reflexive thematic analysis using NVivo. Expected findings will demonstrate that Scottish youth work, while helpful in some areas to young people, can improve in other areas that are more important to the participants. Expected outcomes for the participants include positive individual empowerment and the ability to take control of their own wellbeing. Additionally, this research intends to support young people in identifying issues of importance and creating a list of actionable things they can do to lobby for change in their local communities. These issues and actionable items will also help identify ways Scottish youth work can better support youth wellbeing and how COVID-19 has impacted wellbeing.
This research will act as a liaison for young people’s voices to be heard by allowing them to pose, discuss, and interpret problems related to wellbeing, youth work, and the impact of COVID-19. The co-creation of knowledge through this participatory visual methods project will facilitate an investigation into how young people’s wellbeing can be better supported by Scottish youth work and how young people can be better supported to take control of their wellbeing. Additionally, this project will meaningfully engage young people with academia and relevant stakeholders within their local community. It will encourage participants to be curious about their experiences while learning how to lobby for change.
ReferencesBynner, C., McBride, M., Weakley, S., Ward, S., & McLean, J. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on families, children and young people in Glasgow.
Cook-Sather, A. (2007). Resisting the Impositional Potential of Student Voice Work. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 28(3), 389–403.
Guessoum, S.B. et al. (2020) “Adolescent psychiatric disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown,” Psychiatry Research, 291, p. 113264. doi:10.1016/J.PSYCHRES.2020.113264.
Hagell, A. (2021). Summarising what we know so far about the impact of Covid-19 on young people.
Harper, D. (2002). Visual Studies Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation Talking about pictures: a case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies, 17(1).
Howell, K. E. (2013). An introduction to the philosophy of methodology. London: SAGE.
Leach, M. et al. (2020) Covid-19 - a social phenomenon requiring diverse expertise - Institute of Development Studies. https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/covid-19-a-social-phenomenon-requiring-diverse-expertise/
Leavey, C., Eastaugh, A., & Kane, M. (2020). Generation COVID-19: Building the case to protect young people’s future health.
O’Sullivan, K. et al. (2021) “A Qualitative Study of Child and Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ireland,” International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(3), pp. 1–15. doi:10.3390/IJERPH18031062.
Page, N., & Czuba, C. E. (1999). Empowerment: What Is It? Journal of Extension, 37(5). https://archives.joe.org/joe/1999october/comm1.php
Rappaport, J. (1981). In praise of paradox: A social policy of empowerment over prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00896357
Stansfield, J., Mapplethorpe, T. and South, J. (2020) The community response to coronavirus (COVID-19) - UK Health Security Agency. https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2020/06/01/the-community-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19/ (Accessed: September 30, 2021).
Suhail, A., Iqbal, N. and Smith, J. (2020) “Lived experiences of Indian Youth amid COVID-19 crisis: An interpretative phenomenological analysis,” https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020966021, 67(5), pp. 559–566. doi:10.1177/0020764020966021.
The Scottish Government and COSLA (2019) Children & Young People’s Mental Health Task Force: Recommendations.
The Scottish Government, & COSLA. (2020). Scotland’s Wellbeing: The Impact of COVID-19. https://nationalperformance.gov.scot/
The Scottish Government (2021) COVID-19: Children, young people and families: June 2021: Evidence Summary.
UK Youth. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on young people & the youth sector.
Wallerstein, N., Bernstein, E. (1988). Empowerment Education: Freire’s Ideas Adapted to Health Education. Health Education and Behavior. 15, 379–394.
Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, Methodology, and Use for Participatory Needs Assessment. Health Education and Behavior, 24(3), 369–387.
Youth Scotland (2020) Rising to the Challenge: Community-based youth work and Coronavirus.
YouthLink Scotland (2020) COVID-19 Education Recovery: Youth Work.
99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
Learning in rural communities: Parental ethnotheories in Nigeria
Bukola Oyinloye
University of York, United Kingdom
Presenting Author: Oyinloye, Bukola
Constructs of children’s learning in rural communities often go beyond learning as schooling alone. One concept which has been applied to try to understand conceptions of learning is parental ethnotheories. Parental ethnotheories are the cultural belief systems which underpin parents’ organisation of the everyday lives of children (Harkness & Super, 1996). They are cultural models evident in taken for granted notions about the right way to act, with particular application for children. Parental ethnotheories constitute one of the components of a child’s developmental niche, the others being 1) children’s physical and social settings; and 2) the culturally regulated customs of childcare and bearing. (Harkness & Super, 1996). The concept has been applied across various ethnocultural groups around the world, including indigenous and rural African societies, and studies have typically focused on parents’ beliefs around their valued traits and aptitudes for children (e.g., Nsamenang & Lamb, 1993; Harkness & Super, 1992; Harkness et al., 2010). For example, among the Kipsigis in Kenya, parents valued domestic chores and younger sibling care for girls while for boys, they valued the caring for livestock, and the independent carrying out of minor domestic repairs (Harkness & Super, 1992). For parents, these duties developed children’s socially responsible intelligence, the absence of which was evident in children who neglected their duties to play (Super et al., 2011). In other parts of Africa including, among the Tchokwe (Angola), Touareg, Hadza (Tanzania), Igbo (Nigeria), others have also identified gender differentiation of children’s chores and other work types (Lancy, 2016).
In this paper, the concept of parental ethnotheories is broadened slightly to include parents’ beliefs about the broad range of daily activities for children and the purpose those activities fulfil. The paper focuses on the Yorùbá in Nigeria and existing evidence had shed light into some of their ethnotheoretical constructs. Levine et al.’s (2003) late 1960s study of Yorùbá fathers, in rural and urban settings, found that rural fathers more greatly valued children’s practical skills acquired through the running of household errands and completion of tasks. Zeitlin’s (1996) late 1980s study corroborated this, finding that Yorùbá parents accorded primacy to children’s errand-completion capabilities. For parents, such capabilities also inculcated the necessary social skills children required for verbal and commercial transactions. Other studies have shown similar findings where Yorùbá parents assigned children household duties and sent them on errands, as well as trained them to be responsible, helpful and to respectfully relate with others, particularly those of age seniority (Ogunnaike & Houser, 2002; Omobowale et al., 2019). For parents, these practices contributed to the development of an Ọmọlúàbí, – a person of good character – a central concept in Yorùbá beliefs around child rearing and social cohesion (Busari et al., 2017) and one of the goals of Yorùbá traditional education (Akinyemi, 2003). The concept of ethnotheories will be used in this paper to frame the historical and socioculturally situated set of shared ideas representing implicit notions about the appropriate ways to think, act, and be (Harkness & Super, 2006).
The following research questions are explored:
- What ideas underpin Yorùbá parents’ organisation of their children’s everyday activities?
- How do these ideas interconnect?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedObservations of organisation of children’s everyday activities are a particularly useful starting point to understand parental ethnotheories (Harkness et al., 2006). In this study, observations of children were complemented with interviews (Rubin & Rubin, 2012) with parents about their beliefs around what children should learn. The findings are drawn from a broader study on parents’ perspectives and practices around schooling in rural communities in a state in Northern Nigeria. Fieldwork for the broader ethnographic study occurred in two stages, through an initial extended five-month period and a month-long follow-up period, the subsequent period which enabled some validation of the ideas from the previous. Two small predominantly Muslim communities, each with at least a primary school, were selected for the study. Men engaged in commercial driving (communityA) and farming (communityB) while women across both communities farmed and engaged in small-scale, off-farm micro-enterprises, including the sale of farm products, snacks or provisions. CommunityA is considered less rural than its counterpart as it is nearer to the state capital. As such, more families in communityB farm both for subsistence and small-scale commerce, selling their products at a market in a nearby town. Economic challenges have also meant that many communityA fathers supplement their livelihoods with subsistence and small scale farming.
The interviews with parents were partially structured, i.e., gently guided discussions (Rubin & Rubin 2012), while casual age-appropriate interactions were undertaken with children in sight of their parents or an adult about their activities. All interactions were conducted in Yorùbá, the first language of the author. Participant observation, the central method in ethnography (Delamont 2016), entailed balancing participation—involvement and subjectivity – with observation—distance and objectivity – while capturing data (O’Reilly, 2012). Children’s observations occurred after school in the afternoons and early evenings and children assented (or did not), once consent was obtained from a parent. 37 children were involved in observations and interactions across both communities, while 97 parents participated in either individual or group conversations. Notes were recorded in notebooks and on the author’s mobile phone. Thematic analysis was used to transcribe, code and identify themes or patters of meaning within the data (Braun & Clark, 2013), with the aid of Nvivo12 qualitative software. Given all interactions were conducted in the local language, transcription involved translation.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsWhen asked to elaborate on their understanding of ‘learn’, a term parents had used widely to explain why they sent their children to school, parents conceptualised two types of learning: learning at home and learning outside. For learning at home, parents positioned themselves as teachers who teach children to care for their bodies, the home, the natural environment; to run errands, including those contributing to the household economy; to behave ‘properly’; and to relate with others in the community.
Learning outside consisted of three elements: learning in the formal school, at the Islamic school, and with a craftsperson or Master trainer. Formal school learning was the purview of schoolteachers who taught children to read and write in English and Yorùbá, as well as learn other subjects to gain knowledge and skills which will hopefully lead to employment. In Islamic learning, children were taught to recite the Quran so that they may know how to effectively pray, particularly during life’s inevitable challenges. Learning a trade or a skill was vital so that children may be able to generate income through the application of these skills, particularly where schooling does not lead to the hoped for salaried employment. Although a traditional practice which has been somewhat neglected with the massification of schooling, steep national graduate unemployment has seen the resurgence of learning a trade / skill and its valuing amongst rural, and even, urban parents.
For parents, these dimensions are mutually reinforcing and thus work together to mould a faith-filled functional Ọmọlúàbí who becomes financially self-sufficient and can contribute to their immediate and extended family; contributes to communal development and harmony; and generally lives a life of ease. The findings suggest that Yorùbá parents have broadened their ethnotheories to take account the exigencies of contemporary lives, including its socio-economic dynamics (Abebe, 2007).
ReferencesAbebe, T. (2007), ‘Changing livelihoods, changing childhoods: Patterns of children’s work in rural Southern Ethiopia’, Children’s Geographies, 5(1–2): 77–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733280601108205
Akinyemi, A. (2003). Yorùbá oral literature: A source of Indigenous education for children. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 16(2): 161–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13696850500076195
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: a practical guide for beginners. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Busari, D. A., Owojuyigbe, M. A., Okunola, R. A., & Mekoa, I. (2017). Cultural concepts employed in child discipline within rural Yorùbá households: The Ayetoro-Oke African community. Rural Society, 26(2), 161-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2017.1340142
Delamont, S. (2016). Fieldwork in educational settings: Methods, pitfalls and perspectives (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (1996). Introduction. In S. Harkness & C. M. Super (Eds.), Parents’ cultural belief systems: Their origins, expressions, and consequences (pp. 1-23). Guilford Press.
Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (2006). Themes and variations: Parental ethnotheories in Western cultures. In K. H. Rubin & O. B. Chung (Eds.), Parenting beliefs, behaviours, and parent-child relations: A cross-cultural perspective (pp. 61-80). Psychology Press.
Harkness, S., & Super, C .M. (1992). Parental ethnotheories in action. In I. Sigel, A.V. McGillicuddy-DeLisi & J. Goodnow (Eds.), Parental belief systems: The psychological consequences for children (2nd ed.) (pp. 373–92). Erlbaum.
Harkness, S., Super, C. M., Rios-Bermudez, M., Moscardina, U., Rha, J., Mavridis, C. J., Bonichini, S., Huitron, B., Welles-Nystrom, B., Palacios, J., Hyun, O., Soriano, G., & Zylicz, P. O. (2010). Parental ethnotheories of children’s learning. In D.F. Lancy, J. Bock & S. Gaskins (Eds.), The anthropology of learning in childhood (pp. 65-81). Alta-Mira Press.
Lancy, D. F. (2016). New studies of children’s work, acquisition of critical skills, and contribution to the domestic economy. ETHOS, 44(3): 202–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/etho.12132
LeVine, R. A. (2003). Introduction. In R.A. Levine (Ed), Childhood socialization: Comparative studies of parenting, learning and educational change (pp. 1-17). Comparative Education Research Center. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203477168-6
Nsamenang, A. B., & Lamb, M .E. (1993). The acquisition of socio-cognitive competence by Nso children in the Bamenda Grassfields of Northwest Cameroon. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 16(3): 429–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/016502549301600304
Ogunnaike, O. A., & Houser Jr, R. F. (2002). Yoruba toddlers’ engagement in errands and cognitive performance on the Yoruba Mental Subscale. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(2), 145-153.
Omobowale, A. O., Omobowale, M. O., & Falase, O. S. (2019). The context of children in Yoruba popular culture. Global Studies of Childhood, 9(1), 18–28.
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99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
How Do Family-School Relations Influence the Discussion of Controversial Issues in an Elite School? Case Study from Chile’s Constitutional Process
Angélica Bonilla1,2
1Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile; 2Universidad Diego Portales, Chile
Presenting Author: Bonilla, Angélica
In this article I present how family-school relations influence the discussion of a controversial issue through a case study of Sainte Madeleine, an elite school in Santiago, Chile. Due to a nation-wide social outburst occurred in 2019, the country experienced social and political unrest, which led the political parties to call for elections to form a Constitutional Convention. After one year of work, citizens were asked to vote on a referendum whether they approved or rejected the Convention’s proposal for a new Constitution that addressed subjects like social welfare, indigenous and women’s rights, and the protection of the environment. Despite initial backing, the Convention suffered dramatic shifts in public support throughout 2021-2022, with high levels of coverage and heated debates on the media, ending with the rejection of the proposal. Therefore, I set out to describe the ways in which the school engaged students with the constitutional process, to identify parental strategies aimed to influence its discussion at school, and to analyze which context factors enabled or constrained the school’s ability to justify its pedagogical decisions.
An open classroom climate for discussion has been consistently established as a significant predictor of students’ civic knowledge and interest in political and social issues (Schulz et al., 2018). However, when it comes to controversial issues “many adults want schools to mirror their ideas, or fear that adding controversy to the curriculum creates controversy, as opposed to simply teaching young people how to deal more effectively with the kinds of political controversies that exist outside of school” (Hess, p.257, 2004). Fear of indoctrination of children and disagreements on what counts as a debatable issue are also common. Therefore, administrators and teachers increasingly hesitate how (and if) to address these topics (Miller et al. 2022; Oulton et al., 2004).
While ICCS 2016 reported that parents have little influence on actual decision-making processes at school -including Chile (Schulz et al., 2018), I argue that this asseveration mostly reflects formal instances of participation, since previous qualitative studies have shown the informal yet effective ways in which parents - particularly middle-class ones- influence school decisions (Calarco, 2020; Reay, 2004). In this paper I address these family-school relations in a seldom studied context, elite schools, to show how the enhanced involvement and entitlement of upper-class parents constrains the school’s ability to teach democratic citizenship and discuss controversial issues.
Chile is a paradigmatic case to study parents and their influence due to its educational marketization, with high levels of privatization and universal school choice. While most schools, whether public or private, receive public funding via vouchers, 10% of schools remain entirely private and charge high tuition fees. In this context, elite schools rely exclusively on parents for resources as well as for reputation, which allows them to maintain their elite status. Furthermore, their exhaustive student selection processes have generated extreme socioeconomic segregation inside these schools as well as endogamic ideological groups (Barrera et al., 2021; Bellei et al., 2020), which reduces the chances for students to naturally encounter diverse points of view.
The results from this study are relevant as schools are increasingly dealing with acute political divides regarding global subjects such as racism, migration, or social inequality. Additionally, it shows the barriers for the development of democratic citizenship abilities such as dialogue, debate, and conflict-processing in private schools, given their combination of social closure and strong parental influence. This also highlights the risks for countries with high or expanding privatization and school choice policies (West & Nikolai, 2017; Wilson & Bridge, 2019), which further position schools as privilege-dependent institutions (Calarco, 2020) and reduce intra-school diversity.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedI carried out a qualitative case study between August and October of 2022. My main source of data is a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of semi-structured interviews with the school’s staff. I also realized a document analysis of the school’s educational project, disciplinary code, and citizenship education plan, and two non-participant observations of pedagogical activities that directly addressed the constitutional process. These techniques allowed me to establish connections between the school’s administration, teaching and student levels, thus achieving what Denzin calls “intra-method triangulation” (Fusch et al., 2018).
Sainte Madeleine is a private, Catholic school, and serves students ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade. Originally an all-girls schools founded by a French congregation almost 170 years ago, it became co-educational in 2019. Like most elite schools in the country, it is currently located in one of the most affluent zones in Santiago, Chile’s capital city. The school’s educational project emphasizes social justice, solidarity, and service to the community, one of the main characteristics of ‘traditional’ Catholic elite schools in the country, as opposed to “neoconservative” ones, which emphasize religious piousness and practice (Bellei et al., 2020).
I conducted semi-structured interviews with the school’s Headmistress and the Principal of Academic Affairs to account for the administration level. I also interviewed Social Studies teachers, who were almost exclusively in charge of addressing the constitutional process (both in Social Studies and the new Civic Education subject, mandatory for 11th and 12th graders since 2020). Finally, I interviewed a Spanish teacher who asked to join and had an active role in the group of teachers in charge of planning a ‘Constitutional Proposal Information Day’.
Finally, I attended both the Information Day and a class discussion. The Information Day was conducted 3 weeks prior to the plebiscite, and it was aimed towards students from grades 9th to 12th. It lasted a whole morning, where they first had group readings and discussion of different passages of the constitutional proposal, followed by a panel of 4 external speakers were invited to answer the students’ questions and concerns. This last part was open to all the educational community (parents, alumni, teachers, and employees). On the other hand, the class discussion I observed took place in an 11th grade the day after the plebiscite. The homeroom teacher was one of my interviewees, and she led the discussion on the results.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsPreliminary findings show that even with a compulsory civic education class and the perceived support from administration, teachers still engaged in neutrality, balance, and avoidance practices (Hess, 2004; Oulton et al., 2004) for fear of parents’ reactions. Parents exert a strong influence in very explicit ways (e.g., emails and meetings to express their concern, disapproval, or support; not sending their daughters to school on Information Day), while others are more subtle (e.g., volunteering to help or put the school in contact with experts they trust). Thus, teachers actively elude political discussion in the classroom, carefully hide their own positions and avoid addressing controversial subjects unnecessarily. They also opt for more traditional methodologies, like reading and comparing sources of information, teaching skills to recognize trustworthy media, promoting individual reflection, or sharing (not contrasting) opinions.
However, the school staff develop justifications for engaging with the constitutional process. One of the main ones is the perceived alignment with their educational project, which demands the construction of a “more just” world. Another motivation is to “adapt to the times” to maintain an excellence reputation, and to play a public role, both valuable characteristics for elite schools. The decision to become co-ed has brought unexpected demands from new parents to engage more openly in public debates, as is common in other boys-only and co-ed traditional Catholic schools (whose alumni are numerous in the economic and political fields, and with whom they now compete for students).
These findings illustrate the difficulties faced by an elite private school to teach students how to discuss social and political issues and process conflict in an educational market context, and the role family-school relations play in these pedagogical decisions. This is even more worrisome considering the odds of these students to achieve positions of power in the future (Zimmerman, 2019).
ReferencesBarrera, J., Falabella, A., & Ilabaca, T. (2021). ‘The Untouchables’: Elite Schools, Privileges, and New Scenarios. Pensamiento Educativo. Revista de Investigación Educacional Latinoamericana, 58(1). https://doi.org/10.7764/PEL.58.1.2021.3
Bellei, C., Orellana, V. & Canales, M. (2020). Elección de escuela en la clase alta chilena. Comunidad, identidad y cierre social [School choice within the upper class. Community, identity, and social closure]. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28(5). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.3884
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Calarco, J. M. (2020). Avoiding us versus them: How schools’ dependence on privileged “helicopter” parents influences enforcement of rules. American Sociological Review, 85(2), 223-246. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122420905793
Fusch, P., Fusch, G. E., & Ness, L. R. (2018). Denzin’s paradigm shift: Revisiting triangulation in qualitative research. Journal of Social Change, 10(1), 19-32. https://doi.org/10.5590/JOSC.2018.10.1.02
Hess, D. E. (2004). Controversies about controversial issues in democratic education. PS: Political Science & Politics, 37(2), 257-261. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504004196
Miller, D., Stewart, J.S. & Brown, M.J. (2022). Engaging frustrated parents: Utilizing stakeholders to collectively deconstruct controversial issues in K-12. Theory into Practice, 61(2), p. 168-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2022.2036057
Oulton, C., Day, V., Dillon, J. & Grace, M. (2004). Controversial issues – teachers’ attitudes and practices in the context of citizenship education. Oxford Review of Education, 30(4), 489-507. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305498042000303973
Reay, D. (2004) Education and cultural capital: the implications of changing trends in education policies. Cultural Trends, 13(2), 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/0954896042000267161
Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., Agrusti, G., Friedman, T. (2018). Becoming Citizens in a Changing World. IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 International Report. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73963-2_8
West, A. & Nikolai, R. (2017). The Expansion of “Private” Schools in England, Sweden, and Eastern Germany: A Comparative Perspective on Policy Development, Regulation, Policy Goals, and Ideas. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 19(5), 452-469. https://doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2016.1262549
Wilson, D., & Bridge, G. (2019). School choice and the city: Geographies of allocation and segregation. Urban Studies, 56(15), 3198-3215. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019843481
Zimmerman, S. D. (2019). Elite colleges and upward mobility to top jobs and top incomes. American Economic Review, 109(1), 1-47. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20171019
99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
Ukrainian Parents’ Engagement with Czech Public Schools: Challenges and Roles of Parents in the Collaboration
Natalia Dombinskaya
Charles University, Czech Republic
Presenting Author: Dombinskaya, Natalia
Due to the Russian Federation’s military offensive against Ukraine which launched on the 24th of February 2022, thousands of Ukrainians have been forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries. The rise in the number of refugees in the EU has created an unprecedented challenge to host countries and their educational systems (Eurydice report, 2022). The Czech Republic has been following a welcoming policy for Ukrainian refugees and has been making efforts to integrate them into the Czech society through different initiatives: the Czech government has exerted efforts to accommodate refugees by supporting them financially so they can have access to Czech public schools and medical services and have free access to the labor market. Thus, the Czech Republic holds a significant role as a host country to 409,008 Ukrainian refugees and the level continues to rise. (UNHCR, 2022). Given the current massive influx of refugees into the Czech Republic, it is both timely and important to conduct the present research as policies related to welcoming refugees are inextricably linked with integration into society including its educational system.
Schools can potentially play a very important role in the life of refugees. They can offer social opportunities for the newly arrived refugee children and serve as a starting point in managing their assimilation into their new communities through a sense of school belonging (Kia-Keating & Ellis, 2007; Montgomery & Foldspang, 2008). Thus, the objectives of the study are to identify, explore and critically evaluate multiple barriers that refugee families face when engaging with their children’s Czech public schools as well as different roles of parents in supporting their own children’s learning. Though these topics have been discussed recently, little is known about the parental involvement of Ukrainian refugee families as well as their parental role in Czech public schools. To discover Ukrainian refugee parents’ schooling experiences in Czechia and the ways schools engage with them, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of affairs. Therefore, home-school cooperation lies in the foreground of this study shedding light on issues concerning the socio-economic status of refugees and the self-elected roles of the parents engaging with Czech public schools.
The following questions will help to address the research objectives:
1.What are the challenges Ukrainian refugee parents encounter when engaging with Czech public schools?
2.What role do Ukrainian refugee parents give themselves in school-parent interaction?
The paper presents results of a study with an exploratory qualitative approach using interviews and an interpretative phenomenological analysis for data interpretation.
Identification of barriers and limitations to home-school cooperation might help Ukrainian refugee children adjust to their new life in the host country. It is hoped that some propositions included in this paper could be used to facilitate the successful inclusion of Ukrainian learners in the national education system proposing a holistic model of integration in education that responds to the learning, social and emotional needs of refugee students and their parents.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedAs the research project aims to analyse personal experiences of Ukrainian refugee parents, it adopts a descriptive phenomenological approach using a qualitative framework (Creswell & Porth, 2018). According to Willis (2007, p.25) phenomenological research seeks to gain in-depth understanding and explanation of a specific phenomenon through the lenses of refugee parents by using semi-structured interviews. Following Polkinghorne's (1989,) interviews with 5 to 25 people, who have direct experience suffices for a qualitative study.
Twelve participants were selected through criterion sampling strategy. The inclusion criteria were: Ukrainian refugee background, having arrived in the Czech Republic between February and June 2022, having an experience with the Czech public school system and being able to speak Russian as the participants and the researcher speak Russian fluently. The participants were drawn from an online forum on Facebook. Interviews followed an interview schedule, lasted approximately one hour each and were carried out in May and June 2022. The sample consisted of one male and eleven female participants with an average age of 38 years. All participants resettled in Prague.
Semi-structured interviews were chosen to collect data as they are considered to be among the effective ways of establishing respectful relationships with participants in close proximity to them and obtaining in-depth data (Kvale, 2007). Each interview consisted of 22 questions including questions about demographics regarding gender, age, marital status, number and age of children and location. The other questions in the interview were designed to identify the facilitating factors and barriers encountered by parents when engaging with the Czech school and their role as parents in the Czech school. The parents were asked broad open-ended questions and encouraged to speak freely about their experiences such as: “Could you tell me about your first interaction with a Czech school when enrolling your child?”. Additional follow-up questions were posted to clarify parents’ statements and confirm that the interviewer had understood correctly.
Each interview was recorded with a mobile phone, transcribed, checked for accuracy and then translated into English by the researcher herself to achieve a translation as close as possible to the interviewer’s insights regarding the participants (Yanay-Ventura et al., 2020). The choice of this type of transcription goes in line with the phenomenological approach applied in this study as the use of words are very important for the analysis.
The transcribed data were analysed using the interpretative “phenomenological analysis” (IPA) (Smith et al., 2009, p.79).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe results discovered that Ukrainian parents encountered a number of challenges but school welcoming environment was crucial in involving them to their child’s school. Participants were able to voice a myriad of concerns and identify a number of barriers to their children’s school involvement.
Although each narrative and participant’s experience are unique, some common themes emerged. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) resulted in the development of two major themes from the data collected: Theme 1: “Engaging with Czech public schools is challenging” and Theme 2 “Parents’ role in supporting their children in learning at Czech school”. Theme 1 consists of three sub-themes: “poor language proficiency as key stressor”, “lack of information about the Czech education system”, and “insufficient school capacity”.
Besides structural barriers, such as parents’ low Czech proficiency and cultural beliefs to school-based parent involvement, the study reveals the refugee parents’ increased stress in terms of their roles as parents when interacting with schools. Being consistent with the discussions on parental involvement in their children’s education, Ukrainian refugee parents acknowledge that they may assume different roles: supporters, actors, consumers and partners of schools. But due to the reasons mentioned above, parents seem to be lost, even though their engagement in schools plays a crucial role in their children’s educational processes. These findings might encourage teaching staff to remain attentive to this complex issue and support refugee parents in addressing this concern, as parent educational involvement is an investment of the parents’ resources in their children’s schooling (Sheldon, 2003).
In spite of the fact that the findings may not fully apply to other regional and contextual settings, the study can and does put forward critical insights about the school – refugee parent partnership in the Czech context.
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