Research Approach
- This
report draws upon in-depth interviews with 101 respondents from the
four largest minority ethnic groups in the region: Chinese, Travellers,
South Asians and Black Africans.
Main
Findings
- Data suggest that the catering industry is not the preferred career
option of Chinese people. A number of those interviewed felt that they
had no choice because of lack of educational qualifications, proficiency
in English and/or a belief that they would not be accepted in other
occupations by the majority white settled population.
- The high levels of unemployment among Travellers appears to be caused
by a number of factors, particularly the decline in the 'Traveller Economy'
since the 1950s. For those attempting to find work within the mainstream
labour market, their efforts are severely hampered by high rates of
illiteracy and general lack of education, and the strong perception
among many Travellers that they are mistrusted by the general population.
The combination of these two factors results in a general lack of confidence
among Travellers.
- South-Asian people living in Northern Ireland are either self-employed
(in catering or retail) or working in professional occupations, especially
medicine. High levels of self-employment appear consolidated by two
factors: a general mistrust and fear that they would be discriminated
against by members of the white population if they were to enter other
forms of employment and to a lesser extent, the fact that qualifications
gained in their previous country may not always be recognised in Northern
Ireland.
- Little data is available on Black African people living in Northern
Ireland. From the interviews conducted, it was found that some had come
to Northern Ireland to study, train and/or gain work experience. The
main problems within this category are a sense of isolation and the
general anxieties and insecurities associated with contract work.
Racial Harassment in the Workplace
- Racial harassment in the workplace appeared to be a common experience
for a significant proportion of respondents interviewed. Chinese people
working in catering establishments appeared to be subject to routine
forms of verbal abuse, and, on occasion, of physical abuse.
- For those minority ethnic people working in other environments, forms
of harassment ranged from being ignored and/or having colleagues make
ignorant or insensitive comments about their culture or identity to
overt and intentional forms of discrimination and harassment.
Racist Bullying and Harassment in Schools
- Bullying and harassment in schools also appeared to be a common experience
for many of children interviewed. A small number of interviewees recounted
incidents of physical abuse, however the most frequent type of harassment
took the form of racist name-calling.
- Bullying and harassment usually took place in informal areas of the
school and perpetrators tended to be older than the victim, male and
to engage in racist harassment usually when part of a bigger group.
A number of children reported however that their white friends would
come to their defence when they were subject to racist abuse.
- The response of schools to the issue appears to vary enormously. Some
schools appear to have dealt with specific incidents relatively successfully,
however the majority of schools tended to respond inappropriately. This
was often characterised by not taking the issue seriously either by
minimising it or ignoring it altogether.
Travellers and Education
- High levels of illiteracy and lack of formal qualifications gained by
Travellers do not reflect a general lack of concern for education among
this group. The majority of those interviewed expressed regret at either
not having the opportunities to learn and/or not making the most of
opportunities offered. Many of the young adults interviewed had joined
various literacy and other educational programmes.
- The majority of Traveller children do not continue to attend school
after primary education, reasons for which include disillusionment arising
from what Travellers perceived to be low expectations that teachers
had about them and thus the poor level of education they received; fear
of secondary schools and particularly the possibility that teachers
and fellow pupils may pick on them.
- Traveller culture itself tends too, to influence the high rates of non-attendance,
in so far as the lack of value that some give to education, beyond learning
the basics or reading and writing. Both Traveller adults and children
interviewed however, expressed a strong desire to learn more and many
talked about their need to gain qualifications.
The 'Language Barrier' in Relation to Education
- For those minority of ethnic children and parents whose first language
is not English, they tended to experience significant problems in relation
to education. This was commonly manifest among children falling behind
in certain language-based subjects such as English and History.
- For the parents, some experienced considerable frustration at not being
able to help their children with school work and also at problems associated
with attempting to communicate with their children's teachers.
Intercultural Education
- A majority of those interviewed argued that more should be done in schools
to teach about different minority ethnic communities and to encourage
children to respect and celebrate cultural diversity. Moreover, many
argued that there was also a need for schools to more adequately meet
the specific religious and dietary needs of minority ethnic children.
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