NCVO ETHNIC MINORITY DIGEST
RESEARCH/PUBLICATIONS/ARTICLES
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December 1985
'All our Languages a handbook for the Multilingual Classroom' by David Houlton, (Edward Arnold, 1985) offers examples of classroom practice for teachers who have accepted the arguments for valuing children's mother tongue skills. The author draws on the experience of teachers from multilingual primary schools who co-operated with the Schools Council Mother Tongue Project. Ample use is made of quotations of both. teachers and children and classroom exercises are described clearly. There are also useful hints on how to overcome an adverse response to practising a multilingual approach and emphasis is placed on the need for sensitivity when finding out about children's home languages. The book is divided into six main sections: finding out about children's languages; language diversity across the curriculum; working with others in school and community; collecting and using mother tongue stories; learning and using your pupils' languages; looking at resources, plus references and further reading list. Although aimed at primary school teachers, it has scope for wider application and would be a useful addition to the practical handbooks of anyone working with young children. Available from booksellers, price £4.95
'JCG Bulletin' is a new quarterly newsletter produced by the Joint Christian Group on race Relations. The November issue includes a personal reflection by a Birmingham vicar on the churches' response to street violence, a news section covering topics such as South Africa, immigration rule changes, Hong Kong minorities, increased racial attacks and reviews of publications. There is also an article entitled 'The Chinese Community in Britain', based on information and comments supplied in response to the Home Affairs Committee report, by Dr Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge, who works with the Chinese community in Camden, The report is criticised for its lack of perspective in its analysis of the situation of the Chinese in Britain and for describing problems as stemming from the community itself. (The Bulletin is available, annual subscription £2.50, cheques made payable to British Council of Churches from: CCRU, British Council of Churches, 2 Eaton Gate, London SW1W 9BL.)
'Black Children, White Adopters' by Hilary White (University of East Anglia Social Work Monograph 31, 1985) is based on interviews with six adoptive families. Having abandoned her initial plan to interview young black adoptees, mainly on ethical grounds, Ms White conducted interviews with parents. Having emphasised the potential bias of such a small study, the author draws attention to a series of 'significant' findings which include: the benefits of living in a 'racially' mixed area and of parents having black friends; the importance of black
black adoptees witnessing good black parenting if their previous experience has been negative; placing older black children seems much more threatening to children already within the white family; the need for consideration as to whether black children should be placed alone in white homes; concern over the dual role of the social worker who acts as both counsellor and vetting agent, which may inhibit honest explorations of 'racial' attitudes; the failure of account to be taken of the class transition involved in most adoptions; white parents' fear that emphasis on bi-cultural education will only serve to isolate the black child and make her/him feel different. Conclusions on whether transracial adoptions should continue are avoided and some generalisations seem to reflect huge quantum leaps, especially in view of the fact that the attitudes and feelings of children which are reported are those ascribed to them by the adoptive parents and not drawn from them directly. (Available, price £2.95 including postage, from: Social Work Monographs, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ.)
Given the importance of its subject matter, there is a slightly longer than usual critique of CCETSW's Ethnic Minorities and Social Work Training on page 4 of this section.
The final published version of 'Local Authorities and Penal Establishments - a race dimension' by the GLC Ethnic Minorities Unit (see March Research/Publications/Articles p 6) is now available free from: Ethnic Minorities Unit, GLC (DG/EMU), County Hall, London SE1 7PB.