TY - JOUR
T1 - At the crossroads
T2 - Gypsy and traveller parents' perceptions of education, protection and social change
AU - Myers, Martin
AU - McGhee, Derek
AU - Bhopal, Kalwant
PY - 2010/10/6
Y1 - 2010/10/6
N2 - This article uses empirical data gathered during a pilot study funded by a local education authority to consider Gypsy and Traveller parents' perceptions of education. It examines the changing role of education within the lives of Gypsy and Traveller parents and children reflecting changing social circumstances, in particular how many parents now feel schooling has a greater place in their children's lives than would have been the case a generation ago. The research demonstrated that many families felt their children could learn skills at school and that would be necessary to generate an income in the future. This adaptation towards schooling designed for a sedentary population carried with it a large degree of concern from the point of view of Gypsy and Traveller parents around issues such as cultural erosion and safety, (issues that in the past may have led to many children not attending school). Employing concepts such as Goffman's umwelt and Putnam's description of defensive bonding social capital this article considers such concerns. It examines how parental anxiety about the transition from primary to secondary schools and the associated perceptions of risk posed by the permissive culture of the sedentary population materialize. It also explores how this transition coincides with parental tensions surrounding the 'early onset adulthood' of Gypsy and Traveller children who are regarded within their families and communities as being adults from an early age. Within this context, the article examines some of the very fluid adaptations being made by families to changing economic and social circumstances and also the roles adopted by members of the education 'community', in particular Traveller Education Services, in their relationships with Gypsy and Traveller families.
AB - This article uses empirical data gathered during a pilot study funded by a local education authority to consider Gypsy and Traveller parents' perceptions of education. It examines the changing role of education within the lives of Gypsy and Traveller parents and children reflecting changing social circumstances, in particular how many parents now feel schooling has a greater place in their children's lives than would have been the case a generation ago. The research demonstrated that many families felt their children could learn skills at school and that would be necessary to generate an income in the future. This adaptation towards schooling designed for a sedentary population carried with it a large degree of concern from the point of view of Gypsy and Traveller parents around issues such as cultural erosion and safety, (issues that in the past may have led to many children not attending school). Employing concepts such as Goffman's umwelt and Putnam's description of defensive bonding social capital this article considers such concerns. It examines how parental anxiety about the transition from primary to secondary schools and the associated perceptions of risk posed by the permissive culture of the sedentary population materialize. It also explores how this transition coincides with parental tensions surrounding the 'early onset adulthood' of Gypsy and Traveller children who are regarded within their families and communities as being adults from an early age. Within this context, the article examines some of the very fluid adaptations being made by families to changing economic and social circumstances and also the roles adopted by members of the education 'community', in particular Traveller Education Services, in their relationships with Gypsy and Traveller families.
KW - Bonding social capital
KW - Community
KW - Gypsy
KW - Racism
KW - Risk
KW - Traveller
KW - Umwelt
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78649679979&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1080/13613324.2010.492138
DO - 10.1080/13613324.2010.492138
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78649679979
SN - 1361-3324
VL - 13
SP - 533
EP - 548
JO - Race Ethnicity and Education
JF - Race Ethnicity and Education
IS - 4
ER -