The Impact of Learning Kurdish ‘Mother-Tongue’ in London on Mainstream Education

This study investigates the impact of a group of Kurdish children learning their mother-tongue, in two Kurdish Saturday schools in North London, and particularly the impact on the children’s integration into mainstream schooling. There are some historical issues surrounding ethnic minority children’s education that have been labelled as problematic towards their educational achievements in the United Kingdom. The responsibility of teaching the mother-tongue to those children takes place formally in supplementary or Saturday schools in their community rather than in mainstream schools. Many researches have revealed that learning their mother tongue is beneficial for children in general. In particular, this research focuses on the impacts on Kurdish children in mainstream education, since the number of children from diverse backgrounds is increasing, including the number of children from the Kurdish community. Mixed method research has been undertaken to examine this issue, including a semi- structured questionnaire and group interview used to collect data, as this research depended on students’ as well as parents’ views in integrating their child in some state schools. The findings revealed that learning the mother-tongue is beneficial for children from diverse backgrounds and that supplementary schools play a vital role in learning the mother-tongue on children’s attitude in mainstream education.

Japan’s Overseas School System

This chapter will be of interest to families with children who plan to leave Japan; especially those that intend to return and have their children re-enter the school system. In this chapter, I will outline a brief history of the system of Japanese schools (nihonjingakko or nihongakko for short) and the Japanese supplementary schools (hoshujugyoko or hoshuko for short). I will also touch upon the matter of private schools (shiteizaigaigakko). Nearly all of these schools have been set up overseas under the auspices of the Japanese Ministry of Education, and those set up independently have typically sought its approval and support. While some countries support and provide schooling overseas, none appear to match the sheer scale of Japan’s centrally controlled network of overseas schools. For Japanese and international families living outside Japan, these schools serve as a valuable means for their children to maintain and develop their Japanese literacy (kokugo) and to keep them in touch with Japanese culture. In this chapter, I will focus on the re-establishment of Japan’s overseas schooling network in the 1970s and explain how it operates. I will then identify key changes that have taken place since the 1990s. Understanding this recent history will profit sojourning and migrating families who are considering what educational path to take for their children.

Black supplementary school leaders: Community leadership strategies for successful schools

Long established in the United Kingdom, Black supplementary schools are valued by Black parents for their ability to nurture the academic potential of Black students and achieve positive educational outcomes where mainstream schools sometimes fail. Through exploratory qualitative interviews conducted with a small group of African-Caribbean supplementary school leaders, this article seeks to understand Black supplementary school leaders’ perceptions of educational leadership and supplementary school success. Utilising Yosso’s perspective on ‘community cultural wealth’, in particular the ways in which Black communities provide and are rich in cultural/educational resources, the article examines the extent to which the leadership perceptions of Black supplementary school leaders are rooted in notions of community and serving, along with the leadership strategies they employ in creating successful schools. Such insights are especially important at a time when mainstream education continues to deliver poor educational outcomes for Black students.

Supplementary schools with connections to religious organisations in the United Kingdom: A heuristic device for school leaders and researchers

Many supplementary and complementary schools operating in the United Kingdom and other countries have connections and relationships with religious organisations. However, there is considerable variety and complexity in these links and connections. Amidst some public concerns about these schools and as so little is known about them compared with other school sectors, a new heuristic device is offered to support leadership practice in supplementary and mainstream schools, and to encourage research particularly in the areas of governance, leadership and management. The need for this heuristic is made all the more urgent because of the disengagement of the state, at various levels, from appreciation of and support for the work of these schools, compounded by the lack of knowledge and understanding of their governance, leadership and management in particular. The exclusion of supplementary schools with religious links from future research and school partnerships needs to be avoided.

Arabic Language Heritage Schools

In this chapter we consider the nature and role of Arabic heritage / supplementary schools in the UK in relation to debate security. We do this by establishing an overview of the current political context in the UK and beyond in where there is concern about a possible drift towards the proliferation of / recruitment to terrorist groups. There are significant official efforts being made to reduce that perceived threat. There are, within the UK, thousands of schools that promote and maintain the heritage language and culture of students. We describe and discuss that educational context and use results from empirical research which focused particularly on a small sample of Arabic language heritage schools. Recognizing the desire of those in heritage schools to contribute positively to UK society, we discuss key issues in relation to personal identity and social identity and outline conclusions and recommendations which will help achieve a more sophisticated educational response to cultural difference.