Most parents and teachers in the 'Western world' are well-aware of the pains and pleasure of growing adolescents. Witness the popularity of books such as The Diaries of Adrian Mole and Treasure, a regular feature article in the Guardian. Young people are prone to assert their individuality and question - even challenge - the authority of their parents over such matters as keeping their room tidy, playing loud music, hair styles, wearing fashion clothes, types of friends (especially of the opposite sex) and staying up late. Increasingly, parents are worried about the use of drugs by young people and would like to keep a close eye on their youngsters' friends and their social activities. As they approach mid-adolescence (15-16 years of age), there is an increasing concern over their schooling, education and vocational choices: Are they going to stay on after sixteen? What sort of jobs and careers are they aiming to pursue? These are some of the problems which both parents and their teenage sons and daughters have to face and which can cause considerable inter-generational tension and anxiety.

The earlier theories of adolescence put forward the view that puberty is a period of great emotional and social upheaval. However, recent research suggests that the vast majority of young people pass through this stage without major turmoil. But there are major physiological and intellectual (internal) changes during puberty which significantly affect young people's emotional moods, self-image and social relationships. The role expectations of parents and society are often diverse and 'peer-culture' - often contra-values to those of the family - has a fascination for most young people. All in all, the internal body changes and external social pressures can make this period of development taxing and problematic.

 Young people around the age of 14- years- old begin to ask questions relating to their identity. Who am I? What sort of person would I like to be? Erikson's writings on identity formation and identity crisis, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood and old age, shed some light on the predicament of young people. His theoretical model is essentially derived from the Freudian school of psychology but includes a social dimension and is highly conjectural. There is little evidence apart from his clinical cases to support its validity but it has its merits. His theory states that young people explore and experiment with their inner feelings and engage in independent thinking and acting because they undergo rapid physiological and mental development.

The positive outcome of this engagement (the formation of a coherent identity) depends upon how far they put their trust in others, whether they make productive use of their energies and whether and how far they are being led by a realistic time perspective (ie. planning for the future and retain any sense of time). Conversely, failure to accomplish these imperatives can lead to identity confusion (identity diffusion). Some young people, through loss of (or a lack of) a sense of coherent identity might choose a negative identity, and engage in anti-social activities such as gang-fights, mugging, petty thieving and burglaries. Another important point in his theory is that the processes of formation of personal and social identities are complementary - that being 'at home' in one's body, in one's home and in one's social world are the keys to personal and social well-being. Whether his model is useful for understanding the life crisis of adolescents in other than European context is a moot point which will be taken up in Chapter 3.

The quest for personal and social identity for British-born Asian young people (second/third-generation) can be fraught with more difficulties than their white counterparts. This is because of the deep gulf between certain values and social conventions of home on the one hand, and of school and the wider society on the other. The first-generation Asians who migrated to Britain during the 1950s and 60s are (and were) very secure in their identities: these were rooted in their religion and family and kinship values. There was little ambivalence on this matter. However, for the second-generation, the process can be very painful indeed because of the conflicting demands made by home and school on their behaviour, loyalties and obligations.

In the USA and Canada, for instance, 'hyphenated' identities are acceptable and indeed widely used for various ethnic groups. It is a matter of pride for Americans of Chinese origin to call themselves 'Chinese-American' and likewise in Canada for people of Indian origin to be referred to as 'Indo-Canadians'. However this notion of 'hyphenated identity' has never caught the imagination of the British public. Asian migrants and their UK-born children are simply referred to as Asians (Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis) or by a derogatory term such as 'Paki' . The migrants of Chinese origin are usually called and referred to as Chinese. However, some young people who were born and educated in Britain do use such terms as 'British Muslim/Sikhs' to describe themselves and others plainly as Indian/Pakistani but the majority are content or feel it easier using 'British' to describe their nationality rather than their way of life or cultural affinity. A comment of a Hindu boy from a study (1) shows the unease of some young people:

I don't feel myself English, no not at all. I don't think I could...I could make myself think that I'm English, but I don't think I could ever be English. I could be English in certain manners, but that doesn't mean that l think like I'm English.

A comment taken from a case study (2) of a young person of Chinese origin adds another dimension to the debate of belonging to two cultures:

After having been exposed to the western world for a few years, Tsing Tsing began to question her tolerance of her parents. She noticed that the labour which she contributed to her father's 'take-away' shop and family was not appreciated. ...Although Tsing Tsing was a teenager, she needed somebody to show some concern and affection for her...When she could no longer stand the pressure exerted by her parents and the traditional Chinese culture she finally decided to live with her sister's family where she would have her brother-in-law give her advice and guidance in life.

In contrast to the above two cases, there are some ethnic young people who see the exposure to two cultures (i.e. by being bicultural new idioms for self-expression. For instance, there is an emergence of new 'tunes and rhythms' in music which are derived from a mixture of Bhangra, Rock and Reggae Likewise, there have been innovations in food preparation and fashion clothes which combine strands from Western and Eastern traditions. It is worth mentioning in this context the very early musical collaboration of Yehudi Menhuen (Cello) and Ravi Shankar (Indian Sitar) to create something quite novel. Simon Rattle, the conductor of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, has continued with such an innovative approach and is a leading light in expounding the musical traditions of Eastern cultures. There are some modern writers (Quareshi, Rushdie and Naipaul) who have exploited inter-cultural tensions (both positives and negatives) to enrich the contemporary literary scene.

Researchers (3) in the US conclude from their studies that the majority of ethnic minority students think that their biculturalism confers on them many advantages which they can use to develop their self-expression and their abilities. However, it is important to note a caveat to the above optimistic conclusions: advantages of bilingualism and biculturalism are only likely to materialise in a society whose institutions tolerate or indeed promote cultural diversity. These issues of biculturalism will be explored later by using modern theories of acculturation, notably that of Berry (4). His model employs a social psychological perspective and has been used in many cultural settings.

Second (and to some degree third) generation Asians are likely to face more difficulties and challenges in British/American schools than their white peers because of the fundamental differences between some values and social conventions of the latter and those of Asian homes. These areas include a clear role differentiation between boys and girls, an emphasis on religious observances and the primacy of the family's interest over that of the individual. It may be useful to illustrate the anxieties of parents and young people with a few verbatim extracts from the interviews and case studies undertaken by researchers in this field. A Muslim father's view (5) on mixed schooling highlights some of the problems:
 

My own view is they should not be mixed schools. I am in favour of separate schools . Kids begin to go wrong in their adolescents years. Our people are compelled to send them to mixed schools; there should be a choice. I know a lot of Muslim parents who feel this way.
 

And the comment of a white headteacher is relevant (6) :

...among the girls there is this whole business of getting back home and getting back safe so there is very little drama, music, dance they take part in and that's a shame.

A majority of Muslim parents object to 'mixed' schooling because of Islamic teaching, which forbids the free-mixing of boys and girls during puberty. There are also some Hindu and Sikh parents (for that matter there are a few indigenous whites too) who express their anxieties about the wide-spread indiscipline in co-educational schools and the laisser-faire attitude of school teachers on matters appertaining to dating and sex-related issues. A Sikh parent, who is also a home-school teacher, made a telling point (7) :

In Vancouver schools they are putting condom machines, this has really frightened a lot of parents. Parents are scared to send their girls to school dances and other out of school activities because of drugs and promiscuous sex...I feel I would have done the same, if I were not in the school system. Parent's fears are quite genuine.

Chinese parents in the UK are far more flexible than Muslim and Sikh parents on these matters, but they too are concerned over indiscipline in schools. A Chinese origin researcher in Manchester (UK) found that parents think the main cause of indiscipline is the informal manners of teachers:

In Hong Kong we are taught about politeness and manners Children respect their parents and they look after their elders. It is a different story in the UK. They even call their parents and uncles by their names. ..Anyway, it's our custom and I don't think school will accept our norms. So I have to be very strict with my children.

The differences between the general ethos of the Asian home and that of the school does create problems for young people. Asian families tend to be dominated by fathers who often use their position of authority to make decisions for the whole family, although there is a considerable variation within this social practice (factors such as religion, social class and the place of origin of the family have an important bearing).On the other hand, schools in Britain and North America are run mainly along democratic principles where students are encouraged to think for themselves and their viewpoints are given due recognition. Overall, schools attempt to develop autonomy in their students whereas, at home, young people often have to learn to defer to the views of their parents and elders. A white deputy headmistress summed it up succinctly (8)

We teach girls to be independent and critical thinkers, but at home they are taught the virtues of collective responsibility and unquestioning respect to the elders in the family.

 Teachers' perceptions (sometimes stereotypes) of Asian parents also add to the difficulties of young people. Some white teachers, for instance, think that Asian parents are not really interested in their girls' education. While this is the case with some parents, the majority would prefer them to stay on for further education, albeit in single sex institutions. I must stress here that there are very wide variations among the different religious and ethnic groups on these matters and these are further compounded by class and caste differences.

In general, attitudes of white teachers to the bilculturalism (dual cultural values) of their Asian students are not very sympathetic. For instance, most white teachers are unsympathetic to the teaching of community languages and put their emphasis on Anglicisation and hence assimilation (absorption into English) of their Asian students. A white headmaster's comment reflects a not untypical attitude (9):

What these kids (meaning Asians) need is more practice in English not in Urdu. They ought to speak English at home, listen to the radio and read English books. This is the only way they can achieve higher academic standard. They might have a reasonable command of the spoken English, but they need to work at their written English. Also they should learn the British history and way of life.

This is a well-meaning comment which tends to underline the traditional role of schools as purveyors of middle-class British values and culture. Some working-class white parents also sense such an attitude from teachers and become defensive and alienated from school. This type of situation creates a further gulf between home and school and is more than likely to exacerbate inter-generational tension and anxiety.

Racial prejudice is a fact of life for many Asian and black families in Britain. Proportionally more Asian children have been the victim of bullying than their white peers; and some white teachers, albeit unintentionally, are also racially prejudiced. To overcome this disadvantage most young people, in my experience, are anglicising their names and many parents are sending their children to public fee-paying schools to improve their accents and general confidence. An example of racial prejudice illustrates how upsetting this is for Asian people. A father of Chinese origin explained (10) :

Racial discrimination is very serious in our area. People living here are mostly on the dole. They throw stones at our chip shop... I won't allow my daughter to go out on her own, not even for swimming , in case some English throw her into the water...I am always asked: why do you come here and take our money away?'

And the following extract from an American study reveals the extent of racial prejudice in American high schools (11):

Father: With the American children. They hate our children. They keep on calling 'Hindu, Hindu'...Secondly, pulling off someone's turban, or spitting, this is really bad... He was very upset.

Son: Everyone has their turbans off. Most boys have had their hair cut ( Sikhs are supposed not to cut their hair)

Children become aware of their own racial origin as early as the age of five years and soon after begin to attach positive or negative feelings to their own and other children's ethnicity. In the secondary school, friendship patterns of adolescents are largely influenced by their ethnicity.

Incidents of racial harassment of Asian pupils by their white peers in schools have been found by many researchers (12) in both primary and secondary schools. Regrettably, some white teachers are not immune from this charge. A quotation from a study shows how some Asian young people develop strategies to accommodate to their teachers' prejudice (13):

You try to humour them (teachers)... they treat you as though you are from another planet or something. If you get on well with them they stop hating you...but you have to try first. If you start putting a barrier between them and you, they hate you more, so you have always got to try to be your best side for them.

Some scholars have argued that Asian students, in general, do not complain about the racial prejudice they encounter from their teachers because they do not wish to upset their parents unduly. Gibson (14), who has carried out a number of studies on the social adjustment and educational achievement of Asian and other ethnic minority students in the USA, writes: When questioned specifically about whether some teachers were biased, Punjabi students said they did not think so. Informal interviews with high school teachers and staff revealed, however, a strong and unmistakable undercurrent of prejudice.

There is a growing body of psychological literature which helps us to understand and hopefully combat racial prejudice and counteract its affect on children and young people. The discussion on this topic will be taken up in some detail in Chapter 3.

 To adjust to the differing expectations of home and school, many young people develop their own unique ways of coping. Asian girls have been found to reconcile the conflicting demands in 'dressing' for school by keeping their stockings and other accessories in their lockers. They come to school in their traditional clothes and change into school 'dress' in the toilets and reverting to their traditional dress to go home.

I have emphasised at some length the chief differences between home and school but there are many areas where the values of the two institutions do converge remarkably. Asian parents perceive education as a means of social mobility and are prepared to make both financial and personal sacrifices to see their children succeed. There is evidence in the literature to show that Asian young people, with the exception of Bangladeshis, are achieving as well as, or even better, than their white peers in Britain and North America. (15) Secondly, in general, parents respect teachers and value their moral and social support. Lastly, most Asian parents are extremely hardworking and they instil this habit of industry and persistence in their children . In practice, it means that parents like their children to work diligently at school, do their homework regularly, respect their teachers and stay on for further and higher education.

Another major area of inter-generational conflict in Asian homes stems from the fact that their young people, like their white peers, start to take an interest in the opposite sex adolescents. This is considered quite normal and healthy by white British parents, but Asian parents generally disapprove of (and some are strongly against) this social practice. Most of the marriages in rural India, Pakistan and Hong Kong are arranged by the family and this social custom is still considered very important by Asians in this country. Asian parents are prone to put more restrictions on girls than boys and this can be a cause of some resentment and even anger as Gibson noted with Sikh youths in California. A girl talks about her parents' reactions to her lifestyle (16):

My parents don't like my clothes, my hair, the way I talk. They don't like my future plans. They don't like anything about me. They don't like philosophy about marriage. You should marry an East Indian (meaning of Indian origin)...But my parents say; ' Don't talk to anybody; don't; go anywhere; come straight home.' And that's it.

The practice of dating affects girls far more than boys because most parents tend to turn a blind eye if their own boys are involved. Traditionally, girls are thought to carry the honour (izzat) of the family and of the kinship group. Furthermore, Asian parents think that in western societies women are 'sexually exploited' and that their daughters need a strict upbringing to counteract the effect of the liberal regime of schools. Therefore it is not surprising to find that most Asian parents - and, of course, many white parents - are more protective of their girls and treat them differently. They tend to be more strict with girls on matters relating to dress, hair style, household chores and general 'independence'. There is evidence to suggest that some parents also favour boys when giving pocket money and buying books and other material things and excusing them from help with household chores. More importantly, there is a tendency among most parents (Hindu parents are an exception to this) to give more encouragement to boys to stay on for further and higher education. This can be a source of grievance among girls. A Muslim girl gave a candid account of this situation (17):

But what I'm trying to say is it's only the minority who are like you (meaning have freedom and can go to college). Most of the girls I know aren't allowed to go out after school. I know I ain't and a few friends, quite a lot of them ,aren't allowed to do that. It's only, you know, a few people, that I know are in...situation here and that it's well I think it's wrong. We should be allowed some amount of, like, we need to get socialised, we need to...go out once a day and, you know, see what the world around us is like.

 It is tempting to say that British-born Asian young boys and girls should enjoy the same rights as their white counterparts do and that it is a question of human rights for girls. Whilst legally it may be an appropriate stance to take, it has wider and serious ramifications for the survival of the Asian family and kinship. Most Asian parents face this dilemma: How much freedom are we going to allow to our girls? This is a complex matter which requires a fuller understanding of the religious and cultural imperatives of the different Asian groups. As an illustration of the situation, consider a response of an Indo-Canadian father (18):

Teachers say to our daughters your parents are your jailers! This they justify on human rights. But we can't give up all our customs. Our survival is at stake. We think the best for our children and families - not for our own ego.

The failure of parents to understand and appreciate the anxieties of growing young people partly, at least, lies in the outlook and attitudes of Asian parents who themselves are predominantly from a rural background. Their own adolescence was short and relatively painless. Most of the first-generation parents, after leaving primary and/or middle school, went to work on their family farms or took up the trades of their parents and accepted arranged marriages. Decisions on their work and 'love' lives (two major and difficult decisions to make in the 'Western world') were taken by their parents and they had little say on these matters. I will take these issues up in subsequent chapters using concepts from Role Theory and Lifespan developmental psychology and from Socialisation theory.

 

Summary

Young people of Asian-origin in Britain, North America and Australia face special problems of adjustment in their adolescence because of the conflict of values and social mores between home and the wider society. To use Eriksonian's framework, it may be conjectured that many young people, especially girls, are likely to face an identity crisis because of the very different expectations of the family and school. The development of coherent identity is likely to be facilitated only if there is a symbiotic relationship between home and school. On the other hand, if young people receive conflicting messages from these institutions and diverse emotional and social demands and commitments are expected, they are likely to be confused in their identity. In the next chapter, the background of the first-generation migrant is discussed so that the inter-generational tensions and anxieties can be placed within their wider social and cultural contexts. In chapter 3, the role of school and teachers and the media, notably TV is explored. The fourth chapter will examine in some detail young people's concerns over such matters as dating, choice of friends, fashion clothes, bilingualism and the retention of family religion. In the last chapter, I will attempt to synthesise the main points of the book and conclude by advocating some positive measures which may help the situation of British-born (and American-born) young people.

Suggestions For Further Reading

Anwar, M.(1994) Young Muslims in Britain. Leicester: The Islamic Foundation. (A readable text on the concerns of Muslim young people)

Coleman, C. J. & Hendry, L. (1993) The Nature of Adolescence. London: Routledge. (A useful text on the general concerns of adolescents)

Parker, D. (1995) Through Different Eyes: The cultural identites of young Chinese people in Britain. London: Avebury. (The opening chapters are rather difficult and, in my view, should be omitted on the first reading. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 are clearly written and are informative)

Stopes-Roe, M. & Cochrane, R. (1990) Citizens of This Country: The Asian- British. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. (Research-based book on the young people (18 -21 year-old) of Indian and Pakistani origin. It is very good on research methods used in social sciences.

Wade, B. & Souter, P. (1992) Continuing To Think: The British Asian Girl Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. (The title is somewhat misleading because the study is based on a sample of Muslim girls only - nevertheless a readable account.)

Some Points for Discussion

1. Do differences from the mainstream British culture imply status inferiority?

2. Should Asian parents give the same degree of freedom to both boys and girls?

3. Should school teachers encourage the use of mother-tongue in schools?

4. Should Asian parents keep the custom of arranged marriages?

5. Should schools shoulder the responsibility to promote bilingualism and biculturalism?

6. Should schools pursue the policy of colour blindness (i.e. no recognition of the special needs of Asians and other ethnic groups) ?

Footnotes

(1) Taylor, J. H. The Half-Way Generation. Windsor, 1976, p. 212

(2) Wong Yuen-Fan, L. Education of Chinese Children in Britain and the USA. Clevedon, 1992, p. 55.

(3) Phinney, S. J. & Rotherham, J. M. Childrens Ethnic Socialisation; Pluralism and DEvelopment. London, 1987

(4) Berry, J. W. 'Acculturation and Psychological adaptation: an overview' Selected Papers from the Eleventh International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Liege, Belguim. Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlinger,, 1994, pp. 129-41

(5) Ghuman, P. A. S. Coping With Two Cultures: British Asian and Indo-Canadian Adolescents. Clevedon, 1994, p. 105

(6) Parker-Jenkins, M. Children of Islam: A teachers guide to the meeting the needs of Muslim children. Stokes-on-Trent, 1995, p. 94

(7) Ghuman, 1994 op. Cit. p. 87:

(8) Ghuman, P. A. S. Best or worst of two worlds? A study of Asian Adolescents. Educational Research, 33, 2, 121-32, 1991.

(9) Ghuman, P. A. S. Asian Teachers in British Schools, Clevedon, 1995, p. 38-39

(10) Wong, R. C. N. Chinese parental perceptions of British EDucation and thre children's attainment in Chinese. MEd dissertation, University of Wales, Aberystwyth., 1989, p. 45

(11) Gibson, M. A. Accommodation Without Assimilation: Sikh migrants in an American high school. London, 1988, p. 143

(12) Troyna, B. & Hatcher, R. Racism in Children's Lives. London, 1992

(13) Verma, G. K. With Ashworth, B. Ethnicity and Educational Achievement in British Schools. London, 1986

(14) Gibson, op. Cit. , p. 150

(15) Ogubu, J. U. Understanding cultural diversity and learning, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 17, 4, 355-83, 1994.

(16) Gibson, op. Cit. p. 135

(17) Wade, B. & Souter, P. Continuing To Think: The British Asian Girl. Clevedon, 191, p. 39-40

(18) Ghuman, 1994, op. Cit., p. 97

Author: Dr P.A. S. Ghuman

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E-mail: asg@aber.ac.uk