Language Culture and Curriculum
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: Eoghan Mac Aogain (St Patrick's College)
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Volume: 14 Number: 1 Page: 58–75
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Extended Visits to Pakistan by Primary-aged Pupils in Peterborough Schools: An Exploratory Study into the Associated Educational and Social Issues
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Richard Gamman
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Children from Pakistani families in Peterborough (pop. 165,000) in the English Midlands, often make extended visits to Pakistan during the school year. They have little choice over the timing of the trips,
which are determined by imperatives such as family illness or socially important events such as weddings. School management and the Department of Education generally discourage the practice on the assumption
that any absence from school is undesirable and will necessarily have an adverse impact on pupil attainment. A common result is that the school is not informed in advance about the trips. The paper presents
data gathered from parents, teachers and pupils, including responses to sentence completion tasks, to investigate the educational challenges and opportunities presented by this situation. It concludes that
extended visits are socially important, and in any case, inevitable, and that the challenge for educators is to develop meaningful liaison with parents to maximise the opportunities that they present.
© Multilingual Matters 2001
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