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Simon Riley

British Asians in Quandary Over English Identity
Author: Simon Riley, Associate Director, Ipsos-Insight Qualitative

Research shows that for many British Asians in England, being English is still a ‘white person’s identity’. What’s more, many of the people interviewed said the St George Cross – so prevalent now on the streets and cars of England - was a flag they did not regard as truly ‘theirs’.

The study used focus groups and ‘in depth’ interviews to explore British Asians’ feelings about being British and/or English. It showed that both British Muslims and British Indians strongly value the British aspect of their identities – despite a perceived growth in racial tension in the last three or four years.

However, it also showed little conscious desire among British Asians to adopt a specifically English identity – mainly because their Britishness fulfilled the function of expressing identification with their country. Asked for immediate associations with ‘English’, respondents thought of quaint villages, the countryside, an ‘inward-looking’ mentality – and no dark faces.

It is interesting to note that ‘English’ has retained such an ethnically specific meaning. Some of the people interviewed even suspect a ‘white flight’ effect: that part of the reassertion of Englishness going on currently among white people in England was down to discomfort with multi-ethnic Britain. And as for a ‘shared Englishness’: it just didn’t occur to most of the people interviewed that English identity was open to them.

Overwhelmingly, the proliferation of St George Crosses during Euro 2004 was seen as good fun. Many British Asians live with the paradox of being fervent England supporters without feeling able to call themselves English. But outside the football context, attitudes to the flag change. Some feel the flag can suggest a xenophobic form of national identity that sits uncomfortably with Asian Britons. One commented: “If I walked into a pub with an England shirt on, I’d be inviting trouble – from white guys wearing the shirt.”

In fact, some commented that the England flag needs to go through the same process now that the Union Flag went through in the '70s, '80s and '90s – taking on a meaning that reflects the multi-ethnic backgrounds of the people it represents.

And this is likely to become an issue of increasing importance. With their children growing up surrounded by English national symbols (while their parents had been more familiar with British ones), many of the interviewees expected future generations to claim an English identity. The next battleground for a multi-ethnic Britain may in the coming years, therefore, be around the meaning of the symbols of England and Englishness.
Ipsos UK spoke in depth to twenty-five British Asians through a mixture of focus groups and interviews. It focused on two broad ethnic groups: Hindu British Indians and British Muslims of Bengali parentage. Most were born in the UK, but some naturalised UK citizens were also included.

The research was funded by Ipsos. A full presentation of the results is available at cost of £125 + p&p. To request a copy please contact Simon Riley on +44 (0)20 8861 8725.

Ethnicity Highs and Lows in Educational Attainment in England 2004

Presented is a summary of the educational attainment of pupils in England in 2004 by ethnic group, grouped in relation to the national average – ie above and below.

The summary is part of a larger report titled National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2004 (PDF, from the Department for Education and Skills) that also examines factors such as gender, English as a First Language, Special Educational Needs and Free School Meals in relation to attainment, as well as combinations of these factors.

Minority ethnic groups with higher achievement than the national average:

• Chinese pupils are the best performing minority ethnic group in all subjects at Key Stage 1, at Key Stage 2 (with the exception of English), at 5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE and equivalent and at Post-16
  • For example, at Key Stage 2 mathematics 89 per cent of Chinese pupils achieved the expected level, compared to 73 per cent nationally.
• Indian pupils and pupils of Mixed White and Asian heritage consistently achieve above the national average across Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and at GCSE and Equivalent. However, Indian pupils perform at a slightly lower level compared to the national average at Post-16.
• Irish pupils perform better than the national average at Key Stage 2, at GCSE and equivalent and at Post-16.
• Chinese, Indian and pupils of Mixed White and Asian pupils made the most progress between Key Stage 2 to Age 15 and Key Stage 3 to Age 15 with the highest value added measures.
  • For example, Chinese pupils made the most progress between Key Stage 2 to Age 15, with a value added measure of 1036.1, compared to 986.3 across all maintained pupils.

Minority ethnic groups with lower achievement than the national average:

• Travellers of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma pupils perform considerably below the national average at all Key Stages and at GCSE and equivalent. However, it should be noted that very small numbers of pupils were recorded in these two categories.
  • For example, at Key Stage 1 reading, 31 per cent and 45 per cent respectively achieved the expected level, compared to 85 per cent nationally.
• All the minority ethnic groups within the Black category and pupils of Mixed White and Black Caribbean heritage are consistently below the national average across all Key Stages, at GCSE and equivalent and Post-16.
  • For example, at Key Stage 2 mathematics, 61 per cent of Black Caribbean pupils, 64 per cent of Black African, 64 per cent of other Black pupils and 69 per cent of Mixed White and Black Caribbean pupils achieved the expected level compared to 73 per cent nationally.
• Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils perform consistently below the national average at all Key Stages and at 5 or more grades A*-C at GCSE and equivalent.
  • For example, at Key Stage 2 science, 77 per cent of Bangladeshi pupils and 72 per cent of Pakistani pupils achieved the expected level compared to 86 per cent nationally. However, Bangladeshi pupils’ relative attainment is closer to the national average at GCSE and equivalent, with 48.4 per cent at 5 or more A*-C compared to 51.9 per cent nationally.
• Bangladeshi and Black African pupils consistently had higher Value Added scores (and thus made more progress) than the average for all pupils.
  • For example, between Key Stage 2 – age 15 Bangladeshi pupils had a Value Added score of 1019.3 and Black African pupils had a score of 1017.3 compared to an average for all pupils of 986.3.
  

Somalis in Camden: challenges faced by an emerging community

Camden Council has recently launched a report looking at the major challenges faced by the borough’s largest refugee population.

In 2002, the Refugee Forum in Camden commissioned a major piece of research that focused on Camden’s Somali community, as there was a distinct scarcity of existing research regarding the size, distribution and needs of Somalis in London.

The report provides a more accurate picture of Camden’s Somali community in terms of its structure, its experiences and its needs, than was previously known. The report is divided into a number of distinct sections, mirroring the key topics covered in the research. Verbatim comments from research participants are used to give a flavour of the interviews on which the report is based. A section detailing conclusions and making a number of recommendations concludes the report.

In short, the report concludes that the Somali community “hits all the buttons” as a community likely to experience prejudice and a high degree of social exclusion: they are Black, Muslim, and nearly all refugees/asylum seekers, with a high proportion of single parents. As such, additional help in obtaining affordable childcare was identified as an essential help to this community since lone, female parents now head many Somali households. Further targeting of efforts by the council’s Welfare Rights Unit would also help to maximise incomes within the households and in the community as a whole.

The Somali community shares a number of difficulties with other first-generation immigrant/refugee communities, though these are doubtless compounded by the circumstances of civil war and state disintegration that triggered involuntary migration.

Most previous attempts to classify Somalis have failed to take account of their distinct position as the interface of two very different cultures. Subsumed within the category ‘Black African’ Somalis do not share any culture, language, diet, dress and religious practices with their near neighbours. As Muslims, Somalis worship at mosques alongside co-religionists from Asian and Arab countries but they do not share other aspects of culture, language, diet or dress with these groups. The lack of sensitivity in monitoring categories has frequently resulted in the Somali community’s – often desperate - needs being overlooked.

The report can be obtained from Camden’s website (www.camden.gov.uk). For more detailed information about how the research was used please call George Binette, Research & Projects Officer at Camden Council on 020 7974 6126 or email george.binette@camden.gov.uk.

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