The Social-Cultural and Educational Challenges Encountered By Newcomer Libyan Students in English Schools

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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS

Summary of the data

In order to determine the challenges faced by the students due to cultural differences, I conducted primary research to directly gather responses from the students studying in the UK schools. These students were aged between 10 and 12 years. Furthermore, I also analysed the perception of their teachers and parents regarding the issues they face while interacting with them.

Students

There were four students who were interviewed and I also observed their behaviour during different lessons. The first student was Omar who migrated to the UK from Libya with his family he does know how to speak or write English. Second student was Sadeem a ten year old migrant from Libya with five other siblings; likewise, Omar Sadeem also had limited exposure to English language and to the culture of UK. Third, was a 7th grade student named Abdullah, who migrated from Libya with his family, as his father was pursuing post graduate studies programme there. Another migrant from Libya was Adam who was 12 years old

Observations

Behaviour of each pupil was observed during different lessons; however, before beginning these observations I collected consent forms from each of the participants. Three observations were carried out with Omar, the first was in his English language class at his school, and second observation was obtained during his Mathematics lessons and the last one during his English lessons. These observations assisted me determining the issues that were faced by Omar during different classes due to cultural difference. Next the behaviour of Sadeem was observed during her history and mainstream learning classes students were assigned different class activities to make them understand the lesson. Abdullah's behaviour was observed during his History, Chemistry and support lesson of English. Observations were not conducted in Adam's class, I interviewed Adam, his mother and his teacher to identify challenges that he faced due to cultural differences.

Interview

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the students, their teacher and parents. The first interview with Omar was conducted in a KFC restaurant where he came with his family. Second interview was with his English language teacher who taught him grammar, reading and literature. Lastly, I interviewed Omar's parents at his home to analyse the extent to which they are involved in his education.

Later, I conducted interview with Sadeem during her recess following the observation. Second interview with Sadeem took place at her home to get familiar with her family. Third interview with Sadeem took place at Tesco coffee shop to discuss about her experience in her new school. Sadeem's mother, Mrs. Amal, a mother of six, was interviewed by me at her residence after taking prior confirmation from her over the telephone.

First interview with Abdullah took place in his school library; the interview took place on the same date as the first observation. The reason for conducting the interview on the same date was to better understand the observation ...