BETTER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BLACK PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN COULD IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL RESULTS AND LIFE CHANCES 

Black parents on a new Parent in Partnership programme found that by developing better communication skills they could have a greater impact on their children, according to a report published by the Black Training and Enterprise Group today.

 The parenting programme was developed jointly by 100 Black Men of London and BTEG. As the idea of a big society develops it is clear that the ‘family unit’ should be more than just mother and father. In the black community the family needs to include other key and influential and non family members who could also play an enabling role.

 The research findings are based on interviews and workshops delivered over a ten week period with forty-seven parents from London during November 2010 - June 2011. All the workshops were held on Saturdays which demonstrated commitment from the parents. Some parents felt inadequate and powerless but were working hard to find practical solutions. Some parents were struggling to ensure their children were brought up with strong morals and values but were at the time mindful of the strength of relationships that were out of their control (.e.g. peer pressure) and which threatened to undermine the work they were doing in raising their child.

 Social networking and technology were identified as key areas for development that parents needed to be better informed about.

 The pilot programme showed that parents:

• Were better informed and felt more able to take greater control of their lives and access helpful information that they need e.g. parents found checklists and questions to ask schools invaluable.
• Were more aware of the things they can do, for instance attending parent’s evenings and taking a more proactive stance around their children’s education.
• Improved their communication skills and developed confidence (e.g. parents reported making changes to their child’s social networking activities. One parent remarked that the programme gave him ‘…the opportunity to show [his child] how important education was…’  
 

  The report’s author, Karl Murray, BTEG’s Head of Research says:

‘100 Black men and BTEG commend black parents for participating in this pilot programme. Parents are often cited as the reason why young people go off the rails and yet hardly any attention is being paid to the multiple pressures that they face and the sort of support they urgently need in order to undertake the role of being a parent.’