Table Of ContentUnderstanding Family Diversity
and Home–School Relations
How can adults in early years settings and primary schools fully embrace the
diverse nature of family life?
This essential text will help students and those already working with children
to understand, both theoretically and practically, what may constitute a ‘family’. It
explores how to build relationships with a child’s family to ensure early years set-
tings and schools are working in partnership with children’s home environments,
thereby supporting the best possible learning outcomes for children.
It will help the reader to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding
of their professional practice in education, and chapter by chapter explores the
challenges that may be experienced in working with the diverse nature of family
life in the UK, including:
• mixed race families;
• immigrant, refugee and asylum seeker families;
• step-families and step-parenting;
• gay and lesbian families;
• families and adoption;
• fostering and children in care;
• families living in poverty;
• families and bereavement; and
• families and disability (including mental health).
Understanding Family Diversity and Home–School Relations is engagingly practical,
using case study examples throughout, and providing reflective activities to help
the reader consider how to develop their practice in relation to the insights this
book provides. It is a unique road-map to understanding pupils’ backgrounds,
attitudes and culture and will be essential reading for any student undertaking
relevant Foundation and BA Degrees, including those in initial teacher train-
ing, taking post-graduate qualifications or as part of a practitioner’s professional
development.
Gianna Knowles is a senior lecturer in Educational Studies at the University of
Chichester in the UK.
Radhika Holmström is a freelance journalist who specialises in covering diver-
sity issues.
Understanding Family
Diversity and Home–School
Relations
A guide for students and practitioners
in early years and primary settings
Gianna Knowles and
Radhika Holmström
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Gianna Knowles and Radhika Holmström
The right of Gianna Knowles and Radhika Holmström to be identified
as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Knowles, Gianna.
Understanding family diversity and home-school relations : a guide for
students and practitioners in early years and primary settings / Gianna
Knowles and Radhika Holmstrom.
pages cm
1. Home and school–Great Britain. 2. Families–Great Britain. I.
Holmstrom, Radhika. II. Title.
LC225.33G7K66 2012
371.19′20941–dc23
2012007577
ISBN: 978-0-415-69403-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-69404-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-15126-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Galliard by Prepress Projects Ltd, Perth, UK
To Miriam and Naomi Sattar Holmström, who make
family life diverting as well as diverse
Contents
Introduction 1
RADHIKA HOLMSTRöM AND GIANNA KNOwLES
1 Families, home–school relations and achievement 7
GIANNA KNOwLES
2 Families, identity and cultural heritage 24
GIANNA KNOwLES
3 Mixed race families 40
RADHIKA HOLMSTRöM
4 Immigrant, refugee and asylum seeker families 57
GIANNA KNOwLES
5 Step-families and step-parenting 73
GIANNA KNOwLES
6 Gay and lesbian families and gay and lesbian parenting 88
RADHIKA HOLMSTRöM
7 Families, disability and mental health 104
RADHIKA HOLMSTRöM
8 when family life breaks down: fostering and children
in care 120
RADHIKA HOLMSTRöM
9 Families and adoption 134
RADHIKA HOLMSTRöM
viii Contents
10 Families living in poverty 150
GIANNA KNOwLES
11 Families and bereavement 165
GIANNA KNOwLES
Bibliography 180
Index 191
Introduction
Radhika Holmström and Gianna Knowles
we have found overwhelming evidence that children’s life chances are most
heavily predicated on their development in the first five years of life. It is
family background, parental education, good parenting and the opportunities
for learning and development in those crucial years that together matter more
to children than money.
(Field 2010, p. 5)
In 2010 the British government published The Foundation Years: Preventing
Poor Children Becoming Poor Adults. The Report of the Independent Review on
Poverty and Life Chances (Field 2010). The quote above details one of the
main findings from the Field (2010) report. The report goes on to explore
how the family unit in which children grow up is one of the central factors
in determining a child’s future life experience. The report also discusses the
importance of good educational provision, from the earliest years, in enhanc-
ing a child’s future well-being and life-chances. From this report we can see
that, if children are to grow up to thrive as adults, those working with children
in educational settings need to be in partnership with a child’s family from the
beginning, thereby ensuring children are able to make the most of the earliest
educational opportunities they are presented with.
Before a child enters any educational setting they have already learnt many
things from their family. From the very first moments of life children begin
to learn how to live in the society they are growing up into. As they develop,
children learn the attitudes, values and beliefs their family holds and these will
come to the early years (EY) setting and primary school with them. They will
impact on the day-to-day experiences of a child’s early life and often these
influences will form part of a child’s identity and be a hugely determining
feature throughout a child’s whole life. These influences will impact on how
‘ready to learn’ a child is when they start school and, as Field states: ‘a child’s
home environment affects their chances of being ready to take full advantage
of their schooling’ (Field 2010, p. 5).
Most families are very keen to be involved in their children’s education;
however, sometimes there can be a mismatch between the EY setting’s
or school’s view of what should be happening under the umbrella term
