ASIAN PARENTS AND ENGLISH EDUCATION - 20 YEARS ON - A STUDY OF 2 GENERATIONS

This paper presents an analysis and discussion of the opinions of two generations of Asian parents with regard to their young children's edu cation. A large number of parents (n=200) were interviewed during 1970 -1974 and a smaller number (n=40) during 1995 to ascertain their views on a variety of topics relating to their children's early education. The findings are discussed in a qualitative way and reveal the increas ing satisfaction of Asian parents with their children's education. A h igher proportion of the mothers of the 1990s help their children with homework, read them stories and are generally more participatory in th eir children's education compared with the 1970s group. The second gen erations are concerned with the lack of facilities for the teaching of mother tongues in schools. These and other findings are discussed wit hin the changing lifestyles of second-generation Asians.