PUNJABI CHILD-REARING IN BRITAIN - DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTITY, RELIGION AND BILINGUALISM

This article reports the findings of a research project on the childre aring practices of Punjabi parents now living in the UK with special r eference to the development of religious sensibilities, cultural ident ity, race awareness and bilingualism. The data were gathered through s emi-structured interviews from two generations of Punjabi mothers (tho se of the 1970s and 1990s) living in the UK. The findings from the int erview data are discussed in an interpretative way. The salient findin gs are that while the second-generation Punjabis in the study are chan ging some of their traditional mores (equal treatment of boys and girl s, modified system of arranged marriages), they are also eager to tran smit the core values (religion, mother tongue and familial spirit) of their culture. Furthermore, most mothers want their children to apprec iate the cultural diversity of British society and to develop a bicult ural outlook. The implications for teachers and policy-makers are expl ored. The findings of this research have an important bearing on under standing the concerns and anxieties of other ethnic minorities in west ern European countries and elsewhere.