Listening to the experiences of second generation Pakistani Muslim parents of children with special educational needs : an interpretative analysis.

The purpose of this study was to consider the lived experiences of second generation
Pakistani Muslim parents, of children with special educational needs. The study aimed
to understand how the mothers made sense of their experiences as parents including the
influence of their identity, their understanding of disability and any arising key
messages for professional practice.
This study was carried out by a trainee educational psychologist within a Local
Authority setting. Semi structured interviews were conducted with seven mothers who
were known by professionals from the Educational Psychology Service within the Local
Authority. All the mothers identified themselves as second generation Pakistanis and as
practising Muslims. Their children attended mainstream and specialist provisions in
both primary and secondary schools. An additional focus group was also conducted
with five of the mothers who were initially interviewed.
An interpretive approach was adopted for this study with Interpretative
Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) applied to the generated data from the semi
structured interviews and focus group. The themes emerging from the interpretative
analysis of the mothers accounts highlighted religious responses to disability, complex
family and community relationships, shared personal feelings and coping mechanisms.
Issues relating to the perception and experience of working with service providers as
both a parent and an ethnic minority were also identified.
Professionals should aim to examine the accessibility of systems and resources to
parents from ethnic minority background with particular reference to cultural awareness
and barriers that exist for parents for whom English is a second language. The need to
listen to the individual experience of each family is stressed. Recommendations are
provided for all agencies with the hope to lead to more effective inclusive practice.