Mr Cameron’s new language initiative for Muslim women: lessons in policy implementation

As the government announces a programme to teach Muslim women to speak English, this article examines how such a policy can be implemented successfully, arguing that lessons that can be drawn from both academic research, especially that carried out with Muslim women themselves, and from successful policy application in the past. It focuses on two projects carried out in the recent past for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Jobcentre Plus, and outlines the key factors that led to their success. The LSC project involved one of the largest in-depth surveys of Muslim women’s attitudes towards work, and their views on life in Britain, that has ever been undertaken. The Jobcentre Plus project was a highly successful and innovative employment training initiative for ethnic minority women piloted in Sheffield, the very kind of ‘targeted’ approach that Mr Cameron has claimed his government’s new language initiative will be

South Asian women and the labour market in the UK: attitudes, barriers, solutions

This paper draws on research carried out in the UK which examined the views of South Asian women towards employment, looking in particular at why the participation rate of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in the labour market is very low. The focus of the paper is on non-working women. The research was aimed at informing policy design, so that policies intended to assist certain groups of people enter, or get closer to entering, the labour market might be more effective. The research involved carrying interviews with 212 Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in West Yorkshire, a sub-region of the UK with a relatively high Asian population. 26 focus groups were also carried out. It is argued that there are three broad groups of South Asian women in relation to employment: women who are some distance from the labour market; women who wish to enter paid work; and women who do currently work but require support. There are different policy implications for each of these groups. The paper concludes that the barriers to labour market entry are deep-seated, complex, and rooted in cultural, familial, and societal norms. It provides a case study of an innovative programme which was piloted in a nearby sub-region of the UK, South Yorkshire, which was tailor-made to meet the specific needs of South Asian women and was very successful. The paper argues that this could provide a template for programmes in the future aimed at assisting groups facing challenges in relation to labour market entry, such as minority ethnic women

Predictors of reading literacy for first and second language learners

In this study an attempt was made to construct a multi-factor model predicting the development of reading literacy in the upper grades of primary school in the Netherlands for subgroups of 729 first language (L1) learners and 93 second language (L2) learners. Following a longitudinal design, it was explored to what extent the variation in reading literacy development in L1 and L2 from grade 4 to grade 6 can be explained from children’s word decoding, language, mathematics and nonverbal reasoning skills, reading motivation and self confidence as well as their home reading resources. The results showed that L1 and L2 learners differed in reading literacy skills, language, mathematics, and reasoning skills. Structural equation modelling showed that the reading literacy development in both L1 and L2 learners could be explained from decoding, language, mathematics and reasoning skills, as well as their motivation and self-confidence. A striking difference was the fact that home reading resources had an impact on reading literacy in L1 learners but not in L2 learners

Good Relations Measurement Framework: Research Report 60

The Good Relations Measurement Framework aims to produce a set of indicators that collectively paint a comprehensive picture of the current state of good relations in Great Britain, as well as separately for England, Scotland and Wales, and in individual localised areas.Good relations is a developing concept. It started as a responsibility for local government and the Commission for Racial Equality under the 1976 Race Relations Act and has now been extended by the Equality Act 2010 to other diversity strands: age; disability; gender; religion and/or belief; sexual orientation; transgender; as well as race. The GRMF, which has been developed to provide a set of indicators by which society’s progress towards good relations can be measured, intends to cover all of these as well as social class/socio-economic status

The development of the Good Relations Measurement Framework in Britain: a template for experiential social measurement

This article explores the development of the Good Relations Measurement Framework (GRMF), the first attempt in Britain to create a framework designed to measure how people experience their lives, specifically in relation to their interactions with each other. It provides a reference point for others seeking to construct social indicator measurement frameworks which capture the experiential in the social policy field. In a wider sense, it provides a case study of the use of social indicators within the policy process in the modern polity. The overall objective of the GRMF is to measure the state of Good Relations in Britain. Seven key areas emerged as being crucial for the development of measurement frameworks during the construction of the GRMF. Firstly, a decision has to be taken about the extent to which social measurement frameworks are confined to measurement only or are to have a normative element. Secondly, a working definition of the subject area is needed early in the process. Thirdly, an element of consultation with the public is important. A fourth issue relates to the practical method of construction through the use of ‘long lists’ of potential indicators, and finding a balance between an ‘ideal’ list of potential indicators emerging from public consultation and a second list of existing indicators drawn from existing surveys. A fifth issue relates to the availability of social indicator data at an appropriate geographical level. A sixth issue is that social indicators drawn from different surveys are not always comparable. A final factor is that while quantitative indicators are useful as a tool of social measurement, qualitative research adds a further dimension which is especially important in particular circumstances

Equality Statistics in Practice at a local level: Research report: 30

This study was designed to explore relevant issues in locally based public sector organisations of different types in England, Scotland and Wales, and the research was conducted between March and October 2008. Its specific aims were to: • Investigate the collection and use of equality statistics by selected public sector local level case study organisations (CSOs) in England, Scotland and Wales. • Collect information on the use made by the selected CSOs of equality statistics from national, regional and local level sources and data services; including the use for equality purposes and for tackling human rights issues. • Identify what additional primary data collection the CSOs carry out (if any) in relation to equality and human rights issues, including data relating to attitudes and prejudices, community cohesion and good relations. • Identify what they perceive to be the information gaps/problems with existing data. • Identify examples of good practice in the collection and use of data by the CSOs, including the use of data to assess the effectiveness of policy interventions

Loneliness and the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for practice

Loneliness is a complex universal human experience. A variety of evidence indicates that prolonged loneliness can have a negative effect on an individual's long-term physical and psychological outcomes. Empirical evidence and systematic reviews show strong links between loneliness and ill health, particularly cardiovascular disease and mental health. Loneliness is increasing in frequency and severity. The issue of loneliness has been part of UK Government mandates since 2018; however, evidence suggests that, due to the pandemic, the need to focus on the issue may be even more significant. Assessing for loneliness can be challenging and many people do not want to report their feelings of loneliness. Interventions should aim to be preventive and help people create meaningful interactions. Useful interventions include person-centred interventions, cognitive therapy and group intervention therapy. There is a need for more evidence-based loneliness interventions. A knowledge of local and voluntary sectors is vital so health professionals can effectively support their patients