Research will provide more realistic picture.

New research being conducted by social researchers at London's South Bank University aims to look at the experiences of parents from different racial ethnic and faith backgrounds in bringing up their children.

The research is being conducted by Chamion Caballero and Ros Edwards. Chamion who is mixed-race herself, has already produced important research on the mixed-race experience. She was one of the researchers who compiled a report for the DfES on the educational experiences of mixed-race pupils in England. The reports findings raised serious concerns about the assumptions some teachers made about mixed-race children and their families.

Ros who is herself in a mixed faith relationship has considerable experience in conducting family research.

Chamion says: 'Although parents from different racial, ethnic and faith backgrounds are also often the subject of negative assumptions and stereotypes – particularly around the ability of the parents to bring their children up to have a healthy sense of identity and belonging – they are very rarely asked about their experiences. We wanted our current research project to give parents a chance to make their own voices heard; to explain how they bring their children up to have a sense of identity and belonging and who or what helps or hinders them in doing so.'

'By allowing people in mixed families to put their point of view over, we hope that this project will help challenge outmoded and unhelpful views such as those recently made by Trevor Phillips on mixed-race people as suffering from ‘identity stripping’ or being ‘marooned between communities’. Hopefully, this project will work towards providing a more realistic picture of mixed-race families and people, one which is based on knowledge and lived experience rather than assumptions and stereotyped judgments.'

Chamion and Ros already have a number of families to take part in the research but more participants are still needed. They are looking to speak to parents from different racial, ethnic or faith backgrounds who are living together and have at least one child aged 7-11.

To date there has been very little research undertaken into the experiences of mixed-race families and individuals in the UK and Intermix.org.uk welcome any research that will help provide a more realistic picture of the mixed-race experience.

If you would like to participate in the research you can call Chamion on 0207 815 5763 or Ros Edwards on 0207 815 5795, if you would prefer to send the researchers an email click here:

To view the DfES report click here:

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