Sociální pedagogika | Social Education

ISSN 1805-8825

E: editorsoced@fhs.utb.cz

W: http://www.soced.cz

Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The

influence of a different culture

Lenka Venterová

To cite this article: Venterová, L. (2018). Home preparation of anglophone children

for school: The influence of a different culture. Sociální pedagogika/Social

Education, 6(2), 27–42. https://doi.org/10.7441/soced.2018.06.02.02

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.7441/soced.2018.06.02.02

Published online: 15 November 2018

Download at www.soced.cz in multiple formats (PDF, MOBI, HTML, EPUB)

Share via email, FB, Twitter,  Google+, LinkedIn

CrossMark

Indexing: List of non-impact peer-reviewed journals published in the Czech Republic, ERIH

PLUS, ERA, EBSCO, CEJSH, DOAJ, SSRN, ProQuest, ROAD, SHERPA/RoMEO, CEEOL, OAJI, SIS,

Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, The Keepers Registry, Research Gate, Academia.edu, Academic

Resource Index, Google Scholar and provides DOI, Similarity Check and CrossMark (CrossRef).

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).

Copyright © 2018 by the author and publisher, TBU in Zlín.

Sociální pedagogika | Social Education

27

volume 6, issue 2, pp. 27–42, November 2018

https://doi.org/10.7441/soced.2018.06.02.02

ISSN 1805-8825

Home preparation of anglophone children for school:

The influence of a different culture

Lenka Venterová

Abstract: This qualitative study deals with home preparation for

school of children with a different cultural background in the

Czech Republic. This specifically concerns the anglophone

minority group that reside in the country. According to Kachru’s

model, the Czech Republic belongs to the Expanding Circle,

which means that the English language is only present as a

foreign language. In the methodological part of this study, we

focus on children with English as their mother tongue who attend

Czech primary schools in the Czech Republic. These children need

to cope not only with the different culture background of their

parents, but also with a different language of education than

their mother tongue. The parents in the families under

examination try to make the conditions for school preparation

Contact

easier for the children, but they encounter completely different

problems with respect to their monocultural peers. In

Tomas Bata University in Zlin

exceptional cases, they are even forced to change primary

Faculty of Humanities

school.

Štefánikova 5670

760 01 Zlín

Keywords: English, preparation for school, situational analysis,

venterova@utb.cz

different cultural background, primary school, external tutoring

Domácí příprava anglofonních dětí na vyučování:

Vliv odlišného kulturního prostředí

Abstrakt: Tato kvalitativní studie se zabývá přípravou dětí

z odlišného kulturního prostředí na školní vyučování v České

republice. Konkrétně anglicky hovořící minoritní skupinou.

Vzhledem k tomu, že Česká republika patří dle Kachruova

modelu do tzv. Expanding Circle, je zde tento jazyk pouze

na úrovni prvního cizího vyučovacího jazyka. V metodologické

části studie se věnujeme dětem, které mají anglický jazyk jako

svůj mateřský jazyk a navštěvují v České republice základní školu.

Tyto děti se musí ve školním prostředí a při přípravě na vyučování

Correspondence:

vyrovnávat nejen z odlišnou kulturou svých rodičů, ale také

venterova@utb.cz

s odlišným vyučovacím jazykem než je jejich mateřský jazyk.

Zkoumané rodiny se snaží svým dětem různými způsoby ulehčit

Copyright © 2018 by the author

přípravu na vyučování a narážejí přitom na zcela odlišné

and publisher, TBU in Zlín.

problémy než jejich monokulturní vrstevníci. Ve výjimečných

This work is licensed under the

případech jsou dokonce nuceni přistoupit ke změně základní

Creative Commons Attribution

školy.

International License (CC BY).

Klíčová slova: angličtina, příprava na vyučování, situační analýza,

odlišné kulturní prostředí, základní škola, doučování

28

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

The Czech Republic is a country with only one official language, so it can be best described as a

monolingual country. A great milestone in the history of the country was the Velvet Revolution of 1989

and the subsequent political, social and economic transformation. Another big step in its history was

the division of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of the independent country of Czech Republic on

1 January 1993, as well as the accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004. All of these events

increased the volume of international migration. More foreigners have started coming to the Czech

Republic and a significant percentage of them retained English as their mother tongue. They also teach

it to their children, along with their cultural habits. Inside their family environment they create a third

culture where their original culture is mixed with Czech culture. This is a newly created family platform

in which they live with their children. The aim of this study is to highlight the difficulty of home

preparation for school attendance in a monolingual country where school education is compulsory and

where homework is a part of preparation for school on most days.

1

Home preparation for school

The terminology related to school preparation for children in their home environment is mainly

focused on concepts of home preparation and homework. The meaning of these concepts is

interconnected and used in similar contexts. Maňák (1992) states that home preparation is considered

to be a part of school attendance and continuation of school learning in the home environment.

Jursová (2011) describes home preparation as an activity that should make a child's work easier at

school. The child prepares these activities at home to be ready for education at school. Home

preparation is directly related to education, and its content is designed to support learning, knowledge

retention and repetition processes. To what extent home preparation provides support and how much

time a child should spend on it is a very difficult question as it depends on the child, which makes this

a very individual process (Pope, 2001). Through this training, children have the opportunity to gain

habits and experience in independence and responsibility. These tasks can also encourage them and

often force them to resolve the frustrations they cause (Majerčíková & Petrů-Puhrová, 2017). The role of a child in the family is, among other things, undoubtedly fulfilled by home preparation for school.

This role can change the attitudes of parents to children and the style of family life. Parental support

is expected to strengthen the child's autonomy in order to increase family cohesion and to help the

child gain a respected and firm position in the family structure (Šulová & Škrábová, 2012). Problems can emerge when the parent is not used to home schooling or is unable to communicate fluently in

the language of education.

2

English in the Czech Republic

In the perspective of this study's focus, it should be appropriate to clarify the position of English in the

Czech Republic. The expansion of English was influenced after 1989 when Russian lost the position of

a compulsory foreign language at schools and Russian teachers were often re-trained and started

teaching other foreign languages (Nekvapil, 2007). After 1990, English as a first foreign language was

appended to compulsory education, starting from the fifth grade of elementary schooling. The third

language (i.e., the second foreign language) became optional in the seventh grade. Starting from 1995,

the first foreign language became compulsory from the 3rd to the 9th grade, and the second foreign

language from the 7th to the 9th grade. If English is taught from the third year, then German, Spanish,

French, or Russian are offered preferentially as second foreign language. Starting from the 6th grade,

another language might be taught as an optional subject (Průcha, 1999). Whereas English is included

in the curriculum for the junior primary schooling already, it became the most frequent foreign

language in the country. The accession of the Czech Republic in the European Union in 2004 played

also a significant role (Nekvapil, 2007).

29

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

In the previous century, this language was subject for research (Kachru, 1985). In the 1990s, Kachru

(1996) visualised how the three Circles were related to each other in a diagram as follows (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Three concentric circles of Englishes (own source)

-

The Inner Circle contains countries with English as the mother tongue of the majority

-

The Outer Circle contains countries with English as the second language of the majority

-

The last circle is the Expanding Circle, where English is as a foreign language. Here belongs also

the Czech Republic.

At about the same time, another diagram visualising the three Circles of English was also introduced

in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Crystal, 1995).

3

Third culture kids

The third-culture concept emerges in families whose parents come from different cultures, often

having even different mother tongues. These families gradually build their own platforms with a

unique culture in which they live and raise their children (Frame, 2004). In this model, children acquire a part of the culture from the mother and another part from the father, and this mix influences them

in their living environments. Therefore, in this manner they build a new, enriching environment, the

so-called third culture model. Casmir (1999) described this framework as an active process, through

which varied cultural groups mutually converge. When the children start attending the elementary

school, which is at the age of six or seven years old, a new determinant, i.e. the school environment,

enters the family and starts influencing it (see Figure 2).

30

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

Figure 2. Third culture model, influenced by the school environment (own source)

Not only they cope with two, often highly different, cultures at the same time, but starting from a

certain moment they also have to consider school attendance and everyday home preparation for

school. The newly-formed third culture becomes a shared platform for all participants, i.e. for all

household members. It takes a long time to build this new environment as well as to make it natural

and acceptable to all participants. During that time, a creation of new communication patterns may be

expected, this finally resulting in forming a homogeneous concept that all members understand and

can keep mutually developing. Thanks to this model, individuals coming from different backgrounds

may function successfully every day (Brahic, 2013).

The term third culture kids was first used in the 50s of the 20th century by US anthropologists Useem

and Cotrell (1993). They researched the specifics of subcultures formed by foreign workers and their

families living in relative isolation at military bases, mission stations, and business complexes in India.

During their extensive research among Americans residing for a long time in India, they dicovered that

these people have a certain specific lifestyle which differs significantly from that of the Americans living

in the US.

Pollock and Van Reken define the third culture kid concept as a person who spent a significant part

of his/her childhood development outside the cultural backgrounds of one or both parents. The

Third Culture Kid develops a relationship to every culture it encounters, this however without being

fully integrated in any of them. Even though elements of individual cultures form a part of individual

life-experience of those children, they often feel the sense of belonging rather to people whose life-

experience is similar (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009, p. 13).

Their life experience leads third culture kids to acquire certain abilities and practical skills that are

beneficial for themselves as well as for their environments. According to Schreiner (2009, p. 132)

between positive aspects belong better “readiness for mobility, familiarity with multiple cultures,

openness and respect to other people and different cultures, more detailed perception of different

cultures, flexibility, communication skills, interest in foreign cultures, and intercultural competences.”

These children view the world in a very wide perspective, they are less prejudiced as they are used to

a different cultural environment (Schreiner, 2009). According to Pollock and Van Reken (2009, pp. 77–

89) between the negative aspects of third culture kids belong “the widened worldview because they

may get in conflict with the sometimes straightforwardly simplistic perspective of people who lack

such experience.” Their behaviour may be perceived as a lack of patriotism or haughtiness. The fact

that third culture kids may be characterized as cultural chameleons (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009) has

also its negative antipode. They often find it difficult to feel at home in any culture. Though it may

31

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

outwardly seem that they are integrated in the surrounding culture, they actually only adapt their

external behaviour. They may thus experience disillusionment when they fail to get on with their

friends or they have other (specific) problems with school attendance compared to their schoolmates.

4

Methodology

The purpose of this research is to determine the most common difficulties with home preparation

experienced by children from families consisting of partners who come from different cultures and

who have also different mother tongues. The children are exposed to the Czech language from their

birth, however, their main mother tongue is English.

Criterion for the research:

1. Children must be from families living in the Czech Republic, where each partner has a different

mother tongue and one of these languages is English.

2. Families with children (child) in elementary schools in the Czech Republic (ISCED 1, 2).

3. Primary schools attended by these children must educate in Czech language, according to the

Czech educational curriculum and be enrolled in the Register of the Ministry of Education, Youth

and Sports.

In order to achieve the research goal, the qualitative research strategy using semi-structured

interviews was selected. The research sample was deliberate and personal contacts of the researcher

were exploited.

Individual participants could choose where they wanted to conduct the interviews. All of them

preferred their natural environment. The researcher therefore visited all the families at their places,

which provided a unique opportunity to look into their home environment and to observe some of the

habits that they introduced from their original culture. In particular, this related to the environment in

which children usually prepare for school. This would not have been possible if the interviews were

conducted in a neutral environment.

All participants were given the opportunity to choose their preferred language of communication.

Participants coming from abroad selected English, which was also their mother tongue. This included

also a participant whose command of Czech is on the B2 level (according to the Common European

Framework of Reference: learning, teaching, assessment). Participants coming from the Czech

Republic communicated with the researcher in Czech. It is clearly not the duration of stay in a foreign

country or the influence of environment - the mother tongue remains the preferred language when it

comes to a free choice. It is interesting that when the participants are in their family environments,

they communicate with one another exclusively in English. They stated that this language was easier

for them.

There were six participants in the research, specifically three families (see Figure 3). Two out of these

three families were personal contacts of the researcher. The researcher only had limited previous

contact with last family (JL), but they entered the research through family CV. This made it easier for

the family as well as for the researcher, because it allowed them to be open from the beginning to

answer any question.

32

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

Figure 3. Scheme of gaining a sample of participants for the research (own source)

Interviews were made with six participants (see Table 1 to 3), i.e., parents meeting the above criteria.

Authentic statements of informants included in the data interpretation are written in italics,

accompanied with the participant's name between parentheses.

Table 1

Chosen Participants for Research (Family – JP)

Mother

Father

Children

Home language

Name*: Pavlína

Name*: Jacob

Name*: Karen

English, limited Czech

Mother tongue: Czech

Mother tongue: English

Age: 8 years

* Due to the anonymization, the real names of the participants were changed

Table 2

Chosen Participants for Research (Family – JL)

Mother

Father

Children

Home language

Name*: Ludmila

Name*: Josh

Name*: Jasmine, Victoria

English, limited Czech

Mother tongue: Czech

Mother tongue: English

Age: 13 years, 10 years

* Due to the anonymization, the real names of the participants were changed

Table 3

Chosen Participants for Research (Family – CV)

Mother

Father

Children

Home language

Name*: Valerie

Name*: Caden

Name*: Lacey, Daisy

English, limited Czech or

Mother tongue: English

Mother tongue: Afrikaans Age: 13 years, 10 years

Afrikaans

* Due to the anonymization, the real names of the participants were changed

5

Data analysis

The research material acquired was analysed using situational analysis procedures. From the

perspective of the research process, in its initial phase the situational analysis relies on analytical

strategies which are highly similar to those of the classic grounded theory. However, the situational

33

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

analysis differs from the classic grounded theory due to the creation of varied forms of maps in all

research stages, which serve both as aids for further research and as resulting products of analyses

(Clarke, Friese, & Washburn, 2015). The reason of this difference can be found in a much more comprehensive view of the research field given by the situational analysis, which leads to a more

accurate rendering of reality compared to the traditional grounded theory (Kalenda, 2016).

The study of Venterová (2017) makes it evident that anglophone pupils attribute to education a significantly higher value than the majority of pupils in the Czech Republic. This study focuses on the

influence of a different (anglophone) culture on the demands posed on selected participants by home

preparation for school.

The acquired data were analysed in the following steps:

1. Transcription of all interviews was made. These were subsequently subject to open coding and

complemented with notes. This allowed to identify the key elements of domestic environment

and of individual cultural determinants.

2. Afterwards, a messy map was formed, based on the elements identified (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Connected the topic of home preparation of anglophone children for school

3. In the following step, all 59 elements included in the messy map were classified in ten key

categories and the so-called order map was created (see tab. 4).

34

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

Table 4

Structure of order map (own source)

Individual actors

Collective actors

Discursive construction of

individuals in the collective

-

Individually integrated

-

Teachers

-

Willing teacher

pupil

-

New classmates

-

Inexperienced teacher

-

Committed class teacher

-

Previous classmates

-

Uncompromising parent

-

Non-committed class

-

Class groups

-

Attempting to get better

teacher

pupil

-

Principal

-

Lazy pupil

-

Educational adviser

-

False friendship

-

Psychologist

-

Researcher

School environment

Teacher's effort

Position of the child in school

-

Original school

- Finding alternative

-

Different person

environment

solutions

-

Standard student

-

New school environment

- Unwillingness to search

-

Outsider

-

Difficult travelling

for alternative solutions

-

Class exclusion

-

Getting up early in the

- Individual study plan

-

Feeling of personal

mornings

- Communication in mother

uncertainty

-

Quality, free education

tongue with the teacher

-

Kindergarten

Culture determinant

Time based codes

Home environment

-

Mother tongue

- Age of the teacher

-

Challenging homework

-

Life style

- Age of the child

-

No homework

-

Leisure time use

- Length of lessons

-

The need of using

-

Mixing of individual

dictionary for homework

cultures

-

Independence in home

preparation

-

External tutoring

-

Family tutoring

-

Change of residence

-

Own space for school

preparation

Communication

-

Personal communication with the teacher

- Cooperation with professionals

-

Teacher as a colleague

- Cooperation with the parents

-

Mediated communication with the teacher

- Moving abroad

-

Communication about specific needs

- Safety

-

Main language of the education

- Residence as a determinant

-

The first foreign educated language

- Poor service accessibility

-

Easier communication

- Finance demanding tutoring

-

More difficult communication

4. The analytical work that followed consisted in a relational analysis focusing on elements

determining home preparation of pupils from intercultural partnerships (see Figure 5). The

relational analysis offers multiple data interpretation and analysis (Kalenda, 2016).

35

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

Figure 5. Relative analysis focusing on the home environment and cultural determinants

Labelling of individual elements / folders based on their belonging to the key category:

School environment, Teacher's efforts, Position of the child in school

Home environment, Cultural determinant

Collective actors, Discursive construction of individuals in the collective, Communication,

Individual actors, Collective actors

This step allowed us to get a basic picture of the complex situation of the families in relation to home

preparation and the influence of cultural determinants. Gradually, relationships were found between

the different categories. After re-reading the transcript of the interviews, additional elements were

added, which were subsequently categorized with the existing elements.

6

Results

The data analysis shows that each family had a different history background before their children

commenced their compulsory schooling.

Our children visited English kindergarten, here in the Czech Republic. We wanted them to speak

English as good as possible, before they start with Czech primary school. They visited regular

kindergarten only in the preschool year. To meet new friends. (Ludmila)

Daisy started kindergarten at the age of two and Lacey at the age of three. They went to our village

kindergarten. [...] Actually wait, back then we left in (name of the town),4 and they were in the

4 Due to the anonymization, the real name of the town was deleted.

36

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

kindergarten over there. Only Daisy and only as a pre-schooler went to kindergarten in (name of the

village),5 because we moved. [...]. (Valerie)

Karen visited kindergarten only in the last year. Back then, it wasn’t compulsory, but I had to go

back to work. She had never visited kindergarten before, because we were living in SA and the

preschool education is simply too expensive over there. I couldn’t find work, to pay for private

education and we didn’t want her to visit government kindergarten. (Pavlína)

When asked about the nursery they chose for their children and on what grounds the decision was

made - views of different parents varied similarly according to the approach of individual families to

preparation for school.

My daughter has Skype tutoring, the travelling was too difficult for us. (Josh) So far, we manage it

without external help. Every day we train writing, reading and math. At this moment it‘s enough,

but we are aware, that may need help in the future. (Petra) I had an tutor, but it didn‘t work out.

Daisy did not behave well, she was constantly angry. Than the lady said we shouldn‘t come anymore.

Recently children attend a different school, where they have tutoring immediately after lessons in

the school building. [...]. (Valerie)

Children in the CV family changed primary school during compulsory school education. Parents decided

to do it because they felt there was a lack of communication and unwillingness to do so in the previous

school. Although children had individual study plans, they did not benefit proportionately from their

efforts. In the new school, they have an English-speaking psychologist who supports them and the

option to do homework at school before they go home. As Useem and Cotrell (1993) state, children of

the third culture change school more often than most children if they are unsuccessful at school.

“Changing the school helped us a lot, our children have to travel far, but they finally have support at

school” (Caden).

All families would be glad if children had the same opportunity in preparation for the next day and

write homework directly at school after the end of the lessons. Only one school offers this option to

the selected families, facilitating these children in overcoming obstacles in their studies. Moreover,

this school offers this service for free, as part of an individual approach to their pupils. Parents are

aware that most schools do not offer this option. They are also aware that the school and the teachers

often do not have the capacity to teach pupils in the afternoon.

They spend more time at school, but they come home with their homework already finished, which

makes life easier for us. They just need to learn at home sometimes. We are delighted that the new

school offers this opportunity. (Valerie) We would be glad if the school offered tutoring, even if we

must pay for it, but this option is not available. The teacher said she could provide private lessons

after lesson, but only for two pupils, no more. She offered the daughter the opportunity to ask if

there was something she needed immediately after a lesson, but even this was not enough. She

needs support more regularly and more time. (Ludmila) This would be a wonderful option, but I don’t

know if the school offers something like this. The daughter does not need this now, but this will

become unavoidable in future, so we will definitely be interested. (Pavlína) I again understand

schools do not offer tutoring because they do not have capacity available and there are too few

teachers. I think that today, a school that helps children with their homework or that provide extra

lessons is the exception. (Josh)

It is evident from the interviews that all children need more attention when doing their homework and

that individual families solve this issue differently. The decision concerning the way of helping the child

was highly influenced by the family's place of residence.

5 Due to the anonymization, the real name of the village was deleted.

37

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

It was a big problem for us, regularly travelling there and back. One Czech lesson took me three

hours of my time. Picking up the children from school, bring them to (town name - due to

anonymization, the town name was deleted ), wait and back home. When I wasn‘t working, I was

driving. This changed at the moment, when my children changed their school. Now they have

tutoring in the school building. [...] (Valerie) [...] We live almost in the centre, so maybe in the future

it will not be a problem. So far, we can do it ourselves. Actually me, my husband can ‘t speaks Czech

at all. (Pavlína)

The workload of parents influences home preparation as well.

[...] Tutoring is expensive and time-consuming, but it must be done. I believe that it will return in the

future and that this are well-invested money. [...] Just the travelling is annoying. [...] (Caden) [...] My

daughter has Skype tutoring so she doesn‘t have to go anywhere. Now she is old enough and can

travel alone, but it wasn’t always like that. Even she would prefer an individual tutor, but it’s not

easy to find someone around here [...] (Ludmila ) My kids don‘t want Skype, they keep saying they

can‘t concentrate and wouldn‘t like it. (Valerie)

Another significant element is the approach of the teacher not only to the pupil but also to his/her

parents, which subsequently determines the relationship between the school and the parents.

[...] Recently, in the new school, the teachers are actually my colleagues. So, they can just pick up

phone and call me. (Valerie)6 A colleague always calls me, someone who knows me well and can

speak English. This didn‘t exist in the previous school. There was no one willing to talk to us and

when they could, they just criticized and only in Czech and my husband or me weren’t able to

understand. (Valerie)

The volume of homework influences the relationship of the family (not only the child) with the school.

Karen gets homework but she‘s in the first class, so she's still very careful. I always sit with her and,

when she needs it, I help her. (Pavlína) . Parents of first-graders anticipate that their child will be getting

homework and that they will participate in performing it. The involvement of parents in home

preparation leads to better results specifically in homework. The role of the parent is needed to

provide the child with an optimal environment and to encourage the child in explaining obscurities and

expressing his/her opinion when asked to (Šulová, 2009).

[...] Children don ‘t enjoy their homework, in the previous school they didn‘t it late in the evenings,

often we didn‘t understand the task. So, we often had to search on the internet to find out what

they want us to do. [...] That's why I'm glad that they hardly have any homework in the new school.

(Caden)

Individual parents come from different cultures. Therefore, a question arose, namely why they live

specifically in the Czech Republic, as it is often very difficult for their children. All families agreed on

the same element, which was: High-quality, free education. This element was very interesting for the

researcher. All families were happy about the educational system in the Czech Republic, even though

it is often very difficult for them.

[...] In South Africa, if we want to give our child a high-quality education, it‘d cost us most of the

money we‘d earn. And we wouldn‘t have any money left for school supplies, travelling, living,

security and everything else. Although public schools are over there, but in that case, Karen‘d be the

only white child, and she wouldn‘t learn much. And we didn‘t want that. (Pavlína) Education in South

6 Mother works at the same school, but at different detached department and knows most of the children‘s

pedagogues in person (researcher’s note).

38

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

Africa is very expensive. Although I went to school over there, but it was back then during Apartheid

when everything was different than today. (Jacob)

6.1 Positioning map

One of the frequently criticised characteristics of the classic grounded theory is an excessive

simplification of meanings when deviations in statements of research participants from central

meaning categories are not reflected or are obliterated as deviations from the standard (Clarke, 2003,

2005, Thomas & James, 2006).

Later, the positioning map (see Figure 6), based on extracts from the participants' narrations, charts

the positions they hold in relation to the following meaning axes – The influence of cultural

determinants on the child’s home preparation for school education and the intensity of home

preparation for school education.

Figure 6. Focusing on the cultural determinants and intensity of home preparation

Concentrating on the level of intensity of home preparation for school education and the impact of

cultural determinants, it is clear that cultural determinants have an impact on school preparation,

especially with the CV family. This family, however, found a way to relieve the influence of these

determinants without having to change their cultural habits, which they have transferred from their

original culture. The greatest support is given by a new elementary school that the children attends

and where the teachers help the children with homework and they provide additional explanations

about the subjects. For the other two families, the impact of cultural determinants is lower, but still

the children need to learn more for school education. This is outlined by the increased intensity of

preparation for schooling, external tutoring.

39

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

7

Conclusion

This qualitative study explores the influence of a different culture on the preparation of anglophone

children for elementary school. Even though all these children were born in the Czech Republic where

they first attended a kindergarten and then they started their elementary schooling, they also preserve

a part of the culture of the English-speaking parent. This is partly due to the fact that this culture was

mediated to them not only through the parent, but for two of the participants also through a foreign

nursery, and for another one through a stay abroad before starting the compulsory schooling in the

Czech Republic. For the last family, even though the children attended Czech kindergartens only, the

influence of the anglophone culture is really strong in the family and it still influences their schooling.

This not only influences preparation for school to a large extent, it also poses obstacles in coping with

their schooling in the form of communication with the teacher or understanding the teacher's

presentation of the curriculum. This happens despite the fact that all children from the families

included in the research were born in the Czech Republic and they were in contact with the Czech

language from early childhood.

This contribution with its design may be perceived as

A different culture does not only

pioneering in the context of research performed so

far, as it differs from the traditional examination of

influence school preparation to a

influence of domestic environment on schooling. We

large extent, it also puts

also deem the sample of selected families as

innovative as it involves families with partners coming

obstacles in place on how to

from diverse cultures who have different mother

cope with schooling in the form

tongues and decided to live in the Czech Republic.

of communication with the

They are aware of the fact that the local life is difficult

for them in the perspective of linguistic and cultural

teacher or understanding the

differences; however, they are determined to

teacher's presentations. This

overcome such obstacles. The acquired data show

could be reflected in the success

that the influence of the language as well as the

cultural situation of the family is transferred to their

or failure of the child in the

children and from the domestic to the school

school.

environment.

Families endeavour to integrate their children in the

Czech educational system by providing external tutoring for their children. Education is of high

importance in the eyes of the parents. All parents acquired varied university degrees and they wish

similar education for their children, although preparation for school is highly demanding for them. This

applies not only to their personal help to children but also in terms of time, as they drive their children

to external tutoring.

In agreement with Maňák (1992), home preparation is an integral part of school attendance. Jursová

(2011) states that this preparation will facilitate the child's work at school. Although it makes the learning in the school easier for the child, it can become too difficult for anglophone children and their

families. If these children get homework, the task should have a simple, clear assignment and should

not be marked in order for pupils from a different cultural environment to do it. Majerčíková and Petrů-

Puhrová (2017) state that home preparation includes more than just homework in the form of individual tasks. It is assumed that parents are involved as an implicit part of family life. In our case,

however, it can mean a complicated search for external tutoring and commuting. According to

Straková (2016), who has been engaged in educational inequality research in the Czech Republic for a

long time, some teachers have very convincing arguments for giving homework and others for not

giving reasons. In her opinion, teachers should be left autonomous in assigning homework, but at the

same time they should always keep in mind that some parents are not able to provide suitable

conditions to do these tasks. As a result, children suffer even if they are innocent. The school should

40

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

be aware of it. A possible solution would be to create a space at school to allow children to work with

someone other than their parents. Experience from American schools shows that teachers are not

trying to delegate responsibility for education to parents (Straková, 2016).

If the child is unsuccessful at school despite the external tutoring, they are willing to accept a change

of school, which is also confirmed by Useem and Cotrell (1993). The family CV took this step and they

are convinced it was correct step for their future. Grand'Maison (1976) describes the problem of the

educational system that does not adapt to the present. Changing school is a complex process for their

children because they have to get used to new environment, new schoolmates and teachers. This

happens frequently also at the cost of complex commuting. However, bad relationships are reflected

in the child's school results (Rabušicová, 2004). In the new school, they search for teachers having a

good grasp of foreign languages with whom they are able to communicate and who would apply an

individual approach to help their children succeed in their schooling. The amount of homework is also

an important element for them, given the time workload of the parents and the language barrier - for

this reason they have a bias in favour of a smaller homework frequency. Communication between the

school and the family is an important factor influencing education. High-quality interaction is therefore

highly important (Šeďová, 2004). Moreover, it is evident from the acquired data that families created

their own platforms at home, which are different from those of typically monocultural families in the

Czech Republic.

The family combines two highly different cultures complemented from the third side by the

compulsory schooling, to which they are trying to adapt. They keep trying persistently to overcome all

obstacles posed on them in their effort to adapt to schooling in the Czech Republic, granting their

children education of good quality, while preserving a part of their original selves.

The author declares that this is the original study and text in this form has not been submitted for

publication nor has it been published otherwise.

References

Brahic, B. (2013). The Politics of bi-nationality in couple relationships: A case study of European bi-

national couples in Manchester. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 44(6), 699–714.

Casmir, F. L. (1999). Foundations for the study of intercultural communication based on a third-culture

building model. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 23(1), 91–116.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(98)00027-3

Clarke, A. E. (2003) Situational analysis. Grounded Theory after the postmodern turn. Symbolic

Interaction, 26(4), 553–576. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.2003.26.4.553

Clarke, A. E. (2005). Situational analysis. Grounded theory after the postmodern turn. Thousand Oaks:

Sage.

Clarke, A. E., Friese, C., & Washburn, R. (2015 ). Situational analysis in practice. Mapping research with

grounded theory. London: Left Coast Press.

Crystal, D. (1995). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge

University Press.

Frame, M. W. (2004). The challenges of intercultural marriage: Strategies for pastoral care. Pastoral

Psychology, 52(3), 219–232.

Grand'Maison, J. (1976). Pour une pédagogie sociale d’autodéveloppement en éducation. Montreal:

Stanké.

Hill Useem, H. R., & Cotrell, A. B. (1993). TCKs four times more likely to earn bachelor's degrees.

Newslinks, 12(5). Retrieved from http://www.tckworld.com/useem/art2.html#

41

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

Jursová, J. (2011). Domácí studijní činnost z pohledu žáků 2. stupně ZŠ. Retrieved from

http://duha.mzk.cz/clanky/domaci-studijni-cinnost-z-pohledu-zaku-2-stupne-zs

Kachru, B. (1985). Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer

circle. English in the world: Teaching and learning of Language and Literature. Cambridge, UK:

Cambridge University Press.

Kachru, B. (1996). Opening borders with world Englishes: Theory in the classroom. In S. Cornwell, P.

Rule, & T, Sugino (Eds.), On JALT96: Crossing Borders. The Proceedings of the JALT 1996

International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 10–20). Tokio: Japan

Association for Language Teaching.

Kalenda, J. (2016). Prozatím nevyužitá šance: Situační analýza v pedagogickém výzkumu [A new

opportunity: Situational analysis in educational research]. Pedagogická orientace, 26(3), 457–

481. https://doi.org/10.5817/PedOr2016-3-457

Majerčíková, J., & Petrů Puhrová, B. (2017) Everyday family experience: A child’s home preparation for

school. Acta Technologica Dubnicae, 7(2), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1515/atd-2017-0010

Maňák, J. (1992). Problém domácích úkolů na základní škole. Brno: Masarykova univerzita.

Morkes, F. (2010) Proměny povinné školní docházky. Učitelské noviny, 33. Retrieved from:

http://www.ucitelskenoviny.cz/?archiv&clanek=5492

Nekvapil, J. (2007). Kultivace (standardního) jazyka. Slovo a slovesnost, 68, 287–301.

Novinky ve školním roce 2013-2018. (2018, September 29). MŠMT. Retrieved from

http://www.msmt.cz/ministerstvo/novinar/novinky-ve-skolnim-roce-2017-2018

Pollock D. C, & Van Reken, R. E. (2009). Third culture kids growing up among worlds. Boston: Nicholas

Brealey Publication.

Pope, D. C. (2001) Doing school: How we are creating a generation of stressed out, materialistic, and

miseducated students. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Průcha, J. (1999). Vzdělávání a školství ve světě: základy mezinárodní komparace vzdělávacích systémů.

Praha: Portál.

Rabušicová, M. (2004). Vztahy rodiny a školy: Vývoj tematu. In M. Rabušicová, K. Šeďová, K. Trnková, &

V. Čiháček, Škola a (versus) rodina (pp. 9–21). Brno: Masarykova univerzita.

Schreiner, K. (2009). Mit der Familie ins Ausland: in Wegweiser für Expatriates. Göttingen:

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Šeďová, K. (2004). Komunitní škola a rodiče (Případová studie). In M. Rabušicová, K. Šeďová, K. Trnková,

& V. Čiháček, Škola a (versus) rodina. (pp. 122–139). Brno: Masarykova univerzita.

Straková, J. (2016). České školy bojují o autoritu. Rádio Junior. Retrieved from

http://www.radiojunior.cz/ceske-skoly-bojuji-o-autoritu--1591750

Šulová, L. (2009). Setkávání dětí, rodičů a učitelů nad domácími úkoly. In L. Krejčová, & V. Mertin (Eds.),

Škola jako místo setkávání II.: Sborník příspěvků z konference konané 20. dubna (pp. 204–218).

Praha: Univerzita Karlova v Praze.

Šulová, L., & Škrábová, M. (2012). Czech study of home preparation for school in the first five years of

school attendance. Rivista Italiana di Educazione Familiare, 1, 99–113.

https://dx.doi.org/10.13128/RIEF-12009

Thomas, G., & James, D. (2006). Reinventing grounded theory: Some questions about theory, ground

and

discovery.

British

Educational

Research

Journal,

32(6),

767–795.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920600989412

42

Venterová / Home preparation of anglophone children for school: The influence…

Venterová, L. (2017). Educational value from the perspective of bilingual and multilingual pupils from

a different cultural environment. In A. İşman, & A. Eskicumali (Eds.), International Conference on

New Horizon in Education: Proceedings book (pp. 1116–1120). Serdivan, Sakarya: Sakarya

University.

Table of Contents

s. Maňák (1992)

(Crystal, 1995).

(Frame, 2004).

Venterová (2017)