The Educational Problems of the Family Abroad (On the Basis of Polish Migration to Great Britain)

Abstract

The authoress analyses specific problems which the Polish family had to cope with when bringing up children in Great Britain immediately after the Second World War and today. The most important problem then and now, apart from material provision, was and is now living on the border of two worlds: the Polish and the British one. The paper shows the parents' efforts in handing over their faith in God, language and the values of Polish culture. The authores points out that using the English language everyday in the Polish family was a great mistake. In such a case, parents taught their children a very bad pronounciation. In the course of a couple dozen years, after the Second World War, English schools exerted an influence on the parents, so that they did not speak Polish at home, and in many cases they succeeded. This attitude changed considerably later on.

Nowadays, a difficult problem within families is practical materialism and moral relativism, which is spreading over British society. There is an urgent need for a well organized pastoral care, which could morally help the parents and young generation of Polish origin.