Step 4: The Intercultural Review

There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out.”

(Russian proverb)

What is an Intercultural Review?

An Intercultural Review is a way of finding out more about the students and families in your school. You can do this by giving out a questionnaire.

The questionnaire will ask about

• Students’ cultural backgrounds
• Whether they have seen or experienced racism
• What they know about other cultures
• How welcome they feel in school
• Ideas they have to make the school more intercultural

There is also a similar questionnaire for parents. The results will help you decide how to make your school more intercultural and keep people safe from racism.

Let people know you are doing the survey

Firstly, it is important that the Diversity Committee talk about the survey. A copy of the survey questions is available on the Yellow Flag website under Step 4.

Secondly, teachers should let students know in class that the survey is going to take place. It is also a good idea for teachers to explain the questions and terms used in the survey, especially to younger children. Most students from third class should be able to complete the survey. Older students can also help younger students to fill out the form.

Thirdly, you should let parents know you are carrying out the survey and inform them that it is for all students and parents. You should also tell them about why you are doing it – to improve school life for everyone.

It is important to let all groups know that the survey is anonymous and confidential. Nobody will have to give their name.

Giving out the survey

The Yellow Flag Programme has developed an online survey. This way, the students and parents can answer the questions using a phone, tablet or computer. All they will need to do is click on the link.

If schools have a computer room, students could go there to fill in the survey, or pass around a tablet in the classroom. At Post-Primary level a link could be sent to students via school email. The link to the survey can also be sent to parents via a text message.

If schools choose to print out the survey it will take a lot more time. Once you collect all the paper surveys, the answers to all the questions will need to be typed into a computer. This can take a long time and undermine the confidentiality of the results. Therefore, we recommend using the online method.

Try and make sure that some students and parents from all years get a chance to fill out the survey. The more people who do the survey, the more reliable the results.
Decide on a date for all surveys to be back by.

Collecting the results

The online survey will instantly gather the results for you and make a report. The report will show how students answered the questions; using charts, percentages, statistics and text. No students or parents will be identified in the report.

Sharing the results

A worker from the Yellow Flag team will come to a meeting of the Diversity Committee with the report of the results. The Diversity Committee will use the results to help them make an Action Plan. They can share the results by putting them on the Yellow Flag noticeboard or writing a report for the school newsletter or website.

Go Further!

Some parents might not have English as a first language. Can you think of other ways to find out how they feel – have a coffee morning, have conversations at the school gate, use an interpreter to talk to parents as a group.
Some students might have more to say – create opportunities in the classroom for students to express their views (See Step 7 for lesson plans on how to discuss equality and racism in class)