and on the other hand those who responded relatively more positively to questions
about self perception:
I like it when people are honest with me
I am usually trustworthy
I am a loyal person
I am usually truthful and honest
I am ambitious to do well in my exams
I try to be fair and respectful to other people
I have a strong sense of what is right and wrong
Life in school can be stressful
I respect successful people more if they have started from nothing
A good person is sociable and friendly
Muslim students and male students were more positive about the community-focused
questions than the self-focused items (see Appendix 8b).
This and subsequent PCs were presented to an independent Muslim consultant, a young
doctor and a second-generation immigrant to England. After having the scoring for each
PC explained he was asked whether he would expect Muslims on average to score higher
or lower than others and to give some reason for his decision. In each case his decision
correctly reflected the responses from young people in Birmingham and his reasons
(without prompting) confirmed the provisional interpretation within the research team.
Other adult informants gave less formal confirmation.
The consultant correctly suggested that Muslim students would favour the first group of
questions because ‘Islam is all about social justice’. ‘Religion comes first, then family.’
Principal Component Three - family and school versus success and pragmatism
The third component (PC3) looks beyond general positiveness and what appears to be a
community or personal bias to find less easily observable differences.
PC3 (see Appendix 8c) contrasts those relatively more positive about questions on school
and family:
Teachers have an influence on my attitude towards life
I take part in school run community projects
I try to think about other people’s feelings
My teachers treat me with respect
Grandparents have an influence on my attitude towards life
I am usually truthful and honest
Mother has an influence on my attitude towards life
Siblings have an influence on my attitude towards life
I talk with my parents about my life and my future
I am usually trustworthy
I try to be fair and respectful to other people
My school gets us to discuss local community issues
I have found school trips/residential trips make me a better person
Father has an influence on my attitude towards life
45