Equality and Cultural Capital for Ethnic Minorities

About the Book

In response to the growing concern in a wider community regarding sense of belonging, community cohesion and integration, intolerance, civic irresponsibility, and a degree of hostility that a growing number of people face, the study has had to answer a number of interrelated questions about what qualities are required of a better community in a system of democratic government. It provides evidence of leading knowledge and understanding in the field of equality, cultural capital, and community cohesion and integration. This is done by introducing an alternative perspective or framework to explain how equality claim from cultural capital can be dealt with and why community cohesion and integration of minority ethnics into Scottish culture can be important in order to make real progress in the wider community. The study also generates considerable knowledge and understanding on the issues and debates surrounding ethnic minority communities. The book seeks to contribute to new knowledge on the connection between citizenship and rights to equality from cultural capital by asking difficult questions about why and how minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom may need to be more active because of the effect that active citizenship has had on its role within a better community. The research findings have provided critical new information on the causes of problems being experienced by new arrivals and an unwillingness to integrate shown by many old and new arrivals, affecting equality and community integration process.

About the Author

Dr Iqbal Md Mostafa, a Commonwealth Scholar who has spent his working life in academia is based in School of Education and Social Work at the University of Dundee. Prior to his move to Dundee, he was Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the University of Chittagong and lectured at Glasgow Caledonian University. His distinguished career has included teaching, research and consultancy to national and international organisations.

His main research interests are in migration, public policy, management and administration, community learning and development, race and ethnic relations, ethnicity and identity politics. His knowledge of race and immigration and expertise and interest in the political and social organisations and applied sociology from cultural capital, integration and equality perspectives are considerable, and covers a plurality of viewpoints and experiences.

Dr Iqbal has constantly and convincingly conveyed a spirit of exciting research experiences and shared with the academia his insights and expertise to analytically analyse exactly what is going on with ethnic minorities world. His unparalleled drive and enthusiasm over the past years have generated some research activities which have made not only a valuable contribution to public management by developing its central concepts and applying them to developing countries but also a unique identification of the building blocks necessary to expand our understanding of the issues faced by our communities embarking on the path of community learning and development

He has published widely in the field of Public Administration, Sociology and Community Learning and Development. A forthcoming commitment is to publish a book on immigration, cultural capital, equality, and the knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and social identities of migrant farm workers in Scotland.

In this book, his knowledge, understanding and skills drawn from the breadth of social sciences contributes to a detailed analysis of Scotland’s ethnic minorities’ experiences not only in employment but also around their social and cultural capital, noting the urgent need for major reforms in CLD practice.

Dr Iqbal is the founder of the Centre for Study and Research (CFSR) and the Editor of CFSR Journal.