Guiding migrant parents in Nordic welfare states. Cases from Norway and Sweden

This chapter addresses the legitimacy of public authorities to interfere in parenting when migrant parents are framed as a target group. The empirical data consist of three parenting programs developed and implemented in Norway and Sweden, specially designed to address migrant parents. The text analysis departs from three questions: Why migrant families are targeted? What kind of transition the programs promote? How are these transitions expected to be achieved? Based on the results from the text analysis we discuss how authorities guide but also govern through these programs. The defining of the target group and their needs, as well as addressing the parents can be understood as epistemic governance, a governance aimed for affecting other’s views of reality, their conceptions, aspirations, motivations and in the end practices. A conclusion is that the friendly bridging and mutual approaches used by the three parenting programs are elusive. The possible problem of oppression and racialisation is immanent in the programs and embedded in a theoretical framework about modernity that supports taken for granted standpoints about cultural differences (as better or worse). This makes it difficult for the participating parents to discuss on what premises they are selected as a target group.

Gustafsson, Kristina,Associate Professor,1970-Linnéuniversitetet,Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA),swam;Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies(Swepub:lnu)krguaa (författare)
Sønsterudbråten, SiljeFafo research institute, Norway (författare)
Akershus University Hospital, NorwayInstitutionen för socialt arbete (SA) (creator_code:org_t)

Ingår i:Family life in transitionLondon : Routledge, s. 23-3597804290248329780367111014

Av författaren/redakt...: Bråten, Beret; Gustafsson, Kris ...; Sønsterudbråten, ...

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