Life as Immigrant Parents; A Qualitative Study of the Family Life of Ghanaian Immigrant Parents in Denmark.
Author
Awuah Mensah, Oliver
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-05-30
Pages
52
Abstract
This thesis explores how Ghanaian immigrant parents experience family life in the Danish welfare state. Guided by the research question “How do Ghanaian immigrant parents experience their family life in the Danish welfare state?”, the study draws on qualitative, narrative interviews with seven parents (four men and three women). The analysis is framed by Edward Said’s notion of the double perspective, Karl Mannheim’s generational approach and the inter-generational contract, and Pierre Bourdieu’s forms of capital, reflecting how participants continually compare everyday life in Denmark with their Ghanaian backgrounds. The thesis is organized in two parts: first, it outlines changes in daily life and family organization in Denmark, including shifts in gender roles that bring some women new opportunities and a sense of empowerment. Second, it examines parent–child relations, which differ from the patron–client model described by some scholars in Ghana. Across these accounts, the welfare state’s presence within the domestic sphere emerges as a shaping factor in parenting. The study concludes that Ghanaian immigrant parents undergo significant transformations in their personal and family lives, and that these changes are experienced as necessary for their incorporation into Danish society.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan ghanesiske immigrantforældre oplever deres familieliv i den danske velfærdsstat. Med udgangspunkt i forskningsspørgsmålet “Hvordan oplever ghanesiske immigrantforældre deres familieliv i den danske velfærdsstat?” bygger studiet på kvalitative, narrative interviews med syv forældre (fire mænd og tre kvinder). Analysen er rammesat af Edward Saids idé om det dobbelte perspektiv, Karl Mannheims generationsbegreb og den intergenerationelle kontrakt samt Pierre Bourdieus former for kapital, fordi deltagerne løbende sammenligner hverdagslivet i Danmark med deres baggrund i Ghana. Afhandlingen er struktureret i to dele: Først beskrives ændringer i hverdagsliv og familiernes organisering i Danmark, herunder forskydninger i kønsroller, som for nogle kvinder medfører nye muligheder og en oplevelse af empowerment. Dernæst undersøges relationen mellem forældre og børn, der adskiller sig fra den patron–klient-lignende relation, som nogle forskere har beskrevet i Ghana. På tværs af fortællingerne træder velfærdsstatens tilstedeværelse i hjemmets sfære frem som en medformende faktor i forældreskabet. Specialet konkluderer, at ghanesiske immigrantforældre gennemlever væsentlige forandringer i familie- og hverdagsliv, og at disse forandringer opleves som nødvendige skridt i deres indlejring i det danske samfund.
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