Child-rearing practices: cross cultural perspectives of African asylum-seeking families and child protection social workers in Ireland

ABSTRACT

This paper is located within a conceptual framework of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism as seen through Critical Race Theory (CRT), cultural and racial politics of child protection/welfare social work. It reports on the findings of a broad qualitative study which explored the interactions of Black African asylum-seeking families with White child protection/welfare social workers in Ireland. The Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM) was used to collect data, which was analysed using a framework analysis approach to produce themes. The paper focusses on the intercultural differences between mostly Black African asylum-seeking families and White social workers regarding child rearing practices in Ireland. A mixture of practice protocol, personal beliefs, racialised cultural understanding of normativity and mutual suspicions surface as central to the behaviours of social workers and ASF. Asylum seeking families reportedly perceive social workers as professionals who are disrespectful of their traditional child-rearing practices purportedly on assumptions of own racial/cultural superiority. Given the diversity of issues that are associated with Europe in relation to asylum seekers from the African continent, the lessons learned from this research could have widespread applications in affected countries.

ABSTRACT

Tá an páipéar seo suite laistigh de chreat coincheapúil eitnealárnachais agus coibhneasachta cultúrtha faoi mar a fheictear sa Teoiric Chriticiúil Chiníocha (CRT), polaitíocht chultúrtha agus chiníoch in obair shóisialta um chosaint/leas leanaí. Déanann sé tuairisciú ar thorthaí staidéir leathain cháilíochtúil a rinne iniúchadh ar na hidirghníomhaíóchtaí a bhí ag clanna ar Afracaigh Ghorma iad le Bánaigh ar oibrithe sóisialta iad in Éirinn atá ag obair ar chosaint/leas leanaí. Baineadh úsáid as an Modh Léirmhínitheach Beathaisnéiseach Insinte (BNIM) chun sonraí a bhailiú agus rinneadh anailís ar na sonraí seo le cur chuige creata chun iad a eagrú ar bhonn téamaí. Díríonn an páipéar ar na héagsúlachtaí idirchultúrtha atá ann idir clanna ar Afracaigh Ghorma iad ag lorg tearmainn agus Bánaigh ar oibrithe sóisialta iad ó thaobh cleachtas tógála leanaí in Éirinn. Léiríodh go raibh meascán de phrótacal cleachtas, tuairimí pearsanta, tuiscint chultúrtha stiúrtha ag cine-mheon faoi chad is normálta ann agus comhamhras, lárnach in iompraíocht oibrithe sóisialta agus Clanna atá ag lorg Tearmainn (CLT). Tuairiscítear go bhféachann CLT ar oibrithe sóisialta mar ghairmithe a léiríonn drochmheas ar a gcleachtais tógála leanaí traidisiúnta toisc go mbraitheann siad go bhfuil a gcine/gcultúr féin níos fearr. Os rud é go bhfuil ilchineálacht mhór ann sna mórcheisteanna maidir le hiarrthóirí tearmainn ó Mhór-Roinn na hAfraice ag teacht chun na hEorpa, d’fhéadaí na ceachtanna a foghlaimíodh ón taighde seo a chur i bhfeidhm go forleathan i dtíortha a mbainfeadh a leithéid leo.

KEYWORDS:

• Cross-culture
• child-rearing practices
• asylum seekers
• social workers
• child protection

EOCHAIRFHOCAIL:

• Traschultúrtha
• cleachtais thógála leanaí
• lucht iarrtha tearmainn
• oibrithe sóisialta

Acknowledgements

I wish to sincerely thank all the social workers and families who participated in the study. I also thank Professor Caroline Mc Gregor, National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) and Professor Trevor Sprat of Trinity College, Dublin, who supervised my doctoral thesis upon which this paper is based. Sincere thanks to the Health Service Executive and Dundalk Institute of Technology for funding my Doctoral studies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Colletta Dalikeni

Colletta Dalikeni is a lecturer in Social Care Work at Dundalk Institute of Technology and a visiting social work lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin. Prior moving into the field of education, she worked as a child protection social worker for ten years. Her research interests include critical study of social work with asylum seekers, race, racism and culture. She is currently involved in collaborative Erasmus Plus funded EU projects aimed at developing innovative intervention methods of raising awareness on the ongoing crisis of asylum-seekers and potential successful integration models in host countries. Colletta currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Irish Association of Social Workers.