Gender Roles and Practices in Polish Migration Families in Norway through the Eyes of Children

• Authors: Slany Krystyna , Strzemecka Stella
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article is dedicated to the issues pertinent to transnational families found in children’s narratives. We seek to shed light on the under-researched area of transnational research on ‘doing family’, which is vital due to the growing number of Polish families settling abroad, deciding on ‘being together’ and choosing a family reunification strategy in their mobility projects. Embedding an entire family in the destination society has profound implications for building and maintaining family ties, also across borders, as well as for changing the shape of the everyday experience of familiality among children of immigrants. We draw a sociological portrait of the migration family, depicting the typical issues of work patterns among the parents (mothers’ and fathers’ jobs), the division of household and care labour, leisure patterns and maintenance of ties with family in Poland. Honing in on these issues facilitates the understanding of how social roles are fulfilled, and how social statuses are attained, both seen through the gender lens. Empirically, the paper is based on the Transfam project’s sub-study entitled Children’s experience of growing up transnationally. This qualitative and participatory inquiry consisted of interviews with children aged 6 to 13, born in Poland and living permanently in Norway. The methodological approach facilitated understanding children as active actors, who perceive and define their social worlds. Children were encouraged and asked to recall their migration experiences, as well as express their views on the work type, meanings, commitments and schedules of their parents.

Keywords

EN

CHILDHOOD; TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION; EMPLOYMENT; FAMILY LIFE; GENDER ROLES; POLAND; NORWAY

• Publisher: Wydział Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego oraz Polska Akademia Umiejętności
• Journal: Studia Migracyjne - Przegląd Polonijny
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 3 (157)
• Pages: 157–181

Contributors

author

Slany Krystyna

• Jagiellonian University

author

Strzemecka Stella

• Jagiellonian University