Parenting in exile: Refugee parents’ multivoiced narratives

Abstract

This article investigates how refugees’ narratives of parental practices can be explored and conceptualised. Existing research approaches are critically discussed. Interviews are carried out with parents in 16 refugee families, resettled in Norway, and the narratives of their parental practices are analysed by applying the Bakhtinian concept of multivoicedness. Several contradictory mother- and father-voices are identified. Multivoicedness proves to be a fruitful concept for understanding the complexities of refugees’ parental practices and their meaning-making in a new host country. Our analyses may contribute to less discriminatory social work practices. The analytical results are presented mainly by examining a detailed case.