Father Involvement Conference 2008: Diversity.Visibility.Community Toronto, Ontario October 2008

1. PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF SUDANESE REFUGEE AND RUSSIAN IMMIGRANT MEN AS FATHERS IN THE CANADIAN CONTEXT Father Involvement Conference 2008: Diversity.Visibility.Community Toronto, Ontario October 2008 David Este, Ph.D. Admasu Tachble, Ph.D. (C) University of Calgary This study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

2. OBJECTIVES Participants will leave with an increased understanding of the perceptions and experiences of Sudanese refugee and Russian immigrant men as fathers. This will involve sharing with the audience: • Brief contextual information • Study’s methodology and methods • Salient results • Implications for social work: • Education • Practice • Programs and services

3. FATHERHOOD AND IMMIGRATION • The importance of the family in immigration is vital • Major motivation for parents is to provide a better life for their children • Families provide security / emotional reliance • Limited exploration on the impact of immigration on fathers Roer-Strier, et al., 2005

4. SUDANESE COMMUNITY IN CANADA AND CALGARY • In Calgary, there are approximately 7,500 Sudanese • Two major waves of Sudanese migration in the past six years (2000 and 2002) • Majority of government-assisted refugees (GARs) Kuol & Este, 2005

5. 1990s – PRESENT: “PROFESSIONAL WAVE” Most of the incoming Russian immigrants are highly qualified specialists who were successful in Russia and are looking for a job in Canada to apply their skills and knowledge.

6. METHODOLOGY Recruitment • Three human service agencies • Personal contacts

7. METHODOLOGY Sample • 20 Sudanese men • 14 Russian men • All participants resided in Canada a minimum of 8 months

8. METHODOLOGY • Utilization of the pragmatic qualitative method as described by Patton (2002) • Use of strategies to collect and analyze data collected in the field

9. DATA COLLECTION METHODS • Semi-structured interviews focused on: • Meaning of fatherhood • Values influencing practice of being a father • Interaction with children • Decision making in family • Challenges being a father in the Canadian context Este & Tachable, 2006

10. METHODOLOGY Data Analysis • Thematic analysis was conducted to determine salient themes

11. MEANING OF BEING A FATHER • Responsibilities – Provider • Teacher

12. MEANING OF BEING A FATHER: RESPONSIBILITIES – PROVIDER Being a father means a lot of responsibilities to all the family and towards my wife and my children. You have To look after them, buy what they need, and take care of them. Sudanese Male If you want to feel like a father, you want to bring some income to the family . . . Russian Male

13. MEANING OF BEING A FATHER:TEACHER Being a father means being the head of the family . . . it means one has to be very responsible to his wife, to his children . . . he must teach the children about community work and respect. Sudanese Father Role modeling is the most important thing because the child would just take on the behaviour from someone else. Russian Father

14. PROVIDING AS A FORM OF PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT • Some literature (Stearn, 1991; Christiansen & Palkovitz, 2001) contends that providing is indeed a strong and legitimate form of paternal involvement • Perspective recognizes that providing from an economic perspective enables fathers to contribute to the well-being of their families

15. SOCIAL CAPITAL • Pleck (2007), who has written extensively on fathers, states that the concept of social capital useful theoretical approach in understanding father involvement.

16. FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL • Two types of capital that contribute to child development: • Financial Capital • Social Capital: parenting behaviour that promotes the child’s cognitive-social development, school readiness, and educational aspirations – parents’ socialization of their children (p. 198)

17. GUIDING VALUES • Sudanese Fathers • Respect • Children acquiring a good education • Giving back to one’s community • Russian Fathers • Positive family relationship • Importance of getting a university education

18. LEARNING TO BE A FATHER • Males in the family • The family

19. LEARNING TO BE FATHERMALES IN THE FAMILY I learned through my father, through my uncle, the elder uncle . . . The way they brought me up is the way I like to bring my children up. Sudanese Father

20. LEARNING TO BE A FATHER:FAMILY INFLUENCE I learned from being a son of a very responsible family . . . when I grew up I pursued my education with the values of trying to keep the good name of the family. Sudanese Father My father and my uncle both were good examples in my life. They gave me schooling. Russian Father

21. EXPECTATIONS FOR CHILDREN • Better Future • . . . I am expecting a better future for my kids, and I do not want them to experience the life I am experiencing right now. Sudanese Father • Success in Life • I think that it is extremely important that he finds himself and does something with his life . . . that would be a career, family Russian Father

22. INTERACTION WITH CHILDREN • Spending time with their children – important for both groups of fathers • Array of activities (walking, television watching [Sudanese], swimming, going to the park, sports [Russian]) • Time spent with children was contingent upon number and types of jobs held • Hours of employment

23. ROLE CHANGES • Domestic tasks • Greater parenting role

24. ROLE CHANGES • Domestic Tasks - Sudanese • We share the kitchen. I do not wait for her when I come home from work. I do not wait for her to prepare food. I can do it, prepare it myself, but in the Sudan, that does not happen. A man does not go in the kitchen. Sudanese Father

25. ROLE CHANGES • Greater Parenting Role • In the Sudan, I was not concentrating a lot [in the raising of my children] because I know that 50% of bringing up the children in the family is done by neighbours and other people . . . When I came here, I became more involved in bringing up my children in the way that I want . . . So I became more responsible and more involved in their activities in bringing up my children. Sudanese Father

26. CHALLENGES • Underemployment • Encountering racism and discrimination • Discipline of children • Lack of social support • Social isolation

27. UNDEREMPLOYMENT/RACISM – SUDANESE We cannot get steady jobs that pay well. Many of us Are working in meat plants that are oppressive and take advantage of us. At these work places, we are subject to name calling by white workers. Sudanese Father

28. UNDEREMPLOYMENT My education. I am an electrical engineer but in Canada I work only using my hands, nothing using my head and I cannot work with my head . . . My education is a university degree, a Bachelor’s Degree, and I want to work in my profession. Russian Father

29. UNDEREMPLOYMENT Lack of Financial Security As long as you are underpaid, you do not feel good and all the things that you need for your children do not get so you are really under pressure and one can get distressed. Sudanese Father In Canada, it is not that easy to make money, making money is not easy. Russian Father

30. CHALLENGE Discipline of Children – Adapting to Canadian System • It is difficult to be a father in Canada because all the children are controlled by the government. The parents do not have the right to tell their children what they really need. - Sudanese Father • Within communist Russian society, children need to be respectful to anybody who is older than you. But that is not the case here. - Russian Father

31. LACK OF SOCIAL SUPPORTFROM FAMILY MEMBERS . . . there is nobody here (family) to help us . . . I do not have my parents . . . We take care of everything ourselves. Russian Father . . . the house (in Sudan) is with a lot of our relatives who come from the countryside so the children are taken care of by a relative. Sudanese Father

32. DECISION MAKING RELATED TO CHILDREN • RussianThree patterns were shared by the men: • Parents – joint decision making • Children involvement • Wife primary decision make supported by partner • Sudanese • Joint process involving partners

33. IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORKEDUCATION IN CANADA • Content about fathers and father involvement is virtually nonexistent in the majority of social work programs in Canada; even more sparse in relation to immigrant and refugee fathers • Some attention is given in MSW program at McGill • Need for our programs to begin to include this specific content

34. IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE • Fathers’ voices need to be heard in planning and implementing: • Non-paternalistic, participative interventions, culturally tailored to the unique needs, perceptions and cultural differences of different immigrant groups. • Assessment processes need to examine the needs of immigrant / refugee men as fathers

35. DELIVERY OF PROGRAMS / SERVICES • A challenge to social work agencies is how to recruit and engage immigrant / refugee fathers • Should there be specific programs for this subpopulation? ORShould more inclusive programs be developed to involve immigrant / refugee families? ORIs there a combination of these service delivery approaches required?