Readiness or resistance? - Newly arrived adult migrants' experiences, meaning making, and ...

196 Pages·2017·1.63 MB·English

by  Afrah Abdulla

Readiness or resistance?

- Newly arrived adult migrants’ experiences,
meaning making, and learning in Sweden
Afrah Abdulla

Linköping Studies in Behavioural Science No. 203
Faculty of Educational Sciences
Linköping 2017
Linköping Studies in Behavioural Science  No. 203

Distributed by:
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning
Linköping University
SE-581 83 Linköping

Afrah Abdulla
Readiness or resistance?
- Newly arrived adult migrants’ experiences, meaning making, and learning in Sweden

Edition 1:1
ISBN 978-91-7685-428-0
ISSN 1654-2029

©Afrah Abdulla
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, 2017

Printed by: LiU-tryck, Linköping 2017
Readiness or resistance?
- Newly arrived adult migrants’ experiences,
meaning making, and learning in Sweden
For my parents, Noria and Azy
and
for Mohamed and Issam
Nothing without meaning.
Table of contents

Acknowledgements
PART ONE: POINTS OF DEPARTURE, RESEARCH FIELD, THEORY
AND METHODS…………………………………………………………………………..8
Chapter 1: Points of departure…………………………………………………………………..9
Background………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
The state-funded introduction measures and etablering…………………………………………………11
Learning and meaning making………………………………………………………………………………………….13
Purpose and research questions……………………………………………………………………………..........13
Outline of the thesis……………………………………………………………………………………....................14
Chapter 2: Research field………………………………………………………………………….16
Adult migrants’ experiences and learning in the new society………………………………………….16
Migrants’ experiences of civic education courses……………………………………………………………..21
Contribution to the research field………………………………………………………………………………………22
Chapter 3: Theoretical considerations……………………………………………….......24
Social constructionism…………………………………………………………………………………….................24
The theory of transformative learning (TL)……………………………………………………………………….26
Chapter 4: Methods……………………………………………………………………………………35
Target group……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….35
The field observations…………………………………………………………………………………....................36
The interviews…………………………………………………………………………………………........................40
The author’s background…………………………………………………………………………………………………….49
Ethical considerations………………………………………………………………………………………………………….51
PART TWO: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION…………………………………53
Chapter 5: The idea behind etablering in policy documents, and its
expression in the civic orientation course………………………………………………….54
Etablering – what is it?.........................................................................................55
Manifestation of the idea of etablering in practice – the example of the CO course……….59
The “good” citizen – analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………68
Chapter 6: The meaning of the Swedish Public Employment Service
(Arbetsförmedlingen), work and internships…………………………………………….71
The meaning of the Swedish Public Employment Service (SPES)……………………………………71
The meaning of work and internships………………………………………………………………………………..79
Motives for obtaining work………………………………………………………………………………………………….88
Concluding analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….94
Chapter 7: Meaning of the Swedish language…………………………………………..97
Learning Swedish takes time, and is influenced by several factors ………………………………..97
Opportunities for facilitating language acquisition………………………………………………………….101
Motives for learning Swedish…………………………………………………………………………………………..104
Concluding analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………………….108
Chapter 8: Meaning making in relation to values……………………………………110
Childrearing……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….110
Values connected with religion…………………………………………………………………………………………120
Concluding analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..128
Chapter 9: The experiences, meaning making and learning of adult
migrants……………………………………………………………………………………………………132
Mezirow’s TL process and its implementation on empirical data…………………………………..132
A modified adult learning model and its implementation on empirical data………………….135
Concluding analysis……………………………………………………………………………………….................139
Chapter 10: Concluding discussion – Migrants’ readiness and resistance in
their new life situation……………………………………………………………………………..143
Overview of results………………………………………………………………………………………..................143
Summing-up………………………………………………………………………………………………....................149
Methods……………………………………………………………………………………...................................152
Suggestions for future research……………………………………………………………………………………….154
Svensk sammanfattning…………………………………………………………………………..155
List of references………………………………………………………………………………………171
Appendixes……………………………………………………………………………………………….181
Acknowledgements
Writing this thesis has been both an adventurous and a painful journey. I would not have
managed to reach the final destination of this complete piece of work, had I not had the
assistance, support, friendship and kindness of those people who will be mentioned here. First
of all, I thank Samir Heidarzadeh for encouraging me to take the first steps towards scientific
research, by writing a Master’s thesis. Second, I thank Thomas Winman for believing in me,
when he let me join his research project in 2010. Thomas, you opened the door to doctoral
studies for me! I also had the honour of knowing the late Hans-Erik Hermansson when he was
my supervisor during the first two years of doctoral studies. Lisbeth Eriksson and Signild
Risenfors, you have both been fantastic supervisors for so many years, and especially you,
Lisbeth, who have been with me from the very beginning of my studies. I do not know how
you both could stand my theoretical and other shortcomings, but I am so grateful to you,
because you did not give up on me, and for your wise questions which made me develop my
scientific thinking and writing. It has been a real privilege to have had both of you as
supervisors! A whole-hearted thanks to you!
The financial foundations of my doctoral studies were laid through an EU grant, via the ESF
(European Social Fund), which financed the first two years of my doctoral studies. Further,
University West has paid for my doctoral studies from 2013 and onwards, which I am very
thankful for. This was thanks to Bibbi Ringsby-Jansson, my former boss at University West,
who believed in me. Gun-Britt Wärvik at Gothenburg University is thanked for reading my
text, and giving me useful comments on my Mid-seminar. Sven Trygged at Stockholm
University provided very useful thoughts and comments on my manuscript at my final
seminar (slutseminarium). My many thanks and appreciation also goes to Henrik Nordvall,
Per Andersson, and Andreas Fejes at Linköping University, for reading and commenting on
my manuscript, at the final stage of the thesis work. Your fruitful and judicious comments
really developed my text, so I thank you for that. I also thank my doctoral colleagues at IBL,
Linköping University, for their commitment in all those doctoral courses I took, and for their
kindness. Although I am very happy to have finished this thesis, I will miss you all at IBL!
Britt-Marie Alfredsson-Svensson at Linköping University, and Gunilla Andersson and Henrik
Lindeskog at University West deserve my gratitude for their assistance with the more
administrative aspects of the PhD programme. And Catharine Walker Bergström, I thank you
a lot for proofreading and checking the English language of my thesis.
My many thanks go to all my colleagues at the Department of Language and Educational
Science at University West, for their encouragement and forbearance at times when I could
not attend important meetings or discussions, due to different deadlines. My present bosses at
University West, Lena Sjöberg and Sevtap Gurdal, deserve my gratitude for their encouraging
words now and then – those words were really appreciated! And Camilla Seitl, my friend and
doctoral colleague at University West, during many years I have enjoyed our nice, uplifting
and useful conversations. I will never forget your wise and good advice concerning the ups
and downs of doctoral studies, and I thank you very much for encouraging me to keep going,
even when I faced obstacles.
I also thank Göran Aijmer for his friendly talks whenever opportunity was given, while
working at the university library of Humanisten in Gothenburg. These small moments of nice
talk have made the doctoral studies more endurable.
My deep gratitude goes to all the participants of this study, both those who were observed
during civic orientation (Samhällsorientering) course sessions, and those who were
interviewed. Without you, this thesis would never have been written. Moreover, the course
tutors (samhällsinformatörer) and the head of the unit for civic orientation are also thanked,
as they enabled my field observations and contact with participants.
Christina Starkenberg, my dear friend, thank you for always being there for me, and for your
lovely friendship! I have enjoyed and appreciated all our café talks and all the nice meetings
we have had during these long years.
My deepest gratitude goes to my dear parents, Azy and Noria, for being who they are, and for
inspiring me all the way, without being aware of it. My dear mother, Noria, has inspired me
through her stubbornness and courage, and my dear father, Azy, has inspired me through his
optimism and hard work. My seven dear siblings: Azhaar, Azhar, Soundis, Athir, Zoher,
Amir, and Nahla – I thank you all for being who you are! And thank you, dear Nahla, my
little sister, for making the cover picture of my thesis. I would also like to thank my niece,
Zine (“Zino”), for being a source of inspiration, and for her encouragement, whenever she had
the opportunity.
And finally, I thank Issam Abouelmagd, my beloved husband, for always being the rock I
have leant against. You are the wisest, most wonderful and helpful man a woman like me can
ever be married to! I do not know how you have been able to stand me, my late working hours
and my travels all these years, but I know that my words will never suffice for expressing the
deep gratitude I feel towards you. It was you who gave me courage and strength to continue,
at times when I was near to giving up this doctoral journey. Our lovely son Mohamed and you
have lit up my life, and have reminded me of all the joy it has to offer – shokran gazilan!
I also thank God for bringing all these people in my path, and for the miracles He has let me
experience.

Gothenburg, late October 2017
Afrah Abdulla
PART ONE

Points of departure, research field, theory,
and methods

The first part of this thesis begins with the background, purpose and research questions of the
study. This is followed by an account of the research field of adult migrants’ meaning making
and learning. After that, the theoretical considerations of this thesis will be described. Part one
ends with an account of the methods used for the research study, and includes the author’s
background and the ethical considerations which were made prior to, and during data
collection.

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