HowMoroccan‐Dutch parents learn in communities of practice:Evaluating a bottom‐up parenting programme

Abstract

Research shows that top‐down‐designed parenting programmes do not always meet the needs of postmigration parents. Bottom‐up programmes by migrant organizations hold a promise to fill this gap; however, research about these programmes and appropriate evaluation methodologies is scarce. Drawing upon Wenger's () “communities of practice,” this paper explores an alternative perspective on parenting programme evaluation. Findings are presented from a study looking into social learning processes of postmigration parents who participated in a bottom‐up programme about raising teenagers in urban areas. Using an ethnographically inspired method combined with a preprogramme and postprogramme design, 115 Moroccan‐Dutch mothers and fathers from 15 programme groups participated. Results show that the programme provided a social learning space in which parents used themselves as resources to learn collectively about parenting. Moreover, parents consciously engaged in learning interactions across learning spaces stretched into their social networks. These analyses showed how parents' development of “learning citizenship” (Wenger, ) provides us with insight in collective learning dimensions present in a bottom‐up parenting programme, which is often not included in evaluation studies. Implications for practitioners as facilitators of parents' collective learning are presented.

Migrant community resource persons as bricoleurs of family support

“…Such expansion includes consideration of the pedagogic value of CRPs and possibly of other informal, community actors who are at the grassroots of supportive ecologies around families, such as MLCO (Ponzoni, 2015; van Beurden et al, 2019). The current findings confirm that rethinking notions of family support, coupled with critical reflection on the established roles of professional and informal support around families, is key to valorizing the full range of CRPs' capacities in the family support ecosystem.…”

“…As such, this paper adds to debates about the role of formal and informal, community‐based support practices and an ecosystem approach in family support and social work more generally (Mattaini & Meyer, 2002). It provides additional insights into the alternative forms of support and organically developed, community‐based services for families from migrant backgrounds in a diverse society (van Beurden et al, 2019). It makes clear that the potential of CRPs could be better honoured and leveraged in the field of family support.…”

“…Although the role of informal support structures for families from migrant backgrounds is increasingly established in the literature (Gonzalez Benson, 2020; Piwowarczyk, Bishop, Yusuf, Mudymba, & Raj, 2014; Weich et al, 2012; van Beurden et al, 2019), it goes largely unrecognized and underutilized in welfare states. In policy, practice and literature, family support is attributed merely to professional pedagogic and social services (Edwards & Gillies, 2004; Geens & Vandenbroeck, 2012; Gillies, 2005).…”

Reshaping Parental Ethnotheories of Dutch‐Moroccan Immigrant Parents in the Netherlands: Networking in Multiple Worlds

“…Customized solutions that take into account the specific history of particular parents and parent groups are needed, while also acknowledging the tensions that are brought about by confronting different traditions of parenting. Alternatively, in designing services and programs, policy makers could make use of “bottom‐up” parenting programs, in which parents' perspectives, experiences, and participation are perceived as core principles for support and learning, and parents are seen as learning resources for each other (van Beurden, de Haan, & Jongmans, 2018).…”