A multi-level, mixed-methods study of family management framework : a migrant Nigerian professional dual-earner families perspective

• Main Author: Okeleke-Nezianya, Vincent Ifechukwu
• Published: Middlesex University 2005
• Subjects: 305.896
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.548891

The last quarter of the twentieth century witnessed what is undoubtedly one of the most important socio-demographic changes in the labour market both developed and developing countries. For the first time, women and married women entered the labour market on a massive scale. One of the consequenceso f this socio-demographics hift is the dynamic in family management framework. Particularly for professional married women with dependent children, who continues to bear the main responsibility for taking care of the family, also for professional married men, who are expected increasingly to be involved in domestic and childcare tasks. This dynamic in family management framework is even more acute for migrant Nigerian professional dual-earner families because of absence of support from their extended families. Given the fact that migrant Nigerian professional dual-earner families with dependent children as a collective, and qualitatively, as method have been largely neglected in the literature, I decided to embark on a multi-level, mixed-method study of family management framework from a migrant dual-eamer professional families perspective. The study is mixed-method, because I use both qualitative and quantitative methods to study the theme. It is multi-level study, because, a) I address at the micro level the attitude and behaviour of the couples to family management, b) at the mesolevel/macro-level, how the migrants perceive their experiences from the British government employers, and c) the mainstream and how they have adapted in their new environment. In the first study, I review and confront two practically divorced literatures: the literature on management of domestic and childcare tasks and other strands of family tasks. I point to the gap in the literature and the need to recognise this in order to understand fully the family management frameworks within contemporary families. In the second study, I explore how the families perceive their treatment by the government, employers, and the mainstream population and their level of enculturation in Britain. The study use hermeneutics phenomenology method (i.e. indepth interview and group discussion). The study suggests that the field may be overlooking some fundamental variables. Interpretative analysis of the interview transcripts reveals the importance of understanding immigrant's perception of their new environment, immanent or tacit actions such as how they interpret their status, relate to the mainstream values and beliefs and the influences of sending context on their adaptation. The study contributes to the field a different theoretical approach to the study of family management framework among people who leave one country to settle in another country. In the third study, I explore the couple's attitudes and behaviour to family management framework using a quantitative study of 286 respondents. The analysis reveal that traditional attitudes of sex-specific assignment of family work did loose some of their consensus, but are far from having disappeared. The analysis also reveal a two dimensional management structure whereby, wives are dominantly responsible for domestic and childcare tasks, also performs majority of the domestics tasks and childcare; the husbands are dominantly responsible for house services tasks and provider roles and performs most the house-services tasks and provider role. I found also, that major changes in the couple's socio-demographic characteristics i.e. educational qualifications, narrower age gap, and both couple's participation in labour market point less towards clear-cut egalitarianism, which could be an alternative to traditional gender structure. The study shows that a 'modernized traditional' form of family management is salient among this sub-group of immigrant Nigerian families living in London. In a fourth study I use interpretive analysis of the interview transcripts of 18 professional dual-earner couples to explore factors that may explain the prevalence of modernised traditionalism of family management framework. I found that exogenous social rhythms, personal beliefs, and interpersonal negotiation of individual partners play an important role. As a conclusion, I recommend the need to integrate the literatures on management of domestic and childcare tasks with other areas of family work such as provider role and family house-servicesta sks to come up with a model that is useful for both academics and practitioners. In addition, to take into consideration in future studies of immigrants or disabled people etc. The effects of sending context (i.e. reasons for immigrating) and the immigrant perception of their new environment as these variables could have influencing effects on their behaviour. Finally, I suggest that family management research need fresh models that reflect the contemporary world in which families exists.