Experiences of Pakistani immigrant parents of school going children in Norway

Abstract

The population of immigrants is rapidly increasing in Norway specifically of the Asian countries in which Pakistan is the top country with the greatest number of immigrants living in Norway. After the beginning of 21st century the number of Pakistanis living in Norway has been drastically increased not only in terms of direct immigrants but also their children who are born in Norway and are considered to be Norwegian. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and challenges which are faced by the Pakistani immigrants living in Norway who are having Norwegians children who are attending schools in Norway as well. For the purpose of investigating this issue a qualitative study was adopted in which 10 Pakistani male immigrants living in Norway were interviewed regarding the challenges and experiences that they faced in Norway and in terms of the school of their children. All the interviews were analyzed by utilization of qualitative data analysis methodology of thematic analysis in which different themes and sub themes were developed. The findings of the study shows that the Pakistani immigrants living in Norway do not face any challenge in terms of education of their children as they are satisfied with the education system at school level in Norway. There are some challenges associated with language barrier as well as distinctions in culture and some instances of racial slurs however on a whole note Norway is considered to be a very satisfactory location for these immigrant Pakistanis and their children. In terms of future implications this study can be extended by studying specific ethnicities of Pakistanis living in Norway as well as taking into consideration the opinion of female immigrants with schooling children living in Norway.