Connecting with Muslim families
Research shows that Muslim parents, like other parents, face a range of challenges in their family lives and need support. With these families, however, comes an added family migration history that sometimes involves drastic social shifts. Fathers with a migration history in particular run an increased risk of encountering difficulties in (re)defining their father and partner role. Educational insecurity regarding the (religious) upbringing of Muslim children in a non-Muslim environment requires special attention. The knowledge center of Family Sciences (Odisee) wants to meet these needs with this Practice-oriented Scientific Research Project. On the basis of surveys of Muslim parents and actors in the field who offer support to this target group, they create a clear picture of the experiences and needs with the aim of developing an evidence-based training package that provides actors in the field with tools for their family support and/or assistance work with Muslim parents and families. The 325 usable questionnaires from the survey were completed by parents from families with at least one child, living in Flanders or Brussels and of which at least one family member is Muslim. This also gave the researchers additional useful information related to, age, family income, area of residence, level of education...of the target group. The survey concludes that most Muslim parents are satisfied to very satisfied with the upbringing they give their children in which religion is an important inspiration. Families often use professional parenting support, yet there are a number of topics of concern that are mentioned more often than in similar surveys that do not target Muslim parents, leisure activities, and the use of the Internet and social media, for example. Furthermore, the survey also found that fieldworkers should take into account certain aspects while working with these families like, religion, quality of the partner relationship and experiences with racism and discrimination.