Socialization practices of Moroccan families after migration: A Reconstruction in an 'acculturative arena'

Abstract

This article compares the pre-migration and post-migration socialization practices of Moroccan families in The Netherlands. Our main theoretical interest is in continuity and change in the reconstruction of socialization practices in new contexts and how the nature of this reconstruction can be understood. The article addresses social organization in general, the social organization of the family, values and goals related to upbringing and practices of upbringing. The findings indicate a changed power balance in the family, a diminishing distance between parents and children, and a more egalitarian style of parenting.These changes are interpreted against the idea of the ‘loss of locality’ and the reproduction of old practices in new contexts in which cultural differences do not count ‘as such’ but become the input for a complex process in which both local and more global developments, both resistance to change and attempts to adapt constantly interact.