Classed parental practices

Abstract
The article explores how universal family policy measures are understood and combined by parents in different social classes. Drawing on qualitative interviews with parents, the researchers identified two distinctly different ‘cultural models of care’. Parents more or less followed these models in their own care strategies, although some combined elements from each into hybrid strategies.

The cultural models were clearly related to class: most middle-class parents combined the different welfare state measures into a ‘tidy trajectory’ of care, while most working-class parents created a ‘sheltered space’ for care. In the paper Stefansen and Farstad discuss the significance of structural factors for these patterns of care by comparing their findings with similar research from Britain.

For more information contact Kari Stefansen, tlf. +47 22 54 12 00

Source:
Stefansen, K. & Farstad, G.R. (2010). Classed parental practices in a modern welfare state: Caring for the under threes in Norway. Critical Social Policy, 30(1):120-141