Challenges and changes in the parenting experiences of Korean immigrants in New Zealand

Abstract

Immigrant parents are often confronted with the challenging task of reconciling cultural differences with regard to socialization practices. This paper explored the parenting experiences of 21 Korean immigrant parents of young children (ages 6–10), after immigrating to New Zealand. Most parents reported positive parenting changes following their migration to New Zealand, including greater encouragement of their children's autonomy and decreased emphasis on children's academic performance. The findings also highlighted challenges, such as parent-child disagreements and reduced parenting self-efficacy as parents adapted and adjusted to the new cultural context. In addition, the study identified some unique parenting challenges faced by fathers and Korean transnational parents, where mothers and young children immigrate to New Zealand to advance the children's education while fathers remain in Korea to support the family financially.