Cultural Identities in Transition

Voices of Saudi Arabian Mothers in New Zealand

By (author) Esra Yaghi, Roger Barnard

Publication date:

15 April 2025

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781800416222

This book explores the social, educational and linguistic acculturation of a group of Saudi wives and mothers sojourning in New Zealand while their husbands undertook full time study. Such sojourners, and their families, are faced with many challenges due to linguistic, social and cultural distance – as well as ethnic stereotyping and prejudice. They tell their stories in a series of interviews and focus groups, relating their pre-sojourn background, the challenges they faced and the changes they made during their sojourn, and their preparation for returning home post-sojourn. The narratives illustrate how these women renegotiated their own identities in relation to their changed circumstances and environment. The authors address the distinctive challenges faced by sojourners as opposed to immigrants, and present a nuanced and detailed picture of the women as individuals negotiating the complex interaction between the influence of the host country and the Saudi and Islamic identities of themselves and their children.

Glossary

Esra Yaghi: Preface

Part 1: The Background of the Book

Chapter 1. Adjusting to a New Culture

Chapter 2. Saudi Arabia: Religion, Culture and the Role of Women

Chapter 3. Saudi Mothers Sojourning in New Zealand: A Case Study

Part 2: The Mothers Tell Their Stories

Chapter 4. The Participants' Lives in Saudi Arabia

Chapter 5. The Participants’ Initial Experiences in New Zealand

Chapter 6. Maintaining Children’s Arabic Language and Religious Identity

Chapter 7. The Women Adapt Through a Community of Social Practice

Interlude: Focus Groups

Part 3: The Mothers Discuss Their Beliefs

Chapter 8. The Participants’ Beliefs about Parenting

Chapter 9. Comparing New Zealand and Saudi Arabia

Chapter 10. Looking Towards Repatriation

Part 4: The Authors Reflect on the Study

Chapter 11. Discussion of the Findings

Chapter 12. Two Conceptual Models

Chapter 13. Implications of the Study

Gary Barkhuizen: Afterword: Coping Over Time

References

About the Authors

Index

This brilliant work uniquely examines how Saudi Arabian mothers adapted to their new cultural environment in New Zealand through a community of social practice. The book provides excellent insights into the difficult task of acculturation that most immigrants experience in terms of identity adjustments, especially for parenting and children’s education in a new country.