1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This qualitative study aims at exploring the life experiences of four Lebanese immigrant children and their mothers as they experience the process of immigration.» (p. iii)

Questions/Hypothèses :
This study aims to answer the following questions: «How do 8-11 years-old children who have newly immigrated to Canada (three years and less) feel and perceive their immigration to Canada? [H]ow do the parents talk about the effects of immigration on their children and what do they report about their immigrant children’s perceptions of their immigration? [H]ow do children primarily and parents secondarily identify the changes they went through in terms of cultural, social and educational aspects of their lives?» (p. 23)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The sample is constituted by «two families, two mothers and four children.» (p. 27) The first family is composed of one mother and her child and the second contains one mother and her three children.

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«The results from this study suggest that children’s experiences diverge widely from their mothers and they feel and perceive their immigration process in a different way. While constantly missing their family, immigrant children try to negotiate between their native and host environments to find their way towards adaptation, sole indicator of a finally attained sense of belonging.» (p. iii) «Overall, it seemed that the mothers’ narratives complemented the children’s stories. Both brought valuable information regarding the immigration process and revealed a complex process.» (p. 73) «This study clearly highlighted the concept of biculturalism, this idea of living in-between cultures. Immigrant children have two worlds, the one they come from and the one they live in. For them, both entities did not seem to be clearly separated and they seemed to blend in depending on the context. The only thing that was voiced by all the children was they came from a country that was different from the one they lived in now. They left their family to come here. Children did not understand the concept of identity or biculturalism and therefore were not in the position to discuss it. However, the interviews allowed the scrutiny of this theme.» (p. 74)