APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW GUIDES
Expert interviews
The research questions/ main themes
The interview questions The specifications
Introduction The questionnaire
Relevance 1. How often do you meet/have
you met Russian immigrant
2. In your opinion, what are the main problems concerning and local men start in the first place? (here or elsewhere – for immigration officials?)
Instruments 3. Can these problems be solved in the short run?
- What is your institution doing about this?
- What would be your personal advice?
Injustice 4. Have you ever noticed that
Russian female immigrants (and their children, families) have been treated badly by some other institution or in the community?
- Would you define this country – and this village/town – as migrant friendly or hostile?
Positive effects of immigration 5. What are the positive effects of Russian women migrating in this country?
- In this village/town especially?
- Would you welcome more migrants from Russia here?
Integration, participation 6. What should be done to integrate the Russian female immigrant here to make them to feel “at home”?
- Do you ever have the possibility of helping them to work or act together with each other?
- Do your institutions have contacts with their organisations?
Collaboration 7. Is there much collaboration - Can you give some positive /
between your organisation and the authorities – in solving problems that Russian female immigrants have?
Sensitive problems/violence 8. If you have to confront the fact that your client is a victim of violence in a close relationship or at work, or school, what can you do to help her?
- Have you ever been in such a situation?
Sensitive topics/prostitution and recognition
9. When it comes to Russian women, there is a lot of talk about prostitution - how do you feel about this from the point of view of your institution?
- What can be done by actors like your institution to combat these kinds of problems?
Organised crime 10. Have you ever noticed in your work some signs of organised crime here?
Immigration policies 11. What are your views on
immigration policies in general? - Is this country living up to its reputation as a welfare country?
- What does the significance of human rights norms mean in this context?
Own positioning 12. Do you have some close
contact to immigrants – and Russian female immigrants – socially, privately?
- What is your personal view about them?
- Have you been travelling in Russia yourself?
OWN QUESTIONS
13. Have I forgotten some important question? What would you like to discuss yourself?
Students’ interviews
1. Why did you choose social work education? Do you find that inter-cultural social work has been a good study program?
2. What was decisive for your choice of place for professional training? Is there a theme within the program or a client group that interests you the most? Why?
3. Can you tell us briefly about your training in the second year? What was the main idea of the project and the training that took place? Has your training in the third year been different? How?
4. Have your perceptions of the social work profession been changed during the studies, and during the training?
Social work with ethnic-minority clients, power and ethnicity
5. Can you tell me about the first time you met a client?
6. Are there any skills that you acquired during your social work studies programme with specialisation in intercultural communication that you had special use for during the training period?
7. The study program has been focused on ambivalence to performances and power relations between social worker and client. Students in the first year had exercises and role play on this theme. Have you experienced any of the dimensions from this in your training?
8. Have you been confronted with some unique challenges in your communication with ethnic-minority clients? Have there been any particular communication difficulties that you have experienced with the majority Norwegian clients?
9. Have you in some ways been challenged by ethnic-minority clients, or felt uncomfortable in a conversation situation?
Have there been any gaps between the needs of ethnic-minority clients and what the social worker/trainee had to offer?
10. Is there anything that has been particularly meaningful to you? Is there anything that you learned in your encounters with ethnic-minority clients?
11. Did you find that intercultural communication is fascinating, in what way?
Intercultural communication and gender
12. Have you worked with both male and female clients? Does gender difference have anything to say in your meetings with ethnic-minority clients?
13. Is this different when you worked with the Norwegian majority? Have you ever experienced that your ideals of gender equality collide with the values of ethnic-minority clients? Is equality a good idea?
14. If you would think back to the exercises with prior events and ambivalence, were some of the performances affected by gender?
15. Have you ever felt the power game between the social worker and the client
16. Have you learned anything new in terms of interaction between both sexes in your meeting with ethnic-minority clients?
17. What do you think about 'saving' ethnic women from patriarchal conditions in their home?
Communication between students:
gender and ethnicity
18. Do you have friends among students from ethnic-minority backgrounds?
Women or men? Do you get any personal benefit from contacting students from different ethnic backgrounds?
19. Do you have any friends who use a veil or dress differently in another way?
20. How do gender differences play into your communication with ethnic minority students? Have you been in a situation where your values and beliefs collide with others on the basis of cultural differences?
21. Can you tell us about skills training related to cooperation in the group, especially when you consider that the group is multicultural? How has training in skills training helped to create better conditions in student groups?
22. Have you been in situations where you have to help students from ethnic- minority backgrounds, for example because of language? How do you deal with these situations, when one thinks of the controversy: helping versus accepting help?
23. How could you articulate common ground for communication across boundaries between ethnicity and across gender differences? What is it that unites or do you have set lines?
24. What do you think about concepts: e.g. ethnic minority? Could you possibly suggest a better idea?
Individual interviews with Russian women
The research questions/ main
themes The interview questions Specifications INTRODUCTION 0. The questionnaire
Life in Russia 1. Please tell me a little about
yourself and your life in Russia. - First family – parents, sisters, brothers?
- Education, work etc.?
ARRIVAL
Practicalities 2. What did you know about this country when you moved here?
- How did you learn about this, get information?
- Did you make any prior visits?
Reasons, motives, hopes and
aspirations 3. What were your hopes and
expectations? What made you
Resources on arrival 4. Did you know the local language? Did you know some local people on arrival personally?
- ´Natives´?
- Other Russians?
First impression 5. What were you first
impressions?
‘Civil education’ 6. How did you learn the norms,
values and rules e.g.? - Did you attend the ‘integration’
course arranged by the national/local authorities?
TODAY
Comparing life 7. What do you miss most living here? What do you like best?
Everyday life course 8. Please tell me about your everyday life here – one day, one week, annually.
Obstacles 9. What is most difficult for you to handle nowadays?
- Is this related to you personally or someone close to you?
Children? Your partner?
Basis for independence - work,
school, training 10. Do you (now) have a job here? How did you find the job?
Any difficulties? How is it going?
- Do you lack some necessary qualifications? Are you studying now for an examination, job qualification?
- Is your income sufficient for sustenance? Or are you dependent on your partner, relatives? Or do you send money ´home´?
- Do you have experiences of being excluded, even discriminated at work or in education?
Social life 11. Neighbourhood, relatives - Are you in contact with other persons outside your family daily
institutions 12. What do you think about the welfare services here?
- Social and health services?
Labour office?
- What about the school and day
- If you have problems, from whom you will get information and help?