Cultural responsiveness in the Incredible Years parenting programme for refugees: a case study

Abstract

The Incredible Years is a parenting programme that has been implemented in several countries, and in later years also used in groups consisting of newly arrived immigrant families. The aim of this paper is to explore how refugee parents perceive the cultural responsiveness in the Incredible Years programme offered to a group of newly arrived refugee parents in a municipality in Norway. A key feature of the implementation was the role of the interpreters, as they were considered co-workers with the group leaders and held key roles in the Incredible Years programme. Whilst the dialogic nature of the Incredible Years programme and the open-mindedness of the group leaders promoted a reasonable responsiveness in the implementation, the empowered role of the interpreters was the most crucial point in securing a responsive cross-cultural dialogue. In a situation characterised by uncertainty, the social capital of the family seemed to gain increased value, and the participants were hesitant to discuss any problems with their children. The findings are useful for the provision of the Incredible Years programme to immigrant or refugee families who will need interpreters to take part in the courses.