Using Occupation to Navigate Cultural Spaces: Indian Immigrant Women Settling in New Zealand

Abstract

Indian immigrant women settling in New Zealand encounter new environments and occupational situations. How they navigate these situations either facilitates and enhances the experience of being in a new environment or challenges the process of settling and becoming part of New Zealand society. This study describes the significance of engagement in occupation as central to the settlement process. In-depth interviews and participant observations were used to gather information from 25 Indian immigrant women living in New Zealand towns and cities, regarding their experiences of occupation in a new environment. A grounded theory methodology guided by symbolic interactionism and occupational science was employed. Data were analysed using dimensional analysis, resulting in a substantive grounded theory, Navigating Cultural Spaces. This dynamic process describes how Indian immigrant women interweave aspects of the New Zealand and Indian cultures into everyday occupations as they create a place for themselves and their families in a new country.