In: Sociológia - Slovak Sociological Review, vol. 37, no. 5
Miloslav Bahna
Detaily:
Rok, strany: 2005, 449 - 474
Kľúčové slová:
au pair; migration; domestic work; child care; cultural exchange
Typ článku: Štúdia / Study
O článku:
Latent Economy of the Au Pair Cultural Exchange Programme. At the beginning of the 1990´s the typical participants of the au pair scheme were predominantly middle-class girls from Western Europe. However, this has changed in the last decades and girls from Eastern Europe have prevailed in the au pair stays which continue to be defined as “cultural exchange”. Thus the meaning of the term “au pair” has started to change, mainly because of the significantly different life experiences, material and structural backgrounds of au pairs from post-communist countries, such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Hungary, and because of the growing demand for a low-cost solution of child care in the West. The piecemeal transformation of the programme of cultural exchange to a part of the “child care strategy” in Western European countries gives the au pair scheme an economic dimension hidden behind the official definition of the programme.
This study, based on data from Internet agencies that mediate au pair stays, finds statistically significant differences in characteristics of an au pair from Eastern and Western Europe. It also states that there is coherence between the characteristics of au pairs and the economic situations of their countries of origin. The key differences in strategies of the “Eastern” and “Western” au pair are presented in the final typology.
Sociológia 2005, Vol. 37 (No. 5: 449-474)
Latent Economy of the Au Pair Cultural Exchange Programme. At the beginning of the 1990´s the typical participants of the au pair scheme were predominantly middle-class girls from Western Europe. However, this has changed in the last decades and girls from Eastern Europe have prevailed in the au pair stays which continue to be defined as “cultural exchange”. Thus the meaning of the term “au pair” has started to change, mainly because of the significantly different life experiences, material and structural backgrounds of au pairs from post-communist countries, such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Hungary, and because of the growing demand for a low-cost solution of child care in the West. The piecemeal transformation of the programme of cultural exchange to a part of the “child care strategy” in Western European countries gives the au pair scheme an economic dimension hidden behind the official definition of the programme.
This study, based on data from Internet agencies that mediate au pair stays, finds statistically significant differences in characteristics of an au pair from Eastern and Western Europe. It also states that there is coherence between the characteristics of au pairs and the economic situations of their countries of origin. The key differences in strategies of the “Eastern” and “Western” au pair are presented in the final typology.
Sociológia 2005, Vol. 37 (No. 5: 449-474)
Ako citovať:
ISO 690:
Bahna, M. 2005. Latentná ekonomika kultúrnej výmeny au pair. In Sociológia - Slovak Sociological Review, vol. 37, no.5, pp. 449-474. 0049-1225.
APA:
Bahna, M. (2005). Latentná ekonomika kultúrnej výmeny au pair. Sociológia - Slovak Sociological Review, 37(5), 449-474. 0049-1225.