Cross-cultural research on discipline techniques, values, and academic expectations of Turkish and Finnish mothers

The modernization and economic growth of Turkey has had an impact on parenting practices, values, and expectations of Turkish families. Similarly, a change towards further individualism and independence can be noticed in child rearing practices and values in Finland. This study aimed to investigate child rearing and discipline approaches, values transferred to children, and academic and future expectations and views of Turkish and Finnish mothers. Interviews were conducted to gather qualitative data from 15 Turkish and 15 Finnish mothers, 30 mothers in total, who had adolescent children. The data was analyzed using content analysis. Findings showed that Turkish and Finnish mothers views differed but similarities were also present. Both groups valued family lives and benevolence, Turkish mothers reported having more rules regarding the child, type 1 punishments were the most used disciplinary techniques, and had high academic expectations. Finnish mothers, on the other hand, were seen to have lower academic expectations, more rules regarding the family and the home, and the most used disciplinary method was type 2 punishments. Since there are no studies comparing Turkish and Finnish mothers in this field, this study is regarded to be valuable in the field of cross-cultural research. Keywords: Child rearing, disciplinary practices, values, parental expectations, culture