Transnational parenting and professional identity: Experiences of migrant child protection social workers in Australia

Abstract

Migrant child protection social workers in Australia often face the profound challenge of transnational parenting—raising children across borders—while upholding professional standards that emphasise parental presence, attachment, and emotional availability. This study investigates how African-born migrant social workers interpret the experience of transnational parenting and how it shapes their professional identity and ethical decision-making within statutory child protection. Guided by a qualitative approach through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth interviews were conducted with eleven participants who met rigorous inclusion criteria, ensuring reflective insight into this dual role. Four key themes emerged: (1) the emotional fragmentation of living between two worlds—present at work but absent at home; (2) the ethical dissonance of promoting parenting standards they personally cannot fulfil; (3) the strategic silence maintained in the workplace to avoid stigma and professional judgment; and (4) the transformative potential of using personal hardship as a source of empathy and professional insight. The study concludes that parenting from a distance is not merely a private struggle but a deeply professionally consequential experience that reshapes how social workers understand authority, care, and ethical responsibility. Participants are not diminished by their parenting circumstances; rather, many become more compassionate practitioners, though at significant personal cost. Implications for social work practice include the urgent need for culturally responsive supervision, emotionally safe workspaces, and practitioner education that legitimises the emotional and ethical complexities of migrant caregiving.