Education Excellence and Innovation Management: A 2025 Vision to Sustain Economic Development during Global Challenges
The Impact of Socio-Economic Issues on Families’ Cultural
Socialisation and Participation: The Case Study Research in Latvia
Ilze KACANE
Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
[email protected] Abstract
The impact of families’ lifestyle and cultural orientation on young people’s cultural knowledge and
interactions is determined by subjective and objective factors of well-being. In addition, cultural
principles such as family attitudes, intergenerational dialogue, shared commitments, passing down
values, traditions, customs, and patterns of cooperation are important for creating the conditions for
economic success. The effect of culture on economic performance may be perceived on the fact that a
family is the basic unit of the country’s economy and each family is the economic mainstay of its
members. The aim of the research is to carry out qualitative data analysis on the impact of socially
and economically most pressing issues on families, their well-being and lifestyles, cultural
socialisation and participation. The empirical data have been obtained from 10 family case studies
and intergenerational semi-structured in-depth interviews in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas of
Latvia. The research has been carried out in the framework of the project “Cultural Heritage and
Identities of Europe’s Future (CHIEF) supported by the EU Research and Innovation programme
Horizon 2020 and conducted across nine countries.
Keywords: Family, Intergenerational Dialogue, Culture, Socio-Economic Impact.
Introduction
Culture is a complex phenomenon that traditionally is seen as a broad anthropological and
sociological structure, i.e. as a set of attitudes and practices. Culture not only resides within an
economic milieu, but it can be approached and defined as economy, “If culture can be thought of as a
system of beliefs, values, customs, etc. shared by a group, then cultural interactions among members
of the group or between them and members of other groups can be modelled as transactions or
exchanges of symbolic or material goods within an economising framework.” (Throsby, 2001, p. 10)
Among diverse facets of culture there are virtuous and life-enhancing qualities. Being a social asset
culture can provide important social and economic benefits: it enhances the quality of life and
increases overall well-being for both individuals and countries.
According to Latvian policy documents, culture is not only preservation and management of tangible
and intangible cultural heritage, but also a strategic means leading to the national stability and
security, as well as to economic development of the country. In long-term policy documents, e.g.
“Sustainable Development Strategy of Latvia until 2030” (VARAM, 2010), culture is defined as “an
important national foundation without which the country’s existence and successful development
would not be possible.” (Romanovska and Kacane, 2019, p. 98) Cultural conditions, in which
economic activity occurs, are directly linked to economic outcomes and, vice versa, economic growth
determines the development and preservation of culture, as well as cultural behaviours (socialisation
and participation practices) of individuals and groups.
The study has been carried out in the framework of the project “Cultural Heritage and Identities of
Europe’s Future (CHIEF) supported by the EU Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020
and conducted across nine countries: the United Kingdom, Latvia, Croatia, Georgia, Turkey, Spain,
Slovakia, India and Germany. In each of the project countries within the “Research on
Intergenerational Dynamics of Cultural Socialization” that explores family settings as one of the most
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important sites of informal cultural socialisation, 10 families were selected to identify socially,
economically and politically pressing issues and factors facilitating and/or hindering inter-cultural
communication and cultural participation. Cultural identities and practices of the young people are
being shaped by many various aspects: it is not only multiple interactions in the framework of the
procedural model “family – school – society”, but primarily economic conditions and socio-cultural
environment of the country and region, as well as national and regional cultural policies. (Kacane,
2020)
Methodology
Twenty-six in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with representatives of
three (in exceptional cases – two) generations from 10 families from September 2019 until January
2020, covering 34 individual family members. They represented geographical differences (rural,
semi-urban and urban; mostly located in south-eastern region of Latvia – Latgale), various degrees of
openness to inter-group communication, and heterogeneous socio-demographic variability – 12
young people aged 14-25 (5 females and 7 males); 11 people from the middle generation representing
parents or similar (9 females and 2 males); and 11 people from the older generation representing
grandparents or similar (8 females and 3 males). The interviews, the average length of each being
round 60 minutes, were conducted with each family member separately, however, in isolated cases,
when it was impossible to do so, they ran as conversations with several family members. One
interview with a young person took place via Skype video call. The families represent (or are related
to) various ethno-religious groups (Latvians, Russians, Poles, Jews, Belarusians; Catholics,
Lutherans, Old Believers, Orthodox). All the interviewees, but one, were the citizens of Latvia.
Before conducting the interviews, permissions from interviewees to use audio recording devices were
obtained. In addition to audio recording, detailed participant notes were taken to record the context of
the interview, the key themes that emerged in the course of the interview, and the reflections on the
process of interview. Due to data anonymization, the interviewees were asked to replace their first
names and surnames with self-pseudonyms. The languages of the interviews were Latvian and
Russian based on the preference of the interviewee.
Results
According to the majority of the interviewees, family is a space of relaxation and purposeful
alienation from global and, in many cases, national and regional issues. In general, families prefer
topics contributing to building a free and easy atmosphere in their family circle, nevertheless, the
theme of current concerns and most pressing issues was most actively discussed during the interviews
mostly aimed at gaining insights on intergenerational dynamics and young people’s engagement with
culture and cultural heritage. The impact of socially and economically most pressing issues on
families, their lifestyles, cultural socialisation and participation were most deeply discussed by the
representatives of the middle and older generations testifying to existing huge concerns that are not
always shared with the younger generation.
Economic Conditions
The quality of life in Latvia varies between regions; expressed in per capita income, it remains very
pronounced. Social protection is limited therefore housing conditions are unsatisfactory for a
relatively large part of the population. The Latvian financial and governance crisis (2008–2010),
affected by the global financial crisis, caused economic and political chaos in the country, entailing a
radical consolidation of the general government budget, which continues to have an effect to this
today. Although the economic crisis is not deeply rooted in young people’s memory, they are aware
of the impact of the dramatic events experienced at that time on the Latvian economy and family
lifestyle. The interviewed younger generation representatives believe that their families are currently
financially secured, nevertheless young people are aware of today’s economic challenges; they
provide their views on possible solutions to the problems; these solutions have emerged from
discussions with their peers, “[…] sometimes my friends and me think that the Baltic States could
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unite, since Latvian economy goes into recession; more people die than are born; more people go
away than arrive, and therefore, in my opinion, these small countries should be united.” (Migle
Migla, male, 14, F4, urban)
The interviewed middle and older generation representatives are concerned about the
disproportionality of wages and pensions relative to the increase in the total cost of living (e.g. fuel
prices). According to the elderly interviewees, the economic conditions are the ones that distinguish a
genuinely European country from Latvia and a true European from a resident of Latvia who wants to
be a true European, but because of various restrictions it is not possible to satisfy this wish. Many
elderly people consider they are not true Europeans because of poor economic conditions, “Why
should they [people in Latvia] count every penny? There is nothing like this in the EU”. (Krjostnaja
Mihailova, female, 67, F4, urban)
Despite financial difficulties and limitation of their needs, parents support the younger generation and
invest in children’s development in the hope of a better life for them in the future. This gives a
distorted impression that the family is not facing economic problems. The middle and older
generations not always talk directly about their financial problems but, on the contrary, they tend to
appreciate more what they have, not to aspire to material things and not to complain about something
they do not have. Such attitudes towards life are rooted in their religiousness where patience, modesty
and gratitude are among the most valuable human qualities. An older-generation faithful woman, who
lives near a Catholic church, attends the Mass every Sunday and has also instilled church service in
her grandson, stresses, “[…], we’re grateful for having food on the table, something to wear and we
can’t cry that we don’t have, I don’t know, the latest make of car or one produced last year, or we
can’t fly or go somewhere”. (Koshka Kafe, female, 68, F3, rural)
Individual social groups, e.g. large families, are hit particularly hard by economic difficulties. The
interviewed widowed mother of five children, who lives in a rural territory of the Latgale region,
explains that at a certain time of her life, when the situation had become critical, she officially gave
up her children hoping that they would be entrusted to a boarding school which would provide
regular meals and warm premises. (Ludviga Felikss, female, 42, F5, rural) Consequently, financial
problems, responsibility for the maintenance of children, an excessive workload and busy schedules,
as well as depression as a side-effect, are among the reasons why cultural activities, particularly high-
quality paid cultural events, are considered secondary and large families refuse to attend them to save
the family budget, “We don’t go to theatres with a family so frequently. Not a single time have we
been to the opera either. […] For five people it is quite an expensive entertainment.” (Raičuks
Zaraija5, male, 19, F1, rural) The interviewed young people from a large family acknowledged that
they do not have such opportunities as children from single-child families and the preservation of
culture is only possible if a person is free from financial and economic problems.
Instability
According to the interviewees, the lack of stability, constant changes and reforms, are considered a
long-standing problem for Latvia since the beginning of the “Third Awakening” (the second half of
the 1980s – the beginning of the 1990s) when the previous political and economic system collapsed.
Living at times of constant changes in power, borders, money, etc. causes a sense of chaos and
despair in human consciousness. Therefore, instability is one of the causes of burning out, emotional
fatigue and depression of the interviewed middle and older generation representatives, and it does not
contribute to their cultural participation.
Government decisions are often described as irrational and, in the interviewees’ opinion, they are not
improving but, on the contrary, destroying the infrastructure, which has been recently created or re-
established. Heavy criticism has been expressed in relation to the Administrative and Territorial
Reform Aimed at National Development and Ensuring Welfare of the Population. As part of the
reform, the number of municipalities will be significantly reduced by 2021 and the “deepening rural-
urban divide” will be addressed. (OECD) However, the interviewed middle-aged and elderly people
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confirmed that they are exhausted of endless reforms. Parents confess that they also do not
recommend their children to stay in the countryside or regions, but suggest them to receive education
in cities. Due to population ageing and depopulation, the availability of services (health care,
transport, education un culture centres, shops, etc.) to the population still living in the Latvian rural
space is decreasing, the places of the provision of services have been moved to more distant locations
and have become unavailable to many people due to financial and other reasons. Consequently, the
rural-urban gap is not narrowing but, vice versa, expanding, contributing to depopulation of rural
areas in favour of cities and to stratification.
In circumstances where the population density in many regional communities of Latvia is less than 10
people per 1 square kilometre, the socio-economic development, along with the reduction in jobs,
clearly reveals pronounced depopulation trends in rural territories. Shrinking population leads to
closure of schools, health and other institutions, most notably in rural areas and towns located in
regions, “Here, as soon as primary school is finished, children go to a secondary school or vocational
school. They all go to Riga mostly, and they study at universities there, and stay there. […] There’s
nothing to do here. There’s a very large emptiness here. There are no jobs here, there are very few
people left here. Everybody’s gone.” (Vika Daugaviņa, female, 74, F8, rural)
However, in addition to the general instability in the country as a macrospace, the interviewees of the
middle generation mention the particularly pressing issue of instability in the working environment
related to the microspace where, given the tensions in the labour market and reforms in certain areas
(e.g. the education system), instability, labour volume and competitiveness are increasing,
manifestations of mobbing and bossing become evident, people are afraid of losing their jobs; all this
affects the emotional well-being of an individual and eventually also the family microspace. The
interviewees highlight the burn-out syndrome and exhaustion, a gradual deterioration in human
health.
The interviewed middle generation representatives are concerned about the fact that their own
effectiveness and that of other employees working in public institutions is declining due to instability,
excessive bureaucracy and irrational activities. As a result of the financial crisis, bureaucratization
has significantly increased leaving significant impact not only on families but their life-style and
cultural participation.
Depopulation and Emigration
According to UN statistics, in 2000, Latvia’s population stood at 2.38 million. At the beginning of
2019, it was less than 1.95 million. (Eurydice, 2020) Since joining the EU (2004), Latvia has lost
one-fifth of its population. However, economic migration is not the only reason for the country’s
declining population: a low fertility rate and high mortality rate are among contributing factors.
Based on the statistical data, there is a big concern that in 5-6 decades, Latvia may cease to be a
nation.
The interviewees are concerned about Latvia’s future and they are aware of the fact that in the
coming years Latvia will be even emptier, but they express the belief that nowadays people need to
go wherever there are workplaces. A large majority of the interviewees regret depopulation of Latvia,
but they do not condemn emigration since they understand the reasons why people decide to leave the
country. Neither representatives of the middle nor older generation prevent children from emigration.
In the first wave of emigration, it was mostly the middle-aged people affected by the crisis that
emigrated in search of employment, but today it is young people that are leaving, often encouraged
by their parents, with a view to acquiring competitive education and developing a successful career in
the future. This nevertheless endangers the transfer of cultural values to younger generations oriented
towards supranational and global, “I think that the old will still preserve what we have, but there will
be nobody to hand it down to”. (Marija Murāne, female, 83, F6, urban)
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Some young people, after acquiring knowledge, competences and skills abroad, hope to use them in
Latvia, since these young people have a sense of belonging to the country where they come from, “To
my mind, it is better to make one’s own country better than to go to some other country, which
already is better. If I go to some other country, I am nobody, since I am a newcomer, which means
that I am an immigrant”. (Ārzemnieks Felikss, male, 18, F5, rural) In some interviewed young
people’s opinion, emigration means the break with ancestors and the lifestyle introduced by them.
Unemployment vs. workforce shortages
Unemployment in Latvia increased dramatically during the economic crisis, but the share of long-
term unemployed remains high. The interviewees relate the long-term unemployment problem to
individual personal qualities, pointing out that there is a certain group of people who do not want and
are not ready to take up employment or to engage in social support programmes, because over the
years, they have lost their job skills due to different dependencies (alcoholism, etc.) or other social
problems. Consequently, employers, including the individual ones, face difficulties in finding
permanent and seasonal workers and bear most of the burden of work on their own shoulders, rarely
leaving the rural areas for a longer time, taking leave or attending important cultural events outside
the territory of their residence. This points to stratification of Latvia’s population, i.e. part of the
active workforce suffers from overload, while others do not establish lasting employment
relationships. In both cases, there is a decline in cultural participation and consumption.
Thus, culture is impacted by various economic factors and is threatened if people face many socio-
economic issues. “People are able to think about culture only if they are provided with everything,
and life is favourable”. (Ārzemnieks Felikss, male, 18, F5, rural)
Conclusion
The qualitative data analysis allows concluding that in today’s Latvia the relationship between socio-
economic factors and culture, as well as the effects of economic, cultural, and political
interdependence are clearly observed. Although families acknowledge they have aspirations for their
children and they are striving to develop their cultural knowledge and cultural literacy by maintaining
dynamic inter-generational communication based on specific inherited customs, traditions, cultural
values or newly created patterns, they also face many hindrances. Among the most often discussed
areas of concerns that have directly impacted the families, villages, towns or the country they live in,
there are unfavourable economic conditions, instability, depopulation, long-term unemployment and,
thus, impossibility to keep work and life (family) balance. These factors have a negative impact not
only on intergenerational dynamics in informal cultural socialisation, but also on Latvia’s socio-
economic development establishing the threat for the existence of culture in the long term. Families
revealed both depressive symptoms and hope for the better future for the younger generation and the
nation, although they also expressed fear that the community, which all the time speaks and thinks
only about economic problems, is a community where culture cannot develop. They also emphasized
that perceiving culture as a marginal aspect regionally and nationally, where the priority focus is on
economic challenges, threatens the sustainability of the family, country and nation. Based on the
obtained data, culture is not a spiritual value only and it should be looked upon like upon the
economy. In Latvia, the problems of survival are the ones that affect and will affect cultural
development in the future; socio-economic issues may lead to the disruption of traditions and “the
culture of poverty”. Although all generations are united in the hope that the fundamentals and
cornerstone Latvian culture will be preserved in the future, they assume that culture will change in
the coming years and decades. The reasons for that, as seen by the interviewees, are economic issues,
globalisation as a process of connecting and open borders, cultural fusion tendencies, emigration and
immigration.
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Acknowledgment
The project “Cultural Heritage and Identities of Europe’s Future” has received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement
No 770464.
References
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• Romanovska, A. and Kacane, I. (2019) ‘Understanding the Role of Culture and Cultural
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http://www.pkc.gov.lv/sites/default/files/Saturs/Latvija_2030.pdf
• Interviewees data:
• Ārzemnieks Felikss (male, 18). Family 5 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, October 13,
2019.
• Kosha Kafe (female, 68). Family 3 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, September 20, 2019.
• Krjostnaja Mihailova (female, 67). Family 4 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, October
03, 2019.
• Ludviga Felikss (female, 42). Family 5 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, October 11,
2019.
• Marija Murāne (female 83). Family 6 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, November 1,
2019.
• Migle Migla (male, 14). Family 7 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, November 29, 2019.
• Raičuks Zaraija5 (male, 19). Family 1 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, September 9,
2019.
• Vika Daugaviņa (female 74). Family 8 Interview. Conducted by I. Kacane, December 28,
2019.
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