This research will explore how social workers in the Swedish childcare system argue about semi coercive measures, tensions between voluntariness and coercion, and their discretion for those actions. Semi coercive measures are regulated by The Care of Young Persons Act (LVU), section 22. To investigate this a qualitative method was adopted. Eight semi- structured interviews were conducted with social workers that have experience when it comes to work within social services regarding children and young people. The research utilises a thematic analysis as a means of processing the data. To analyse the results, Lipsky’s theoretical concept; Street-level bureaucracy and Foucault’s theoretical concept of power; discipline and disciplining based on panopticism and pastoral power, are used. The analysis of the results indicates that the respondent’s views of the tension between coercive and voluntary measures differ, and that there is no clear distinction. Most of the respondents considered the regulations on semi coercive measures as unnecessary while others thought they are a useful tool when implemented correctly. Moreover, social workers use similar forms of semi coercive measures but not according to section 22 LVU. Respondents use their discretion in different ways, which influences their views on whether the section is necessary or not.

Fler länder har under Covid-19-pandemin rapporterat att deras restriktioner har inneburit en ökning av våld i nära relation. I Sverige har socialtjänsten det yttersta ansvaret att erbjuda stöd och hjälp till en våldsutsatt kvinna. Under pandemin förväntas socialtjänsten att ge ett likartat stöd som innan pandemin trots de uppmaningar och restriktioner som utfärdats. Syftet med denna studie är således att undersöka hur socialsekreterare upplever sitt arbete med kvinnor som utsätts för våld i nära relation under rådande pandemi. Studien är baserad på material från åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare från olika kommuner i Sverige. Michael Lipskys (2010) teori om gatubyråkrati används för att undersöka och förstå socialsekreterarnas handlingsutrymme i relation till den våldsutsatta kvinnan under rådande pandemi. Vidare används Randall Collins (2004) teori om interaktionsritualer för att förstå sammanhanget som studiens socialsekreterare och de våldsutsatta kvinnorna befinner sig. Studiens resultat visar att socialsekreterarnas arbete karaktäriseras av flera aspekter, bland annat av den betydelse som motivations- och informationsarbetet har för att etablera en första kontakt med den våldsutsatta kvinnan samt hur en hög grad av handlingsutrymme krävs för att både kunna ge rätt stöd och upprätthålla en interaktionsritual med klienten. Covid-19-pandemin har förändrat socialsekreterarnas arbete genom att de inte längre kan ha fysiska möten i samma utsträckning som tidigare, vilket visar sig vara en förlust i deras yrkesroll. / Several countries have reported an increase in intimate partner violence during the Covid-19 pandemic due to their restricted measures to control the spread of the virus. In Sweden, the social services have the responsibility to offer services in the form of support and help to a woman subjected to intimate partner violence. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the social services are expected to provide similar services as before the pandemic, despite the issued exhortation and restrictions. The purpose of this study is to examine how social workers experience their work with women who are subjected to intimate partner violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study is based on data from eight semi-structured interviews with social workers from different municipalities in Sweden. Michael Lipsky’s (2010) theory about street-level bureaucracy is used to examine and understand the social workers’ discretion in relation to the abused women during the current pandemic. Furthermore, Randal Collins’ (2004) theory about interaction rituals is used to understand the context in which the social workers in this study and the abused women find themselves.  The results of the study show that the work of social workers is characterized by several aspects, including the importance of motivational and information work to establish a first contact with the abused woman and how a high degree of room for maneuver is required to both provide the right support and maintain an interaction ritual with the client. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the work of social workers in that they can no longer have physical encounters to the same extent as before, proving to be a loss in their professional role.

Background: The curriculum for both adapted upper secondary school and adapted compulsory school states that everyone within the school must use the curriculum. Nevertheless, it is stated in the introductory chapter of the curriculum that the curriculum is aimed to all teachers and for all teachers. It shows an exclusion of other professions, including student assistants, which are so important for students in need of adaptations. Along with them, the school's goal is to provide the right conditions for the students and the conditions come from the staff but also from the collaboration meeting that the school staff has together with other professions and relatives of the students.Aim: The purpose of the study is to interpret and understand the picture of how student assistants at an adapted school, experience power structures and power relations that they may encounter in a collaborative process. The issues related to the purpose are: What perceptions do student assistants have about their participation and influence in a collaboration process and what perceptions do the student assistants have about their room for manoeuvre in a collaborative process.Methods: I have done a qualitative semi-structured interview study. Where I interviewed five student assistants.Results: The results show that the student assistants may participate before the collaboration meeting but not in the meeting. The results also show that they have room for manoeuvre that they can use when they encounter resistance in the operations.Conclusions: The result of the study showed that there is a balance of power based on mandate and status within the organisation because the educators and principals have the overall decisive decision-making.

Since August 2022, the use of cell phones in Swedish schools is regulated by law. In this study, the implementation of the cell phone ban is studied from the perspective of upper secondary school teachers as an example of implementation within a street-level bureaucracy setting. Interviews were conducted with eight teachers to examine what factors they experience as affecting the implementation, how they act while implementing the ban, what discretion they experience in the implementation and what their opinions on discretion are. The study shows that the teachers generally understand the law and its implementation, but that knowledge-related issues concerning for example the implementation in specific situations exist. The willingness to implement varies among the teachers, which mainly seems to be connected to their views on cell phone use in the classroom and – in some cases – views on policy efficiency. Some teachers also have issues implementing the ban due to lack of time, information and support from colleagues, the number of students they must keep an eye on, and students opposing the ban. While several teachers collect the students’ phones or tell them to put them away, there are also those who do not act to implement the ban or only do it in certain cases. Finally, the teachers all experience discretion and find this positive, but some teachers see issues with other teachers having discretion and not implementing the ban.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka vilka förutsättningar biståndsbedömare har för att bevilja en person ett särskilt boende samt hur handlingsutrymmet ser ut enligt biståndsbedömare i utredningar av särskilt boende. Vi använde en kvalitativ metod för att uppnå studiens syfte och har således genomfört sex enskilda intervjuer med biståndsbedömare i fyra olika kommuner i Mellansverige. Det insamlade materialet från samtliga intervjutillfällen analyserades utifrån Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater. Resultatet visade att samtliga respondenter vid utredningar av särskilt boende beaktar anhörigperspektivet, kvarboendeprincipen samt det omfattande individuella hjälpbehovet för att bevilja ett särskilt boende. De kommunala kriterierna för särskilt boende var likartade oavsett kommun, däremot fanns det stora kommunala skillnader gällande trygghetsboenden. Resultatet visade att de organisatoriska ramarna påverkar biståndsbedömares förutsättningar att beakta den hjälpsökandes psykosociala behov. Biståndsbedömarna upplevde sig ha ett brett men otydligt handlingsutrymme men som möjliggör individuella bedömningar. Respondenterna upplever socialtjänstlagen och de kommunala riktlinjerna som otydliga, detta menar respondenterna har sina för- respektive nackdelar i samband med beslutsfattande. Otydligheten inger frihet samtidigt som det begränsar deras handlingsutrymme. Vidare upplevde vissa biståndsbedömare att de kommunala kriterierna för att bevilja ett biståndsbedömt boende många gånger strider mot deras etiska värdegrund vilket påverkar deras arbetstillfredsställelse negativt. / The purpose of this study was to examine the conditions that social workers in elderly care have to take into consideration and approve in order to provide assistance-assessed homes for the elderly, and what the discretion looks like according to social workers in elderly care in the investigation for assistance-assessed homes. To achieve the purpose a qualitative method was used which consisted of six conducted individual interviews from four different municipalities in central Sweden. The data collected from the interviews was analyzed based on Lipsky's theory of street-level bureaucrats. The result showed that all respondents adhere to the relatives' perspective, the principle of remal Service law and the municipal guidelines in order to grant measures regarding assistance-assessed homes. The municipal criteria for assistant-assessed homes were similar regardless of municipality, however, there were large municipal differences regarding assistant-assessed sheltered homes. The result showed that the organizational framework affects the social workers ability to take the psychosocial needs of the person seeking help into account. The social workers felt that they had a wide but unclear discretion, but the discretion made it possible for individual assessment. The respondents perceive that the Social Service law and municipal guidelines as obscure which in turn has its advantages and disadvantages in regard to decision-making. The obscurity gives freedom at the same time as it limits their discretion. Furthermore, some social workers perceived that the municipal criterias for granting assistance-assessed homes sometimes contradict their ethical values which could affect their work satisfaction negatively.

Syftet med studien var att beskriva socialsekreterares upplevelse av sin arbetssituation i förhållande till möjligheter och utmaningar i arbetet. Data samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer som sedan presenterades utifrån en tematisk analys. Resultaten visade att socialsekreterares arbetssituation påverkas av flera faktorer som ömsesidigt påverkar varandra och av denna anledning uppstod svårigheter att upprätta tydliga skiljelinjer mellan temana. Ett viktigt resultat var att uppfattningen av arbetsbelastningen inte endast bör mätas i kvantitativa mått, utan att även aspekter som ärendets komplexitet påverkar hur arbetsbelastningen uppfattas. Ett annat fynd var betydelsen av socialt stöd från kollegor. Resultatet visar att detta lyfts fram som den viktigaste stödformen för upplevelsen av trivsel och välbefinnande i arbetet, men att höga nivåer av stöd inte kan kompensera för en ohållbar arbetssituation. Vidare finns det flera skäl att fortsätta arbetsmiljöarbetet på socialtjänsten, inte bara för att förbättra socialsekreterares arbetssituation och välbefinnande, utan även för att en osund arbetssituation medför konsekvenser för såväl klienter som för organisationen i helhet. / The aim of this study was to describe social workers' experience of their work situation in relation to opportunities and challenges in their work. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews which were then analyzed based on a thematic analysis. The results showed that the work situation of social workers is affected by several factors that mutually affect each other and for this reason, difficulties arose in establishing distinct dividing lines between the themes. A significant finding was that the perception of the workload cannot only be measured in quantitative measures, but that aspects such as the complexity of the case affect how the workload is perceived. Another key finding was the importance of peer social support. The result shows that this is highlighted as the most important form of support for comfort and well-being at work, however, high levels of support cannot replace a sustainable work environment. Furthermore, there are several reasons to continue improving the working environment at social services, not only to improve social workers' work situation and well-being, but also because it has negative consequences for both clients and the organization as a whole.

The purpose of this study is to explore how social workers in financial assistance describe their work situation. The aim is also to investigate how social workers in financial assistance describe their discretion and whether there is a relationship between their work situation and discretion. A qualitative method in the form of six semi-structured interviews has been used to obtain relevant empirical data for our study. We interviewed six social workers in the field of financial assistance with different levels of experience. The social workers who participated work either in the financial assistance intake unit or ongoing financial assistance for clients of varying ages who apply for continued financial assistance each month. Our study shows that social workers in financial assistance have different definitions of discretion. The first definition of discretion implies that social workers' discretion is created and adjusted by various factors such as laws, management and supervisors, personal preferences and clients. The second definition describes discretion as a right that comes with working as a social worker on financial assistance and implies that discretion is explored and tested in the work by the social worker himself. Our study also shows that the work situation of a social worker in financial assistance and their discretion influence each other. Greater discretion has a positive effect on the social worker's work situation and limited discretion has the opposite effect. A heavy workload and lack of time, while management and supervisors try to impose constraints on the social worker, have a negative impact on a social worker's discretion. This in turn leads to stress for social workers in financial assistance. The results of the study also show that factors such as experience and room for interpretation of the law increase the discretion, which contributes to a more positive attitude towards social workers’ work situation.

Ce mémoire aborde l’inclusion des personnes issues de l’immigration dans le tissu social municipal de la Ville de Sherbrooke, offrant une analyse de l’action municipale déployée à partir du point de vue des personnes concernées. À partir du terrain ethnographique effectué dans la Ville de Sherbrooke visant à observer l’interculturel qui y est déployé, des perceptions de plusieurs concepts sont mises de l’avant – par exemple : l’appartenance, l’administration municipale et ce qui constitue la diversité. Pour se faire, ce mémoire débute avec une vue d’ensemble du projet de recherche et installe les bases théoriques, conceptuelles et méthodologiques nécessaires à l’approfondissement des enjeux soulevés. L’entrée en la matière est poursuivie alors que se décline le contexte ethnographique dans lequel s’insère la problématique étudiée, tout en portant une attention aux dynamiques multiniveaux qui se déclinent à l’échelle du Canada, du Québec, et de la Ville de Sherbrooke. Des données sur la Ville de Sherbrooke ainsi qu’une part de l’action municipale déployée pour l’inclusion de la diversité y figurent. L’entrée dans le vif du sujet débute ensuite avec la présentation des données issues du projet de recherche International Intercultural Cities Comparative Study (IICCS), offrant un portrait du point de vue administratif sherbrookois quant aux relations interculturelles et à la diversité. Dans la même trame, sont subséquemment présentées les données récoltées auprès de résidents sherbrookois issus de l’immigration, qui ont participé à des groupes de discussion portant sur leur perception de l’inclusion de la diversité à Sherbrooke. Enfin, une discussion porte sur les données issues des groupes de discussion des fonctionnaires et des Sherbrookois issus de l’immigration. Cette discussion se veut une réflexion sur l’inclusion des personnes issues de l’immigration dans le tissu social sherbrookois et abordant les écarts de perception des différents acteurs. Finalement, les points saillants du projet de recherche et quelques constats finaux sont mis de l’avant, et la boucle sera bouclée en soulevant d’éventuelles pistes de réflexion. / This dissertation addresses the inclusion of people of immigrant background in the municipal social fabric of the City of Sherbrooke, offering an analysis of municipal action deployed from the perspective of the people concerned. Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in the City of Sherbrooke to observe interculturality in action, perceptions of several concepts are put forward - for example: belonging, municipal administration and what constitutes diversity. To this end, this dissertation is divided into five chapters. It begins with an overview of the research project, laying the theoretical, conceptual and methodological foundations required to explore the issues raised. The introduction to the subject is followed by a description of the ethnographic context in which the issue under study is embedded, with particular attention to the multi-level dynamics at play in Canada, Quebec and the City of Sherbrooke. Data on the City of Sherbrooke are included, as well as an overview of municipal initiatives undertaken in favour of inclusiveness and diversity. This is followed by a presentation of data from the International Intercultural Cities Comparative Study (IICCS) research project, providing a snapshot of Sherbrooke's administrative perspective on intercultural relations and diversity. This is followed by a presentation of data gathered from Sherbrooke residents of immigrant background, who took part in focus groups on their perceptions of diversity inclusion in Sherbrooke. Lastly, a discussion focuses on the findings of the focus groups with municipal representatives and residents. This discussion is intended as a reflection on the inclusion of people of immigrant background in Sherbrooke's social web, and address gaps in the perceptions of the various players. To conclude, the highlights of the research project and some final findings are put forward, and we come full circle by raising possible avenues for further reflection.

[pt] O trabalho buscou investigar a implementação das políticas da educação inclusiva na rede municipal de Corumbá/MS a partir das percepções dos agentes implementadores. Como objetivos específicos buscamos conhecer como as políticas educacionais voltadas aos alunos com deficiência são implementadas no município e quais as condições de atendimento desses alunos na rede municipal. Focalizamos em particular a interação entre a gestão das escolas com a Secretaria Municipal de Educação e a maneira como ocorrem os atendimentos voltados aos alunos com deficiência, considerando a atuação da gestão e professores das unidades escolares. Como referencial teórico utilizamos os estudos sobre burocracia de médio escalão e de nível de rua, para entendermos como essas relações se estabelecem. Utilizamos também o contexto histórico das políticas da educação especial para entendermos de que maneira elas se consolidam na sociedade brasileira, além dos Estudos sobre a Deficiência (Disability Studies) que nos ofereceram condições de chaves de interpretação dos fenômenos por meio da perspectiva sociológica da deficiência, sobretudo através do conceito de Capacitismo. Inicialmente foi aplicado um survey às equipes de gestão e aos professores de todas as escolas urbanas da rede municipal de Corumbá, totalizando dezesseis unidades escolares. A partir da análise dos dados coletados e dos microdados do Censo Escolar 2016 foram escolhidas três escolas para participar de um movimento posterior de pesquisa qualitativa. Esta fase qualitativa incluiu cerca de um mês de observação do cotidiano em cada escola e entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas com oito integrantes das equipes de gestão e dez professores. Esta segunda fase da pesquisa foi completada com a análise de documentos oficiais e seis entrevistas semiestruturadas com profissionais da Secretaria Municipal de Educação. Os resultados mostraram que os agentes implementadores das políticas da educação inclusiva, apesar de seus esforços para realização do trabalho, encontram dificuldades que interferem diretamente em sua atuação. O funcionamento precário de algumas unidades escolares, a pressão de responsabilização quanto aos resultados sem a oferta de condições adequadas de trabalho, o desmantelamento nos últimos anos da equipe pedagógica responsável pelo atendimento dos alunos com deficiência da rede municipal são fatores que impactam profundamente no trabalho desses profissionais. Atrelado a isso ressaltamos também as percepções desses agentes implementadores a respeito do conceito de deficiência e o fato da maior parte deles considerar os alunos com deficiência como incapazes. Este conjunto de fatores contribui para os resultados encontrados no Censo Escolar, que mostram que esses alunos, embora acessem à escola regular, no marco da política de inclusão educacional em vigor, encontram-se majoritariamente retidos nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, raramente completando as condições para sua efetiva inclusão escolar e social. / [en] The work sought to investigate the implementation of public policies of special education in the municipal system of Corumbá / MS based on the perceptions of the implementing agents. As specific objectives, we wanted to learn how educational policies aimed at students with disabilities are implemented in the municipality and what the conditions of attendance of these students are in the municipal system. We focused particularly on the interaction between the school board with the Municipal Department of Education, and the way the service to the disability students is provided considering the operation of the school management and teachers. As a theoretical framework, we use studies on middle-level and street-level bureaucracy to understand how these relationships are established. We also used the literature on the historical context of special education policies to understand how they were consolidated in Brazilian society, in addition to Disability Studies, which offered us keys to interpret phenomena through the sociological perspective of disability, especially throughout the Ableism concept. Initially a survey was applied to the management teams and teachers of all urban schools of the municipal system of Corumbá, summing sixteen school units. From the analysis of data collected and the microdata of the 2016 Brazilian School Census, three schools were chosen to participate in a following movement of qualitative research. This qualitative phase included about a month of observation of the daily life in each school and semi- structured interviews done with eight members of the management team and ten teachers. This second phase of research was than complemented with official documents analysis and six semi-structured interviews with professionals from the Municipal Education Department. The results showed that the agents implementing the policies of the special education, despite their efforts to carry out the work, find difficulties that interfere directly in their work. The precarious functioning of some school units, the pressure to hold the principals accountable for the school results, without the provision of adequate work conditions, and the dismantling in the last years of the educational team responsible to provide the service to the students with deficiency of the municipal system, are factors that impact the work of the professionals at school level. In addition to that we highlighted the perceptions of the implementing agents to the concept of disability and the fact of the majority of them considers disability students as unable. This set of factors contributes to the results found in the School Census that show that these students, although they attend the regular school, within the framework of the current policy of educational inclusion, are mostly retained in the initial years of Elementary Education, rarely completing the conditions for effective school and social inclusion.

Financial assistance from social services can be described as an important protection against financial vulnerability. Many of the people that seek out to get support in the form of financial aid are vulnerable people that are in need of an income. The purpose of this study is to explore the organizational conditions that caseworkers in financial assistance perceive as significant for their work with clients. We’ve performed semi-structured interviews with seven caseworkers that work in the department of financial assistance to gather in-depth insights into their experiences and perspectives about the organizational conditions. Using Lipsky's theory of street-level bureaucracy to analyze our results, we also connected our findings to previous research in the field. The findings reveal that control, demands and information are critical organizational factors that have a significant importance for their client work. Caseworkers experience that organizational conditions complicate client interactions, worsen relationships, and limit discretion. Caseworkers also desire more understanding, trust, clearer information, and reduced workloads. Previous research highlights the importance of balancing organizational demands with client needs, emphasizing the need for supportive policies and effective communication to enhance social work practice. Future research could explore implementing new approaches suggested by caseworkers to see how these changes would impact their work and improve the quality of financial assistance. Furthermore, future research could also investigate the perspectives of the organization to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject.