The aim of this study was to investigate how organizational and child-related factors, as well as the general approach, affect the child's participation and the extent to which children are involved in the child protection agency child care investigations. Based on the following questions, the study investigated to which extent, and in which way, children are involved in investigations: 1. To what extent and in what way are children involved in the Swedish child protection agency? 2. How are children's involvement affected of child-related factors? 3. How are children's involvement affected of organizational factors? The result has been analyzed based on Michael Lipsky's Street-level-bureaucracy (2010), in addition, Harry Shier`s (2001) participation ladder has also been used. The result showed that most of social workers considered that the factors of time, workload, competence development and staff density affects children's participation. Drawing on the answers from the study, we conclude that there is generally a high level of participation within the Swedish child protection agency. Children hold a significant place in social welfare investigation cases, although social workers could involve them to a greater extent in the decision making process.

Abstract The aim of this study is to retrieve knowledge about how teachers in the preschool talk about children’s participation and influence in the work of pedagogical documentation, and what they think about children’s integrity associated whit it. I have used qualitative interview as method, and I have interviewed five teachers from four different preschools. The result from my study shows that the teachers don’t see so much of children’s participations and influence in the work of pedagogical documentation. One contributor to that they think is the less of time. The teachers however, would like to let the children take more part of and have more influence in the documentation. They also believe that documentation cannot be pedagogical until you’ve done something whit it. When it comes to children’s integrity in the pedagogical documentation, the teachers feel like they don’t see to it as much as they should do. The teachers have a clear view on what pedagogical documentation is and how children’s participation and integrity should be in it, but they aren’t there just yet. / Sammanfattning Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med mer kunskap om hur förskollärare tänker om barns delaktighet och inflytande i den pedagogiska dokumentationen, samt hur de tänker om barns integritet i samband med den. Jag har använt mig av en kvalitativ intervjustudie, där jag har intervjuat fem stycken förskollärare från fyra olika förskolor. Resultatet av min studie visar att förskollärarna inte ser så mycket av barns delaktighet och inflytande i dagens dokumentation, en bidragande faktor till det anser de vara bristen på tid. Förskollärarna skulle däremot vilja låta barnen vara mer delaktiga och ha ett större inflytande i dokumentationen, då de anser att en dokumentation inte blir pedagogisk förrän man gjort något med den. När det kommer till barns integritet i den pedagogiska dokumentationen, känner förskollärarna att de inte ser till den lika mycket som de kanske borde. Förskollärarna har en tydlig syn på vad pedagogisk dokumentation är och hur barns delaktighet och integritet i den borde vara, men de är inte riktigt där än.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur socialarbetare inom socialtjänsten i en kommun beskriver sitt arbete med barn och föräldrar där barn upplevt våld inom familjen.  Frågeställningarna handlade om hur barn görs delaktiga i socialtjänstens arbete och vilket stöd barn och föräldrar erhåller. Fem socialarbetare intervjuades utifrån en tematiserad intervjuguide och vinjett. De teoretiska perspektiven som användes i analysen var systemteori och risk- och skyddsfaktorer.  Resultatet visade på att barn är delaktiga i socialtjänstens arbete genom att de ges information och erbjuds samtal utifrån barnets behov.  Det framkom även att det finns ett helhetstänk inom socialtjänsten då både barn och föräldrar erbjuds stöd i familjer där barn upplevt våld. Dessutom visade resultatet på att socialtjänsten kan hjälpa till att utveckla det sociala nätverket hos familjerna. / The aim of this thesis was to study how social workers in social services in a municipality describe their work with children and parents in families where children have experienced violence within the family. The research questions concerned how children participate in social service work and what support children and parents receive. Five social workers were interviewed with a thematised interview guide and a vignette. The theoretical perspectives applied in the analysis were the systems theory and risk and protective factors. The results showed that children participate in social service work by being given information and support based on their needs. It also emerged that social services applied an overall policy of offering support to both children and parents in families where children have experienced violence. The results furthermore showed that social services can help families develop their social network.

BBIC, Barns behov i centrum, är ett arbetssätt, dokumentations- och handläggningssystem, vars syfte är att främja ett kunskapsbaserat socialt arbete. Under 2014 fick Socialstyrelsen i uppdrag av regeringen att vidareutveckla systemet. Revideringen syftade dels till att göra BBIC lättare att använda och att öka delaktigheten för barn och unga. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka socialsekreterares upplevelser av revideringen, utifrån dessa två delmål. Sex intervjuer genomfördes i tre olika kommuner i Mellansverige. Resultatet av studien visade att revideringen bidragit till ett betydligt enklare, tydligare och framförallt bättre strukturerat arbete, vilket minskat den tidsåtgång som tidigare lagts på dokumentation. Detta i sin tur innebar att det blivit lättare att informera, involvera och göra barn och unga mer delaktiga.  Studiens resultat tyder därmed på att BBIC efter revideringen har blivit lättare att använda och att delaktigheten har ökat. / BBIC is a working method, documentation and processing system with children’s needs in focus. The purpose is to promote social work based on knowledge. During 2014, the National Board of Health and Welfare was authorised by the government to further develop BBIC. The study partly focused on making BBIC easier to use and to increase the participation of children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to look into social workers’ experiences after that the revision took place. Six interviews were conducted in three different municipalities in the middle of Sweden. The result of the study showed that the revised BBIC contributed to a significantly simpler, clearer and above all a more structured way of working, reducing the time previously used on documentation. This in turn meant that it became easier to inform and to involve children and adolescents. The study result therefore indicates that BBIC has become easier to use after the revision and that the participation has increased.

The purpose of this study is to look into how the teachers in preschool describe how they work with the children based on participation and influence in preschool activities. In order to understand this, qualitative unstructured interviews were used with five preschool teachers in different businesses. When the study was analysed, it was based on Malaguccia’s theory of the three children. The collected data showed that the view of the children depends on whether they view the child's perspective or from a child perspective. The fact that they use the proximal development zone appeared in several stories from the business. Based on previous research which showed different atmospheres in pre-schools, where it is clearly possible to root in the pre-school teacher's approach. / Syftet med studien är att studera hur förskollärarna beskriver att de arbetar med barnens delaktighet och inflytande i förskolans verksamhet. För att förstå detta så användes kvalitativa ostrukturerade intervjuer med fem förskollärare i olika verksamheter. När studien analyserades så gjordes det utifrån Malaguccis teori om de tre barnen. Den insamlade datan visade på att synen på barnen beror på om de ser barns perspektiv eller utifrån ett barnperspektiv. Att de använder sig av den proximala utvecklingszonen framkom vid flera berättelser från verksamheten. Utifrån den tidigare forskningen som visade på olika atmosfärer i förskolans verksamheter, där det tydligt går att förankra i förskollärarens förhållningssätt.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att undersöka om metoden Signs-of-Safety kan öka barns delaktighet i barnutredningar gjorda av socialsekreterare. Frågeställningar är: - Hur reflekterar socialsekreterare som använder respektive inte använder Signs-of- Safety kring barns delaktighet i utredningar? Samt: - Varierar graden av delaktighet hos barn mellan utredningar där Signs-of-Safety används jämfört med utredningar där metoden inte används? Vi genomförde två stycken fokusgruppintervjuer med totalt tio socialsekreterare som arbetar med utredningar inom socialtjänsten, samt analyserade sju utredningar varav fyra var skrivna i en kommun som använde sig av Sign-of-Safety. De resterande tre utredningarna var skrivna i en kommun där de inte använde Signs-of-Safety. Teoretisk utgångspunkt var socialkonstruktivism. Det fanns en stor enighet bland socialsekreterarna om att det är viktigt att barn görs delaktiga. Analysen av både intervjuer och utredningar gjordes utifrån Harts delaktighetsstege samt socialkontruktivism och visade att metoden Signs-of-Safety inte verkade öka barns delaktighet, men att metoden tydliggjorde delaktigheten. / The purpose of this qualitative study was to get an insight in if the method Signs-of- Safety might improve childrens’ participation in investigations concerning themselves. Our research questions were; How do social workers who use or do not use Signs-of- Safety reflect on children's involvement in investigations? and; Is there accordingly to the social workers a variation in the degree of participation among children in investigations where Signs-of-Safety is used compared to investigations where the method is not used? Two focus group interviews in two different municipalities, one where Signs-of-Safety had been used and one where the method not had been used, were performed. The interviews and four written investigations i each work group were analysed by using Hart´s participation ladder and social constructivism. The result showed that all our informants regarded childrens’ participation as important. No differences in the degree of participation of the children could be identified.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how social workers participate in the operationalization of children's agency in child welfare research. In order to fulfill the purpose and answer our questions, we have used qualitative semistructured interviews. The study is based on statements from 7 social workers working whit child welfare investigation in small to medium-sized municipalities in south of Sweden. In the analysis of our collected material, we started from the sociology of childhood.  The fact that children are given the opportunity to act themselves is a prerequisite for their right to participation and influence, so that children's agency goes hand in hand with the provisions of the Social Services Act and the Children's Convention on the Influence and Participation of Children. Social security officers working on child welfare investigations should always work on the basis that it is in the best interest for the child. In order for this to be considered fulfilled in practice, the child must be able to express her/his views and wishes, and that they are important in both the investigation process and the decision making.  The result of our study shows that Social Security Officers work actively to promote children's agency and with different strategies motivate the children to actively participate. It has also been found that there are factors that complicate children's participation and, especially, influence in decision making. We found that social security officers look at their responsibility for children's rights to participation and influence as a major and important task, though with different meanings and solutions.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to look into how social secretaries describe their work with children's participation in the assessment that is carried out at short-term residential facilities for families. Through their descriptions we can gain knowledge of what significance these social workers give children's participation in this context and create more nuances in the overall view on children's participation in Swedish child services. Built in this purpose, we have been interested in how the institutional circumstances can affect children's participation. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with seven social secretaries working in three different facilities for families in two Swedish municipalities. Based on our theoretical assumptions, which are Shier’s pathway to participation (2001) and the interpretation that Svensson, Johnsson and Laanemets (2008) made of Michael Lipsky's (1980/2010) concept of discretion, the interviews have been interpreted and analysed. We have anchored the essay's analysis framework in a social-constructivist approach.  Our results show that the social secretaries places great emphasis on children's participation throughout the assessment process. The work is carried out in an incorporated way where the approach is characterized by seeing the child as an active part and a main person who has the right to participation in ways that works for that specific child. The descriptions show the individual secretaries' ability for child-friendly adaptation in working methods, as well as a shared responsibility for competence development. Experience are referred to as important, as well as reflection on the personal factors that can limit the work. In the result, we can see that a problematic theme lies in the interaction between the social secretary, the parents and the children. The family is in a difficult situation, often enlarged by the intervention in the family's life that moving to the facility entails. How well the collaboration works depends on the possibility to communicate and create relationships built on trust, which directly affects the degree of the child's participation. The result also contains recurring descriptions of how the social secretary decides when the child should be protected from burdensome details, mainly concerning the parents, which can also be regarded as a limiting factor.  Conclusions we have drawn are that children's participation has a central position in these organisations, seen as an indisputable right for all children regardless of age and ability. The discretion of the social secretaries is not limited by organizational factors such as heavy workload or lack of time. It is mainly collaboration difficulties with the family that affect children's participation. However, frequent contact with the family during the long assessment period at the facility create good basis for cooperation, as well as the high degree of transparency and openness that permeates the assessment work according to the social secretaries. Success in relationship-building becomes crucial to children's participation, especially as the path to the child often goes through the parent.

Denna litteraturstudie utgörs av en kvalitativ textanalys av utvald kurslitteratur inom en förskollärarutbildning. Analysen har tagit stöd i Biestas teori om demokratiska dimensioner inom utbildning (Biesta, 2011a). Resultatet i vår studie visar på ett gap mellan det förskollärarstudenter får med sig från kurslitteraturen gentemot hur de ska praktisera och därmed realisera denna kunskap ute i förskolans verksamhet. Tillfällen för samtal och reflektion behövs för att kunna överbrygga detta gap som uppstår, och därmed mildra den osäkerhet som finns för utövandet av det komplexa uppdraget som förskolläraryrket innebär. Samtal och utbyte av erfarenheter kan verka som en bro mellan teorin och praktiken, och därmed är detta ett nödvändigt inslag inom förskollärarutbildning men även i förskoleverksamhet. / This literature study consists of a qualitative text analysis of selected course literature within a preschool teacher education. The analysis has been supported by Biesta's theory of democratic dimensions in education (Biesta, 2011a). The results of our study show a gap between what preschool teacher students get from the course literature in relation to how they should practice and thus realize this knowledge in the preschool's activities. Opportunities for conversation and reflection are needed to be able to bridge this gap that arises, and thereby alleviate the uncertainty that exists for the performance of the complex task that the preschool teaching profession entails. Conversation and exchange of experiences can act as a bridge between theory and practice, and thus this is a necessary element in preschool teacher education but also in bu

The aim of the present study is to explore how children’s participation is constructed and enacted in preschool documentation and what kinds of activities evolve between teachers, children and material objects in preschool documentation practices. The study is based on videorecorded observations of teachers and children documenting different preschool activities in two preschool groups. The video observations are analysed using theoretical perspectives on power relations, governmentality, documentality and agentic realism. The results are presented in two research articles. The results show the complexity of children’s participation in preschool documentation practice. In the first article two different documentation methods, with different theoretical underpinnings, were used in the preschool: portfolio and pedagogical documentation. The results show that, regardless of documentation method, children’s participation varied from attendance to involvement and influence, which can be seen as two ends of a power relation. Power relations between teachers and children also varied between situations as well as within individual situations. The result of the second article shows that children’s participation in preschool documentation practices, as well as the documentation itself, was affected and controlled not only by the humans present, but also by different material agents, such as photos and colour-coded labels. Taking material agents into account allows for a broader understanding of documentation practices, which in turn could open up for new forms of children’s participation in preschool documentation. / Syftet med studien som utgör grunden för uppsatsen var att undersöka hur barns delaktighet i förskolans dokumentation är konstruerad och ”görs” och vilken typ av aktivitet som utvecklas mellan lärare, barn och materiella objekt inom förskolans dokumentationspraktik. Studien är baserad på videoinspelade observationer av lärare och barn som dokumenterar olika aktiviteter i förskolan på två förskoleavdelningar. Videoobservationerna analyserades med hjälp av teoretiska perspektiv på maktrelationer, governmentality, documentality och agentic realism. Resultatet presenteras i två vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultaten visar komplexiteten i barns delaktighet i förskolans dokumentationspraktik. I den första artikeln studerades användningen av två olika dokumentationsmetoder, med olika teoretiska underbyggnad, nämligen portfolio och pedagogisk dokumentation. Resultatet visar att barns delaktighet varierade från deltagande till medverkan och inflytande oavsett vilken dokumentationsmetod som användes. Detta kan ses som två ändpunkter av en maktrelation. Maktrelationer mellan lärare och barn varierade också mellan situationer och inom en situation. Resultatet av den andra artikeln visar att barns deltagande i förskolans dokumentationspraktik samt också dokumentationen i sig, påverkades och styrdes, inte enbart av de deltagande personerna, men också av olika materiella agenter, till exempel foton och färgade etiketter. Att även beakta materiella agenter innebär att förståelsen av dokumentationspraktiken kan vidgas, vilket i sin tur skulle kunna öppna upp för nya sätt för barn att vara delaktiga i förskolans dokumentationspraktik.