The aim of the study was to understand how the family home secretary reasons and thinks and how they express themselves in their actions towards the family home’s biological children. The method used is qualitative semi-structured interviews, involving six family home secretaries from four different municipalities. The results were analyzed with the help of two theories – the theory of grassroots bureaucracy and the sociology of childhood theory. From the collective views of all informants, the biological children’s attitude towards the family home mandate is considered important. However, participation from the biological children is limited. Education and guidance is directed solely towards the family home parents, without any active involvement from the biological children in these efforts. Some of the informants stress that they as professionals must be better at paying attention to the biological children than what prevails today. The collective results show that family home parents are expected to take great responsibility for their biological children as well as their participation and well-being within the family home mandate.

The aim of this study was to reach a deeper understanding of the process that occurs within the social services after receiving a notification according to Chapter 14, section 1, The Social Services Act. More specifically the focus of this study was to illustrate how social secretaries reason about children’s participation in the process, as well as to examine whether the legislative change, Chapter 11, section 1 a, The Social Services Act, has affected the process in any way. The study’s results reflect interviews with five social secretaries who are active in four different municipalities in southern Sweden. The results in this study were analyzed with the help of two theories, Lipskys theory about street-level bureaucrats and the theory of childhood sociology. The results show that the social secretaries experience some changes due to the legislative alteration; they feel an increased time pressure that for some of them lead to fewer meetings with the child and more encounters with parents by telephone. Throughout the interviews the social secretaries mentioned their sense of intuition or the feeling in the room as an assessment instrument to assess whether to open an investigation regarding a child’s vulnerability. The majority of the social secretaries did not express that the child’s participation in the process was unconditional. They expressed that whether they would involve the child or not depended on how they experienced the meeting with the parents.

This thesis discusses how children's perspectives are implemented in the municipality's physical planning in Sweden in relation to the statutory UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The thesis seeks to answer how the planners express their views on the participation, as well as their views on the child and childhood. The study is based on three research questions. The aim is examined in relation to comprehensive planning and use the Norwegian context as a comparison since the country has progressed further in the implementation of the convention. The theoretical framework consists of a research overview regarding social sustainability, and the concepts of child and childhood. An historical review of children’s geography is also conducted. In addition, previous research regarding children’s participation in planning, as well as participation models lays ground for the theoretical framework. The small-scale case study of three municipalities is carried out by six qualitative interviews with physical and strategical planners, as well as professionals with experience in citizen dialogue. In addition, the empirical analysis includes a small document study of the municipal frameworks for citizen participation. Key findings are that children's perspectives are lacking in municipal planning processes, especially in relation to the comprehensive planning. In the three cases in this study, the efforts to incorporate children’s perspective into the planning process seems to be largely guided by the planners' own knowledge and interests. The implementation work with the Convention on the Right of the Child varies somewhat between the municipalities, where one of them stood out and had come further than the other two in connection with the physical planning. The planners view of the child shaped the opportunities for the children to participate in the planning process. The lack of formal guidelines is also described as a reason for the children's lack of participation. An ambivalent picture of children is found among planners and decision makers. These split images create a difficulty in creating a uniform picture of children's participation in the municipalities, as well as finding suitable methods for participation. However, many of the interviewees expressed a strong interest in involving children in planning to a greater extent, and to gain access to more knowledge in the subject.

Children undergoing investigation by the social services have a right to participate during the process. The social services must accommodate this right according to law. Participation is created when the social worker meets the child, which makes the social worker a significant person when the child’s right to participation is implemented in social work practices. The aim of this study is to examine the experiences social workers employed by child- and family services have in enabling and accommodating children’s participation during investigative social work. The study has two research questions: what forms do child participation take, according to social workers, during investigations conducted by social services and how do social workers enable child participation in their work methods? The study was conducted through the use of qualitative method. The empirical data was collected by interviewing five social workers and the data was analysed through the use of a thematic analysis, prior research and the theoretical framework of Roger A. Hart’s Ladder of Participation. The result showed that child participation was considered important to all informants and that it was essential to make sure the child had the opportunity to express their opinions and receive information about their case. Participation was also accommodated through meetings away from the social office, to aid the child’s sense of security. The result also showed that some factors can become obstacles for child participation. There is resistance towards participation when social workers suspect that the children might be harmed through taking part in an investigation, which makes the use of alternative sources to garner the child’s view seem appropriate. Furthermore, the practice of involving children in decision making was not a certainty. A conclusion is thus that social work practices need to evolve to promote child participation within areas where social workers feel resistance towards participation, such as in protective work and in decision making.

In the light of the Convention on the Rights of the Child gaining legal status in Sweden this thesis examines the implementation of the convention on a municipal level, specifically the implementation of Article 12 and children’s right to participate in all matters affecting them. With this purpose objectives and means are examined and compared between two municipalities: the municipality of Uppsala and the municipality of Örebro. By creating a frame of analysis based on previous research and theory on children’s participation, a text analysis has been conducted on key municipal policy documents and a case study has been conducted of municipal channels for participation. In conclusion the implementation of Article 12 differs between the municipalities where the responsibility to realize children’s right to participate is a shared responsibility in Örebro municipality in comparison to Uppsala municipality where the responsibility lies with some departments. In Örebro municipality children’s participation is often defined as a right while it in Uppsala municipality often is defined as an instrument to reach other goals. The case study emphasizes the importance of critically examining who actually participates in initiatives for children’s participation, who has power over the agenda and with what effects. For the realization of children’s right to participate initiatives must be inclusive, important and with clear intentions and effects.

No description available.

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.

Abstract This doctoral thesis focuses on children’s participation in a Finnish reception centre. Using participatory action research (PAR) as the research methodology, the study engaged 12 unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls from Somalia, Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo to consider children’s participation during the asylum process, and to explore the ways in which the girls’ participation and wellbeing could be promoted. The research questions, which were formulated during the process in cooperation with the girls, were the following: How do the unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls view participation, its relevance and the possibilities for it during their asylum period? How does the liminality of their life situation promote or hinder their participation? How do the intersecting social categories affect their participation? Methodologically, the study focused on how PAR can be applied to promote children’s participation in institutional care in a culturally and gender-sensitive way. The conceptual framework consists mainly of critical pedagogy and intersectionality. Critical pedagogy made the foundations for the PAR, whereas intersectionality helped to comprehend the liminality of the girls’ life worlds. Both theoretical perspectives contributed to understanding and implementing the participatory paradigm. The findings show that the unaccompanied girls’ experiences of participation cannot be explained only through the girls’ vulnerability or their resilience, as they clearly belong to both categories and move within them. The participation, which was meaningful for the girls, reflected their fluid positions in relation to their gender, age and status as asylum seekers. Participation meant both the right to voice opinions and the possibility to choose silence, as well as the opportunity to include ‘ordinary things’ into their lives. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöstutkimus keskittyy lasten osallisuuteen suomalaisessa vastaanottokeskuksessa. Yhteensä 12 yksin maahan tullutta turvapaikanhakijatyttöä Somaliasta, Angolasta ja Kongon demokraattisesta tasavallasta osallistui toimintatutkimuksen keinoin pohtimaan lasten osallisuutta turvapaikkaprosessin aikana, ja miettimään keinoja miten lasten osallisuutta ja hyvinvointia voisi edistää. Tutkimuskysymykset, jotka muotoiltiin prosessin edetessä yhdessä osallistujien kanssa olivat seuraavat: Miten yksin maahan tulleet turvapaikanhakijatytöt käsittävät osallisuuden merkityksen ja mahdollisuudet heidän turvapaikkaprosessinsa aikana? Miten elämäntilanteen liminaalisuus heikentää tai edistää heidän osallisuuttaan? Miten ristikkäiset sosiaaliset kategoriat vaikuttavat heidän osallisuuteensa? Tutkimus pureutuu myös siihen, miten osallistavaa toimintatutkimusta voidaan käyttää kodin ulkopuolella asuvien lasten osallisuuden tukemiseen kulttuuri- ja sukupuolisensitiivisellä tavalla. Tutkimuksen käsitteellinen viitekehys rakentuu pääosin kriittisen pedagogiikan ja intersektionaalisuuden teorioista. Toimintatutkimus pohjautuu kriittiselle pedagogiikalle, kun taas intersektionaalisuus auttaa ymmärtämään tutkimuksen tyttöjen elämäntilanteen liminaalisuuden. Molemmat teoreettiset näkökulmat auttoivat tulkitsemaan ja toteuttamaan osallistavaa paradigmaa. Tulokset osoittavat, että yksin maahan tulleiden turvapaikanhakijatyttöjen osallisuuden kokemukset ovat moninaisia ja muuttuvia. Turvapaikanhakijastatuksen mukanaan tuoma haavoittuvaisuus ei riitä selittämään tyttöjen kokemuksia, kuten ei myöskään heidän elämänkokemuksensa mukanaan tuoma sinnikkyys ja vahvuus. Tutkimuksen tytöt olivat sekä haavoittuvaisia että vahvoja, ja heidän asemansa näissä kategorioissa oli joustava. Merkitykselliseen osallisuuteen vaikuttivat myös tyttöjen muuttuvat positiot, jotka liittyivät heidän sukupuoleensa, ikäänsä ja turvapaikanhakija-asemaansa. Osallisuus tarkoitti tytöille sekä oikeutta ilmaista mielipiteensä että vaieta, kuten myös arkisten asioiden sisällyttämistä jokapäiväiseen elämään.

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.

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.