Detta avhandlingsarbete undersöker hur psykologer förhåller sig till de olika betydelser av kön som finns i de sammanhang de befinner sig i när de utövar sitt yrke. Genom att utforska de betydelser som barn- och ungdoms­psykologer ger skillnader mellan flickor och pojkar har jag identifierat svårigheter och möjligheter när det gäller att inkludera sociala och kulturella aspekter i beskrivningar av barns och ungas psykologiska utveckling inom psykologiprofessionen i Sverige. Ett inkluderande av sociala och kulturella aspekter skulle bidra till en förståelse för hur barns psykologiska fungerande hänger ihop med de samhälleliga sammanhang de befinner sig i, och kunna användas för att ge barnen ett bättre stöd i behandlingsarbete.   Metod Elva intervjuer med svenska barn- och ungdomspsykologer, samt tre svenska läroböcker i utvecklingspsykologi analyserades. Analyserna utgick från socialkonstruktionistiska och diskurspsykologiska perspektiv.   Resultat Analyserna visade att psykologerna gav kön, genus och jämställdhet flera olika betydelser och att dessa olika betydelser ofta var motstridiga. Ett glapp identifieras mellan övergripande beskrivningar av barn och ungas utveckling där ambitionen att beskriva psykologisk utveckling som en interaktion mellan biologiska och kulturella faktorer tydligt kom till uttryck, och de mer konkreta beskrivningarna av psykologisk ut­veckling där ett biologiskt och/eller individinriktat synsätt gavs företräde. Detta glapp kom framförallt till uttryck i läroböckerna. I barn- och ungdoms­psykologernas tal om sitt arbete blev ett annat glapp synligt. När de talade mer övergripande om vad ett professionellt förhållningssätt till kön innebar baserade sig talet på strävan efter neutralitet och en syn på kön som ovid­kommande för psykologisk behandling. När talet handlade om det konkreta behandlingsarbetet konstruerades kön som skillnader. Barn- och ungdoms­psykologerna tycktes sitta fast i ett dilemma mellan en könsneutral retorik och ett bemötande och en behandling som utgick från könsskillnader som ”naturliga”. Det snäva individfokus som kom till uttryck i psykologernas berättelser lyfts fram som en förklaring till att psykologerna inte själva tycktes uppmärksamma detta glapp under sitt berättande. En fråga där psykologerna ställde kritiska frågor kring jämställdhet och lika fördelning av resurser handlade om att så få flickor i yngre åldrar besöker barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin. Vid dessa tillfällen kom en vilja att omfatta flickors och pojkars olika livsvillkor som förklaring till könsskillnader till uttryck. Då det i deras tal inte fanns några kopplingar mellan den olika fördelningen av resurser och över- och underordning mellan kvinnor och män på en samhällsnivå, verkade psykologerna dock sakna tillgång till analytiska redskap att fullfölja tankarna om olika livsvillkor. Försöken att kontextu­a­lisera flickornas ”osynlighet” tycktes då landa i en anpassning efter köns­stereotyper för ”deras eget bästa”. Jag identifierade några undantag från detta mönster. Några få psykologer uttryckte explicit ett jämställdhets­intresse och en önskan att arbeta på ett jämställt sätt i sitt behandlings­arbete. Analyserna av deras berättelser visar att professionella ideal när det gäller kunskapssyn hade stor betydelse för om, och hur, de kunde motarbeta ett könsstereotypt förhållningssätt i sitt arbete. En strategi att arbeta för jämställdhet utifrån ett neutralt kunskapsideal tycktes leda till ett fokus på ”likabehandling” och osynliggöra skillnader i värdering och handlings­ut­rymme mellan flickor och pojkar. En strategi att arbeta för jämställdhet som baserar sig i idealet ”rättvist resultat” tycktes öppna upp för möjlig­heter att upprätthålla uppmärksamheten på orättvisor och maktprocesser mellan könen.   Slutsats Möjligheterna att inkludera kulturella och sociala betydelser av kön i psykologiskt behandlingsarbete med barn och unga verkar hänga nära samman med psykologers professionella ideal för vad som är legitim kun­skap. I vilken utsträckning psykologerna hade tillgång till analytiska redskap att reflektera över kopplingar mellan problemen hos de flickor och pojkar de träffade och över- och underordning mellan kvinnor och män på en sam­hälls­nivå var också viktigt. Sådana tankemässiga redskap, som utgår från feministiska teorier och genusvetenskap, saknades till stor del i de intervjuer och de läroböcker som granskades. / This thesis examines how Swedish child psychologists relate to the meanings of gender in the surrounding culture. By exploring the meanings that psycho­logists working in child- and youth psychiatry, schools, and in the developmental field give differences between girls and boys I have aimed to identify obstacles against, and possibilities for more inclusive ways to under­stand and theorize the psychological development of children and young people. Such inclusive ways would contribute to an understanding of how children’s psychological functioning is related to the societal context in which they live their life, as well as to strategies for psychotherapy.   Methods Eleven interviews with psychologists working with child and adolescent interventions in Sweden, and three Swedish textbooks on developmental psychology were analysed. The analyses were informed by constructionist and discourse-psychological approaches.   Results The analyses showed that both the books and the psychologists gave gender and gender equality many different meanings and that these meanings often were contradictory. A gap was identified between general descriptions of the development of children where an ambition to emphasize interactions between biological and social factors was clearly expressed and more specific parts of the descriptions of child development where priority was given to biological and/or individual-based explanations. This gap was particularly prominent in the textbooks. In the child psychologists’ nar­ratives about their practice another type of gap was more prominent: When talking on a general level about gender and treatment the psycholo­gists construed a child’s gender as irrelevant to treatment. However, when talking about specifics of their practice the psychologists framed gender in terms of differences between boys and girls. The child psychologists seemed to be stuck between a view of gender as neutral and irrelevant, and assumptions of gender differences as ”natural”. The psychologists evidenced no conscious reflections on this gap, possibly because of the strong individual focus that they expressed. On a few occasions an ambition to encompass how living conditions could cause differences between girls and boys was expressed. Some psychologists noted that among younger children less clinical attention was paid to girls than to boys and saw this as unfair; however, none of them reflected on whether there could be connections between this asymmetry and patterns of gendered power and subordination in society. I therefore concluded that the psychologists seemed to lack analytical tools for such a contextualisation. What began as an attempt to bring in the girls’ context then became conserving and lead to a strategy to adjust the girls to expectations in the girls’ surroundings “for their own good”. I identified a few exceptions from this pattern. A few psychologists spontaneously ex­pressed an engagement in gender equality issues and wanted to promote gender equality in their work as therapists. The analyses of their interviews point to how child psychotherapists’ ideals regarding legitimate therapeutic knowledge impact their thinking about whether, and how, to counteract gender stereotypes through therapy. Efforts to promote gender equality that are based in an ideal of neutral knowledge seemed to lead to a focus on “equal treatment” and to work to conceal the asymmetries in valuation and freedom of action of girls and boys. Efforts to promote gender equality that are based in an ideal of justice as the outcome seemed to open possibilities to maintain attention on injustice and power issues related to gender.   Conclusion The possibilities to include cultural and social meaning of gender in psychotherapy with children and young people seem to be closely related to professional ideals regarding legitimate therapeutic knowledge. The extent to which the psychologists had been given analytical tools to reflect on connections between the various problems of the girls and boys they treated, and patterns of gendered power and subordination in society was also important. That kind of tools, based in feminist theory and gender studies, were to a large extent missing in the interviews and the develop­mental psychology textbooks that were analysed.

Racial Queer is a qualitative study of Multiracial college students with a critical ethnographic component. The design methods, grounded in Critical Race Methodology and Feminist Thought (both theories that inform Critical Ethnography), include: 1) 25 semi-structured interviews of Multiracial students, 2) of which 5 were expanded into case studies, 3) 3 focus groups, 4) observations of the sole registered student organization for Multiracial students on Central University’s campus, 5) field notes and 6) document analysis. The dissertation examines the following question: How do Multiracial students understand and experience their racialized identities within a large, public, tier-one research university in Texas? In addition, it addresses the following sub-questions: How do Multiracial students experience their racialized identities in their everyday interactions with others, in relation to their own self-perceptions and in response to the way others perceive them to be? How do Multiracial students’ positionalities, as they relate to power, privilege, phenotype and status, guide their behavior in different contexts and situations? Using Holland et al.’s (1998) social practice theory of self and identity, Chicana Feminist Theory, and tenets of Queer Theory, this study illustrates how Multiracial college students utilize agency as racial queers to construct and negotiate their identities within a context where identity is both self-constructed and produced for them. I introduce the term, racial queer, to frame the unconventional space of the Multiracial individual. I use this term not to convey sexuality, but to convey the parallels of queerness (both as a term of empowerment and derogation) as they pertain to being Multiracial. In other words, queerness denotes a unique individuality as well as a deviation from the norm (Sullivan, 2003; Warner, 1993; Gamson, 2000). The primary purpose of this study is to illustrate the agentic ways in which Multiracial college students come to understand and experience the complexity of their racialized identity production. Preliminary findings suggest the need to expand the scope of racial discourses to include Multiracial experiences and for further study of Multiracial students. Their counter-narratives access an otherwise invisible student population, providing an opportunity to broaden critical discourses around education and race. / text

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American and German educational systems have both experienced an increase of ethnic groups in the classrooms; however, in both countries the increase in ethnic groups is not matched by increases in the numbers of minority teachers (NEA, 2005). Therefore, challenges such as interracial tensions and conflicts, an increasing percentage of second language learners, and continuous gaps in achievement suggest that an increase in the numbers of minority teachers is imperative as the twenty-first century begins (Gay, 2000; Luchtenberg, 2004). These increases suggest a need for a more thorough understanding of minority teachers’ viewpoints as they serve as role models, mentors, and activists (Carrington & Skeleton, 2004). Two naturalistic case studies based on critical theory, critical race theory, and feminist theory will examine perspectives on, challenges of, and opportunities regarding cross-cultural issues among a German and an American minority teacher and their views on multicultural education. The following questions guided the study: 1) What are the challenges and/or support experienced by a German and an American female minority teacher who attempt to implement multicultural principles in their classrooms? 2) What are the similarities and/or differences experienced by a German and an American female minority teacher regarding the implementation of multicultural principles into their teaching practice? 3) To what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and actions shaped by their subject positions as minority females? During each two-month period of investigation, qualitative data methods such as observations, semi-structured interviews, daily field notes, lesson plans, telephone conversations, emails, and the researcher’s reflections were used to gather data. Data were analyzed using constant comparison methods (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to identify codes and categories and to develop emergent themes. Analysis revealed following themes: life and classroom experiences, opinions related to differences and similarities, and participants’ subject positions as female. Both teachers’ experiences emphasized a culturally sensitive pedagogy toward minority students.

Increasingly, Aboriginal women engage with feminist theory and forms of activism to carve their own space and lay a foundation for an Aboriginal feminism. I compile prominent writings of female Aboriginal authors to identify emerging theoretical strains that centre on decolonization as both theory and methodology. Aboriginal women position decolonization strategies against the intersectionality of race and sex oppression within a colonial context, which they term patriarchal colonialism. They challenge forms of patriarchal colonialism that masquerade as Aboriginal tradition and function to silence and exclude Aboriginal women from sovereignty and leadership spheres. By recalling and reclaiming the pre-colonial Aboriginal principle of egalitarianism, which included women within these spheres, they are positioned to create a hybrid feminism that locates egalitarianism within a contemporary and relevant context by combining it with human rights. In this way, Aboriginal feminism balances culture and tradition with principles of individual and collective rights. / ix, 142 leaves ; 29 cm

This thesis is qualitative study of the perceptions of aged Italian women in receiving care. It examines intra-ethnic group differences between Italian-Immigrant and Italian-Canadian women, and their definition of the experience of receiving care. Also, it addresses gender, class, and ethnicity issues which have implications for social work practice, policy, and research. / Sixty-one interviews were conducted with thirty participants, over the age of sixty-five. Participants were interviewed in their treatment environments with follow-up interviews in their home settings. Semi-structured in-depth interviews documenting these women's life histories, as well as participant observation, were the qualitative methods used to collect data. Interview transcripts and field notes were analyzed qualitatively to identify similarities and differences in participants' perceptions as care-receivers. A feminist theoretical perspective was applied to the discussion of the data. / The study suggests that differences exist between aged Italian-Immigrant and Italian-Canadian women care-receivers. These differences are directly related to specific personal and social factors which nurture and oppress them. Aged Italian-Canadian women were found to have more resources, greater independence with their supportive alliances, and higher levels of self-esteem and life satisfaction than aged Italian-Immigrant women. The findings provide insight into resources these women developed to deal with the constraints imposed on them by their gender, class, and ethnicity. / The study suggests an integrated-interactive approach of practice, policy, and research to implement changes so as to meet the needs of these individuals. The study recommends that a feminist social work approach be adopted in the educational curriculum for the training of social work professionals.

Social movement literature suggests that organizations espousing radical ideologies must develop bureaucratic structures in order to survive, changes which inevitably create an organization more concerned with self-maintenance than social transformation. In the Battered Women's Movement, some radical feminists argue that trends toward increased formalization and centralization in feminist collectives provide evidence that the movement has been coopted, and thus radical organizations seeking to challenge inequitable social structures have been transformed into more traditional social service agencies. This thesis examines one shelter for battered women which, due mainly to severe internal conflict, found it necessary to modify its structure from a collective to a hierarchy led by a coordinator. This change led neither to decreased radical ideology nor to an increased focus on organizational maintenance at the expense of socially transformative goals. However, due to a lack of formalized procedures, this outcome largely reflects the personal inclinations of the coordinator.

The main domain in which eating disorders are defined is medical, whereas socio-cultural perspectives are less common. Because social workers seeks to explain different problems taking societal factors into account, we asked ourselves if social workers have a way of understanding eating disorders, that is different from a medical point of view. Two focus group interviews were conducted; the one composed by social workers with experience of working with eating disorders, and the other by social workers without that experience, which enabled comparisons. The interviews were analyzed using socio-cultural and feminist perspectives. The result showed that the social workers use socio-cultural perspectives in explaining eating disorders. Both groups also emphasized the medical perspective, but the first group where less willing than the other to depart from this perspective. The conclusion were made that the social workers having experience of working with eating disorders are more into the medical discourse than are the ones without this experience. / Ätstörningar tolkas företrädesvis utifrån ett medicinskt perspektiv, medan förklaringar med utgångspunkt i perspektiv som betonar samhälleliga och kulturella orsaker är mindre vanliga. Eftersom sociokulturella faktorer, inom det sociala arbetets disciplin, är en central referenspunkt till de förklaringar som söks till olika problem, frågade vi oss om socionomer har ett annat sätt att se på ätstörningar, som skiljer sig från ett medicinskt synsätt. Två fokusgruppintervjuer genomfördes med socionomer med respektive utan erfarenhet av arbete med ätstörningar. På så sätt kunde jämförelser mellan grupperna göras. Materialet analyserades med hjälp av sociokulturella och feministiska perspektiv. Resultatet visade att socionomerna har en syn på ätstörningar som inkluderar sociokulturella faktorer. Även det medicinska perspektivet framhölls av båda grupperna, men gruppen med erfarenhet av arbete med ätstörningar var mindre benägen att frångå detta perspektiv. Av detta drogs slutsatsen att socionomerna som arbetar med ätstörningar är mer influerade av det medicinska synsättet än socionomerna utan denna erfarenhet.

In this thesis, I focus on the relationship between gender and nation in post-colonial India, through the lens of Muslim women, who are located on the margins of both religious community and nation. The contradictory embrace of a composite national identity with an ascriptive religious identity, has had critical consequences for Muslim women, to whom the state has simultaneously granted and denied equal citizenship. The impact is felt primarily in the continuing disadvantage of women through the denial of gender equality within the family. The state's regulation of gender roles and family relationships in the 'private sphere', inevitably has determined women's status as citizens in the public sphere. / In this context, the notion of citizenship becomes a focus of any exploration of the legal status of Muslim women. I explore the idea of citizenship as a space of subaltern secularism that opens up the possibility for Indian women of all faiths, to reclaim a selfhood, free from essentialist definitions of gender interests and prescripted identities. I evaluate the realm of constitutional law as a counter-hegemonic discourse that can challenge existing power structures. Finally, I argue for the need to acknowledge the hybridity of culture and the modernity of tradition, to emphasise the integration of the colonial past with the postcolonial present. Such an understanding is critical to the feminist emancipatory project as it reveals the manner in which oppositional categories of public/private, true Muslim woman/feminist, Muslim/Other, Western/Indian, and modern/traditional, have been used to deny women equal rights.

The field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) traditionally encompasses care and education for children aged from birth to eight years. In this study, the focus is specifically on the field that provides services for children in prior to school settings, that being the birth to five sector. This sector is highly feminised and has emerged over the last century from philanthropic roots. Despite considerable work into leadership in other areas, until recent times, attention to aspects of leadership has been limited within the ECEC field and much of the research undertaken has focused heavily on centre-based leadership. This study investigated how personnel, from a range of services, understand and enact leadership. In terms of data analysis it draws heavily on symbolic interactionism as a methodological tool and engages standpoint feminist theory to inform the analytical process. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with twenty-six participants who also identified artefacts, which they considered influenced and supported their understandings of leadership. In addition, two focus groups were conducted to explore themes emerging from early analysis of the data. Findings indicate two categories, which emerge as relevant to how leadership is understood and enacted by participants. The first of these is the concept of interpreted professional identity, which reflects participants' interpretations of who they are as early childhood professionals informed by their own views and the views of others. How individuals interpret their sense of self (manifest in their professional identity) is influential in the secondary category, which is interpreted leadership capacity. This category reflects participants' leadership activity or inactivity. The analysis reflects a complex interplay between how participants interpret their professional sense of self (interpreted professional identity) and their capacity and willingness to enact leadership (interpreted leadership capacity). Individuals in the formation of their professional identity interpret factors, both internal to the ECEC field and external (through social expectations). The culture of the ECEC field (internal factors) includes competing elements such as a discourse of niceness juxtaposed against examples of horizontal violence. Factors external to the field suggest there are lingering social associations between heroic male images and leadership, which make women as leaders problematic. Within a highly feminised field such as ECEC, this study brings new perspectives to understandings of leadership and its enactment.