Tidigare forskning gällande skolkuratorer har visat att deras roll på skolan är oklar och att deras arbete är relativt oreglerat. Den tidigare forskningen som gjorts, särskilt i Sverige, är begränsad och det finns mycket att utforska på området. Skolkuratorns handlingsutrymme är en aspekt av området som är relativt outforskat. Syftet med studien är att undersöka skolkuratorns upplevelse och tolkning av sitt handlingsutrymme i sitt yrkesutövande. Studien har en kvalitativ inriktning. Fem semi-strukturerade intervjuer med skolkuratorer genomfördes. Som teoretisk referensram har Michael Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater använts samt hans teoretiska begrepp handlingsutrymme.   Resultatet visar att kuratorerna upplever de riktlinjer och lagar som finns för deras arbete som lösa och tolkningsbara. De upplever även sitt handlingsutrymme som stort. Resultatet visar även att det finns ett flertal faktorer som kan påverka skolkuratorernas handlingsutrymme, både som gör det större och som krymper det. / Previous research regarding school social workers and school counselors has shown that their role in school is unclear and that their work is relatively unregulated. Despite this there have been few studies, especially in Sweden, in the area of school counselors. Particularly the discretion of the school counselor is an aspect of the area that is relatively unexplored. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the school counselors experience and interpretation of their discretion in the exercise of their profession. The study has a qualitative approach. Five semi-structured interviews with school counselors were conducted. Michael Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats and his theoretical concept of discretion have been used as a theoretical framework in this study.   The results show that the school counselors experience the laws and guidelines that are applicable for their work as loose and interpretable. They also experience their discretion as large. The results also show that there are several factors that can affect the school counselors’ discretion, factors that can both shrink their discretion and make it larger.

The municipal social services under the Social Services Act is responsible for the municipality’s citizens, but is at risk because of the situation in social services as social secretaries choose professions other than the exercise of authority. Social service work may be compromised on the basis that there will be a heavy workload for those social secretaries that stays when there are not enough resources. How social secretaries experience control in their work affects the way to trade and manage their work situation and the perceived control may be a discretion. The purpose of this study was to investigate how social secretaries perceive their work situation. The study was conducted based on a qualitative method and consisted of interviews of five social secretaries that all work in the same municipality. It was revealed from the qualitative content analysis that the social secretary job situation may seem complicated and the social secretaries tend to ”end up trapped” on the basis o fits position between the organization and the client. The conclusion of the study show that social secretaries work situation is characterized by frustration, both from the client and from the social secretaries own frustration to feel limited in their role as street-level bureaucrat. The framework constituting the discretion consists of organizational and social factors that the social secretaries needed to relate to. The discretion was perceived limited but constituted mainly a security in the complex work. / Kommunens socialtjänst har enligt socialtjänstlagen det yttersta ansvaret för kommunens medborgare, men detta riskeras på grund av den situation som råder inom socialtjänsten då socialsekreterare väljer andra yrken än myndighetsutövningen. Socialtjänstens arbete kan äventyras utifrån att det blir en hög arbetsbelastning för de socialsekreterare som arbetar kvar och att resurserna inte räcker till. Hur socialsekreterare upplever kontrollen i arbetet påverkar deras sätt att handla och hantera sin arbetssituation och den upplevda kontrollen kan utgöras av ett handlingsutrymme. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare upplever sin arbetssituation. Studien genomfördes utifrån en kvalitativ metod och bestod av intervjuer av fem socialsekreterare som arbetar inom samma kommun. Det framkom av den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen att socialsekreterares arbetssituation kan upplevas som komplicerad och att socialsekreterare tenderar att ”hamna i kläm” utifrån sin position mellan organisationen och klienten. Slutsatsen av studien visar att socialsekreterarnas arbetssituation präglas av frustration, dels från klient och dels från socialsekreterarnas egen frustration i att känna sig begränsad i sin roll som gräsrotsbyråkrat. Ramen som utgör handlingsutrymmet består av organisatoriska och sociala faktorer som socialsekreterarna behövde förhålla sig till i arbetet. Handlingsutrymmet upplevdes begränsat men utgjorde till största del en trygghet i det komplicerade arbetet.

Svenska socialförvaltningar styrs kommunalt och innebär olika arbetsmetoder i olika kommuner för de anställda socialsekreterarna. Vidare tillåter det ett brett tolkningsutrymme i deras arbete med hemlösa klienter. För att uppnå ett tillfredsställande resultat i de hjälpinsatser som kan erbjudas krävs det en individanpassad bedömning utifrån de resurser som finns och ett bemötande som skiljer sig för varje enskild individ. Den höga arbetsbelastningen som är ett problem idag beror på olika saker men sju av tio socialsekreterare kan tänka sig lämna socialtjänsten. Syftet med denna undersökning var att utreda vilka förväntningar som finns på yrket samt om det finns rollkonflikter. För att undersöka detta genomfördes intervjuer med åtta socialsekreterare anställda på socialförvaltningen i Skåne län. Det insamlade materialet analyserades inom ramarna av begreppet gräsrotsbyråkrater som definierar statligt anställda myndighetsutövare och begreppet rollkonflikter som beskriver hur individer påverkas av att behöva inta olika roller. Resultatet visade att förväntningarna av det sociala arbetet inte uppfylldes men att det skiljer sig mellan att arbeta inom bostad-först metoder och traditionella handläggande socialsekreterare. / The Swedish social authorities are governed communally and means that social workers in different counties have different working methods. That also means that they have a wide interpretation in their work with homeless clients. In order to achieve a satisfying result in their assistance it requires an individualized evaluation based on the available resources and a treatment which is different for each individual. Today’s problem for socialworkers is a high workload depending on various things but seven out of ten social workers would consider leaving the social services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expectations of the profession and whether there are role conflicts emerging. To investigate this, interviews were conducted with eight social workers employed in Skåne county, Sweden. The collected material was analyzed within the framework of the concept of street-level bureaucrats that defines state employees exercising authority and the concept of role conflicts which describes how individuals are affected by having to assume different roles. The results showed that the expectations of social work were not met but that it differs between working in the housingfirst method and traditional work of social secretary.

<p>Treatment is both about the actual encounter and how individuals interact as well as the behaviour among the counterparts. Previous research shows that a person’s experience of how he/she is being treated is formed by conditions created by external factors, in literature known as the general view on treatment. The purpose of the study is to show how people with a physical disability experience the treatment from their Social Security Agency administrators. We have compared the empirical material with theories on treatment and power and analysed how this affect the interaction between the administrator and the disabled person. We have used qualitative interviews to collect the empirical material; in all we have conducted six semi-structural interviews. The result shows that the clients have experienced both positive and negative aspects of treatment, with emphasis on feelings of positive reception. The respondents have pointed out different strategies in order to take control of their own situation. Despite this, the Social Security Agency aadministrators always has the final say, i.e. the executive power. All respondents stress that the administrator must be a good listener, able to motivate them as well as humble during their encounter.</p><p> </p><p>Key words: street-level bureaucrat, disability, treatment and public sector</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Nyckelord: gräsrotsbyråkrat, funktionsnedsättning, bemötande, offentlig sektor</p>

<p>The aim of this dissertation is to illustrate the manner in which assistance is distributed to the elderly according to the social services law in Sweden. It will focus on the processing officers/"street-level bureaucrats" who have been assigned, based on their profession, the task of assessing and deciding about the distributing of assistance. Central issues include the manner in which process officers go about their assignement and how their actual performance appears in comparision with the prescribed course of action. The dissertation´s starting pionts are in part, the legal regulations in the form of the social service law´s material and procedural rules, and in part the role as street-level bureaucrat and the construction of the client. The data which forms the basis for the conclusions of the dissertation consists of four studies conducted during the period 1995-2001. The first investigation - The Sundsvall study - is explorative and gives a first insight into how the process officers act and document the processing of a case. The process officers study is a national investigation with process officers from 27 municipalities. This second study focuses on the various ways to organise the handling process, and how these may influence the finding for assistance. The documentation study is also a national investigation of 29 municipalities. In this third study the written documentation of the case handling process is primarily exposed. Focus groups comprise the final sorce of data in which a group of processors in tree municipalities discuss their work. The process officers in the focus group describe several usual situations. With support from the various investigations, a picture appears which does not agree with prescribed course of action according to the legislation. What appears instead is a pattern of action which probably already existed before we began this work and which likely continues. This pattern of action has as we have established two faces, one of which constitutes an informal process where the actual construction of the "help-seeker" take place. Whitin the frame for this aspect, the so-called "service catalouge" has a decisive meaning, which in it´s own way is directed towards satisfying primarely physical and medical needs. The other "face" displays the formalised expresson of the informal process. This formal expression does not reveal all that is going on, only chosen elements. The action that we have found are institutionalized as an officially sanctioned institution since the practice is widely accepted and legitimized. The public intstitution is therefore built upon a pattern of action that consists both of formal rule, but primarily standards and routines which in many regards occur outside the formal rules. The consequences of a pattern of action that has been institutionalized and legitimized affects those seeking help who do not receive the individual assessment that they have a right to according to the law.</p>

The aim of this dissertation is to illustrate the manner in which assistance is distributed to the elderly according to the social services law in Sweden. It will focus on the processing officers/"street-level bureaucrats" who have been assigned, based on their profession, the task of assessing and deciding about the distributing of assistance. Central issues include the manner in which process officers go about their assignement and how their actual performance appears in comparision with the prescribed course of action. The dissertation´s starting pionts are in part, the legal regulations in the form of the social service law´s material and procedural rules, and in part the role as street-level bureaucrat and the construction of the client. The data which forms the basis for the conclusions of the dissertation consists of four studies conducted during the period 1995-2001. The first investigation - The Sundsvall study - is explorative and gives a first insight into how the process officers act and document the processing of a case. The process officers study is a national investigation with process officers from 27 municipalities. This second study focuses on the various ways to organise the handling process, and how these may influence the finding for assistance. The documentation study is also a national investigation of 29 municipalities. In this third study the written documentation of the case handling process is primarily exposed. Focus groups comprise the final sorce of data in which a group of processors in tree municipalities discuss their work. The process officers in the focus group describe several usual situations. With support from the various investigations, a picture appears which does not agree with prescribed course of action according to the legislation. What appears instead is a pattern of action which probably already existed before we began this work and which likely continues. This pattern of action has as we have established two faces, one of which constitutes an informal process where the actual construction of the "help-seeker" take place. Whitin the frame for this aspect, the so-called "service catalouge" has a decisive meaning, which in it´s own way is directed towards satisfying primarely physical and medical needs. The other "face" displays the formalised expresson of the informal process. This formal expression does not reveal all that is going on, only chosen elements. The action that we have found are institutionalized as an officially sanctioned institution since the practice is widely accepted and legitimized. The public intstitution is therefore built upon a pattern of action that consists both of formal rule, but primarily standards and routines which in many regards occur outside the formal rules. The consequences of a pattern of action that has been institutionalized and legitimized affects those seeking help who do not receive the individual assessment that they have a right to according to the law.

Treatment is both about the actual encounter and how individuals interact as well as the behaviour among the counterparts. Previous research shows that a person’s experience of how he/she is being treated is formed by conditions created by external factors, in literature known as the general view on treatment. The purpose of the study is to show how people with a physical disability experience the treatment from their Social Security Agency administrators. We have compared the empirical material with theories on treatment and power and analysed how this affect the interaction between the administrator and the disabled person. We have used qualitative interviews to collect the empirical material; in all we have conducted six semi-structural interviews. The result shows that the clients have experienced both positive and negative aspects of treatment, with emphasis on feelings of positive reception. The respondents have pointed out different strategies in order to take control of their own situation. Despite this, the Social Security Agency aadministrators always has the final say, i.e. the executive power. All respondents stress that the administrator must be a good listener, able to motivate them as well as humble during their encounter.   Key words: street-level bureaucrat, disability, treatment and public sector   Nyckelord: gräsrotsbyråkrat, funktionsnedsättning, bemötande, offentlig sektor

Our aim with this study is to explore socialworkers perception of what is a good treatment is and how to establish good relationship with their clients. We have decided to limit our study with social workers in Economic assistance and Abuse Units in social servises and explore if we can discern any differences between the units. We have chosen to use qualitative methods to achieve the aim of this study. We interviewed a total of seven social workers, of which three were from Abuse unit and four were from Economic assistance unit. One of the theoretical frame we have used is Goffmans (1970, 1974) theories about social interaction in which he explains the social encounter between social workers and clients. Blumers (1969) symbolic interactionism was used as our second theoretical point, where he explains the social interaction as a complex mechanism. We also used a theorie related to the worker's discretion and we have assumed Johansson's (2007) interpretation of Lipsky theories of Street-Level Bureaucracy to understand how frontline public workers are the people who truly enact policies. The study shows, according to respondents the characteristics required for good treatment, which includes respect and understanding, how it affects the alliance between the socialworker and the klient and their ethical views. The socialworkers emphasize the relevance of first meeting and to make a first good impression. We did notice ambivalence in some of the socialworkers statements. It was revealed some differences between the social workers’ view of treatment depending on which unit they belonged to, for example the socialworkers from financial assistance seems to have a more controlledrelation to their clients while social workers from abuse unit appears to have a closer relationship.

This is a qualitative study based on two focus group interviews with a total of six social workers who work with assessing financial aid in two municipalities. The study aims to examine how the social workers experience and handle their ambiguous professional role, on the basis that they are expected to support and control the client. The theoretical framework is the theory about discretion and role theory. The results show that social workers find it difficult to combine these different approaches. Two different groups of strategies that social workers use to manage their professional role have been distinguished, the first is used to combine the different approaches (combination strategies), which are: empathy, to be distinct and to "blame" the organization. The second is used to manage the professional role (managing strategies) and are: support of work colleagues, support of manager, "squareness" and distance. / Detta är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på två fokusgruppintervjuer med totalt sex socialsekreterare som arbetar med att handlägga ekonomiskt bistånd i två kommuner. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare som arbetar med ekonomiskt bistånd upplever och hanterar sin dualistiska yrkesroll, utifrån att de förväntas stötta och kontrollera klienten på en och samma gång. Studiens teoretiska ram utgörs av teorin om handlingsutrymme samt rollteori. Resultatet visar att socialsekreterarna upplever det svårt att kombinera dessa olika förhållningssätt/roller och att svårigheterna främst uppstår då de tvingas fatta beslut som går klienten emot. Två olika grupper av strategier som socialsekreterarna använder sig av för att hantera yrkesrollen har kunnat urskiljas, den första används för att kombinera de olika förhållningssätten (kombinationsstrategier), vilka är: visa empati, tydlighet och “skylla” på organisationen. De andra används för att hantera yrkesrollen (hanteringsstrategier) och är: stöd av arbetskollegor, stöd av chef, “fyrkantighet” och distans.

This is a study about employment officers at the Swedish public employment service. The aim of this study was to examine how they understand and use their discretion in their daily work. We used a qualitative method and the data was gathered by semi-structured interviews with eight employment officers working at the same office in a small town in Sweden. Lipskys theory about street-level bureaucracy and Lazarus description of coping theory are applied to analyze the empirical data. The work for the Swedish employment officers have changed over the last years with an increasing focus on control and administration. The results from the study show that the employment officers considered that they have a freedom of action in their daily work about planning their meetings, but all of them thinks that the administration, and the fact that they have to handle too many unemployed means that they are lack of time, what leads to a negative impact on their discretion. All of the interviewed subjects indicated that the Swedish public employment service has a top-down organization. We found that the informants used a unified strategy to cope dilemmas by referring to the existing laws, both when they handled disgruntled unemployed and even as a way to cope their own liable situations. They could interpret the laws in different ways and they took help from the colleagues at the local office to decide how to interpret the laws. Even if dilemma was common in their work with the unemployed, they considered that their mission to control was mainly positive. The main reasons, to how the employment officers margin for manoeuvre are limited, appears to be the laws, the regulations and the available efforts for the unemployed.