Through the small-scale and imaginative application of a Speculative Institutional Ethnographical study, fictionalised stories have been created based upon observations in the field at three different Youth Care Home Facilities in Sweden. The locations and characters in these stories are composite narratives comprised of actual details from multiple real life places and people, amalgamated to form fictionalised narratives so as to protect the anonymity of real life people. The researcher’s primary motivation with the research is to develop a better understanding of the way in which individual differences between staff members working at these facilities impact their decision making in an environment which is supposedly value-neutral. It is argued that a multitude of factors will influence staff members perceptions of youths at these homes and that a degree of bias or partiality is unavoidable. An awareness of this and a development of critical reflexivity is encouraged. Through drawing data from real life observations in the field to create credible, realistic fictionalised stories, the research project is combining academic and creative writing processes in an innovative and progressive way. The goal of the research is not to prove or disprove a specific hypothesis but rather to explore an issue and develop a better understanding of the complexity and nuances of working at a Youth Care Home facility in view of Intersectional Gender Studies.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the self-proclaimed performance of the National Board of Institutional Care, and its specific youth care homes in Sweden (SiS), concerning SiS work with institutionalised children and youth in relation to law of The Care of Young Persons Act (LVU). Special focus is also given to how the SiS self-assessment contrasts with the accounts given by institutionalised youths. We have investigated SiS claims present on their website since it provides ample documentation, information and deeds, and investigated reports by youth in the media, research and news outlets. We have elected to code all collected data and have thus identified key recurring themes present in youth and SiS reports.We have then regarded these findings with respect to our theories that are presented in the results and analysis section along with previous research. In this section we maintain that the description provided by youths at SiS is problematic and often shows a lack of care giving instances or staff that master the tools required to meet the youth in a constructive manner. In the discussion we once again maintain our theories and methodological approach that is based on Discourse analytical grounds that maintain the importance of language and the messages signified through actions.