Norwegian Social Workers Research Articles

Relational rights and interdependent wellbeing: Exploring the experiences of an ethnic minority girl with the Norwegian Child Welfare service

In this article, we draw on a case study where the Norwegian Child Welfare services placed an ethnic minority girl, Amara, into foster care. Her sensemaking around being moved into foster care is used as entry point to explore tensions between Amara, her family, and Child Welfare services. Amara’s responsibilities within the family conflict with the ideal childhood model in Norway. The case demonstrates a limited view on wellbeing and an ethnocentric understanding of what is in the best interest of the child among Norwegian social workers. We propose the use of ubuntu and African ethics in Child Welfare services to cater for more diverse understandings of childhood and upbringing. Furthermore, we approach children’s rights relationally to acknowledge how children’s lives and wellbeing are deeply entangled in interconnections and interdependencies.

Domesticating Technology in Pandemic Social Work

On March 12th, 2020 the Norwegian government announced what later became known as ‘the lockdown’ of Norway due to the outbreak of Covid-19. This led to major changes in society where social distancing became the ‘new normal’ in everyday life. For social workers, it meant adapting to ‘new’ social problems among vulnerable groups as well as comprehensive changes in their working conditions and interactions with clients.
 Many social workers communicated with clients on digital platforms before the pandemic, but Norway’s Covid-19 social distancing policies changed the terms for using these platforms. This article investigates the impact of the pandemic on the ways Norwegian social workers involve themselves with digital technology in their interactions with clients. We employ domestication theory to investigate how social workers shape and navigate these new circumstances triggered by the pandemic using a three-dimensional model that includes practical, symbolic, and cognitive levels of analysis.
 The data underlying this article consist of 16 semi-structured interviews with social workers from seven different social services in Norway. The interviews were conducted approximately one month after the lockdown. The digital transformation within Norwegian social services, together with the changes related to the pandemic, have created new ways of practicing social work. We turn our attention to the following research questions: What characterized social workers’ digital interactions with clients during the first months of the pandemic? What can be learned from their experiences with domesticating technology? How has digital technology supported, challenged, and changed professional values in practice?

“It Gets a Bit Messy”: Norwegian Social Workers’ Perspectives on Collaboration with Police and Security Service on Cases of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism

ABSTRACT Social workers are a part of the prevention efforts against radicalisation and violent extremism in the Nordic countries. While multi-agency cooperation is not new in Norway, municipal cooperation with the police security service is. This cooperation, particularly its unintended consequences with a specific focus on the securitisation of “soft professionals” in the public sector, has been scarcely researched. We address this gap with findings from a qualitative study based on 17 individual in-depth interviews and two focus-group interviews with experienced social workers in Norway. Abbott’s theory of jurisdiction serves as our theoretical framework. Our findings suggest that social workers in some cases appear subordinate to law enforcement personnel. Further, the lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities raises ethical and professional dilemmas, especially regarding work transparency and client confidentiality, indicating an outside influence of security onto prevention work. An unintended consequence of this is the risk of lower levels of trust between prevention workers and their target group and a reduced ability to support at-risk individuals. Clarification of the roles and responsibilities of all partners involved in multi-agency PVE should be given attention from both policymakers and practitioners.

Managing role expectations and emotions in encounters with extremism: Norwegian social workers’ experiences

To prevent radicalisation and violent extremism, many European countries have adopted a multiagency approach, consisting of both police, teachers and social workers. Such strategies have caused concern for a securitization of social policy and stigmatization of vulnerable groups. This study aims at gaining insight into how Norwegian social workers involved in prevention work against violent extremism experience and manage role conflicts and emotions during interaction with their clients. This article presents findings from 17 individual and two focus group interviews which indicate that social workers experience emotional strain caused by role conflicts and emotional dissonance within a securitized field of social work. To handle these challenges, social workers apply a dynamic combination of surface and deep acting strategies, at both the reactive and proactive level, such as ‘Keeping a brave face’, ‘Character acting’ and ‘Adopting the client’s perspective’. Our findings contribute to expanding both the empirical and conceptual understanding of emotion management at work, and provides a novel insight into how prevention work against violent extremism is perceived by social workers. Also, in a field influenced by security rhetoric, our study gives encouraging new knowledge about how social workers can resist falling into oppressive and controlling practices by seeking to engage with and understand their clients’ human side, and relate this to their own lives.

Social workers use of knowledge in an evidence-based framework: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, evidence-based practice has become part of social work, grounded in the notion that social work should be a research-based profession. However, recent studies show that social workers struggle with bridging research and practice. This study analysed Norwegian social workers’ use of knowledge in their daily practice, drawing on data from a survey consisting of 2060 social workers in different practice fields as well as qualitative interviews with 25 social workers from social services and child welfare services. Analyses of the quantitative data revealed that clients, work experience, and colleagues were the three most common sources of knowledge among the social workers. The use of knowledge could be divided into two subgroups: (a) theory-oriented and (b) practice-oriented. The qualitative interviews revealed that social workers valued work experience, colleagues, supervisors, and clients as their main sources of knowledge. Lack of time was identified as the main barrier for engaging in research. The findings in this study are contextualised with theories on knowledge production and translation in social work, arguing that field instructors, supervisors, and social work education play an essential role both in facilitating evidence-based practice and, more broadly, in bridging the gap between research and practice.

Attitudes toward and Utilization of Evidence-based Practice among Norwegian Social Workers

ABSTRACTPurpose: This study analyzes Norwegian social workers’ attitudes toward evidence-based practice (EBP).Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 social workers and managers from social services and child welfare services.Results: Social workers were positive about EBP, yet confused about it, rarely distinguishing between EBP, empirically supported treatments (ESTs), experience-based knowledge and research when describing the concept. Five barriers to conducting EBP were identified: (i) concerns regarding a negative impact on the relationship with the client, (ii) lack of time, (iii) a top-down implementation approach, (iv) restriction of social workers’ autonomous decision-making, (v) EBP research models not always suiting the client’s/family’s need. Two benefits for practicing EBP were identified: (i) utilization of research in practice, (ii) utilization of general guidelines in decision-making processes.Discussion: The empirical material demonstrated that the social workers valued multiple types of knowledge when making informed decisions. The most prominent were practical and theoretical knowledge.Conclusion: The findings confirm recent studies, but also suggest a need for future research to bridge gaps in knowledge transfer.

Evidence-based practice in social work: perceptions and attitudes among Norwegian social workers

ABSTRACTAlthough the concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) eludes precise definition, it is used as a trademark label to ensure that practice is based on science and thereby effective and of high quality. Proponents of EBP have proposed that both education and practice in social work should be transformed according to the principle of EBP. They attribute critical opposition to EBP to a lack of knowledge of what EBP is. In this article, we endeavour to clarify the concept and present results from a survey among social workers (N = 2060) from Norway. The survey results show that although many have heard of the concept, few have precise knowledge about it. However, the more educated social workers are (master’s level), the clearer their opinions, both critical and non-critical. The results are discussed in relation to neo-liberal governance and development of social work.

‘How’ we do social work, not ‘what’ we do

This article explores how Norwegian social workers at municipal social services offices experience and explain social work as professional knowledge and theory, and examines examples from their experience working in new, multi-professional settings. It draws on a qualitative multi-method study focused on professional knowledge in social work practice during and after the reform merging state offices for employment, social insurance and components of municipal social services into ‘one-stop shops’ – called Nav offices. The study found social workers articulating their professional ethical perspectives as social work while defining themselves as ‘us’ distinct from their new colleagues. Paradoxically, they found themselves facing challenges in articulating social work theoretically. Their focus was not necessarily on what they did as social workers – but on how they did it. In de-emphasizing the theoretical in favour of the principles and practical benefits of their profession, they took on roles of pragmatic and non-protectionist professionals. They became pragmatic in their efforts to safeguard the best interests of clients while being nonprotective of their professional knowledge in claiming everyone can practice social work if what one does is ‘good’. One possible consequence of this is that the expert knowledge involved in social work may become degraded to ordinary and everyday knowledge.

The bureaucracy's voices in Norwegen client interviews

This article concerns a sociological study of face-to-face interaction taking place in social welfare offices in Norway. Qualitative data from interpreted dialogues between Norwegian social workers and their clients from minority groups of refugees and immigrants, bureaucratic voices and discourses are examined. For the social worker, face-to-face interaction is a matter of a professional performance characterized by an ambiguity between impartiality on the one hand and participatory involvement and understanding on the other. Power and control prevails significantly within the interactions as they strive to perform communicative actions between equals. Through some specific examples from my own observational studies, I have attempted to describe issues that can illustrate how the bureaucratic voice and prevalent discourses can be expressed in a variety of ways. For the social worker, it is a matter of a professional performance which is characterized by impartiality, counselling, objective verbal actions, the exercise of discretion, information distribution, etc.

Obstacles for child participation in care and protection cases—why Norwegian social workers find it difficult

Although some attempts are being made to increase children's participation in Norwegian child protection cases, much needs to be done in order to comply with the participation principle in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This paper reports on a study of factors that are likely to predict if social workers will attempt to give children an effective voice in decision making processes. 53 child protection case managers and 33 social work students participated in a questionnaire survey in which they were asked to agree or disagree with 20 statements about child participation. Statistical factor analysis was used in order to identify underlying factors in the dataset. The results suggest three main reasons for children not being allowed to participate: communication difficulties (communication factor); because child participation was not deemed necessary (participation advocacy factor); or that participation was considered inappropriate because it might be harmful (protectionism factor). This research suggests that, if we are to improve participation within the child protection system, formal regulations and guidelines need to be accompanied by a greater attention to development of social work skills in working with children through participatory processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Redefining relations among minority users and social workers

In a global society, social practice must be imbued with an appreciation of both cultural differences and complex power relationships if services are to be adapted to people's varied needs and lifestyles. The aim of this paper is to contribute to reflective practices and engagement with indigenous people's worldviews and with the social worker's own views and perspectives when practising social work. The authors argue that social workers must learn to consciously reflect on historical facts of discrimination and recognise their political consequences while being sensitive to cultural minorities in a helping context. Reflectivity equips social workers from majority cultures with a greater ability to reflect and re-define power positions as well as create premises for ‘good help’ when working with users from minority groups. Data for the study include qualitative interviews with Sámi users of the Norwegian health and welfare system and Norwegian social workers. Analysis was carried out following a phenomenological approach.

‘My work is exciting’ – social workers in Estonia compared to Norway

The article discusses the relationship between social policy and social work, focussing on how municipal social workers in Estonia and Norway describe their work situation as implementers of social policy. It is based on a series of individual and group interviews. Estonia is the main case, and Norway is included for comparative reasons. The relationship between aims and reality, external conditions and development of the profession are important subjects. Social workers represent a link between users and the various social policy institutions. Estonian and Norwegian social workers experience a gap between needs and resources. Representatives from both countries referred to the growing workload and complained about low status. At the same time they describe a positive development. A common feeling of having limited resources when confronted with the needs of the users is combined with a feeling that social work is challenging and exciting. In both countries networks and cooperation across professional borders are important. The authors conclude that social workers are important actors in implementing changes at the local level, but they seem to be more concerned about the daily encounter with the individual user than with the policy framework.

The impact of setting on work-related stress and performance among Norwegian social workers

The impact of setting on work-related stress and performance among Norwegian social workers