NYE STYRINGSREDSKABER I SOCIALT ARBEJDE: Arbejdsevnemetoden som et lovmæssigt imperativ

This article shows how the view of the citizen as a rational actor has become an infl uential perspective in Danish social work. The perspective is represented both by numerous researchers and leading politicians in Denmark. Politically, the introduction of a new social work method, the “arbejdsevnemetode” (the ability to work method), is an example of how the perspective is implemented in practice. The method aims to cast the citizen as a competent, rational actor, and the method’s use is mandatory in cases concerning early retirement, rehabilitation, and fl ex- time jobs. The rational actor perspective is also supported by a prominent group of social researchers who wish to challenge clientization in Danish social work. Based on data from a fi eldwork conducted in three Danish public administrations, the article explores the effects of the rational actor perspective on everyday municipal practice, as it is implemented via the “arbejdsevnemetode”. Furthermore it analyses the representation of the discourse from the infl uential research group on the social fi eld. The main concern of the article is not so much to argue for or against the rational actor perspective, but rather to analyse how ideological changes occur in different areas of social work. It concludes that it is the rigorous implementation of the rational actor perspective, rather than its intent that leads to problems in both practical and scientific settings

Perspektiver på barnets stemme

I artiklen beskrives, hvordan et generelt samfundsmæssigt og forskningsmæssigt fokus på barnets rettigheder kan være med til at forstærke opfattelsen af barnet som et afgrænset individ og sløre perspektiver på børn og deres afhængighed af omgivelserne. Et fokus på barnet som et afgrænset individ sætter desuden bestemte forventninger til barnets stemme som entydig og informerende, hvilket tilsvarende kan sløre opmærksomheden på de flertydige, mangeartede og modsætningsfyldte oplevelser og ønsker, som barnet, ligesom voksne, også kan have. Et fokus på barnets ret til at blive hørt medfører nogle etiske dilemmaer. På baggrund af forfatterens erfaringer fra interviewsituationer vises, hvordan en generel etik i forhold til at høre barnets stemme ikke kan gennemføres i praksis. Tværtimod kræver det en metodisk fleksibilitet i de enkelte interviewsituationer at sikre, at forventningen til barnets stemme som entydig og afgrænset fra deres voksne om- sorgspersoner ikke bliver et krav og dermed endnu en overskridelse af barnets grænser. Artiklen indeholder metodologiske refleksioner på basis af kvalitative interview og dagbogsdiktafon med ti plejebørn og deres plejeforældre i forbindelse med et ph.d.-projekt om opfattelser af slægtskab og tilhørsforhold.Søgeord: plejebørn, udsatte børn, FN’s Børnekonvention, metodologi, etik, tilhørsforhold.The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, The Danish Children’s Act (Barnets Reform) and the media’s current focus on children at risk are all examples of a general tendency in Denmark to focus on children’s participatory rights and the child’s own voice. The solution to the problems of the lives of children at risk is now sought with the children themselves; they need to be heard. This article discusses how a general focus in society and research on children’s voice and participatory rights is ambiguous, because it is grounded in a perspective of the child as a well-defined individual, which veils other aspects, such as children’s connectedness. The focus on the child as a well-defined individual also supports research perspectives that seek a synonymous and informative voice from the child, which at the same time veils the fact that children – as well as adults – also have multiple and often contrasting experiences and wishes. The focus on Children’s Universal Citizenship Rights support a child’s right to be heard, but can bring ethical problems when worked out in practice. This article shows how, through empirical examples from interview settings with children, universal ethical principles cannot be directly transferred into practice. Instead, some methodological flexibility is necessary to secure that wanting to hear the child’s own voice does not in itself become a transgression of this child. This article offers methodological reflections on the basis of the two methods interview and dictaphone diary that were used in a Ph.D. study about foster children and notions of kinship and belonging. Keywords: Foster children, children at risk, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children’s voices, ethics, methodology

Laura Gilliam & Eva Gulløv, med bidrag af Karen Fog Olwig og Dil Bach: Civiliserende institutioner. Om idealer og distinktioner i opdragelse

Anmeldes af Ida Hammen &nbsp

Laura Gilliam & Eva Gullav med bidrag af Karen Fog Olwig og Dil Bach: Civiliserende institutioner. Om idealer og distinktioner i opdragelse

Anmeldes af Ida Hamme