| 1. |
- Andersson, Åsa, et al.
(författare)
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Work Integrated Learning from the Perspective of Internationalization
- 2012
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Ingår i: The European Conference on Educational Research 2012.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The focus of this presentation is on work integrated learning in higher education that takes place in a cultural context different to that which the student is accustomed to. In higher education internationalization is often stated as a central vision both in relation to education and research. This is commonly expressed in policy documents in statements such as working for an open and border crossing university and having a distinct international perspective in all forms of higher education. The research project “Work integrated learning from the perspective of internationalization” is designed to highlight some of the conditions that surround such visions by examining learning in international settings from students' experiences of practice-related activities abroad. This involves activities that are directly work-oriented or field work carried out within the framework of a university course and / or a bachelor thesis. In the project we are thereby examining students' situated learning and thus highlight the contextual practice community they can access in an international environment. This includes both specific and more general aspects of learning in which different aspects are highlighted. Specific training related to special education programs focus on the development of professional identity while generally learning affects students from all programs in which learning outcomes such as wider perspectives and critical thinking are included.Our research focus is of exploratory nature where the approach is to examine students’ experiences of practice-related learning from the perspective of internationalization. This is being researched from three relating aspects. • Emotional and identity transformational aspects of learning. What does it mean to be in a relatively unknown social environment and there be faced with work-related tasks? What kind of interpretations and understandings of the situations occur? • Communicative aspects of students' practice-oriented learning – the importance of language and cultural codes. • Comparative aspects of students’ learning – the importance of comparisons for perspective taking and development of knowledge.Previous researched has been done on students’ practice-related learning in the field of work integrated learning. The forms of practice-oriented learning are of various kinds. It may be learning through the use of practical training related to establishing a profession-specific knowledge and identity. Other forms are the use of direct working connections or cultural settings outside the university through project work in course moments and / or for a bachelor thesis. What is common to these various forms is an endeavor of higher education to make the arena and cultural settings outside the university to a direct part in students’ learning. Given that the internationalization of higher education has increased, it is important also to examine students’ learning in various international contexts. The relevance of this can be found in theories of learning particularly those focusing on the contextual meaning from the idea that learning originates from the experience of interaction with the environment. Social aspects such as the relational and dialogic qualities are central already in the work of Vygotsky (1962) but according to Cooper (2008), it is only recently that this has been researched from an international perspective.MethodThe study is based on qualitative interviews with post graduate students who have completed internship or field work abroad. We have conducted in depth interviews using a guide with thematic questions focusing on emotional, communicative and comparative aspects of work integrated learning abroad. When processing the raw information the interviews were digitally-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The sample includes 12 in depth interviews, three students from each four different departments (social work, teacher, health promoter, cultural studies and engineering) at a smaller Swedish university. Another category of material is the interviewed student’s written reports from their field work. A content-analysis is performed on all parts of the material according to the three mentioned aspects. The analysis is abductive, which means that it uses theoretical concepts in making sense of the material, but is also sensitive to the participants' own ways of conceptualizing their experiences and learning. Common as well as unique features in the students' stories will be presented and discussed and considered in regard to the students' personal, institutional and cultural contexts.Expected OutcomesPreliminary analysis suggest in line with previous studies that the interviewed students' experiences of practice-related learning in a different cultural context show linkage with the phenomenon of sojourning which means taking up temporary residence in another culture. The previous, more linear psychological explanatory model of "adapting" the self in a new country to study or work does not suffice to explain the students' various experiences and learning in their field of study/professional development or on a more general. Our primary analysis of the material rather indicate that these processes are best understood as a complex web of shifting links between mastery of communication, social interaction and personal development. It is the management of this web which gives the result of cross-cultural adaptation and renegotiation of the "identity". As previous studies in the field have shown, personal, educational and psychological factors are as important as organizational and social-cultural factors for influencing the learning outcome (Qing et al 2010). And when it comes to identity formation practice related learning abroad also shows deeply personal transformative possibilities (Ryanand & Viete 2009).ReferencesCooper, G. (2008) "Assessing International Learning Experiences: A Multi-Institutional Collaboration". In: Phi Kappa Phi Forum/ Vol. 88 Qing, G., Schweisfurthb, M. & Daya, C. (2010) "Learning and growing in a 'Foreign' Context: Intercultural Experiences of International Students" In: A Journal of Comparative & International Education. Vol.40, No. 1. Ryan, J. & Viete, R. (2009) “Respectful interactions: learning with international students in the English-speaking academy”. In: Teaching in Higher Education, Vol. 14, No. 3 Vygotsky, L. (1962) Thought and language. Cambridge: MA: M IT press
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| 2. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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An early-response, police-social work collaborative intervention : Perspectives of young participants
- 2023
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- For society, measures targeted at early crime prevention pose a dilemma. On the one hand, there is a risk that an early intervention can label a young person as a criminal, and have negative consequences on identity formation. On the other, lack of an intervention can have the consequence of a continued lifestyle involving crime. Many are the stories from former prisoners who claim that an earlier intervention could have disrupted an identity trajectory leading to becoming a ‘criminal’ (Kacprzak, 2019). Other research indicates that young people – particularly those from ethnic minority groups – relate to police preventative practices with dissatisfaction (Wästerfors & Burcar Alm, 2020). However, there are also studies which demonstrate that young people experience interventions from police and social services as legitimate and valuable. The current study seeks to explore the perceptions of young people aged between 11–17 who received an early intervention following the commission of a crime. In this collaborative project between police and social services, the young person received a coordinated chain of interventions involving first the police, thereafter a social worker, and, finally a qualified youth support worker. Each of the three elements occurred within a two-week period following the commission of the crime. The crime committed could range in severity from shoplifting to a drug offence, or a robbery. Participation in the research was voluntary. Those taking part (N=21) were interviewed on a minimum of one and a maximum of three occasions during and after the intervention period. In total, 40 interviews were conducted. The interviews sought to elicit the young people’s perceptions of police practices, the practices of the social and youth workers, the effects on the young people’s attitudes, and their thoughts about the future. Data was analyzed using a narrative approach (Riessman, 2001). Focus was directed to how the young person perceived and understood the actions and practices of professionals involved in the project. In this respect, the interview functioned not only as a means of providing insights, but also a space for self-presentation and the construction of understanding. Drawing on theories about procedural justice (Bradford, B. & Jackson, 2015) results reveal, firstly, that the participants experienced the intervention as an opportunity to reflect on the future. While the rapid response – from the police, the social workers, and the youth workers – came as a surprise, participants were positive about this swift reaction. In relation to the police practice of forcibly intervening when the crime had happened (frequently involving a shorter detention), this was perceived in a wider global context of police violence. For example, references were made to the George Floyd case (“I can’t breathe”). Frequently, police actions created a tangible sense of fear. Many participants perceived the intervention as reflective of society’s reaction to criminality. For some, experiences of being ‘labelled’ were prominent. While the results point to the value of a swift response, they also warn of the dangers attached to early labelling.
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| 3. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-
(författare)
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Att få pengarna att räcka till som de brukar : Barns och ungas perspektiv på föräldrars arbetslöshet
- 2016
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This report is about the ways in which children in families with previous economic stability experience and adapt to substantially decreased household income as a consequence of a parent's/parents' unemployment. While much is known about children growing up in poor families, and how they understand and act in relation to the family's economic situation, little is known about children who suddenly find themselves living in economic adversity. In the context of post-financial crisis Sweden where in the late 2000s/early 2010s large numbers of families with previously stable incomes found themselves in economic adversity, the objective of the research is to investigate how children and young people experience substantial decreases in household income as a consequence of parental unemployment. In particular focus is directed to the ways in which they reason about and respond to the family's new economic circumstances. Interviews with children (N=45) whose parents had previously been in long-term employment but lost their jobs were carried out. Drawing on national data provided by the National Transition Fund for Blue-collar Workers (TSL) and (ii) the Local Transition fund for white-collar staff in the private sector (TRS), five municipalities in the west of Sweden with the highest numbers of transition grants were initially identified for recruitment of families subjected to unemployment during the years of 2010-2013.The interview data was analysed using thematic content analysis (Broun & Clark2006) with focus directed to children's agency (Kuczinski 2003). While the results are largely in line with previous research on children living in long-termpoor families, that is to say that parents put children´s needs first, children take responsibility for the family situation by not financial demands on the parentsone major difference emerged. None of the types of self-excluding behavior characteristic of avoidance-oriented strategies was found. Unlike children living in poverty where self-exclusion and the avoidance of exposure to stigmatizing situations where resource disparities are highlighted are common, the children in the current study did not regard parental unemployment and the family's loss of income as a source of shame. Rather, they expressed awareness of how macroeconomic forces had impacted on their lives and, as active agents, developedstrategies that enabled them to adjust to the family's new economic reality. The implications of this result indicate that social workers working with children insuch situations need to reconsider interpretations of behavior that are rooted inthe assumption that economic adversity generates shame and stigma.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Barn och unga i försörjningsstödsärenden : en studie med fokus på myndigheternas dokumentation samt barn och ungas vardag, strategier och syn på försörjningsstöd
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Ett flertal studier har beskrivit de omedelbara och långsiktiga effekter som ekonomisk utsatthet har på barns och ungas livssituation och möjligheter att utvecklas.Betydligt färre studier har fokus på barn och unga vars föräldrar erhåller någon form av ekonomiskt bistånd, såsom försörjningsstöd, och vilken plats barn och unga har i denna situation. Den aktuella forskningsstudien ger med sina tre delar en breddad och fördjupad bild av vilken plats barn och unga ges i försörjningsstödsärenden samt vilken syn och vilka strategier de själva ger uttryck för. En utgångspunkt för samtliga delar i studien är att barn och unga är aktiva aktörer, med egna behov och resurser, som bör beaktas vid handläggning av försörjningsstödsärenden.Del 1 har som syfte att beskriva hur barns och ungas situation dokumenteras i sambandmed försörjningsstödsärenden, dels generellt, dels beroende på om ärendepersonenär född i Sverige eller utomlands. Dokumentationsakter för en mindre kommuns samtliga biståndsärenden gällande familjer med minst ett barn i åldern0–21 år (N=147 ärenden; 368 barn) har granskats med avseende på den dokumentation som rör barn och unga.Del 2 har som syfte att undersöka barns och ungas syn på försörjningsstöd. Intervjuer har genomförts med 36 barn och unga i åldern 9–20 år vars föräldrar erhåller försörjningsstöd.Samtliga deltagare är födda i Syrien och kom som nyanlända till Sverige under 2014–2016.Del 3 har som syfte att undersöka barns och ungas vardag och strategier i relation till att familjen erhåller långvarigt försörjningsstöd. Intervjuer har genomförts med tolv barn och unga i åldern 10–21 år vars föräldrar erhållit försörjningsstöd under en längre tid. Deltagarna är antingen födda i Sverige eller har levt här under lång tid.Resultaten pekar på att barn och unga i familjer som erhåller försörjningsstöd tar ett stort eget ansvar samt utformar sina strategier utifrån det. Det kan finnas konflikter och svårigheter i familjerelationerna, men också förståelse och empati. Hur barns meningsskapande ser ut påverkas av familjens ekonomiska och relationella resurser. Barn utvecklaren ekonomisk kompetens med medvetenhet och kunskap om pengars värde.Vardagen formas genom de strategier som både barnen och föräldrarna använder sig av. Att bli sedd som avvikande kan leda till utanförskap och barn i familjer som erhåller ekonomiskt bistånd löper större risk att inte känna delaktighet.Synen på att erhålla försörjningsstöd skiljer sig åt mellan de två grupper av barn som vi har intervjuat, även om strategierna för att hantera situationen delvis överlappar. Bland barnen i nyanlända familjer ger många uttryck för att pengarna de erhåller är tillräckligtför att tillgodose familjens behov samt att försörjningsstödet ger dem och deras familj möjlighet att bygga nya liv. Även dokumentationen av barns och ungas situation i samband med försörjningsstödsärenden skiljer sig åt, eventuellt på grund av att anledningarna bakom föräldrarnas behov av försörjningsstöd är olika. Forskningen har genomförts i samarbete med Campus Västervik.
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| 6. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-
(författare)
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Children's agency in interprofessional collaboration
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nordic Social Work Research. - 2156-857X .- 2156-8588. ; 5:1, s. 50-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is currently little research into social welfare interventions where children's agency has been in focus and, in particular, a lack of research on children's experiences and perceptions of interprofessional collaboration. Findings from studies that have looked at children's perceptions of opportunities to influence the support they receive have tended to show how they lack power and influence. Drawing on Kuczynski, Harach, and Bernardini's (1999) three principles for investigating and understanding children's agency, the purpose of this study is, in a Swedish context, to explore children's perceptions of their agentic capacity to influence who works with them when many different professionals are involved in providing support. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 28 children in receipt of support in the form of either home-based interventions, foster or institutional care. The results revealed that, for the older children, perceptions of the exercise of agency involved both the exclusion of certain professionals from the collaborating group as well as the identification of those perceived as being able to help. Additionally, the children's agency could be seen to be implicated in their perceptions of actively making decisions to acquiesce in collaborative solutions. For the younger children, agency was revealed in the way that they interpreted the situations involving collaborating professionals, recognising that it is primarily parents who decide about contact with different 'helpers'. The study provides important insights from the child's perspective into the ways in which, through their agency, children are active in defining and re-defining their own 'organisational chart' of collaboration. Limitations are discussed and proposals for future research are made.
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| 7. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-
(författare)
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Children's agency in interprofessional collaborative meetings in child welfare work
- 2016
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Ingår i: Child & Family Social Work. - : Wiley. - 1356-7500 .- 1365-2206. ; 21:4, s. 502-511
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concept of children's agency can be used to understand how children actively shape their lives. While in social work there is a growing body of research on how children experience meetings that involve collaborating professionals, little is known about the ways in which they exert an influence.The purpose of the study is, in a Swedish context, to investigate children's perceptions of their agentic capacity in regulating participation and exerting an influence on outcomes in interprofessional collaborative meetings. Interviews were carried out with 28 children in receipt of social services support. Findings revealed that children perceive professionals' talk as restricting opportunities for input. They also perceive that they have the capacity to exercise agency by (i) conforming to expectations by feigning boredom and seeming disengaged, but at the same time paying close attention; (ii) by using exit strategies; and (iii) by developing 'in-situ' strategies to end meetings. Rather than, as previously suggested, being powerless in such circumstances, the children tell how they carefully assess situations, and, from a position of apparent subordination, talk of ways of acting that reveal their agentic capacity. These insights are of importance for practitioners who are encouraged to look beyond behaviours that first meet the eye.
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| 8. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Consequences of Availability of 'extended' Pupil Welfare interventions : Effects on School Performance
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Children living in families with alcohol or drug misuse, violence or a parent's psychiatric illness are commonly regarded as a group at risk of developing social and health problems, but also at risk of failing in school. In Sweden social services have the responsibility to intervene to change the situation for such children (National Board of Health and Welfare, 2013). Teachers, school social workers and other relevant staff all have important roles to play in identifying pupils within this target group (Backlund, 2007). However research demonstrates that this process can be prolonged. Nor is it unusual that parents and/or pupils are unwilling to accept support until the home situation becomes very serious and/or where the pupil's school achievements have deteriorated in a serious way (SOU 2010).This presentation offers an evaluation of an ongoing project 'Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare' (2013–2015) funded by the Swedish Public Health Agency and which is one of sixteen projects aimed at children and young people within this target group in the national program 'Developing New Evidenced Methods for Prevention and Interventions'. The 'Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare' project is based on the hypothesis that, by making established evidence-proven intervention methods normally offered by social services in social service settings available for pupils and their parents in a school setting, children and parents may be more willing to accept/or seek support at an earlier stage than had the interventions been available through normal social services channels. The research questions are: 'Does availability influence willingness to seek and accept support?', and 'In what way does this support influence school performance?'In recent decades a great deal of attention has been directed to the creation and implementation of effective interventions designed to adress the needs of pupils at risk of failing academically (Allen-Meares, Montgomery & Kim, 2013; Dube & Orpinas, 2009). Interventions operate at a number of levels. While Tier 1 interventions are at the whole school level, Tier 2 interventions address specific groups and individuals (Allen-Meares et al., 2013). In Sweden a multitude of collaborative joint ventures by social services and schools at both tiers have emerged in recent years (SOU, 2010). A national evaluation of a government sponsored program comprising more than one hundred collaborative projects revealed that collaboration is in great need of development. Further, a majority of teachers report that collaboration with social services, child psychiatry, the police and other agencies is, in different ways, unsatisfactory (Danermark, Englund & Germundsson, 2010). From this point of departure the 'Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare' project is based on the assumption that if the school is the sole stakeholder in providing support interventions, actions can be more effectively directed in ways that best fit the school's organization and impact most directly on pupils' school achievement. For example, research demonstrates that when social services and schools are both stakeholders, the process of identifying and supporting pupils in need is not only unnecessarily time-consuming, but also less effective (Bolin 2011).Focusing on an interprofessional staff group comprising two teachers and two social workers based on-site in a medium sized primary/secondary school, and comparing pupils' and parents' perceptions of the availability of pupil welfare support with similar parental/pupil perceptions at another school used as a control, the objectives of this research is to theoretically analyse and critically evaluate the impact on school performance of on-site extended pupil welfare support. In this presentation focus is directed to findings emerging from interview data with pupils at the intervention school, and on their perceptions of the impact that the work of the interprofessional support team has had on their approaches to school work.Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedIn addition to assessing pupils' achievement (encapsulated in subject grades) the study also focuses on the perception the pupils have of the impact on school performance of on-site social welfare support, and it is these findings that are presented here. Individual interviews have been carried out with participating pupils and their parents. The rationale behind this choice is that interviews are contextualised and can thus provide depth and detail (as opposed to questionnaire based approaches), and are to be preferred when 'why' and 'how' questions have been posed (Flyvbjerg, 2007). The interviews with pupils were carried out using a semi-structured guide, as is recommended for interviews with children (Docherty & Sandelowski, 1999). The guide consisted of a series of open questions pertaining to the pupil's understanding of the process of receiving support; the pupil's perception of the impact of the intervention with regard to school performance; out-of-school activities and activities in the family, and if positive changes are experienced, how enduring the pupil perceives such changes to be. The interviews with the pupils took place in a municipality community hall or in a room at the school. When processing the raw information the interviews were digitally-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data was processed using NVIVO 10. Each interview transcript was entered as a single case, with twenty cases in total. The approach adopted when analysing the empirical data has been inspired by what Patton (2002) describes as thematic analysis and involves the recognition of patterns. Data was coded and closely analyzed by identifying increasing levels of abstraction in the material (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsPreliminary results indicate that pupils see encounters with the on-site interprofessional support team as impacting on their attendance, approaches to school work and achievement. This, as the pupils report, is in part due to the experience in lessons of being able to keep away from conflicts with other pupils and teachers. Previously a consequence of being involved in conflicts meant the pupil having to leave lessons. Pupils also speak of experiencing an increased capacity for subject goal attainment. A majority of the interviewees estimate that they have improved their grade in at least two or three subjects, often pointing to core subjects such as Swedish, Maths and English. Further, the results indicate that the pupils perceive they can control whether, and if so, when they want to receive support from the support team. This, they report, contributes to a willingness to both emotionally and cognitively engage in the program and in the counselling provided. They describe that this engagement gives them tools to better focus on subject learning in class, to take control of their emotions and not to initiate conflicts or respond violently in peer relations in the classroom. A particularly interesting finding is that pupils do not perceive that support from the onsite team is attached to any sense of stigma, shame or embarrassment. Indeed, some pupils' accounts indicate that, when receiving support from the team, they feel much more comfortable about talking about problems they experience in the home such as, for example, violence or parents' alcohol misuse. However, some negative experiences of receiving support from the onsite team are revealed. For example, pupils perceive that the staff are not as immediately available as they would like them to be, and that support is not sufficiently 'on-demand', thus causing causes them anxiety and feelings of reduced self-worth
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| 9. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Consequences of Availability of 'extended´ Pupil Welfare Interventions
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nordic Youth Research Symposium. - Trollhättan : Högskolan Väst. ; , s. 59-59
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Children and young people living in families with alcohol misuse, violence or a parents psychiatric illness are commonly regarded as a group at risk of developing social and health problems, but also at risk of failing in school. Teachers, school social workers and other relevant staff all have important roles to play in identifying pupils within this target group. However research demonstrates that this process can be prolonged and professionals fail to identify young people at risk in early stages. This presentation offers an evaluation of the project Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare (2013 2015) funded by the Swedish Public Health Agency. The research questions are: Does availability influence willingness to seek and accept support? , and In what way does this support influence school performance? In this presentation focus is directed to findings emerging from data with children and young people (N=88) who has received interventions. Statistics on grades (grade 7-9) and school absence and interviews (N=20). Thematic analysis has been adopted and the interview data was coded and closely analyzed by identifying increasinglevels of abstraction in the material. The result indicate that the children and young people perceive they can control whether, and if so, when they want to receive support from the support team (self-referrals). This, they report, contributes to a willingness to both emotionally and cognitively engage in the preRepuls program and in the counselling provided. Also three affordances facilitating childrens and young people´sself-referrals is identified: (i) the day-to-day presence of the social workers enables investment in relationships, (ii) team members use communication technologies in domains familiar to the children, and (iii) the social workers practice is visible. A further resultis also that grades are improved, often pointing to subjects such as Swedish, Maths and English and decreased absence from school.
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| 10. |
- Bolin, Anette, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Consequences of availability of social work support in a school context : 'Extended' pupil welfare interventions and effects on school performance
- 2015
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Children living in families with alcohol misuse, violence or a parent’s psychiatric illness are not only commonly regarded as a group at risk of developing social problems, but also at risk of failing in school. Teachers and school social workers have important roles to play in identifying these pupils. However research demonstrates that this process can be prolonged. Nor is it unusual that parents and/or pupils are unwilling to accept support until the home situation becomes serious and/or where the pupil’s school achievements have deteriorated.This presentation is based on an evaluation of the project ‘Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare’ funded by the Swedish Public Health Agency´s national program ‘Developing New Evidenced Methods for Prevention and Interventions’. The project is based on the hypothesis that, by making established evidence-proven intervention methods normally offered by social services in social service settings available for pupils and their parents in a school setting, children and parents may be more willing to both seek and accept support at an earlier stage than had such interventions been available through normal social services channels. The research questions are: ‘Does availability influence willingness to seek and accept support?’, and ‘In what way does this support influence school performance?’ The empirical base for this presentation draws on (i) data from a survey of parents (N=137) and pupils (N=49) pre- and post-project that focused on perceptions of the availability of support from pupil welfare and socials services, (ii) data on school performance with regard to pupils in receipt of interventions (N=86), and (iii) individual interviews (N=20) with pupils who received interventions. Results indicate that the availability of social workers plays an important role for children’s motivation to seek/or accept support. Pupils regard encounters with the on-site interprofessional support team as impacting on their attendance, approaches to school work and achievement.
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