Work group characteristics and professional learning processes in the field of men’s violence to women

• The paper is based upon ongoing research on professionals’ conversations with children in legal conflicts regarding child custody, contact or residence, with particular focus on children whose father is violent to the mother. Drawing upon group interviews with staff at four work places in Sweden specialised in family law investigations and mediation, we outline different work group characteristics, and discuss what these may mean for learning processes regarding a topic relatively new to the profession, such as men’s violence to women and children’s position in these families. It is argued that the types of groups identified – ‘homogenous and maintaining’, ‘heterogeneous and maintaining’, and ‘homogenous and development-oriented’ may represent different stages of a learning process in this field. Furthermore, that work group characteristics may enable or obstruct further change in a somewhat surprising pattern. We also link the different types of work groups and their learning processes to the wider societal context, specifically discursive shifts in Sweden as regards family law and men’s violence to women.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

pop (subject category)

kon (subject category)