Mellan klassrummet och socialtjänsten : En kvalitativ studie om skolsocionomers upplevelser av samverkan med socialtjänst och skolpersonal

Title: Between the classroom and social services - A qualitative study of school social worker experiences of collaboration with social services and school staff Problematic school absenteeism is a complex problem that often requires collaboration between different professionals in and around the school. The aim of this study is to examine how school social workers experience collaboration related to problematic school absenteeism. The study is based on eight qualitative interviews with school social workers working within compulsory schools in Sweden. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study is grounded in Danermark’s theory of collaboration and Lipsky’s concept of street-level bureaucrats. These theoretical perspectives were used to understand how professional roles and discretion affect collaboration. The results show that school social workers experience a large degree of discretion in their work. This is mainly linked to their unclear professional role, which gives them flexibility to adapt their work to the needs of students. However, the findings also show that collaboration works best when the roles of the different actors involved are clear. When roles and responsibilities are unclear, collaboration can become difficult and lead to misunderstandings. In conclusion, the study shows that the unclear professional role of school social workers affects their autonomy and gives them a large degree of discretion, while clear professional roles are an important factor for effective collaboration in work with problematic school absenteeism.