Varför fungerar samverkan ibland och ibland inte? : Förskollärares och socionomers uppfattningar av samverkan dem emellan

The study aims to examine variations in how preschool teachers and social workers perceive collaboration between them. Despite the fact that collaboration is mandated by law and clearly regulated in governing documents, the results show that in practice it is shaped by local organizational conditions, relationships, and professionals' previous experiences. During field placement and previous work experience, we have encountered both examples of well-functioning collaboration between and situations in which unclear structures and insufficient coordination have complicated collaboration. This prompted the need to deepen the understanding of these variations. The study adopted a qualitative approach and is based on semi-structured interviews with six preschool teachers and two social workers, recruited through strategic sampling with elements of the snowball method. The collected data were analyzed using a phenomenographic analysis model in order to highlight different ways of experiencing and describing collaboration. The results show that trust and confidence emerge as central prerequisites for effective collaboration. However, these relational qualities cannot be established solely through formal guidelines or organizational models, but develop over time through continuous interaction, clarity of roles, and mutual understanding of each other's professional responsibilities. The results can be used as a basis for developing clearer structures, strengthening relational work, and creating more sustainable collaboration processes, which in the long term may contribute to children receiving early and coordinated support interventions.