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Ett brett handlingsutrymme – en frihet eller en börda? En kvalitativ intervjustudie om skolkuratorers upplevelser av sitt handlingsutrymme

Nori, Shadan LU (2026) SOAM21 20252
School of Social Work
Abstract
School counselors in Sweden operate within a context where national legislation provides broad guidelines with limited concrete direction for their role. This study aimed to explore how school counselors perceive, interpret, and manage their discretion and to understand which factors shape their possibilities to act within their profession. The method chosen for this study was qualitative semi-structured interviews. In analyzing the results within three analytical levels, Lipsky's street-level bureaucracy was applied along with criticism from Evans and Harris, Wallander and Molander's theory of discretionary space/reasoning, and Brodkin’s concept of discretionary strategies. This study found that school counselors' discretion is... (More)
School counselors in Sweden operate within a context where national legislation provides broad guidelines with limited concrete direction for their role. This study aimed to explore how school counselors perceive, interpret, and manage their discretion and to understand which factors shape their possibilities to act within their profession. The method chosen for this study was qualitative semi-structured interviews. In analyzing the results within three analytical levels, Lipsky's street-level bureaucracy was applied along with criticism from Evans and Harris, Wallander and Molander's theory of discretionary space/reasoning, and Brodkin’s concept of discretionary strategies. This study found that school counselors' discretion is characterized by a fundamental paradox. There is a broad space that constitutes both freedom and a burden. A central finding was the principal’s decisive influence that could be witnessed across all analytical levels, due to vague legislation leading to interpretational responsibility being shifted to the employer. Furthermore, school counselors' position as “strangers” in a context that is dominated by the educational perspective increases the experience of burden and isolation. The study highlights the importance of legislative clarity, adequate resources, and competent leadership for discretion to be used for professional assessments rather than for compensating for systemic limitations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Nori, Shadan LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOAM21 20252
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
Swedish
id
9219529
date added to LUP
2026-01-20 14:39:34
date last changed
2026-01-20 14:39:34
@misc{9219529,
  abstract     = {{School counselors in Sweden operate within a context where national legislation provides broad guidelines with limited concrete direction for their role. This study aimed to explore how school counselors perceive, interpret, and manage their discretion and to understand which factors shape their possibilities to act within their profession. The method chosen for this study was qualitative semi-structured interviews. In analyzing the results within three analytical levels, Lipsky's street-level bureaucracy was applied along with criticism from Evans and Harris, Wallander and Molander's theory of discretionary space/reasoning, and Brodkin’s concept of discretionary strategies. This study found that school counselors' discretion is characterized by a fundamental paradox. There is a broad space that constitutes both freedom and a burden. A central finding was the principal’s decisive influence that could be witnessed across all analytical levels, due to vague legislation leading to interpretational responsibility being shifted to the employer. Furthermore, school counselors' position as “strangers” in a context that is dominated by the educational perspective increases the experience of burden and isolation. The study highlights the importance of legislative clarity, adequate resources, and competent leadership for discretion to be used for professional assessments rather than for compensating for systemic limitations.}},
  author       = {{Nori, Shadan}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Ett brett handlingsutrymme – en frihet eller en börda? En kvalitativ intervjustudie om skolkuratorers upplevelser av sitt handlingsutrymme}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}