“Oro är ju en känsla”. Förskollärares resonemang och emotioner inför upprättandet av orosanmälningar
(2022) SOPA63 20212School of Social Work
- Abstract
- Preschool teachers in Sweden are in a unique position to detect child abuse, which they subsequently are obliged to report to social services, according to Swedish law. However, previous research has shown significant underreporting amongst Swedish preschool teachers. Thus, the aim of this study was firstly to explore preschool teachers’ views on reporting child abuse and secondly to identify the factors that both facilitate and complicate the decision-making process of these reports, using sociology of emotions as theoretical framework. Drawing on qualitative semi-structured interviews with seven Swedish preschool teachers, the study explores the necessity of frequent ‘emotion management’ in their work. The findings reveal that due to... (More)
- Preschool teachers in Sweden are in a unique position to detect child abuse, which they subsequently are obliged to report to social services, according to Swedish law. However, previous research has shown significant underreporting amongst Swedish preschool teachers. Thus, the aim of this study was firstly to explore preschool teachers’ views on reporting child abuse and secondly to identify the factors that both facilitate and complicate the decision-making process of these reports, using sociology of emotions as theoretical framework. Drawing on qualitative semi-structured interviews with seven Swedish preschool teachers, the study explores the necessity of frequent ‘emotion management’ in their work. The findings reveal that due to remarkably wide room for interpretation as well as the inevitable use of emotions during the decision-making process of reporting child abuse, the respondents consider the mandatory reporting a complex matter. Further results suggest that the relationships between the respondents and the parents risk causing a loyalty conflict between the parents on one hand and the preschool children and their judicial and institutional duties on the other. Consequently, the respondents face an emotionally challenging dilemma when making the decision to report child abuse. Finally, the data show that the respondents and their colleagues provide each other with both professional and emotional support. This enables them to create an informal ‘community of coping’ which, in turn, ultimately serves the purpose of facilitating the decision-making process. In conclusion, judicial as well as emotional, social and moral dimensions constitute the phenomenon of mandatory reporting of child abuse. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9072437
- author
- Källén, Julia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOPA63 20212
- year
- 2022
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Preschool teachers, reporting child abuse and neglect, social work, sociology of emotions
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9072437
- date added to LUP
- 2022-02-08 16:17:13
- date last changed
- 2022-02-08 16:17:13
@misc{9072437, abstract = {{Preschool teachers in Sweden are in a unique position to detect child abuse, which they subsequently are obliged to report to social services, according to Swedish law. However, previous research has shown significant underreporting amongst Swedish preschool teachers. Thus, the aim of this study was firstly to explore preschool teachers’ views on reporting child abuse and secondly to identify the factors that both facilitate and complicate the decision-making process of these reports, using sociology of emotions as theoretical framework. Drawing on qualitative semi-structured interviews with seven Swedish preschool teachers, the study explores the necessity of frequent ‘emotion management’ in their work. The findings reveal that due to remarkably wide room for interpretation as well as the inevitable use of emotions during the decision-making process of reporting child abuse, the respondents consider the mandatory reporting a complex matter. Further results suggest that the relationships between the respondents and the parents risk causing a loyalty conflict between the parents on one hand and the preschool children and their judicial and institutional duties on the other. Consequently, the respondents face an emotionally challenging dilemma when making the decision to report child abuse. Finally, the data show that the respondents and their colleagues provide each other with both professional and emotional support. This enables them to create an informal ‘community of coping’ which, in turn, ultimately serves the purpose of facilitating the decision-making process. In conclusion, judicial as well as emotional, social and moral dimensions constitute the phenomenon of mandatory reporting of child abuse.}}, author = {{Källén, Julia}}, language = {{swe}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{“Oro är ju en känsla”. Förskollärares resonemang och emotioner inför upprättandet av orosanmälningar}}, year = {{2022}}, }