{"title":"User involvement or aspirations management?","authors":"Zubia Willmann-Robleda, Memory J. Tembo-Pankuku","doi":"10.31265/jcsw.v18i2.570","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The last decades have seen a shift towards activation policies in welfare states, such as the introduction programme for refugees in Norway, a qualification programme that seeks to prepare refugees for the labour market. In the last decade, the programme has placed further focus on refugees’ duties rather than their rights, as it had previously done. This article examines the strategies that work counsellors in the introduction programme use to ‘activate’ and assist newly arrived refugees as they prepare to enter the Norwegian labour market. We focus on how work counsellors guide and motivate refugees in this process. We draw on 10 semi-structured interviews with work counsellors in various municipalities in southwestern Norway. We suggest that the activating strategies used by the work counsellors may be seen as a form of aspirations management to get the refugees to shift their aspirations toward those the work counsellors see as more achievable within a shorter period, to get them more quickly into the labour market. We suggest that unchecked power dynamics, together with increasing time-pressure on work counsellors, may be at play leading them to exert too much influence, and leading to user involvement practice not being properly implemented.","PeriodicalId":37599,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Social Work","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Comparative Social Work","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.31265/jcsw.v18i2.570","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The last decades have seen a shift towards activation policies in welfare states, such as the introduction programme for refugees in Norway, a qualification programme that seeks to prepare refugees for the labour market. In the last decade, the programme has placed further focus on refugees’ duties rather than their rights, as it had previously done. This article examines the strategies that work counsellors in the introduction programme use to ‘activate’ and assist newly arrived refugees as they prepare to enter the Norwegian labour market. We focus on how work counsellors guide and motivate refugees in this process. We draw on 10 semi-structured interviews with work counsellors in various municipalities in southwestern Norway. We suggest that the activating strategies used by the work counsellors may be seen as a form of aspirations management to get the refugees to shift their aspirations toward those the work counsellors see as more achievable within a shorter period, to get them more quickly into the labour market. We suggest that unchecked power dynamics, together with increasing time-pressure on work counsellors, may be at play leading them to exert too much influence, and leading to user involvement practice not being properly implemented.
期刊介绍:
This journal promotes contributions, discussions and an exchange of knowledge on Social Work issues. Social Work is a line of work carried out by trained professionals, or "Social Workers", in many different countries. Accordingly, the nature of social work can vary widely. However, its broad aim is to assess and meet people''s social needs by providing services that enable them to live in safety, independence and dignity. In order to appropriately cater to the needs of the people they serve, the practices, aims and values of Social Workers must reflect the cultural and social norms of the society in which they operate. Comparative social work emphasizes comparative studies of social work between different countries, cultures and contexts. The journal aims to support practitioners and academics alike through its discussions of matters relevant to Social Work Practice. This journal publishes two types of peer-reviewed scientific articles on subjects of importance for social work, with a special emphasis on comparative research on different aspects. This includes: -Comparative studies -Single site studies that also generate insight and knowledge in various geographical/cultural and national settings. We also welcome essays discussing/reflecting relevant subjects from an individual point of view, and at least two members of our editorial board will review such papers (maximum of 3,000 words). The JCSW was founded in 2006 and is currently hosted by the University of Stavanger, in cooperation with the University of Agder and the University of Nordland.