Dilemmas and Contradictions in Hearing Children in Care Proceedings

Abstract

The article is based on interviews with 22 children’s spokespersons in the Norwegian arrangement for indirect participation in care proceedings, and presents analyses of the spokespersons’ experiences of contradictions and dilemmas in their practices. Contradictions and dilemmas may be seen in light of the epistemological positions analysed from spokespersons’ accounts: their interpretation of their mandate and the status they ascribe to the child’s contribution to the dialogue. The article’s contribution is the presentation of analytical results that call for a discussion about the inherent contradictions in the mandate of an indirect participation arrangement, and contradictions between psychological and judicial aspects of the spokespersons’ practices.