Mamma, pappa, barn? - en kvalitativ studie om hur rollen som familjehemsförälder konstrueras

Sammanfattning: Authors: Martin Möllerstedt and Martin Regnéll Title: ”Mother, father, child? – a qualitative study on how the role as foster carer is constructed” [Translated title]. Supervisors: Maria Bangura Arvidsson and Bodil Rasmusson Assessor: Mats Hilte/ Hans Swärd The purpose of this study was to elucidate and analyze the subjective views of foster carers concerning their parental role, the context in which they operate, and how they relate to the support they receive from different agencies in the form of supervision and training. To answer this, four research questions were formulated: how do the foster carers relate to knowledge, supervision and education? How do the foster carers relate to different perceived expectations and perception, mediated by their environment, with regards to their assignment as foster carers? What personal expectations and perceptions do the foster carers have with regards to their assignment? How are their roles as foster carers being constructed, based on the contextual and individual factors above? For this study we used a qualitative approach: eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with different foster carers with various backgrounds in regards to age, sex, marital status, education, housing and experiences of caring for foster children. The theoretical framework we applied, for our analysis, was pervaded by the ideas of social construction of reality; within this theoretical framework we used different sociological concepts, like normativity, normality, roles, socialization, theoretical knowledge, practical and experience – based knowledge, tacit knowledge, supervision and learning to further our understanding of the subject. The main results of the study showed that the foster carers have a complex role: they had to relate to, not only the Social services (socialtjänsten) and the child’s biological parent, but also the normative demands and expectations mediated by the media, family, friends, teachers and day care personnel. In the construction of the role as foster carers we identified two different approaches. The Foster carers that emphasized the importance of supervision, education and other support, in order to meet the child’s often demanding need for qualified care, modelled their role as complementary and professional. The other group emphasized that love and common sense were the central aspects of their assignment; thus modelling their role on the idea of traditional parenting (“det goda föräldraskapet”). In some aspects they felt or saw themselves more like mothers and fathers rather than foster carers.