”Socialtjänsten, det blir aldrig primärt, det är sekundärt” En kvalitativ studie om socialtjänsten i skolundervisningen

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers in the seventh to ninth grades of the Swedish elementary school (swe: högstadium) teach about the social service office. In order to understand what knowledge pupils receive about the social service organization and how teachers reflect about their need for this knowledge. The study used a qualitative method with semi structured interviews. A total of seven interviews with teachers in the southern part of Sweden were conducted. Lipsky's theory about Street-level Bureaucracy was used to analyze the empirical material. The studies result show that education provides a wide and shallow view of social service offices. The study found that pupils get a one-sided perspective of the social service office from their families. The need for education about the social service office depends on the pupils' living conditions. The teachers identified a lack of knowledge about the social service office in the textbooks which were used in their teaching. This absence made it more difficult to bring up discussions about the work of the social service office in the classroom. In social science education, the social service office was only brought in relation to other social science fields, such as Swedish welfare structures, national economy as well as law and order. The teachers aimed to dedramatize the need for social service office interventions through education. This study contributes knowledge in which social service offices are presented in social science education, as well as teachers' perspective of pupils' need for this knowledge.