Som en schackpjäs
om socialsekreterares upplevelser av sin yrkesstatus vid handläggning av försörjningsstöd
The social serviceStatusEconomic supportStandardized assessment instrumentsSocialtjänstenStatusFörsörjningsstödStandardiserade bedömningsinstrument
The purpose of this essay has been to answer the question of whether or not administrators of economic support perceive that their professional status is ranked lower than that of their coworkers in other fields of the social services. We set out to study whether or not their comparative status differed depending on their use of standardized assessment instruments and if their experience with regards to professional status differed depending on the size of the municipality they worked in. We also wanted to determine in what way (if any) the comparative status manifests itself and what factors influences it.We?ve utilized method triangulation in order to answer the questions posed in our purpose. The quantitative study was conducted using a questionnaire and the qualitative with three interviews. Both studies were conducted in the county of Va?rmland, Sweden. The three municipalities, in which the interviews was conducted, varied in size which was a part of our selection process due to the fact that we believed that the size would affect the views regarding professional status.The result of our study shows that how administrators view their comparative ranking differs depending on the size of their respective municipalities. Administrators in the larger municipalities perceive their status to be low in comparison to other fields while administrators in smaller municipalities doesn?t perceive any noticeable difference. The administrators don?t feel that their status is dependent on the lack of standardized assessment instruments within their field but rather the way economic support is taught at the Swedish universities.Within this study we conclude that administrators working in the field of economic support in municipalities with more than 10 000 inhabitants perceive that their field is ranked lower when compared to other fields within the social services.