Brukermedvirkningens uttrykk og virkning i barnevernets undersøkelser – et maktanalytisk perspektiv

Abstract

User participation in child protection investigations – a power perspective. This article explores how user participation is expressed in conversations between parents and social workers in Norwegian child welfare investigations. The text shows that user participation can be perceived as a covert form of individualized power, which makes both clients and professionals act in certain ways. The workings of this individualized power is analyzed by looking at the concept of user involvement in the light of Foucault's theory of power technologies and self-technologies. The article's empirical data consists of ten conversations between parents and social workers during their first meeting. The conversations were filmed.