Merete Monrad

On a scale of one to five, who are you?: Mixed methods in identity research

While identity researchers are utilizing a variety of methods, the potential advantages of combinations of qualitative and quantitative methods remain largely unexploited. This article discusses the interplay of methods, theoretical content and meta-theoretical assumptions in identity research and calls for the use of mixed methods. The article applies a symbolic interactionist perspective and discusses what aspects of identification different methodological approaches provide insight into. It is discussed how different methodologies imply different assumptions about identity, particularly regarding the stability of identities, the constitution of identities and the conception of meaning. The influential quantitative Burke–Tully approach is brought into focus and compared to different qualitative approaches, particularly narrative interviews. A quantitative self-report measure neglects the narrative, performative and embodied quality of identification. However, the quantitative approach of Burke and Tully enables the systematic, standardized comparison of individuals making it possible to examine patterns of identification in large populations. Since different methods enable the study of different aspects of identity, while remaining blind to other aspects, mixed methods may contribute to more complete insights into identity processes. Importantly, mixed methods may be used to examine patterns available to the outside observer and the lifeworld of the individual actor and thus to both explain and understand.

Problem-Based Learning in Social Work Education: Students’ Experiences in Denmark

ABSTRACT Problem-based learning (PBL) constitutes a promising way of integrating academia and social work practice because PBL fosters engagement with real-life problems and enhances important skills needed in social work practice. However, little attention has been given to social work students’ experiences of PBL. In this article we address this gap by exploring experiences of learning and learning preferences among master’s-level students in a Danish social work education setting where extensive problem-based project work is used. We find a discrepancy between students’ preferred learning and when they experience learning the most. Possible reasons for this discrepancy, and implications for teaching, are discussed.

Emotional Labour and Governmentality: Productive Power in Childcare

This article examines the interplay between governance and cost-containment efforts in the public sector and the emotional labour and well-being of childcare workers. Care-work researchers have highlighted the complexities of power in emotional labour, such as the fact that emotional labour may simultaneously benefit the individual worker and reproduce inequalities that may be detrimental to workers’ well-being. The goal of this article is to develop a theoretical understanding of power in emotional labour and to show how power is related to emotional labour not only in terms of lack of control, status and resources, but also productively in terms of the subjectivities enabled by organisations. The article draws on the works of Foucault and Rose, particularly the concepts of productive power and governmentality, and suggests that emotional labour may be conceptualised as a technology of the self. The potential benefits of governmentality and productive power in terms of connecting emotional labour to larger structures are illustrated by qualitative interviews with Danish childcare workers, which show how emotional labour may become a form of self-governance that contributes to the individualisation of work-related responsibilities.

Profession, holdning og habitus: Forholdet mellem pædagogers og forældres holdninger til pædagogiske spørgsmål i daginstitutioner

Uoverensstemmelser mellem paedagoger og smabornsforaeldre i daginstitutioner kan vaere afgorende for foraeldresamarbejdet, foraeldrenes tilfredshed og paedagogernes arbejdsliv. Sadanne uoverensstemmelser eller deciderede konflikter kan opsta af forskellige arsager. Saerligt kan forskelle i gruppernes viden om born, interessekonflikter og vaerdikonflikter gore sig gaeldende. I denne artikel undersoger vi vaerdikonflikter mellem paedagoger og smabornsforaeldre igennem en holdningsundersogelse. Det har ikke tidligere vaeret undersogt, hvor ens eller hvor forskellige foraeldres og paedagogers holdninger til konkrete paedagogiske sporgsmal er. I to kvantitative vignetundersogelser gennemfort med et repraesentativt udsnit af paedagoger og smabornsforaeldre sammenlignes de to gruppers holdninger. Undersogelserne viser overordnet, at de to gruppers holdninger er meget ens. I forhold til en del sporgsmal har majoriteten inden for bade paedagoggruppen og foraeldregruppen samme holdning, mens begge grupper i andre sporgsmal er splittede internt, men pa nogenlunde samme made. Der er saledes ikke belaeg for, at der forekommer vaerdikonflikter mellem professionsgruppen og brugergruppen. De empiriske resultater diskuteres i forhold til organisations- og professionsteoretiske tilgange samt i forhold til forskellige Bourdieu-inspirerede referencerammer, der har vaeret almindelige i studiet af relationsprofessioner i Danmark. Pa denne baggrund argumenteres for, at eksisterende tilgange til studiet af relationsprofessioner ma modificeres, sa de kan rumme bade holdningsdiversiteten blandt professionelle og ligheder i holdningsmonstre professionsgruppen og brugergruppen imellem. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Morten Ejrnaes and Merete Monrad: Profession, Attitude and Habitus: The Relationship between Parents’ and Teachers’ Attitudes concerning Pedagogical Issues in Day Care Institutions Disagreements between child care professionals and parents in day care institutions can be important for their cooperation, for the satisfaction of parents and for the working life of the professionals. Disagreements or conflicts may arise because of differences in knowledge, conflicting interests and conflicting values. In this article we examine value conflicts between child care professionals and parents by using a study of attitudes. Similarities and differences between parents’ and professionals’ attitudes regarding specific pedagogical questions have not been examined previously. The attitudes of the two groups are compared through two quantitative vignette studies. The results show that the attitudes of the two groups resemble each other. The majority of both groups hold similar attitudes on a wide range of questions, while both groups are internally divided in much the same way regarding other questions. Thus, there is no evidence for the existence of value conflicts between professionals and parents. The empirical results are discussed in terms of theories of organizations and professions as well as Bourdieu-inspired theoretical approaches that are common in the study of welfare professions. It is argued that existing approaches to the welfare professions need to be modified in order to account for the empirical evidence of both diversity of attitudes between professionals and similarity in attitudes between professionals and users. Key words: Child-care professionals, parents as service users, profession, attitudes, vignette method.