Contributors: Lund University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Departments of Administrative, Economic and Social Sciences, School of Social Work, Lunds universitet, Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Samhällsvetenskapliga institutioner och centrumbildningar, Socialhögskolan, Originator; Lund University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Departments of Administrative, Economic and Social Sciences, School of Social Work, Professions and Organisation, Lunds universitet, Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Samhällsvetenskapliga institutioner och centrumbildningar, Socialhögskolan, Professioner och organisering, Originator; Lund University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Departments of Administrative, Economic and Social Sciences, School of Social Work, Child, Youth and Family, Lunds universitet, Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Samhällsvetenskapliga institutioner och centrumbildningar, Socialhögskolan, Barn, unga och familj, Originator
Abstract: The task of assessing and contracting foster parents, usually undertaken by a child protection social worker, is increasingly framed by market arrangements. This article explores, from the perspective of social workers, whether and how this context poses challenges for foster care considerations. Theoretically informed by the sociology of emotions, the following research questions are explored: how do social workers relate to culturally rooted boundaries between the family and market spheres in their interactions with foster parents? How are right and wrong motives for foster parenting constructed in social workers’ retellings of such interactions? The findings are based on abductively processed ethnographic data (observations and interviews) with social workers and managers. The social workers’ reflections reveal ambivalence and contradiction. On a normative level, they reinforce cultural boundaries between the family and market spheres, keeping ideals of good parenting separate from market logic. Yet, they face situations in which it is difficult to defend this division, and market arrangements can even be perceived as beneficial. These themes provide an empirical illustration of emotional ambivalence resulting from blurred boundaries between the private and public spheres in neoliberal modernity. As emotion norms directly affect the assessment of foster parents, the sociology of emotions can contribute to social workers’ reflections on the sources of tension in foster care.
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