PhD-programme
Digitalisation and Society
Background
I graduated as a Social Worker in 1993 and have a master´s degree in Social Work with Children and Young People from 2015. In addition, I have further education in network interventions and methods as well as a number of courses in mental health care, child protection, milieu therapy and management.
I have previously worked for many years in municipal and state child welfare, both as caseworker and leader. In addition, I have worked some years in the health care system; in children´s ward in hospital, in mental health care for adults and with young people with disabilities.
Academic interests
My professional interests are directed toward children, youth, and families, focusing on conditions for upbringing and care. I am particularly concerned with child welfare work and how this can be carried out with respect and in collarboration with those receiving help and services. I consider the participation of children and parents, and the strengthening of their inherent resources, to be of fundamental importance in child welfare practice. I base my work on a systemic perspective and emphasize the overall life situation of families. In line with this, network-based approaches and interdisciplinary collaboration are central themes that I prioritize.
I have become increasingly interested in the digitalisation of society and its impact on the everyday lives of children and adults, both within and outside the child welfare system. The relationship between humans and digital technology is a key concern when it comes to the conditions under which children and young people grow up. Consequently, digital everyday life has developed into a proffesional area of interest that I focus on extensively.
On the educational side, I am concerned with study quality and how to make students best equipped to carry out important social tasks after graduation. I actively participate in study plan work and educational development work. Of particular interest is simulation as a pedagogical method within the social sciences.
My teaching assignments are linked to Bachelor in Child Welfare and Master in Child Welfare Work.
I am currently employed as a research fellow. My research project explores how digitalisation affects the lives and well-being of children in care. The project has a phenomenological approach where the child's everyday life experiences and lived digital practices are in focus. The project seeks knowledge about what happens in the encounter between the child and digital technology, about what meaning-making processes occur and what significance this has for the child. I am particularly interested in the child's digital contact with others and what opportunities and challenges children who live outside the home experience with such contact. In order to strengthen the child's perspective and children's participation in research and professional development, I use participatory research method. Young adults with personal experience from having lived in a foster home or institution participate as co-researchers throughout the research project.
Title of dissertation:
The digital everyday lives of children in care – lived experiences and meaning-making
Main supervisor: Professor Lilliana Del Busso, Østfold University College
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Marina Snipsøyr Sletten, Østfold University College
Projects
Positions held:
- Expert member of The Child Welfare Tribunal
- Supervisor for students in extended guidance about suitability at Østfold University College
External assignment:
- Process Supervisor for municipal learning network for child welfare workers