“Approachen jag fick var, säg till ordinarie lärare så tar de det därifrån” - Grundskolevikariers erfarenheter av att orosanmäla barn som far illa

Sammanfattning

The protection of vulnerable children constitutes a fundamental legal and moral mandate within the Swedish school system. Yet, the specific role of substitute teachers in this process remains an under-researched area. Using Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucracy and Svedberg’s role theory concerning professional structures and role conflicts, we analyzed attitudes of unqualified primary school substitute teachers towards the mandatory reporting process. The empirical data consist of six semi-structured interviews conducted with substitute teachers who are or were active in municipal schools in Skåne County. The collected empirical data were based on questions resulting in the following thematizations: 1) Substitute teacher's perception of mandatory reporting; 2) Substitute teacher's relationship with children and families; 3) Substitute teacher’s interactions with social services. Attitudes indicate that the reporting process is heavily individualized and dependent on peer and school leadership support due to a significant lack of formal training and clear organizational policies. Precarious and temporary employment forms affect individual substitutes’ abilities to act on concerns of child maltreatment. Further efforts to improve the mandatory reporting process could consider focusing more specifically on unqualified substitute teachers with no formal training.