Klaipėdos universitetas

This article presents findings and discussions generated on the basis of the Danish-Swedish development project CareSam. The article will on the one hand focus on how work in groups consisting of representatives from different levels in the elderly care sector at one time served as learning spaces and cultural encounters in which established notions of older people and elderly care were challenged and discussed. Inspired by action research these challenges were brought forth through discussions of and through insight in practical experiences. On the other hand it will focus on the tendencies to narrow the diversity of perceptions of elderly people and their care, which were also seen in the project and led to stories in which the meaningfulness of care work were honored. Departing from the interviews presented in the CareSam film and parts of the empirical material produced in connection to the work in the project-groups this paper will ask whether it is possible to represent care work for elderly people with all the ambiguities it holds: How can we as researchers represent both meaningfulness and straining dimensions of care work? Can we avoid either supporting Florence Nightingale-ideals or cementing negative cultural perceptions of help-needing elderly and the people who support them in everyday life? In answering these questions and thereby reflecting on our own work process we apply a caring, a learning and a political perspective. Hereby the article wishes to formulate a methodological point: The CareSam cross sector collaboration produced important experience near knowledge, but also lead to present somewhat one-sided understandings of elderly care. Applying theoretical perspectives to analyze the empirical material and the working process, nuances the understanding and makes it possible to maintain immediately conflicting dimensions in this kind of work.

The article discusses the concept of international social work. International social work peculiarities working with refugees and asylum-seekers in Lithuania and Sweden are analysed. Analysis of international social work with refugees and asylum-seekers revealed collaboration features, challenges and limitations of organizations working with the target group. Ethical dilemmas in international social work with refugees and asylum-seekers are presented and analysed.

The de-institutionalisation of the last two decades brings a poignant focus on social inclusion, exclusion and how to facilitate informed lifestyle choices among people with intellectual disabilities. This study explores some of the developments and challenges in participatory inquiry involving lay experts such as people with intellectual disabilities, their advocates and service staff in sheltered occupational sites. The core outcomes in this study are the collaboration between all involved actors identifying and implementing the service improvements needed. It was concluded that an inclusive joint research methodology may be a key and fundament for the development of supporting and empowering social care practice for this said population.

Today’s welfare system faces a variety of social challenges in terms of social vulnerability, inequality and the presence of segregated and parallel societies. Within this complexity, the professional practitioner meets opportunities for action, institutional frameworks, and the role of higher education as a future social innovator. The objective of this paper is to suggest an inquiry concerning how social work students form their conception on the complexity of every-day social work practice and professional expertise. The focus is to investigate social work students’ process and formation of knowledge regarding challenge based learning (CBL). Methodologically the examination will be based on multi-method data triangulation design. In conclusion this paper suggests the use of socio-ecological and social learning theory to develop more dynamic teaching models to enhance the understanding of the challenging pathways linking social structures in development of students’ professional self.

Across the social work and social pedagogy educational programmes in Sweden, the nature and process of curriculum designs require engagement with multiple stakeholders within a highly complex context. A number of studies have identified diverse models of academic collaborations derived from various theoretical positions and environmental influences. This article explores collaborative creativity embedded in Swedish national and international Erasmus networking. Research participants consisted of teaching staff, fieldworkers, experts and researchers. This study goes on to propose knowledge alliances as action models for capacity building in social pedagogy and social work professional practice. It is concluded that sharing information and perspectives on, for example, contextual aspects and theoretical viewpoints in which scholars and practitioners operate, provides inspiration for capacity building in social pedagogical educational settings. This article has been prepared within the framework of the project ‘Social Professions for Youth Education in the Context of European Solidarity’ (2019-1-PL 01-KA203-065091).

The article presents the concept of the cross-border method that was developed in the framework of the Erasmus+ programme project. The aim of this method is to provide students on PhD/Mg programmes with theoretical knowledge and practical competencies on how to properly develop and conduct research on social and health issues of the elderly in care institutions and in the family environment by using the cross-border method through collaboration and the transfer of innovation. This method was constructed as an attempt to understand the challenges of an ageing society in the modern world, and to be able to assess them in research thereof from both intercultural and comparative perspectives. In order to adopt innovations and to transfer experience in the context of addressing the problems of an ageing society, there is a potential to contribute to the stability of social protection and the accessibility of social services for the elderly. The article presents the concept of the method as one of the results of the project, and as a part of the long-term scientific contributions to revealing the importance of international cooperation and innovation in meeting the challenges of an ageing society. A properly chosen method and well-conducted studies show the essence of the phenomenon of an ageing society and its patterns. The methods determine the quality and reliability of the knowledge of the research subject, and open up opportunities for developing political, learning and care strategies for the social protection of an ageing society in the context of demographic change.