VARJE TOM STOL BÄR PÅ EN UNIK BERÄTTELSE. En etnografisk studie om skolans arbete med problematisk skolfrånvaro

Abstract

The aim of this ethnographic study has been to examine how school staff work with problematic school absenteeism and how they understand the challenges connected to supporting students with school absenteeism in Swedish schools. The study explored how relationships, organizational structures and support were understood and managed within the school context. The study draws on several theoretical perspectives including relational pedagogy, sense of coherence, emotional labour, moral work and bricolage. These perspectives are used to analyse how school staff navigate emotional, relational and organizational demands in their everyday work with school absenteeism. The study is based on a qualitative ethnographic approach. The empirical material was collected during ten weeks of fieldwork conducted primarily in a primary school, an upper secondary school and two municipal school administrations in southwestern Sweden. The empirical material consists of participant observations, field notes and fifteen semi-structured interviews with professionals working with school absenteeism. The findings show that problematic school absenteeism cannot be understood solely as an individual issue, but rather as a complex phenomenon shaped through interactions between students, school environments, relationships and organizational structures. Relationships, trust, emotional support and flexibility emerge as central factors in enabling students to reconnect with the school. School staff describe challenges related to limited resources and organizational constraints, as well as difficulties when collaborating with parents and external actors. The study further highlights how school staff continuously engage in emotional and moral work while balancing care, responsibility, expectations and the individual needs of students. The study is written in Swedish.