Relational Alliance and Professional Practice in Social Work: A study of the Norwegian Qualification Programme
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The current master thesis is developed under the research project “Comprehensive follow-up of the participants in the Qualification Programme” which is a cluster-randomised evaluation of the “Comprehensive, Methodological and Principle-based Approach” (CMPA). CMPA is a professional training programme implemented by The Norwegian Directorate of Labour and Welfare and researched by Sosialforsk at the Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences.\nThis master thesis takes place within the Qualification Programme (QP) context. QP is an activation programme regarded as one of the most important measures of the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) reform in Norway. The QP focus lays on the preparation of the service user to (re)enter labour market through follow-up that ought to be tailor made to individual circumstances. QP is in line with international trends on individualisation, New Public Management and neo-liberal features in activation policies which impact contemporary social work practices. These features particularly individualisation seem to require new competences and practices of those who directly implement the QP, the QP counsellors. The study of the relational aspects inherent in such practices is therefore relevant to a wider understanding of the QP’s implementation. This master thesis seeks to contribute to the understanding of relational alliance in social work practices within QP. Relational alliance is understood as a collaborative relationship between the QP counsellor and the QP participant. This master thesis studies how multidimensionality of relational alliance is assessed by the QP counsellors and to what extent different aspects of professional practice are associated with it.\nData material concerns QP counsellors from 18 NAV offices across Norway (N=99). The questionnaire used (T1) is part of the CMPA research project and analyses are developed by SPSS 20.0.Results show that QP counsellors assess relational alliance as multidimensional, constituted by 3 dimensions: affective bond, agreement on tasks and agreement on goals. Affective bond is assessed as the strongest dimension indicating that QP counsellors consider it the most important factor in relational alliance within individualised follow-up in QP, when compared to tasks and goals. Further, aspects of professional practice such as professional competences and the belief on the usefulness of QP show a positive association with relational alliance, indicating that QP counsellors who positive assess these aspects also assess relational alliance positively. These findings entail that it is important to emphasise relational competences for professionals who work with activation of service users.
Author: Vilhena, Susana
Institution: OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University
Language: English
Subfield: Public Administration
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus
OpenAlex ID: W2273477486