In this session we report results and findings from empirical studies conducted within a larger research project, situated at Umeå University, Sweden. The project is called “Between organizational interests and individuality. On policy, leadership and organization of support for people with intellectual disabilities in schools, social services and public health-care”. In our session we report on three different studies (see abstracts). All presentations are based on a mixed method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis from a larger web-based survey (n=421), which included both standardized questions (Likert-Scale) and open-ended questions. Hence, we report both content and frequency of responses. Our session also has comparative ambitions as respondents represent different human service organizations: schools, social services and public health-care. Our first presentation report and analyse professional experiences of difficult encounters working with people with intellectual disabilities. In our second presentations we examine how sources of job satisfaction was articulated by human service professionals and the way in which organizational context influence these experiences. Our third presentation explores perceptions of quality in professional encounters with people with intellectual disabilities in Sweden. We also draw attention to the way these perceptions may be seen as culture-specific and shaped by organizational context. In all, we believe that our results add to the discussion of challenges—administrative, organizational, and institutional—among human service professions working with people with intellectual disabilities. It also has implication on client- and user experiences of service provision in different welfare organizations, considering that norms, values and perceptions within institutional organizations are not easily changed, regardless of political rhetoric.

Participants

Jens Ineland, PhD and Associate Professor in social work is representing the Department of Education and Centre for Disability Research, Umeå University, Sweden.

Martin Molin, PhD in Disability Research and Associate Professor in social work, is representing University West in Trollhättan, Sweden.

Lennart Sauer, PhD and Senior lecturer in social work, is representing the Department of Social Work and centre for Disability research, Umeå University, Sweden.

Jan Hjelte, PhD in social work and works as research leader at the Department of support and development at Umeå municipality.