Welfare Professions in Transition

Vol 7, No 2 (2017)

“…For example, teachers in Sweden are working in an environment characterized by reform agendas such as choice, privatization, marketization, competition as well as decentralization (Parding & Berg-Jansson, 2016;. Similar trends can be found in the Nordic context and elsewhere, such as Taiwan and Australia (e.g., Kamp, 2016;Huang, 2016;Parding, McGrath-Champ, & Stacey, 2017). Indeed, competence development 1 is an essential aspect of professional work.…”

Welfare-to-work Policies Meeting Complex Realities of Unemployed Citizens: Examining Assumptions in Welfare

“…The literature on public policy and social welfare covers a wide range of topics, including issues related to the impact of NPM and the various reforms on welfare professions, caseworker training and heavy caseload, and funding cuts and caseworker buy-in (Fletcher & Wright 2017;Kamp 2016). Other central topics are the increasing role that municipalities play in implementing these activation policies (Knuth & Larsen 2010), as well as the dependency of the activation programs on local labor markets and private providers (Taylor et al 2011;Wright 2012).…”

“…As welfare professionals are responsible for serving the needs of the citizens and the states, they were typically given a high status and viewed as public-spirited altruists (knights) (Le Grand 2003). However, after the NPM wave, their role has transformed to being filled with tensions and contradictions (Kamp 2016). It has been said that both public servants and welfare recipients could no longer be viewed as public-spirited altruists (knights) and passive pawns, as they came to be viewed as self-interested (knaves) (Le Grand 2003).…”

“…Some of these capabilities are enabled through the use of punishment and reward-mechanisms to alter citizen's behavior (Handler & Hansenfeld 2007), job appointments to ensure continual follow-up and control of citizens, etc. Workfare is assumed to have the capability of reducing welfare costs, as more citizens join the workforce (Kildal 1999). However, looking into the use of workfare and its consequences reveals that there are no clear evaluations of labor market programs that can decisively answer if these have positive impacts on the employability of the unemployed without exceeding the actual costs of the programmes (Kildal 1999).…”

“…The growing aging population and the effects of the financial crises are expected to increase the costs of welfare services (Christensen 2004;Vohnsen 2011). Furthermore, the neoliberal regime coupled with the New Public Management (NPM) wave has transformed dramatically the public sector, introducing market-oriented approach, increasing focus on performance management, and outsourcing public services (Kamp 2016). These rapid global changes have led some researchers to claim that welfare states have become victims of changing times, as 'the old models have become antiquated and must now become leaners and meaner to adapt to global market forces' (Ridzi 2009, p. 247).…”