Inequality and exclusion are central issues in social work. Social and economic divides are widening, leaving groups excluded from central social arenas.
This development is driven by profound changes in the labour market and welfare state policies. New inequalities have also emerged due to increased refugee immigration and because the welfare state’s efforts in education, labour market policies, and rehabilitation are not always sufficient and accessible.
The department's research in this research profile addresses questions that are crucial for people's social participation and their life chances related to work, family, education, and housing. Many projects focus on vulnerable groups’ opportunities for inclusion, others examine labour market inequalities linked to gender, socioeconomic status, and migration background. Several research projects highlight the strains between, on the one hand, strong political and normative demands for participation in employment and sustenance and, on the other hand, the ability of the welfare state to meet the varying needs and capacities of different groups.
The projects include large-scale statistical studies, policy analyses, as well as interview and observational studies that provide a close-up view of the living conditions of different groups. The research spans several key themes:
Education Research in this area examines educational inequality from a multi-dimensional perspective. Using statistical methods, scholars study the aspirations, self-assessed school performances, grades, educational choices, and educational attainments of young people with varying migration backgrounds. One project, which also includes interview data, focuses specifically on illiterate immigrants, while another examines interventions to help young people with mental health issues complete post-secondary education.
Work Several projects investigate the possibilities for people with intellectual and neuropsychiatric disabilities, mental health issues, and substance abuse problems access the labour market on equal terms, as well as programmes and interventions developed to this end. Other research examines the mechanisms of gender inequality in the labour market and the interplay between gender, education and ethnicity. Some projects focus on organization and work conditions in specific sectors, such as elderly and disability care, and in the care professions more generally. Since inequality in working life is often linked to the division of labour in the family, in-depth studies of norms and ideals in contemporary parenting are conducted.
Housing provision and residential integration The housing market is not equal, and the social responsibility for providing housing to different groups is vaguely regulated and varies between municipalities. This research theme includes studies of housing policies for newly arrived immigrants, based on interdisciplinary perspective combining integration and urban planning research. The adequacy and equality of housing provision for newly arrived immigrants is also studied. Studies are also conducted on housing segregation, e.g, on the links between housing policies and inequalities related to socioeconomic status and migration background. Another project investigates how society can plan for socially sustainable neighbourhoods.
Projects in this area examine the possibilities for language acquirement of low-educated immigrants in the Swedish policy context where integration is increasingly linked to migration status and performance requirements.
Other projects explore immigrants' labour market integration and occupational trajectories from a gender perspective.
