Dilemmas of Care in the Nordic Welfare State : Continuity and Change

The Nordic welfare model has become an ideal in feminist literature and in welfare state studies. This has heightened scientific and political interest in the model and its key aspects, including the provision and production of care as public responsibility. In this engaging volume, contributors from various professional disciplines - including sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and educationalists - provide a comprehensive overview of the complex state of paid work in social care within the Nordic welfare states and of the dilemmas facing state-provided care in the region. They develop insights into the conditions, practices and trends in the area of paid care in the social and health care sector, insights that expose the dilemmas and tensions associated with paid care and care education. Divided into four parts, the book will greatly interest academics, post-graduate students and professionals concerned with the Nordic model and welfare states. It will also benefit those from outside the region interested in a specific Nordic tradition of research on publicly-provided care and the current dilemmas and challenges facing training in care. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Figures and Tables 8 List of Contributors 9 Introduction: Dilemmas of Care in the Nordic Welfare State 12 PART I: CARE AND FEMINIST THEORY IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE 24 1. Social Research, Political Theory and the Ethics of Care in a Global Perspective 26 PART II: DILEMMAS IN THE NORDIC WELFARE STATE(S) AND THEIR PROVISION OF CARE 42 2. The Modernization of Power in Norwegian Home Care Services 44 3. A Changing Ideal of Care in Denmark: A Different Form of Retrenchment? 58 4. The Changing Terms of Welfare Service Work: Finnish Home Care in Transition 73 5. Care as Employment and Welfare Provision - Child Care and Elder Care in Sweden at the Dawn of the 21st Century 91 PART III: DILEMMAS IN PROFESSIONS AND USERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 110 6. Dirty Work in a Norwegian Health Context (The Case of Norway) 112 7. Professional Knowledge and Symbolic Care Relations in the Danish Cancer Field 123 8. On Health Professionals' Construction of Dying Bodies: The Case of Palliation Services for Cancer Patients in Denmark 136 PART IV: DIFFERENT FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE AND DILEMMAS OF CARE EDUCATION 154 9. Caring Experience and Knowledge - Inside and Outside of Danish Classrooms 156 10. Youth Culture - A Source of Energy and Renewal for the Field of Nursing in Norway 172 11. Learning through the Body in Danish Nursing Education 187 Conclusion: Continuity, Change and Dilemmas 206 Index 218