| Summary: | We came across the discussion about the so-called duty to report (14 kap 1 § SoL) and we found some previous research, showing that preschool teachers are hesitant to report, and that they want real evidence that children are being mistreated, even though the duty to report clearly states that they have to report as soon as they suspect that a child is being mistreated. Our purpose became to study what tendencies and conditions preschool teachers and principals, placed in the municipalities of Hässleholm and Kristianstad, have to fulfil their duty to report according to the social services act, when there is a well founded suspicion that a child is being mistreated. We split the purpose into the following research questions: Do local guidelines about how preschool teachers should act when suspecting that a child is being mistreated exist, and are they being followed? To what degree does the staff has knowledge about these guidelines? How do preschool teachers experience the treatment from colleagues, principals and social welfare officers when they´ve done or wanted to do a report? How do preschool teachers experience the reactions of a report from custodians? We did conversational interviews with two principals, one from the municipality of Hässleholm, and one from the municipality of Kristianstad. We also made focusgroup interviews with the staff, three persons each from one of their respective preschools. Our conclusion is that preschool teachers are unwilling to report mistreatment. They prefer to, together with the principal and other professional people in the municipality, attempt to solve the problems within the organization of the school. The teachers do not stand behind the report themselves, instead it´s the principal. Unless the principal, who´s not always around to see the children in first-hand, thinks that a report should be made, a report will not be done. We also have seen that the view on reports is homogenous for all the staff within the same workgroup. The staff affects each other, thus creating a norm telling them how to act in situations concerning a mistreated child.
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