University teachers construe their work as important and creative (Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, 2008), contributing not only to the development of their students but also to the sustainable development of modern societies. However their working conditions have deteriorated during the last centuries (see e.g. Kallio, 2014, Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, 2008; Swedish Association of University Teachers, 2013). The negative trend can to a large extent be explained by fundamental changes in management and administration (Vakkuri & Meklin, 2003; Modell, 2003, 2005, 2006). This NPM-style management is often found in conflict with and having negative effects on the scholars’ intrinsic motivation and their knowledge-intensive work (Kallio & Kallio, 2014). In this study Swedish university teachers explore their professional role and work life experiences using a constructivist technique called rivers of experience (Denicolo & Pope, 2011).

Teachers are the most important school based factor for students’ learning outcomes (Santoro, Reid, Mayer & Singh, 2012). Teachers are also central to school improvement efforts (OECD, 2005). Teachers’ options to work in accordance with their professional ideals are of significant importance to their health and wellbeing (Hultell, 2011).

In this project Swedish teacher teams reflected over their work during a three-year period. Time shortage caused by technical problems, staff-shortage and extensive administrative workload hampered their opportunities to do a good job, causing stress, guilt and dissatisfaction. The group process was appreciated since it allowed the in depth exploration of aspects of the teachers’ work and professional role.

This indicates that constructivist projects where teachers can share meanings of the concepts “good” teaching and being a “good” or a “good enough” teacher can help them balancing diverging concepts such as “effective knowledge delivery” and “relations and care for pupils ”.

Teachers are the most important school based factor for students’ learning outcomes and educational success. Whereas teachers’ pro-spects of enhancing their students’ development and study results, are significant for their work satisfaction and wellbeing. This suggests that the endorsement of quality teaching will improve student results and teacher wellbeing. Many teachers have difficulties performing in accordance to their professional standards, sick rates are alarmingly high, and several teachers leave the profession. This calls for a re-search approach where teachers’ prospects of performing quality teaching, are related to their options to perform quality-driven profes-sional teacher work, i.e. the work performed to support quality teach-ing. Such an approach take into account factors related to local school leadership, and the organisation of teacher work. This paper aims to bring together teachers’ and principals’ perspectives on quality-driven professional teacher work, in order to gain new knowledge and give implications for praxis. The principals and teachers construe teachers’ options to perform quality-driven professional work in relation to the implementation of a new curriculum and a new grading system, quali-ty certification processes and an ongoing work hour project, and to some extent also to the teachers’ personality and ambitions. The teachers’ also mention factors related to local oranisation processes, and the relations to pupils and fellow teachers. 

Social care organisations provide services vital to the care recipients’ health and wellbeing.

The qualified work tasks performed in these organisations are performed and often led by professionals with considerable professional jurisdiction, such as nurses and physiotherapists.

This paper discuss the effects of an organisational change process in a social care organisation, from the professionals’ and the managers’ perspectives.

From the professional point of view, the team organisation, designed to meet requirements for increased efficiency and quality, had brought on several contra productive effects.

These professions, formerly organised in specialist units, were assigned to several teams and therefore required to report to several managers.

Both managers and professionals found unclear managerial roles and jurisdictional conflicts bothersome.

The professional groups feared that loss of peer-group and managerial support would lead to de‐professionalisation.

Their perceived remedies were scheduled meetings with all staff categories, and increased options to develop their professional knowledge.

Head teachers are expected to be pedagogic leaders who support their teachers’ professional development in order to improve long term teaching quality and goal achievement. Research shows that many heads perform a multitude of administrative and hands-on tasks, while trying to balance diverging and sometimes incomprehensive objectives and expectations.

This paper reports from a project where six Swedish head teachers reflected over their tasks and role, using the diary- in-group-method.

The results show how the participants construe their role in relation to their complex and multifaceted work situation, and to their personal and professional ambitions. They all seem to have a personal approach to their role, which allow them to balance the contrasting demands and to accomplish a personal equilibrium.

The participants appreciated the research process, which provided individual reflection on the diverse tasks that filled their days, and collegial feedback and reflection on important aspects of their professional role.

The present doctoral thesis aimed to explore what it means to be a first-level manages in a Swedish municipal social care administration, seen from the managers’ perspective. The empirical data derives from a participative, constructivist project which intended to contribute to new practice-based knowledge and to the learning and development of the participating managers. The participating managers reflected over their work and their managerial role by the use of a combination of repertory grid interviews, personal diaries and group discussions. Qualitative descriptive phenomenological analyses of the extensive material painted a vivid and nuanced picture of their work situation and professional role. In Paper I the project and the used methods were described in detail. Short extracts of data illustrated the potential of the general approach of combining constructivist techniques in participative and action oriented projects. The first brief results illustrated by “A day in a team manager’s working life” and by three “leadership dilemmas”: The spider in the web; The border patrol; and The open door, presented a picture of the managers’ complex work situation and how they were stimulated to address the problems arising. Paper II showed the many facets of social care management, where six “faces” portrayed the complex managerial role. The results indicated that managers in this and other welfare organizations need to construe and re-construe their managerial role in order to balance the contrasting demands on their role, thereby ac-complishing a personal equilibrium. Paper III further explored the managers' leadership role ideal, grounded in the concept of care. Several aspects of the managers' work situation resulted, on their own or in conjunction, in difficul-ties fulfilling their caring leadership ideal. These difficulties of which the managers spoke were arranged into three distinct patterns: problems, dilemmas and paradoxes. The results gave insight of the nature of these difficulties, the implications which these might have on the managers, their staff and the delivery of service, and the discussed remedies. Taken together the results raises new questions about municipal managers’ abilities and possibilities to handle ideals and requirements which are difficult to consoli-date particularly in times or resource scarcity. Is it possible to be an at the same time caring and efficient manager? How can mangers’ options to handle the complexity of modern welfare organisations be strengthened?

This case describes the Diary-in-Group method (personal diary notations combined with group sessions) as used in a participative and action-oriented project which intended to contribute to new practice-based knowledge on what it means to be a first-level manager in a Swedish municipal social care administration, and to the learning and development of the participating managers. The project's methodological framework derived from personal construct psychology and phenomenology. The method generated a large amount of data which were analysed using a qualitative descriptive phenomenological approach. The analyses aimed to give voice to the impromptu views and opinions of the managers, thereby contributing to an understanding of the complexity of the managers' organisation and work situation as well as of how this was reflected in their experiences in which various aspects collided. The results raised new questions about municipal managers' ability to handle ideals and requirements which are difficult to consolidate, particularly in times or resource scarcity. In this case, the Diary-in-Group method and its function, and the quality and relevance of the results, are discussed in relation to the project aims.