Att höra till. - Berättelser om familjetillhörighet bland barn med erfarenhet av familjehemsvård och familjehemsvårdens stöd genom handledning.

Abstract

Belonging is a deeply rooted human need, especially vital for children in foster care whose lives are often marked by ruptures and instability. This licentiate thesis explores how children with foster care experience perceive and express family belonging, and how their perspectives can inform and improve practice. It consists of two qualitative studies: one on children’s narratives of belonging in non-biological foster families, and one on how these narratives can be translated into practice through a supervision model for foster care social workers. Study I is based on interviews with children who had lived in the same foster home for at least three years. Using both verbal and visual methods, the children described experiences of inclusion, connection, and identity. Key themes included: spending time together; sharing experiences; being seen, cared for, and supported; resembling someone; and knowing or not knowing. The study shows that belonging is not created by placement alone, but through everyday interactions and emotional bonds. Study II builds on these findings and focuses on a supervision model informed by children’s perspectives. Tested in workshops with experienced social workers, the model encouraged reflection on how foster parents can support children's belonging, emphasizing relational and symbolic aspects of care. The study illustrates how supervision can bridge research and practice and help translate children's experiences into professional action. Theoretically, the thesis combines childhood sociology with narrative and existential approaches. Belonging is conceptualized as dynamic, relational, and subjective—shaped by subjectivity, groundedness, reciprocity, changeability, and self-determination. Children’s stories are seen as acts of meaning-making and identity work, especially important in foster care contexts marked by transitions and uncertainty. Methodological reflections address the ethics of involving children in research, structural power imbalances in child welfare, and the importance of enabling children to express themselves on their own terms. Visual methods supported children's narrative agency beyond spoken language. The thesis contributes to social work by offering both conceptual and practice-based insights. It highlights the importance of listening to children’s own understandings of family and belonging, and shows how this knowledge can strengthen foster care through reflective, child-centered supervision.