Overgangen fra barn til voksen - Når konsensus er en barriere for samarbejdet

Abstract

The research topic of this master's thesis is the interface in the transition from childhood to adulthood. This dissertation focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration between two distinct units, whose collaboration should beneficially support the adolescents’ transition to adulthood. The purpose of the master's dissertation is to identify and understand the collaboration challenges that emerge during the transition. Through action research, we identify the significant emergent challenges and barriers to collaboration, and then point to pertinent knowledge which aid in overcoming the identified obstacles. The study participants invited us into their practice, through which we gained an insider’s perspective into the challenges that arise when two departments with different disciplines have to collaborate to find a common solution to the shared task. Both parties are concerned with finding effective sociological solutions, and independently point to particular challenges in their counterpart’s practice. We have identified a consensus-oriented approach, which is also supported by various sociological research findings. This makes it difficult to delve into the more fundamental challenges between them. Rather than entering into a dialogue with each other, their frustrations are projected onto circumstances that are experienced outside their own domain. The master's thesis indicates that the entity’s organizational framework significantly influences the way in which disagreements are resolved. In this dissertation, it becomes clear that there is a collaboration agreement which (over) regulates the framework of the interface and leaves all control of the content to the participants in the collaboration. This places considerable demands on the leaders involved; the research points to the importance of effective conflict resolution during transitions and that conflict avoidance is an ineffective and adverse approach. Organizationally, we find ourselves in a bureaucracy where challenges in the crossdepartmental and vertical practice are solved in this hierarchical context horizontally. The motivation for successful or unsuccessful interdisciplinary collaboration is measured based on whether budgets and tasks are solved in one's own domain and whether the rules are complied with, rather than whether they succeed in creating a common understanding of the 3 solution. In organizational practice, the underlying logic, is to reward doing things right rather than right, and does not encourage participants to work on the more complex and difficult professional disagreements they may face in collaboration. During the action research, the participants displayed a high degree of commitment and agreed that it would be mutually advantageous to establish a shared disciplinary forum. However, the short timeframe spent with them is not sufficient to achieve significant changes in practice. On the other hand, our action research shows that by creating a connection between experiences in practice and in research, there is significant interest in creating a common space where important discussions can take place in the effort to achieve a shared professional foundation

A master programme thesis from Aalborg University

Overgangen fra barn til voksen - Når konsensus er en barriere for samarbejdet

[The interface in the transition from childhood to adulthood]