- 10:00–10:45: Trial lecture (title TBA)
- 12.00–16.00: Public defence
Ordinary opponents:
- First opponent: Professor Ingo Bode, Institute of Social Work and Social Welfare, University of Kassel
- Second opponent: Professor Maria Appel Nissen, Department of Society and Politics, Aalborg University
- The chair of the committee: Associate professor Therese Saltkjel, Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, OsloMet
Leader of the public defence: Head of department Anne-Britt Djuve, Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, OsloMet
Supervisors:
- Main supervisor: Head of academic unit Asgeir Falch-Eriksen, Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, OsloMet
- Co-supervisor: Professor Ivan Harsløf, Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, OsloMet
Summary
This thesis explores how human rights shape the governance of family life and the conditions for trust between parents and child protection services in Norway and Romania, as embedded in national trust contexts. Anchored in the family-interest triangle of children, parents, and public institutions, it links the right to respect for family life to trust theory and the governance of expectations.
The study combines document analysis of law and policy with survey data on trust. It develops and applies an integrated human rights standard for parenting expectations, parenting support, and in-home measures. The findings show that neither country fully aligns governance with this standard. Norway follows a rights-oriented trajectory, but underarticulates parents’ rights and lacks rights-based parenting support. Romania’s frameworks appear rights-oriented on paper, yet are fragmented and unevenly implemented, and trust in CPS reflects the broader trust-and-confidence context.
