Power positions constructed in Finnish school social workers’ discourse on multisectoral collaboration

School social workers have been a part of multidisciplinary welfare teams in Finnish schools for decades, but their positions in collaboration with other professionals appear to vary. This article explores school social workers’ perspective on the power dynamics between themselves and the professionals in multisectoral collaboration on student welfare. The research asks what kinds of power positions emerge in the discourse on multisectoral collaboration among school social workers. The theoretical and methodological framework is based on positioning theory and the concepts of power-over, power-with and power-to. A total of 44 Finnish school social workers were interviewed in semi-structured thematic interviews, and a discursive positioning analysis was completed. The results show that other professionals, especially in healthcare and child welfare, hold asymmetric power over school social workers in their collaboration. With education personnel the power relations appear to be more dynamic and reciprocal. School social workers have power to oppose the power over others by repositioning themselves as social service professionals. They also have the power to take control in multisectoral processes if the coordination or leadership is unclear. Shared power in multisectoral teams appears to be a desired state of collaboration. Similarities to results from research on school social work in Sweden and Norway are also discussed.