Lina Ponnert

Lina Ponnert is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at the School of Social Work, Lund University, where she is also affiliated with the Department of Social Work. Her academic work centers on child welfare, human service organizations, and the interplay between legal systems and social work practice. She is actively involved in research, teaching, and professional engagement, contributing to both national and international scholarly discourse.

Her research focuses on assessments and decision-making in child welfare, particularly how legal regulations and standardized methods influence social work professionals and their practices. Key themes include organizational tensions, professional discretion, youth participation in compulsory care, and the implementation of children’s rights within bureaucratic systems. Her work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals related to justice, well-being, and reduced inequalities.

The most recent publications reflect a strong trend toward qualitative, practice-based inquiry into the lived experiences of children and professionals in the child welfare system. Her research critically examines bureaucratic inertia, silence in organizations, and the gap between policy ideals and on-the-ground realities. She frequently publishes in high-impact journals and edited volumes in social work and criminology.

Lina Ponnert actively contributes to the academic community through peer review and conference participation. She has served as a peer reviewer for British Journal of Social Work and Child & Family Social Work, and has presented at major international conferences such as the European Society of Criminology and the European Conference for Social Work Research.

In terms of supervision and research leadership, she is a supervisor in doctoral projects and a researcher in multiple funded initiatives, including studies on children’s emotional security in shared custody and future practices for resilient childhoods. Her collaborative network spans several institutions and includes both established researchers and emerging scholars.

She is part of the LU Profile Area: Human Rights and contributes to interdisciplinary efforts focused on professions and organizational dynamics in the public sector.