scholarly journals Social Work Research in the Child Protection Field in Australia

2015 ◽  
pp. bcv123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Tilbury ◽  
Mark Hughes ◽  
Christine Bigby ◽  
Jennifer Osmond
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Social Work Research

Participatory research ideals and practice experience: Reflections and analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather D’Cruz ◽  
Philip Gillingham
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Consumer Participation ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Practice Experience ◽  
Reflexive Practice ◽  
Situated Ethics

Summary Consumer participation in decision making and evaluation of services has been a significant theme in social work and other caring professions for over 20 years. This article reflects on a qualitative research study that was conceptualised within participatory principles. It critically examines key features that emerged as challenges to the ideals of participatory research with parents and grandparents about their experiences with child protection services in Victoria, Australia. Findings The features examined are differentiated between the visible and familiar and the invisible, often emergent, aspects of social work research. We critically examine the ways in which the visible and invisible features as situated dimensions of social work research may shape how and whether the ideals of participatory research can be achieved. We discuss tensions in the process that have no clear ‘solutions’. Instead, we identify the importance of mindfulness and reflexive practice by researchers to find their way through these potential ethical and legal minefields. Applications We conclude that while social workers must continue to strive for participation by a range of service users in knowledge generation, we must also critically examine and theorise the meaning of participatory research and the idealised images of consumers and service users to improve such practice. An awareness of situated ethics as a location of the self in interaction with others is essential to promote ongoing reflexive practice throughout all stages of research.

scholarly journals Giving up the ghost: Findings on fathers and social work from a study of pre-birth child protection

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502110194
Author(s):  
Ariane Critchley
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Research Interviews ◽  
Expectant Fathers ◽  
The Relationship

This article reports findings from an ethnographic study of pre-birth child protection, conducted in an urban Scottish setting. The study was designed to explore the interactions between practitioners and families in the context of child protection involvement during a pregnancy. This research aimed to understand the activities that constituted pre-birth child protection assessment, and the meaning attached to those activities by social workers and expectant parents. Very different perspectives on fathers and fatherhood emerged through the study. Fathers shared their feelings of familial tenderness in the context of research interviews. Yet social workers often focused on the risks that the fathers posed. This focus on risk led professionals to ignore or exclude fathers in significant ways. Fathers were denied opportunities to take an active role in their families and care planning for their infants, whilst mothers were over-responsibilised. Children meanwhile were potentially denied the relationship, care and identity benefits of involved fatherhood. This article shows how pre-birth child protection processes and practice can function so as to limit the contribution of expectant fathers. The way that fathers and fathering are understood continues to be a wider problem for social work, requiring development through research and practice. This study was not immune to the challenge of involving men in social work research in meaningful ways. Nevertheless, the findings highlight how participation in social work research can create a forum for fathers to share their concerns, and the importance of their perspective for practice.

scholarly journals Emotional intelligence as a part of critical reflection in social work practice and research

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502110247
Author(s):  
Mari D Herland
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Emotional Aspects

Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout compared with other healthcare professionals. The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions efficiently, frequently in complex care settings, is central to the role of social workers. This article highlights the complexity of emotions in social work research and practice by exploring the perspective of emotional intelligence. The article is both theoretical and empirical, based on reflections from a qualitative longitudinal study interviewing fathers with behavioural and criminal backgrounds, all in their 40 s. The analysis contains an exploration of the researcher position that illuminates the reflective, emotional aspects that took place within this interview process. Three overall themes emerged – first: Recognising emotional complexity; second: Reflecting on emotional themes; and third: Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions. The findings apply to both theoretical and practical social work, addressing the need to understand emotions as a central part of critical reflection and reflexivity. The argument is that emotions have the potential to expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions, related to normative societal views. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and paying attention to one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers.

Calling Social Work to the Movement for Educational Justice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annahita Ball
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Educational Justice ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Conditions For Learning ◽  
History Of

Abstract The persistent and systemic inequities within the U.S. public education system have grave implications for children’s and youth’s outcomes, yet these inequities go far beyond academics. Marginalized and vulnerable students experience injustices across the educational system, including disproportionality in school discipline, unequal access to advanced courses, and poor conditions for learning. Social work has a solid history of addressing issues that intersect across families, schools, and communities, but the profession has had little engagement in the recent educational justice movement. As educational scholars advance a movement to address educational inequities, it will be increasingly important for social work researchers to provide valuable insight into the multiple components that make up youth development and support positive well-being for all individuals within a democratic society. This article encourages social work researchers to extend lines of inquiry that investigate educational justice issues by situating social work practice and research within educational justice and suggesting an agenda for future social work research that will advance equity for all students.

scholarly journals Doctoral research amidst the Covid-19 pandemic: Researcher reflections on practice, relationships, and unexpected intimacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 570-578
Author(s):  
Luke Ray Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Participant Recruitment ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
Interpretive Method ◽  
The University ◽  
Radical Shift

Responding to the Special Issue call by the Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice Journal, this article reflects on the challenges faced by a Social Work doctoral student at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) during the Covid-19 outbreak. Having already commenced their fieldwork through a series of Freirean-style dialogical interviews via Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method (B.I.N.M.), the nationwide-lockdown demanded a drastic deviation from the intended in-person face-to-face interviews with lone parent participants. Significant academic consideration had already been given to the researcher’s existing academic, professional, and social relationships to north and northwest Edinburgh - the geographical focus within the study - via a process of reflexivity prior to commencing the interviews, yet the shift from discussions in neutral venues (e.g. community centres and public cafes) to dialogues conducted exclusively via digital platforms brought about a radical shift in interpersonal dynamics as both researcher and participant were exposed to each other’s homes, families, and other aspects of domestic life. The change in circumstances bore major implications not only for participant recruitment, but also created an unexpected intimacy within the interviewer-interviewee relationships.

Research End-User Perspectives about Using Social Work Research in Policy and Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Tilbury ◽  
Mark Hughes ◽  
Christine Bigby ◽  
Mike Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Well Being ◽  
End Users ◽  
Research Translation ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Research Engagement ◽  
Engagement Strategies ◽  
User Perspectives

Abstract Research funding and assessment initiatives that foster engagement between researchers and research end-users have been adopted by governments in many countries. They aim to orient research towards achieving measurable impacts that improve economic and social well-being beyond academia. This has long been regarded as important in social work research, as it has in many fields of applied research. This study examined research engagement and impact from the perspective of research end-users working in human services. In-person or telephone interviews were conducted with forty-three research end-users about how they used research and interacted with researchers. Content analysis was undertaken to identify engagement strategies and thematic coding was employed to examine underpinning ideas about research translation into practice. Participants were involved in many types of formal and informal research engagements. They viewed research translation as a mutual responsibility but indicated that researchers should do more to improve the utility of their research for industry. The findings highlight the iterative nature of engagement and impact and raise questions about the infrastructure for scaling up impact beyond relationships between individual researchers and their industry partners.

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