scholarly journals Kaitiakitanga: A transformation of supervision

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 68-79
Author(s):  
Emma Webber-Dreadon
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Supervisory Relationship ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People ◽  
Customary Practices ◽  
Social Work Supervision

INTRODUCTION: This article explores Māori social work supervision in Aotearoa New Zealand, from cultural, iwi, hapū and whānau perspectives. It describes an emerging model of kaitiakitanga (supervision) entitled “He Maunga, He Tangata, He Tapu, He Kahu.”APPROACH: It is based on the author’s experience and tribal relationships, and proposes a model reinterpreting the supervisory relationship by first re-examining the meanings of these relationships from a Māori perspective. It explains the rationale of the model in order to clarify its origins, principles, purpose, obligations and responsibilities in the field of kaitiakitanga (supervision). The nine principles discussed, along with four overarching themes identified within Te Ao Māori, reflect the importance of integrating customary practices in to achieve the best outcomes for the people we serve and work with.IMPLICATIONS: These principles are crucial to the practice of kaimahi-a-iwi and kaitiakitanga, where it is important not only to care, protect, guide, teach, influence and encourage, but also to consider self-care, and develop safe and accountable practices for all people.

Social Work and Its Complexity in Aotearoa New Zealand

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-36
Author(s):  
Shahul Hameed ◽  
Anthony Raman
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Chaotic Nature ◽  
Developed World

The Social workers need to call on a broad range of sources of bodies of knowledge and respond to the complexity and its chaotic nature of situations arising in social work profession. There appears to be dire need to consider the use of (a) the theoretical knowledge into practice by being more caring and supportive with the aim of (b) disentangling the various elements of a complex system and enhancing the resilience both of the people involved and the social and organizational systems that they are inter-twined with people lives. The current acknowledgement of the bi-cultural framework by the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) is no doubt a positive move towards infusing indigenous practice frame work into dealing with the chaotic nature and complexity of the social work profession in New Zealand but still remains to be seen in actual social work practice .The purpose of this chapter is to attempt to explore the potential of infusing Indigenous bodies of knowledge into practice against the background of the complexity nature of the social work profession in a developed world like New Zealand.

Social Work and Its Complexity in Aotearoa New Zealand

2016 ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Shahul Hameed ◽  
Anthony Raman
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Chaotic Nature ◽  
Developed World

The Social workers need to call on a broad range of sources of bodies of knowledge and respond to the complexity and its chaotic nature of situations arising in social work profession. There appears to be dire need to consider the use of (a) the theoretical knowledge into practice by being more caring and supportive with the aim of (b) disentangling the various elements of a complex system and enhancing the resilience both of the people involved and the social and organizational systems that they are inter-twined with people lives. The current acknowledgement of the bi-cultural framework by the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) is no doubt a positive move towards infusing indigenous practice frame work into dealing with the chaotic nature and complexity of the social work profession in New Zealand but still remains to be seen in actual social work practice .The purpose of this chapter is to attempt to explore the potential of infusing Indigenous bodies of knowledge into practice against the background of the complexity nature of the social work profession in a developed world like New Zealand.

scholarly journals Evaluating social work supervision

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyson Mary Davys ◽  
Janet May ◽  
Beverly Burns ◽  
Michael O’Connell
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Clinical Supervision ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Mental Health Nurses ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Supervision Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Work Supervision

INTRODUCTION: The question of whether the practice of professional supervision is effective, and how its effectiveness can be measured, has been debated by both social work and other professions. This study explored how practitioners, supervisors and managers in Aotearoa New Zealand currently evaluate the supervision they receive, provide and/or resource.  The study was interprofessional involving counsellors, mental health nurses, psychologists and social workers. This article focuses on the findings from the social work cohort.METHODS: Through an on-line Qualtrics survey participants were asked: 1) how they currently evaluated professional/clinical supervision; and 2) how they thought professional/clinical supervision could be evaluated. Data were extracted through the Qualtrics reporting functions and thematic analysis was used to identify themes. A total of 329 participants completed the survey of which 145 (44%) were social workers.  FINDINGS: A majority of the social work participants reported that they evaluated supervision in some form. No culture or policy emerged regarding supervision evaluation, but social workers expressed interest in training and resources to assist evaluation and some saw a supportive and endorsement role for the professional or regulatory bodies. An unexpected finding was reports of unsatisfactory and harmful supervision.CONCLUSION: Evaluation of supervision is an activity with which social workers engage, but further research is needed to explore how evaluation can be embedded in supervision practice. More critically, a broader audit is required to reconsider the definition and model of social work supervision in Aotearoa New Zealand and the environments within which supervision occurs.

scholarly journals Social work and service improvement: An example from the first youth forensic forum

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-91
Author(s):  
Joanna Appleby
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People

INTRODUCTION: This article focuses on the social work contribution to service improvement by reflecting on the establishment of the first youth forensic forum in Aotearoa New Zealand, held in October 2018.APPROACH: An exploration of the Aotearoa New Zealand context that led to the establishment of the first youth forensic workforce forum is presented. Issues included disjointed mental health care for young offenders who move between secure residences, concerns about over- assessment of vulnerable young people, silo-ed specialist youth forensic knowledge, and a disconnected workforce. Led by a social worker, youth forensic workforce issues were addressed through the inaugural national youth forensic forum in 2018. The aim of the forum was to bring a disparate workforce together in order to improve mental health assessment experiences for young people within youth justice residences. This initiative was grounded in social work approaches of Māori responsivity, networking, ecological systems and relational practice.CONCLUSION: Social workers have an important role in advocating for, and effecting, system change. The process for doing so within the youth forensic forum is presented. Social workers in all fields of practice are encouraged to consider how they work to make systems more responsive to the people they serve.

scholarly journals Competent solidarity: the alternative for professional social work

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-144
Author(s):  
Alastair Russell
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Radical Politics ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People ◽  
Definition Of

There is very little evidence of radical politics within social work and community development in Aotearoa/New Zealand where social workers here are caught in the constricting grasp of professionalism. Community development is strictly confined through funder capture and the “no politics” embargo of the Charities Commission. These realities sit comfortably within the oppressions perpetrated by neoliberalism. Professionalism is not compatible with a fight against the neoliberal status quo. The fight against poverty and its social consequences should be the focus of social work and community development. Within the professional paradigm, social workers have become increasingly irrelevant to the people they work with. An alternative paradigm is needed to make social work relevant. The paradigm shift advocated here is to replace professionalism with competent solidarity.This extended viewpoint article provides a definition of competent solidarity and considers the implications of competent solidarity in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It will then discuss the problems that emerge within professional social work and apolitical community development. Competent solidarity case studies from within Auckland Action Against Poverty are provided and opportunities for future action are discussed.

scholarly journals The ethics of care and transformational research practices in Aotearoa New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tula Brannelly ◽  
Amohia Boulton
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Ethics Of Care ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Research Partnership ◽  
Research Partnerships ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People ◽  
Dialogic Approach ◽  
The Relationship

Democratising methodologies often require research partnerships in practice. Research partnerships between indigenous and non-indigenous partners are commonplace, but there is unsatisfactory guidance available to non-indigene researchers about how to approach the relationship in a way that builds solidarity with the aims of the indigenous community. Worse still, non-indigenous researchers may circumvent indigenous communities to avoid causing offense, in effect silencing those voices. In this article, we argue that the ethics of care provides a framework that can guide ethical research practice, because it attends to the political positioning of the people involved, acknowledges inequalities and aims to address these in solidarity with the community. Drawing on our research partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand, we explain how the ethics of care intertwines with Māori values, creating a synergistic and dialogic approach.

scholarly journals Māori oral histories and the impact of tsunamis in Aotearoa-New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 907-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren N. King ◽  
Wendy S. Shaw ◽  
Peter N. Meihana ◽  
James R. Goff
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
Politics Of Representation ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Folk Tale ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People ◽  
Knowledge Practice ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Māori oral histories from the northern South Island of Aotearoa-New Zealand provide details of ancestral experience with tsunami(s) on, and surrounding, Rangitoto (D'Urville Island). Applying an inductive-based methodology informed by collaborative storytelling, exchanges with key informants from the Māori kin groups of Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia reveal that a folk tale, published in 1907, could be compared to and combined with active oral histories to provide insights into past catastrophic saltwater inundations. Such histories reference multiple layers of experience and meaning, from memorials to ancestral figures and their accomplishments to claims about place, authority and knowledge. Members of Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia, who permitted us to record some of their histories, share the view that there are multiple benefits to be gained by learning from differences in knowledge, practice and belief. This work adds to scientific as well as Maōri understandings about tsunami hazards (and histories). It also demonstrates that to engage with Māori oral histories (and the people who genealogically link to such stories) requires close attention to a politics of representation, in both past recordings and current ways of retelling, as well as sensitivities to the production of new and plural knowledges. This paper makes these narratives available to a new audience, including those families who no longer have access to them, and recites these in ways that might encourage plural knowledge development and co-existence.

scholarly journals Animals and social work: An emerging field of practice for Aotearoa New Zealand

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 24-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Walker ◽  
Jenny Aimers ◽  
Claire Perry
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Human Animal Bond ◽  
Human Animal

Social work is traditionally human-centered in practice, even though for many the bond between humans and animals is the most fundamental of daily-lived experiences. The intent of this paper is to reflect on the predominant humanistic basis of social work and to consider the growing evidence for developing a wider perspective to incorporate the human-animal connection into social work practice. Joanne Emmens (2007:9) observes that the human-animal bond is considered by some as ‘…too mainstream (in the sense of being lightweight, cliché or sentimental), or as not mainstream enough…as substantial material worthy of study.’ In this article we argue that the human-animal bond is neither sentimental nor fringe and that our attitudes toward this relationship is based on a construction of western thought. To support this we offer a review of literature that provides evidence of good practice that can move social work beyond a purely humanistic approach to a more holistic view resulting in a more comprehensive toolkit for practice. We explore the literature and practice surrounding the place of animals in social work, both in New Zealand and internationally. In addition, we identify some of the ways the human-animal bond is currently utilised in rehabilitation, therapy, as animal assistants and as an indicator of domestic violence within New Zealand. We argue that this area of research and practice is highly relevant for social work as evidence-based practice. The paper con- cludes by offering some suggestions for discussion within the social work profession, and considerations for social work educators, researchers and theorists. 

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