Social workers’ use of critical reflection

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110102
Author(s):  
Akin Taiwo
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Direct Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Van Manen ◽  
Phenomenological Reflection ◽  
Phenomenological Methodology

Summary This article explores critical reflection as practiced by social workers in the context of their personal and professional privilege. It was found that social workers in direct practice were not invested in critical reflection about oppressive discourses in their consciousness when interacting with clients. Rather, critical reflection often happened in times of crises or when social workers encountered difficult client situations. Using the phenomenological methodology of Van Manen and the social constructionist perspective, I present and discuss the findings of a qualitative study of semi-structured interviews with 20 social workers in direct practice. Findings Data analysis indicated that critical reflection is not a priority for direct practice social workers in the context of privilege. Three themes are identified: (1) No time for reflection, (2) Fear of reflection, and (3) Too much reflection. Nevertheless, social workers were still able to reflect alone, with colleagues and with supervisors, and they outlined the benefits of reflection. Applications Social work agencies should provide infrastructure for reflection, create an atmosphere for workers to freely discuss challenges and difficulties, and reduce their fear of reprisals from management. This article broadens the idea of phenomenological reflection by Van Manen.

scholarly journals Surviving or thriving? Enhancing the emotional resilience of social workers in their organisational settings

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Rose ◽  
George Palattiyil
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
As Stress

Summary High rates of absence due to stress, and issues with recruitment and retention of staff suggest that social work is a challenging profession. Despite this, many social workers gain a great deal of satisfaction from their role. Various studies have focused on stress management in social work. Less attention has been paid to how social workers maintain resilience in the face of challenges and thrive in their role. Drawing on a social constructionist approach to explore how social workers conceptualise emotional resilience in the context of their profession, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 social workers employed in local authority teams. Findings The findings highlight how emotional resilience tended to be associated with stress management by the social workers interviewed. Organisational and structural factors were felt to threaten resilience more than the emotional intensity of working with service users. Application When resilience is conceptualised as stress management, sources of adversity need to be addressed to enable social workers to survive. Resilience needs to be reconceptualised as positive adaptation to the challenges of the social work role in order to promote factors that enable workers to thrive. The insights from the study exhort us to re-examine the scope of social work organisations to enhance the resilience of their workers.

scholarly journals The Use of Metaphor as an Important Tool for Understanding Oppression

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Hillock
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Written Assignments ◽  
Systems Of Domination

Using an anti-oppressive practice (AOP) theoretical framework and an exploratory qualitative research design, featuring semi-structured interviews and written assignments, a group of ten social workers were asked to describe their understandings of the concept of oppression. The study found that, in the case of these particular social workers, they used metaphor as a key conceptualization process to more vividly describe and understand the concept of oppression within their social work practice. This article analyzes eight categories of metaphor themes the participants used to explain their understanding of oppression: (a) pressure; (b) earth; (c) quest; (d) nature of society;  (e) seeing; (f) building; (g) dancing; and (h) water. The research findings are intended to open up dialogue and thinking about the concept of oppression, increase our knowledge base and understandings of oppression within social work practice, and assist the social work profession to build a stronger conceptual framework for understanding and naming oppression with the end goal of assisting social workers to better respond to and resist systems of domination.

scholarly journals Challenging ‘ableism’ and teaching about disability in a social work classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Micheal Shier ◽  
Carole Sinclair ◽  
Lila Gault
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Training Module ◽  
Direct Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
Work Education

Social work programs in Canada teach emerging generalist practitioners about the consequences of oppression in the lives of the clients they work with. More emphasis within social work education could be placed on practical ways of contextualizing forms of oppression as each relates specifically to practice. The following provides a description of the oppression of ‘ableism’, and offers an applied training module to help prepare generalist social workers (i.e. current students or direct practitioners) to work with issues of disability as they emerge in their direct practice with clients. The training module helps to facilitate learning specific to the leading theoretical discussions and the social context of disability within society. Through these discussions students might then become more aware of their role as practitioners in challenging the oppression of ‘ableism’, rather than maintain outdated modes of service delivery and intervention with those people disabled by the social environment.

scholarly journals MOTHERS CARING FOR CHILDREN LIVING WITH CEREBRAL PALSY: SUGGESTIONS FOR PSYCHO-SOCIAL SUPPORT

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phumudzo Raphulu ◽  
Modjadji Linda Shirindi ◽  
Mankwane Daisy Makofane
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Thematic Data

Caring for children with cerebral palsy presents numerous circumstances which may contribute to mothers’ inability to cope with the demands of meeting their children’s needs. A qualitative study supported by explorative, descriptive and contextual designs was undertaken. Purposive and snowball sampling facilitated the identification of twelve participants who were interviewed through semi-structured interviews. The enquiry was based on the ecosystems approach. Thematic data analysis was followed through Tesch’s eight steps and Guba’s model was used for data verification. The findings highlighted the necessity to enhance the psycho-social functioning of mothers through collaboration of social workers, health professionals and various organisations.

Social work interventions for human trafficking victims’ in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 002087281990116
Author(s):  
Solomon Amadasun
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Social ◽  
Trafficking Victims ◽  
Social Work Interventions

Human trafficking victims require holistic and long-term services if their social conditions are to be improved. This study aims to explore the nature of social work services for human trafficking survivors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cohort of social workers in a statutory anti-trafficking organization in southern Nigeria and the results were analyzed using thematic analysis. While the social workers reported providing services to trafficking survivors, these services were mainly rehabilitation-driven and short-term-focused. Although the research relates to a small-scale study, it has far-reaching implications for social work professionals and the Nigerian political leadership.

scholarly journals Empathy: Challenges Experienced by Social Workers in the Healthcare Sector on the Island of Crete, Greece

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Trigoni Maria ◽  
◽  
Mikits Militsa ◽  
Mpanagi Evaggelia ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
Prior Experiences

Introduction Empathy in social work is one of the most important factors that can bring change in the patient, by developing a productive relationship. The purpose of this study is to explore empathy in the practice of social work, as it is used by professional social workers. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 social workers in public health services in Crete. Responses were recorded, and content analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings There were differences in the way that social workers perceive the concept of empathy, depending on their prior experiences. It was also found that they are more “sensitive” when patients have a common problem with them. Among the difficulties that prevented them from being empathetic was having “a difficult personal period” that affected their work. This study has also identified the importance of professional training for the development of empathy skills, and the key-role of work experience. Moreover, it highlighted the importance of co-operation between the researchers and the social workers for generating efficacious and valuable information. Conclusion This study emphasizes the importance of empathy as a necessary skill in the relationship between social workers and patients, and the need for in-depth scientific research and analyze on this issue in Greece.

scholarly journals Māori social work views and practices of rapport building with rangatahi Māori

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 49-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Mooney
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Community Mental Health Services ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Ethical Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Rapport Building

This article presents the results of a qualitative study that explored Māori social workers’ perspectives of working to establish rapport with rangatahi Māori in community mental health services. The research was conducted using a social constructionist perspective, informed and guided by Māori-centred research principles. Six Māori social workers from different parts of the country volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. These face-to-face interviews were designed after reviewing current literature and were guided by a practice framework that enabled the voices of the Māori social workers to be heard, eliciting in detail where their views have come from. The findings from the research showed that Māori social workers view rapport as essential in their practice and therefore they practise in a way that facilitates this. They utilise values and beliefs in their practice, integrated with a Māori worldview, that contribute towards rapport building with youth and also with their whänau. Reflective practice is used constantly in order to maintain ethical practice. The practice implications are also discussed; that an understanding of how Māori social workers view and practise rapport can be beneficial, that there is a need for whānau involvement and that this can enhance rapport with rangatahi, that an inherent valuing of rangatahi is key and finally that reflective practice is essential for Māori social work professional and personal development.

Home-based Interventions

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan F. Allen ◽  
Elizabeth M. Tracy
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Home Visiting ◽  
Direct Practice ◽  
Home Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Family Discord ◽  
Home Based Intervention

Home visiting and home-based intervention are two strategies used by social workers when working with individuals or families in direct practice. The basic rationale for home-based work is the benefit to social workers’ assessments and understanding of clients, as well as the benefit of more relevant practice with families who are seen in the setting where difficulties are occurring. Home-based interventions have been shown to be effective in improving health and decreasing family discord. When visiting the home, the social worker has the added responsibility of respecting the privacy of families as a guest in their homes.

E-Commerce as Knowledge Management

2011 ◽  
pp. 2768-2787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel McLean ◽  
Nigel M. Blackie
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
The Social ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Commercial Organizations ◽  
And Control

This chapter constructs the concept of e-commerce as knowledge management. The socially constructed approach to knowledge management is adopted. Through qualitative research, rooted in the Social Constructionist-Critical Theory paradigm, the chapter examines how consumers use the Internet in commercially related activity. Through semi-structured interviews with consumers three main themes are identified and explored (interaction with commercial organizations, consumer-to-consumer interaction, power and control in business-to-consumer interaction). The chapter concludes that the Internet facilitates the construction and sharing of knowledge amongst consumers, but appears to strengthen barriers and boundaries between consumers and companies. An illustration of how companies could effectively utilize the Internet to communicate with customers is offered in an analysis of a discussion forum.

Activation work as professional practice: complexities and professional boundaries at the street level of employment policy implementation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urban Nothdurfter ◽  
Søren Peter Olesen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Employment Policy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Professional Boundaries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Arena

In several European countries there is an increasing trend within social and labour market policy to implement employment-oriented policies. In some countries, this turn towards employment has opened up a new professional arena for social workers, so called employment-oriented social work. The chapter examines the challenges that this development has brought to the social work profession, especially in regard to how knowledge and decision-making is negotiated in relation to clients and other professions within the same policy arena. The chapter is based on Danish, Italian and Austrian data including register data, semi-structured interviews, observations and sound recordings.

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