A review of the research priorities of practitioners working with children in social care

It has been argued both that research in social care is insufficiently relevant to practice, and that a clearer steer is needed from the social work community in shaping national research priorities. The work reported here systematically searched for and analysed findings from studies that asked practitioners working with children for their suggestions for research. Eight studies were found, and authors gave us access to the primary data from four of these, to which we added responses from the What Works for Children? website survey of practitioners’ research priorities. Responses were analysed in terms of both topic and type of research. Family support, parenting and child protection research were among the most frequently requested child‐focused topics. In terms of question type, almost half the research suggestions concerned the effectiveness of interventions. These findings suggest that a commitment to outcomes, and to robustly researched interventions to attain those outcomes, are increasingly important to practitioners. These views from the front line may well be useful in assisting decision‐makers in social work, and research funders, to set priorities.     

Disciplinary research agendas and institutional arrangements for evaluation research

An evaluation agenda for social work to strengthen the research foundations for practice requires more replication, an extension of the range of outcomes it is possible to study and a narrowing of the gap between research, policy and practice. Enlarging understanding of social work's political functions and its relationship to welfare entails research programmes, strongly rooted in the social sciences, which include analysis of community interventions, social work's regulating and mediating functions, and exploration of the personal and social circumstances of those who achieve success and well-being despite their vulnerabilities and limited life chances.Universities, independent research institutions and social work agencies are the necessary locations for this substantial and diverse agenda.     

Theory and social work: A conceptual review of the literature

This article presents a conceptual review of the literature concerning social work and theory. Based on analysis of 93 research studies, drawn from literature in English published between 1968 and 2016, the review considers the many ways that theory is conceptualised in the literature, and asks meta‐theoretical questions about how and why different conceptualisations arise. The article examines definitional questions and ambiguities concerning the use of theory, extant research on the use of theory by social workers in practice, hostility expressed regarding theory in social work, the theory/practice divide and perspectives that emphasise theory's utility or functionality. The article points at some methodological and ethical limitations concerning current research, and summarises dominant, as well as less prominent, versions of what counts as theory within the social work discipline, before finally suggesting that further meta‐theoretical research is needed.     

Whispers in the library: a response to Liz Trinder's article on the state of social work research

In this journal, Liz Trinder (1996) helpfully describes three types of social work research. Using examples from studies undertaken by the Dartington Social Research Unit over a 30-year period, this reply explores the overlap and complimentarity between types of research and suggests ways in which several sources of evidence will lead to a common conceptual framework in UK children's services.     

How to use the vignette technique in cross-cultural social work research

The vignette technique was used in a cross-cultural comparative study of the delivery of personal social services in the United Kingdom and Sweden. In this article we discuss the major premises of using the vignette technique in cross-cultural comparative social research. In total, 247 vignettes were collected, 165 in Örebro. Sweden and 82 in the United Kingdom (73 in Leicester, England and 9 in the rural areas of Bangor, Wales). The vignettes were filled in by social workers working in the sector of child and family care. Since this technique is seldom used in cross-cultural comparative studies, it was necessary to develop a model for interpreting cross-cultural data. In this article we consider methodological and practical aspects of the method adapted for cross-cultural social work research. A preliminary survey of our empirical data demonstrates the usefulness of such a model in understanding cross-cultural data. However, the empirical data will be presented in a later article.     

Internal and external evaluation of social work

In the UK a number of factors are bringing the idea of evaluation of social work into a new prominence. This paper considers the different meanings which may be attached to the terms internal and external in the context of social work evaluation, and outlines the differences between scientific, developmental and managerial approaches. It is argued that while some suspicion of the purpose of current demands for evaluation may be justified, the calls for greater accountability have some justice and are unlikely to diminish. If the domination of bureaucratic and financial considerations over professional judgements is to be avoided, social workers must overcome their alleged anti-evaluative professional culture and consider how to systematically evaluate their own practice, both individually and collectively.     

From the discourse of the other to the other discourse: stakeholder-based models of evaluation and the human side of social welfare

Stakeholder-based evaluation models, like predecessor models, respond to issues and concerns identified as evaluation practice has matured. The characteristics of such models are outlined, and the relationships between stakeholder models, social work values, liberal political goals, and feminist theorizing are explored.     

Pacific epistemologies in professional social work practice,policy and research

Utilising traditional cultural perspectives is an important lens towards developing a platform to create effective social work practice, policy and research. Through this relevant and realistic cultural context, social work as a profession may strive to interface more appropriately with individuals, families and the community. This article examines Pacific epistemologies, and the experiences of eight Western Sydney University social work students who have completed a three-month placement within the islands of Fiji and Samoa; and their reflections on the differences between Western and Pacific epistemologies and respective methods of intervention.     

Social work students and social change: on the link between views on poverty, social work goals and policy practice

This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that are associated with social work students' willingness to engage in policy practice. It examines a model according to which the willingness to engage in policy practice is linked to the importance that students attribute to the goals of social work and to their views on poverty. The sample consisted of 138 social work students in one of Israel's leading universities. The measures consisted of four questionnaires developed specifically for this study. The findings revealed strong relationships between students' views regarding the causes of poverty and their attitudes towards the preferred ways to deal with poverty. In addition, strong relationships were found between the importance that students attributed to the goals of social work and their willingness to engage in policy practice. However, no significant relationships were found between students' views on poverty and their willingness to engage in policy practice. Different explanations for these findings are advanced in the article.     

Responding to child sexual abuse: an evaluation of social work by children and their carers

This paper presents the views and perceptions of 35 children and their current carers regarding the social work response to child sexual abuse. Interviews with the children and carers, including foster carers and residential carers, were carried out 2–4 years following disclosure, thus the nature of social work support in the longer term, as well as the initial response, is assessed and described. Three evaluations of social work support are presented: the child-ren's evaluations of social workers known since disclosure, and two evaluations from the carers, one focusing on the child's needs, and one focusing on their own as carers. All three evaluations perceived the majority of social workers as having helped. Aspects of social work considered essential included providing emotional support and reassurance, providing information and explanation and arrang-ing and coordinating services, including counselling or therapy.
  Carers of children who were abused by someone outside the family were less likely to receive social work support. The frustra-tion and disappointment expressed by some of these carers reaffirms the importance of assessing needs even when the child is considered protected from further abuse. The findings of this study support the need to refocus responses to abused children and their families.     

Participatory research meets validated outcome measures: Tensions in the co‐production of social care evaluation

Funding for care service research is increasingly subject to the satisfaction of two requirements: public involvement and adoption of validated outcome tools. This study identifies competing paradigms within these requirements and reveals significant challenges faced by researchers who seek to satisfy them. The focus here is on a study co‐produced between academic researchers and people with experience of adult social care services. It examines to what extent research studies can conduct high‐quality public involvement and genuine co‐production of knowledge, whilst attempting to produce quantifiable outcome scores. Findings add to debate around how to incorporate diverse perspectives in research, which may draw on incommensurate accounts of validity and reliability. Findings also highlight constructive attempts by academic and co‐researchers to make the combination of approaches work in the field. These small scale acts of researcher agency indicate some scope to combine the two approaches in future research studies. However, conclusions foreground the importance of broader awareness of how tensions and power imbalances related to this combination of approaches play out in social policy research practice.     

Importance of Research in Social Work Practice: A Pilot Study From Turkey

Abstract

It is highly important that social work practice be guided by scientific research and the resultant practices introduced to the literature. Social work research in Turkey is carried out by social work academics and practitioners. This dual position they occupy has not been thoroughly investigated in recent years; therefore, the aim of this research was to scrutinize the relationship social workers take when completing research in Turkey. Within the scope of this research, data were collected by conducting an online survey of 365 social workers. Results of the study show that 45.8% of the social workers have conducted research before. Nonetheless, 93.7% of the social work practitioners do feel the need to carry out scientific research in order to shape their professional practices. Considering these results, future research should concentrate on social work practitioners’ problems taking into account their dual position as both the producer and consumer of the research.     

Using research in practice: A research information service for social care practitioners

In recent years a variety of initiatives have been created with the aim of increasing the use of research in social care practice. This article reports findings from a one‐year pilot research information service provided by the What Works for Children project. Taking note of the evidence from the research utilization literature, the service was set up to support social care practitioners in using research findings in their service‐planning. An implementation officer worked with service‐planners to identify areas where research could be helpful. Researchers provided responses to practitioners’ questions by searching for, critically appraising and summarizing the relevant literature. This article looks at the practicalities of running such a service and discusses its potential for influencing research use. The pilot underlines the importance of some of the obstacles to using research, some of which our service was able to overcome. The gap between what practitioners want from research and what research provides is discussed.     

Re‐conceptualising the link between research and practice in social work: A literature review on knowledge utilisation

Despite the recent movement towards greater research use in many areas of social work, criticisms persist that decision making in practice is seldom informed by sound research evidence. Discourse about the research‐to‐practice gap in social work has tended to focus on the feasibility of evidence‐based practice for the profession, but has rarely drawn from the broader knowledge utilisation literature. There are important understandings to be gained from the knowledge utilisation field, which spans more than six decades of interdisciplinary research.This article introduces the wider knowledge utilisation literature to a social work audience. It considers the potential of this body of literature to facilitate research use in social work, as well as conceptual issues that may be hindering it from informing improvements to research utilisation in practice.     

On the margins of the child protection system: creating space for relational social work practice

In the UK, a threshold divides between two categories of children, child protection (CP) and child in need. Each category tends to be treated as a homogeneous entity, despite containing heterogeneous levels and forms of risk and need. CP practice, accompanied by regulation, protocols and procedures, aspires to achieve a coordinated multi‐agency response to identified concerns with available resources targeted towards this category. However, it is well known that those children assessed as falling just below the CP threshold can still have high levels of need and risk, requiring a level of social work involvement beyond the low‐resource and low‐oversight model that generally accompanies a child in need categorisation. This paper probes an approach to practice, which divides levels of risk within the child in need category enabling adequate, coordinated support and oversight to be provided for children and families with complex needs. Evidence from our study evaluating this approach suggests that a simple protocol provided a clear process within, which social workers and agency partners felt confident and safe to practice outside of the formal CP framework. The protocol prevented drift and helped to create a space within, which relational social work practice flourished.     

Academization of social work in Sweden and China

All professions with claims to status and trustworthiness must build a knowledge base of their own. This article is the product of over 10 years of study of social work research. It explores the academization of Swedish social work according to three phases: the establishment of a social work discipline, the consolidation of the discipline, and the challenges ahead. It also examines the challenges facing doctoral research in the social work discipline in China. The establishment of the discipline depends on stakeholders both within the academic sphere and outside it. Social work is a discipline that must achieve legitimacy in both the academic context and the political/professional context.     

Class-competent social work: a preliminary definition

The article seeks to present a theoretical framework for defining class-competence in social work practice. Social work has made significant progress in enhancing practice competence with respect to contextual factors that transcend social class such as gender, culture, race and ethnicity. But this positive development in overcoming the rigid view, which framed class as the sole explanation of diversity, has obscured the current impact of social class differences in social work practice. This article takes a critical look at the historical approach of the profession to class issues, extends the boundaries of the social class concept beyond its narrow economic dimensions, discusses the relevance of addressing class issues in light of current challenges in social work practice and, lastly, proposes a preliminary definition of class-competent social work practice.     

Environmental shifts for social work: A principles approach

Miller SE, Hayward RA, Shaw TV. Environmental shifts for social work: A principles approach The social work profession is rooted in a history of addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. Generally, however, this history has not extended to issues relating to the natural environment. Building on a framework of environmental justice, this article proposes a shift from the artificial separation of the social and natural environments in its person‐in‐environment focus to an expanded holistic understanding of the dynamic interplay between human society and the natural environment. It examines issues surrounding environmental and ecological justice, and proposes a principles approach to move the profession towards a paradigm of environmental justice using as its template the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice adopted by the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in the USA in 1991. It discusses the value of these principles in enhancing social work's capacity to address issues of environmental concern. It proposes that, with greater awareness of the effects of environmental issues on high‐needs populations, the profession would be better able to balance environmental and human concerns.     

Challenges of social workers' involvement in the recovery of the 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake in China

This article explores the challenges of social workers' involvement in recovery work of the 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake (12 May 2008). Six social workers working in three social work stations in Sichuan, China, were asked to report the challenges they faced in working with disaster survivors. Findings reveal that the social workers faced many challenges. These include lack of government support, low professional status of social work, rapid changes in the social environment in disaster‐affected areas, lack of supervision, lack of cooperation and coordination among social service agencies, and lack of experience and knowledge in working with disaster survivors. The practical, educational and policy implications of the findings are addressed.