A balancing act: a grounded theory study of the professional judgement of child protection social workers

ABSTRACT

This paper explores professional judgement of social workers working to protect children. Based on 22 in-depth interviews with social workers, a grounded theory methodology is adopted. The policy context for child protection practice is outlined and analysed. This study then explores how information, responsibility and in particular anxiety, are transacted between social workers and other professionals. Additionally, this study explores the delicate balances social workers are required to negotiate, focussing on two elements of the findings, ‘closeness- distance’ and ‘power over- power together’. The delicacy of the balances negotiated by social workers leads to a powerful analogy of social workers as tightrope walkers, and strategies to seek balance are identified. The implications for practice are explored. The internal mental processes of social workers require closer attention, a cautious approach should be taken to rational-technical solutions and social workers should be better prepared to respectfully challenge other professionals.     

Critical realism in empirical research: employing techniques from grounded theory methodology

Whilst critical realism (CR) is becoming recognised as a significant meta-theory for the social sciences, there is little guidance on how to produce research which is consistent with its ontological and epistemological assumptions. This article contributes to an emerging discussion about how CR can be applied, drawing on an example of a qualitative study that has sought to understand and explain the causes of unmet need amongst a group of rural labourers in Tunisia . Using this study as an illustration, I show how techniques from grounded theory methodology can be usefully harnessed in the data collection, coding and analysis stages of a research project that adopts a CR philosophical and methodological framework. I illustrate how an ‘abductive’ variant of grounded theory allowed drawing on pre-existing theoretical knowledge throughout the research stages; whilst open and axial coding techniques could be harnessed for identifying and postulating CR causal mechanisms. This article should be of interest to students and researchers involved with grounded theory and applied critical realism.     

Recruitment and consent of adults with intellectual disabilities in a classic grounded theory research study: ethical and methodological considerations

Researchers are required to provide opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to be included in research which affects their lives. This paper reports on one research study inclusive of 12 adults with intellectual disabilities. Ethical and methodological realities of recruiting research participants and obtaining informed consent while enlisting a classic grounded theory methodology are discussed. The findings of this paper focus on building and maintaining trusting relationships with relevant gatekeepers and engaging in reasonable accommodations to support decision-making for and with adults with intellectual disabilities. This paper contributes to an understanding of how to apply for ethical approval, negotiate access to potential participants, enlist reasonable accommodations and obtain informed consent in the context of the methodological strictures of classic grounded theory methodology. Research projects need to be carefully planned making space for the development of empathic relationships with both the potential participants and also with the structures and services supports.     

A grounded theory of living a life with a physical disability in Taiwan

This study explores the experiences of disability for a number of Taiwanese adults with a physical disability. Using a grounded theory approach, their experiences of living a life with a physical disability were gained through in-depth interviews. The resulting grounded theory ‘it is more than just the impaired body’ presents the dynamic interactions between the participants and the context in which they were living their lives and how they managed their lives within that context. With its inclusion of the cultural dimension, a holistic way of understanding the daily lives of those who experience physical disability in Taiwan is provided.     

Personal reflections on cautions and considerations for navigating the path of grounded theory doctoral theses and dissertations: a long walk through a dark forest

Grounded theory (GT) has been a popularly used qualitative research methodology in the social sciences and has become increasingly popular for doctoral theses and dissertations. Yet, issues such as the changing nature of grounded theory, time constraints, theses advisors, doctoral committee procedures and Institutional Review Board regulations create challenges for doctoral candidates (researchers) who choose to use GT for their dissertations. In this paper, we present the general and specific challenges of using GT for doctoral theses and dissertations by sharing our personal experiences from our Ph.D. programmes in the USA. We conclude by providing practical suggestions for doctoral researchers who are considering using GT for their theses and dissertations.     

Marginalisation processes in inclusive education in Norway: a longitudinal study of classroom participation

The aim of this paper is to describe the classroom participation of primary school children with disabilities who attend regular schools in Norway; to explore how relations between children with disabilities and their environment change, and further to chart how schools act in response to such change. The analyses are based on a life course study with data gathered from interviews and questionnaires given to the parents of children with disabilities born in the period between 1993 and 1995. The results show an increasing marginalisation of children with disabilities who receive their primary school education at regular schools. Despite the fact that public policies in Norway are based on a relational understanding of disability, thus suggesting that educators would make considerable efforts to accommodate children with disabilities in regular schools, the reality is that schools take an individual approach to children with disabilities which reflects a medical understanding of disability.     

Beyond recruitment: Predictors of differential participation in a national antihunger organization

Surprisingly little research has sought to explain differential participation after recruitment into social movement organizations (SMOs). This study examines the influence of several sets of predictors on participation by members of a national organization in the antihunger movement. The findings highlight the importance of incentive, ideological, and microstructural factors for differential participation and suggest that favorable perceptions of SMOs also promote participation. Final remarks address the implications of the findings for the social movement and voluntary organization literatures.     

Service-user participation in developing social services: applying the experiment-driven approach

ABSTRACT

Participatory approaches are needed in Finland for service users to participate in designing and developing social services. New collaborative methods are the focus of this research, as this pilot case-study analyses the experiment-driven design approach and its consequences on service users’ agency and participation. This practitioner research belongs to the pragmatist research tradition. The data comprises transcribed focus group and individual interviews of service users and social workers in group operations in a Finnish municipal adult social service organisation. The data are evaluated by content analysis. The experiments with service prototypes allowed the service users to observe the consequences of their actions in practice. Instead of only being heard and consulted, the service users found they could influence the practice in concrete ways. The professionals and organisation shaped the service users’ participation and agency by operating as gatekeepers in sharing power. The service users reported that collaboration with professionals and participation in the group gave them a sense of renewed citizenship, improved social skills and helped to manage with personal illnesses or daily struggles. The research concludes that experimentation can provide a way to utilise experiential knowledge in developing social work collaboratively.     

People with experience of long-term drug use and homelessness teaching with us: experts by experience participation in university social work education

ABSTRACT

Participation of experts by experience in university social work education is an important shaping factor for future social workers. This article presents two-year long experience in lecturing together with people who have had experience with long-term drug use, homelessness and have a lot of experience with being in a role of social work clients as well. The aim of the presented approach is to recognize their experience, opinions, and attitudes as an important source of knowledge in social work. Based on the research outcomes, the authors discuss topics such as: the role of experts, empowerment, breaking the stereotypes and ethical issues related to experts’ participation. They conclude with practical recommendations.     

The Meaningful Involvement of Service Users in Social Work Education: Examples from Belgium and The Netherlands

This article links the development of service user involvement championed in the United Kingdom to two examples in Dutch-speaking qualifying social work programmes: one from Belgium and one from the Netherlands. In both projects, a longer lasting cooperation with more marginalised service users was established. The Belgium project highlights social work lecturers and service users living in poverty, working in tandem to deliver a module to social work and socio-educational care work students. The example from the Netherlands involves young people from a homeless shelter as peer-researchers, working together with social work students.

Both projects, one focusing on social work education and on social work research, highlight striking similarities in the positives and challenges of working with service users including how this challenges both groups preconceptions of the other, deepens learning but also creates greater potential for confrontations which need to be managed creatively. The article also identifies the pre-requisites for this to be effective including appropriate resourcing, training, facilitative skills and acknowledges that collaborations can be extremely fragile. However, such projects need further investment, experimentation and implementation on an international scale to share learning and promote creative approaches for the development and learning of social work students.     

Intersectional understandings of disability and implications for a social justice reform agenda in education policy and practice

This article explores the multiple and shifting ways in which disability intersects with other sources of social disadvantage. Disablism forms part of an intricate web of social conditions that subjugate certain forms of ‘student-subjects' and create compounding forms of oppression and exclusion that need to be addressed through relevant education policy and practice. Intersectional understandings of disability expose the multiple dynamics that impact upon constructing disabled students' identities. These identities should not be regarded as fixed and transcendental entities gauged against varied bodily, mental and psychological differences, but should be understood in conjunction with the ways in which race, gender and socio-economic status intersect with the experience of disability. Intersectional understandings of disability, drawn from intersectional feminism and disability studies, destabilize reductionist accounts of individual pathology and privilege new forms of pedagogical thinking and acting that prioritize a social justice framework in tackling wider systemic rigidities and oppressive educational regimes.     

Social class background and gender‐(a)typical choices of fields of study in higher education

By employing a Bourdieu‐inspired class scheme that differentiates between classes’ volume and composition of capital, and by analysing Norwegian administrative register data for birth cohorts between 1987 and 1992, this paper examines the relationship between social class background and gender‐(a)typical choices of higher education. Fields of study in higher education in much of the Western world remain segregated by gender despite the gender gap in educational attainment having been reversed. However, some changes have taken place due to the influx of women into male‐dominated, high‐status fields. Few recent studies have examined the relationship between social class background and gendered educational choices in light of these changes; furthermore, the focus of previous research has been limited to the vertical dimension of class. The results presented in this article suggest that men and women are more likely to make gender‐atypical choices when this leads to social mobility and that focusing solely on the vertical dimension of class may mask horizontal differences.     

Phenomenography: the development and application of an innovative research design in higher education research

This article considers the application of phenomenography, as arguably the only research design (so far) to have been developed substantially within higher education research by higher education researchers. It considers its origins, meaning and application, and the issues and critiques that it has raised. It concludes that, while phenomenography has both acknowledged limitations and undoubted achievements, it still appears to have much to offer to higher education research, and its usage might be extended to other fields.     

Voices of youths on engagement in community life: a theoretical framework of belonging

Little is known from the perspectives of youths with intellectual and developmental disabilities themselves about their experiences related to inclusion, engagement in community life and friendship, and their quality of life. The Voices of Youths research project used an inclusive approach to learn from youths about these experiences. Twenty-four youths (age 13–24 years) with a range of intellectual and developmental disabilities diagnostic ‘labels’ participated in three video-recorded, community-based interviews. Constructivist grounded theory data analysis revealed a theoretical framework comprising the core concept of belonging and four associated concepts: engaging with similar people, having social relationships, negotiating meaningful roles, and navigating norms and expectations – finding a good fit. The findings contribute new knowledge about the ways in which these youths experience a sense of belonging from their own perspectives and can inform development/enrichment of policies, programmes, and services for these youths.     

Creating LGBTQI+ programing in urban higher education: Considering the creation process of a campus resource room

Abstract

While many community college campuses provide resources of some kind for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or other sexual or gender-non-binary minorities (LGBTQI+), surprisingly few institutions have dedicated physical spaces designated for that purpose. This article explores, by way of a case study on the establishment of an LGBTQI+?resource room on a community college campus, the processes that must be considered and undertaken when establishing such spaces. Needs assessments, identification of stakeholders, and strategies for making an LGBTQI+?resource room a reality on campuses that have never had such spaces or initiatives are discussed for the purposes of carefully considering the components of a proposed template for campus administrators, staff, faculty, and students to follow. While outcomes described in this article are specific to one particular case, the procedures by which they were achieved were undertaken with the hopes that they might be replicable by other similar institutions, in light of the very few LGBTQI+?spaces in community college contexts.     

Mending the gaps in social work education and research: two examples from a Swedish context

ABSTRACT

The gap-mending concept is an analytical tool that helps teachers and researchers in social work to reflect upon what, in their practice, increases, maintains or mends gaps between professionals and service user groups. The article suggests a theoretical background on how gaps in social work practice can be challenged. This includes theories about power and recognition. It then moves on to describe the development of gap-mending strategies in research and education at the School of Social Work at Lund University. Lund University was one of three partners that took the initiative to the international network PowerUs that has focused on gap-mending strategies in social work education. The authors have been working over 10 years in collaboration with service user participation in the education of social workers and in different research projects. In the article, they give examples of gap-mending practices and of challenges that they have faced. The first example is an experimental course that has been given since 2005 where social work students study together with students from service user organizations in a university course. The second example is an attempt to combat homelessness in several Swedish municipalities. Supported by researchers, the development project has been a collaboration between homeless groups, politicians and social workers.