The Mother‐Citizen and the Working Girl: First‐Wave Feminist Citizenship Claims in Canada and Discursive Opportunities for Twenty‐First Century Childcare Policy

L'État providence Canadien est déséquilibré: leader mondial dans certains domaines de l'investissement social—plus particulièrement en soins de santé et enseignement supérieur—il traîne dans d'autres domaines de la dépense d'aide sociale, y compris les politiques de garde d'enfants. Nous constatons qu'aujourd'hui la résistance dans la plupart des régions du Canada à la politique de garde d'enfants universel a des racines historiques profondes. Elle est de fait intégré dans le cadre même du bien‐être social canadien: le contrat de citoyenneté sociale. Nous employons une approche de “bas en haut” sur l'état du bien‐être en nous concentrant sur la façon dont les acteurs collectifs, en particulier, les féministes de la première vague et leurs contemporains au sein des organisations du mouvement ouvrier, ont encadrées et caractérisé la citoyenneté sociale féminine; Nous constatons que l'exclusion de l'adhésion des femmes employées tronque les possibilités discursives par lesquelles des revendications pour des provisions universelles de bien‐être sociale pourraient être apportées. Canada's welfare state is lopsided: while leading the world in some areas of social investment—most notably health care and higher education—it is a laggard in other areas of social welfare spending, including childcare policies. We find that policy resistance to universal childcare in most regions of Canada today has deep historical roots and is, indeed, embedded into the very framework of the Canadian welfare state: the social citizenship contract. We employ a “bottom‐up” perspective on the welfare state focusing on how collective actors, in particular, first‐wave feminists and their contemporaries within labor movement organizations, framed and characterized female social citizenship in ways that excluded employed women from full membership and, in this, truncated discursive opportunities by which claims for universal welfare state provisions could be made.     

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.     

Latino families and the public child welfare system: Examining the role of social support networks

The number of Latino families involved with the public child welfare system has increased exponentially in the last decade. This qualitative study examined one of this population's inherent resources – their social network – and the role it plays when involved with the public child welfare system. Findings reveal that Latino families rely heavily on their network for emotional support, advice/information, and advocacy. Often parents received incorrect or conflicting information or advice grounded on experiences that were very different from the participant's case. In addition, their networks are homophilous; that is, limited to people who are in their same circumstances which limits their ability to access formal sources of advocacy and support. Many parents were also genuinely interested in helping other parents with open cases. Practice recommendations are made as it relates to actively engaging Latino families in their case process and supporting Latino families by incorporating their networks and genuine interest in helping others into child welfare service delivery.     

“Try to make it seem like we're regular kids”: Youth perceptions of restrictiveness in out-of-home care

While there are several measures of living environment restrictiveness, none has used the youth perspective in conceptualizing and operationalizing restrictiveness. The purpose of this qualitative study was to obtain the perspectives of child welfare involved youth who have lived in out-of-home care. Using focus group methodology, 40 youth were asked to define restriction and give examples of how it is operationalized in practice. Youth defined restriction as “rules”. The rules were about what youth can do, where they can go, who they can be with and how and with whom they can communicate. These rules were primarily characterized as inconsistent, arbitrary, non-individualized and developmentally inappropriate, although some characterized them as beneficial in the long term. Rules were mostly attributed to adult need for power and avoidance of legal responsibility for the youths. Typical feelings about the rules were anger, resentment, feeling labeled, isolated and stigmatized. Relationships influenced perceptions: within a positive relationship, youth understood and tolerated the rules that limited independence. The perception of what were normal restrictions for other youth not in out-of-home care was another influencing factor. These findings are examined in light of cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Recommendations for improving the measurement of living environment restrictiveness as well as enhancing child welfare services are proposed.     

Critical Discourse,Applied Inquiry and Public Health Action with Urban Middle School Students: Lessons Learned Engaging Youth in Critical Service-Learning

The Nuestro Futuro Saludable partnership designed a critical service-learning intervention focused on health equity and action. The 10-week afterschool intervention was implemented in a Boston middle school. Youths who took part in the intervention were knowledgeable about the social determinants of health in their communities, as well as to the barriers to health. Our findings indicate that engaging young people in a meaningful way will be critical if health improvement efforts are to be realized. We found that a critical service-learning framework that incorporates elements of applied inquiry and critical pedagogy was effective as a health intervention and provided opportunities for action.     

Sources of Status and Influence in All Female and Mixed Sex Groups*

Hollander's (1958) theory on conformity, status, and idiosyncrasy credits was tested using female rather than male groups. Each group contained either one male or one female confederate who broke procedual norms early, in the middle, late, or never during the 15 trials of an experimental game task. For some groups the task was described as a quasi-mathematical task; for others it was described as a common game. The quasi-mathematical definition of the task and male sex of the confederate resulted in greater conformity to the confederate's choice. Contrary to Hollander's theory, previous conformity was not related to influence. The results were interpreted in terms of traditional sex role expectations and in terms of the perceptual marker function that nonconformity plays in small groups. The marker function was related to perception in Hollander's original theoretical formulation.     

Affective Interaction as a Determinant of Musical Involvement*

Music may be understood as a structural representation, or symbolic “model,” of social interaction processes. Since music is a readily available expressive system in our society, individuals may use it as a socially meaningful symbolic medium within which they manage conflicting affective associations with interaction. Music listening then becomes one means by which individuals may maintain psychological well-being while adapting to complex social structures. Three initial points in this argument were examined, using high and low music listeners. High listeners were found to have more conflicting positive and negative affective associations with interaction than low or medium listeners, as measured by a TAT-type technique. The effect of role playing an affective interaction situation in an experimental design increased listening absorption in music for high but not for low listeners. High listeners were also more likely to describe musical effects in terms of symbolic participation in group processes.     

A comparison of self-perceived physical and psycho-social worker profiles of people with direct work injury, chronic low back pain, and cumulative trauma

This study investigated the psycho-social factors among injured workers and the influence of their psycho-social profile on the readiness of return to work. Sixty-four subjects with injuries on the upper limbs or lower limbs, low back pain, or cumulative trauma disorder were recruited. The workers' profiles (self-perceived physical health, mental health, and work readiness) together with the impact and types of work injury on the workers' perceived wellness were measured. The regression model of work readiness was constructed to develop a theoretical background for predicting work readiness based on different factors. The results showed that injured workers with chronic injury such as low back pain or cumulative trauma had poorer self-perception of physical health and psycho-social/mental health compared to those with direct trauma. The regression analysis further affirmed that self-perceived pain and physical functioning were significant factors influencing the readiness for returning to work. Workers with low back pain were found to have lower motivation for returning to work. Other factors such as the non-verbal intelligence of the injured workers, their anxiety level, and the support they received from family members were found to have some indirect impact on their ability to return to work, but this was not statistically proven.     

Female executives and the glass ceiling in Spain

This paper examines the findings of a survey of the personal, educational and professional profiles of a sample of male and female senior executives of companies operating in Spain. The women were found to be younger; they had fewer children, resorted to more domestic help, and earned less than the men, although they often had higher qualifications. Yet cultural patterns and institutional barriers still prevent them from making full use of their capabilities. In spite of recent legislative efforts to promote gender equity at work, more than nine out of ten senior executives are still men.