Australian Policies on Special Education: Towards a Sociological Account

The discussion analyses Australian national and four State policies from a sociological perspective. It examines these written policies (as distinct from stated and enacted policies, cf. Macdonald, 1981) along a number of dimensions, and theorises the various integrationist positions in these policies, using Demaine's (1981) and Culley & Demaine's (1983) framework. In addition, it comments on other aspects of these policies which have social and sociological significance, including their social control implications.     

Independent Living: gender, violence and the threat of violence

In what ways is independent living for young adults with disabilities compromised by violence and its threat? A qualitative study of 42 young adults with severe physical disabilities explored their perceptions and concerns about independent living, access to services and the meeting of needs. Young women especially experienced difficulties about leaving home, because of their own and their parents' fears about vulnerability; some who did leave home experienced highly restricted social lives because of anxiety about neighbourhood violence. Few had established partnerships, but violence and sexual abuse from partners emerged as an issue for which there is little policy. Control and abuse within caring relationships are serious issues for those who need personal care. Violence and lack of protection may undermine independent living, especially for women.     

Adult children of parents with mental illness: navigating stigma

The experiences of children who live with parental mental illness are becoming increasingly recognized. However, there remains a limited body of knowledge in relation to an individual's longer term experiences. This study sought adult children's experiences of childhood parental mental illness. It generated reflections of 13 adult children who had lived with parents with mental illness during their childhood. The narrative design of the study facilitated a voice for participants. The paper presents one main theme of the findings. The findings offer a unique insight into childhood awareness of social stigmas and children's behavioural changes to avoid disclosure of parental mental illness. Participants noted that they were aware of social stigmas associated with mental illness during their childhood. This contributed to their fear of disclosure to others that fuelled a culture of familial secrecy, reinforcing the children's own sense of difference. Further work is required to enhance community understanding about the familial journeys of parental mental illness and the impact of negative‐natured stigmas.     

On the relation between ‘visual research methods’ and contemporary visual culture

One of the most striking developments across the social sciences in the past decade has been the growth of research methods using visual materials. It is often suggested that this growth is somehow related to the increasing importance of visual images in contemporary social and cultural practice. However, the form of the relationship between ‘visual research methods’ and ‘contemporary visual culture’ has not yet been interrogated. This paper conducts such an interrogation, exploring the relation between ‘visual research methods’ – as they are constituted in quite particular ways by a growing number of handbooks, reviews, conference and journals – and contemporary visual culture – as characterized by discussions of ‘convergence culture’. The paper adopts a performative approach to ‘visual research methods’. It suggests that when they are used, ‘visual research methods’ create neither a ‘social’ articulated through culturally mediated images, nor a ‘research participant’ competency in using such images. Instead, the paper argues that the intersection of visual culture and ‘visual research methods’ should be located in their shared way of using images, since in both, images tend to be deployed much more as communicational tools than as representational texts. The paper concludes by placing this argument in the context of recent discussions about the production of sociological knowledge in the wider social field.     

Attachment and Coping Strategies in Middle Childhood Children whose Mothers Have a Mental Health Problem: Implications for Social Work Practice

Mental health has implications for the quality of relationshipswithin a family, particularly between parents and children,but also between other family and non-family members. Previousresearch has investigated parental reports of attachment infamilies with mental health problems, but relationship representationsas experienced by these children, especially in middle childhood,have not been so frequently investigated. An understanding ofchildren’s representations of attachment relationshipsand the different coping strategies that may result is importantfor social work practice when offering support, not only tothe children, but also other family members. Methods of investigatingattachment, such as the Separation Anxiety Test, have been usedto understand the relationship issues, fears and coping strategiesof other vulnerable children, and this study was designed specificallyto investigate relationship issues in middle childhood childrenwhose mothers had previously been hospitalized with mental healthproblems. We found that these children tended to be less emotionallyopen and secure, and generated fewer adaptive coping strategiesthan children whose mothers had never had mental health problems.Other themes also emerged from the interviews, such as a senseof trust in the parent–child relationship and the ‘containment’of fears. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

Social policy and social work in the voluntary sector: the case of Ukraine

Over a decade has passed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This major political change has had profound effects on how social welfare is delivered in countries in transition from communism. Using material derived from the author's involvement in social work education projects in Ukraine, this article examines the changing relationship between statutory social welfare provider agencies and the burgeoning voluntary sector. A confusing and rapidly changing picture has emerged. Some prominent themes likely to shape future directions are identified, particularly the imperative to ensure that social work education continues to be sensitive to local political and cultural contexts, rather than relying on importing Western solutions.     

A model of impacts of research partnerships in health and social services

Alliances have long been an important strategy for health promotion and community development. They are now becoming an important approach to generating research that is thought to have real-world relevance and easy applicability because of the involvement of community members. A comprehensive, dynamic model of community impacts of research partnerships in social or health services is presented. This process-oriented, systems model outlines three major domains of mid-term impact (Enhanced Knowledge, Enhanced Research Skills, and Use of Information) that correspond to the core functions of collaborative research partnerships discussed in the literature (i.e. knowledge generation, research education and training, and knowledge sharing). The model will assist research partners, intended recipients, and funders to understand and evaluate the real-world impacts of community–university research partnerships. The model provides research partnerships with a tool to demonstrate their accountability and to improve their operations and impacts, and evaluators with a tool to guide planning and evaluation efforts.     

Relationship-based practice and reflective practice: holistic approaches to contemporary child care social work

The renewed interest in relationship‐based practice can be understood in the child care social work context as a response to the call to re‐focus practice in this field. Relationship‐based practice challenges the prevailing trends which emphasize reductionist understandings of human behaviour and narrowly conceived bureaucratic responses to complex problems. In so doing practitioners engaged in relationship‐based practice need to be able to cope with the uniqueness of each individual's circumstances and the diverse knowledge sources required to make sense of complex, unpredictable problems. This paper argues that if relationship‐based practice is to become an established and effective approach to practice, practitioners need to develop their reflective capabilities. An outline of contemporary understandings of relationship‐based and reflective practice is offered and findings from doctoral research drawn on to identify how reflective practice complements relationship‐based practice. The product of this complementary relationship is enhanced understandings across four aspects of practice: the client, the professional self, the organizational context and the knowledges informing practice. The paper concludes by acknowledging the inextricably interconnected nature of relationship‐based and reflective practice and emphasizes the importance of practitioners being afforded opportunities to practise in relational and reflective ways.