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Authors:Lissette M Piedra Pages: 483 - 484 Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Volume 21, Issue 3, Page 483-484, May 2022.
Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-05-06T03:09:14Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221096068 Issue No:Vol. 21, No. 3 (2022)
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Authors:Sherica Harper Pages: 637 - 639 Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Volume 21, Issue 3, Page 637-639, May 2022.
Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-05-06T03:09:14Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221095127 Issue No:Vol. 21, No. 3 (2022)
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Authors:Louise Morley, Frances Crawford Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Summary: The quality of the helping relationship is experienced when theories and principles are enacted in practice. Here, the people social workers seek to serve are able to decide whether the practice they experience is useful. One way that social workers can enhance the quality of the relationships they develop is to ‘start where the person is at’. In order to explore what this phrase means in and for effective social work practice, this paper revisits Martin Buber’s articulation of the I/thou relationship seeking to shed light on the notion of personhood in this value-based profession. Two participants, within a larger research project exploring the experiences of social workers in the Australian child welfare field, independently used the language of personhood to refer to the way they conceptualised the process of engaging with people. Both were referring to enacting the transcendent value of each person in terms of a practice philosophy. These personal narratives inspired the authors to move away from the usual professional discourse about the skills involved in relationship building and instead reflect on their own practice in order to capture something philosophical about caring relational processes. Revisiting humanistic conceptualisations of the helping relationship such as the I/thou has the potential to discourage practitioners from seeing relationships as transactional. This has particular significance in practice contexts characterised as risk-averse, austere or involuntary, and/or where people may be feeling anxious, stressed and/or simply unheard. Contemporary implications for social work practice are discussed. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-06-17T12:28:27Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221108638
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Authors:Aubrey E Jones, Kristel Scoresby, Chinh C Duong Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Miscarriage, a common experience, is uncommonly discussed in personal and professional support networks. The normal reaction of grief from a miscarriage in addition to other external factors can lead to complicated grief, a condition that has negative mental health implications on the bereaved mother. Through the lens of Worden’s tasks of meaning, a content analysis was conducted on six public blog posts in which women openly shared their grief experiences. The authors discuss the need for more training in social work practice regarding reproductive health and the intersection of reproductive health and mental health. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-06-15T08:12:03Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221108634
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Authors:Talin Gharibian, David McCarty-Caplan Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This exploratory study examined the intersections of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) American cultural identity and attitudes towards mental health and mental health services. Fifteen in-depth narrative interviews with participants of MENA descent in the United States were analyzed using qualitative thematic content analysis, revealing five primary themes within these data: denial, lack of awareness, stigma/shame, collective identity, and resistance. These results indicate cultural identity plays a unique and significant role in how this population understands and responds to mental health and substance use challenges, in a way that often creates barriers to social service provision and success. Implications and suggestions for how these findings might be used to develop more culturally competent and effective social work interventions for MENA communities are discussed. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-06-15T05:06:22Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221108829
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Authors:Anson Au Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The subject of (de)colonization in the academy has witnessed an upsurge in attention over the past two decades across the social sciences and the Global North-South divide. This article critically examines central themes that have guided the conceptualization of decolonization thus far and foregrounds the convergences that decolonization shares with the epistemology of qualitative research methodology and pedagogy. In so doing, this article articulates the objective of reconciliation and demonstrates the ways in which reconciliation has been and can be enacted in the academy, limning the themes of (a) attention to physical context; (b) inclusion of Indigenous voices; (c) and decolonization of Indigenous and non-Indigenous minds. This article argues for better aligning the epistemology and conduct of qualitative research with Indigenous values—and concludes by calling for attention to Indigenous intersectionality and calling against a growing trend of decontextualizing decolonization. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-06-13T07:32:27Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221108626
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Authors:Bronwyn Charles, Lise Johns Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This research explores how feminist women respond to male allies’ unintended sexism. I use a feminist autoethnographic method to document and analyze vignettes that explore interpersonal conflicts about unintended sexism. Autoethnography provides the methodology that allows me to link the personal challenges of responding to sexism in caring relationships within the broader cultural context. Three case vignettes demonstrate the processes I undertook. As a social worker, I draw upon process-oriented psychology and feminism to examine the vignettes and analyze key concepts in the experience of responding to unintended sexism. I discuss the importance of communication between social workers who are feminist and male allies when unintended sexism occurs. Finally, I examine the issue of feminists doing the majority of the work challenging sexism. In sharing my personal experiences of responding to male allies’ unintended sexism, I anticipate these stories and explorations can be helpful for social workers who are feminist or male allies concerned with communicating about unintended sexism in caring relationships. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-06-06T02:07:13Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221105338
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Authors:Naomi Katie McGookin Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This article examines a recent research project that explored the lived experiences of 5 final year social work students in Scotland who graduated during the coronavirus pandemic. The project used Photovoice as the primary data collection method, followed by a 3 hour long online focus group where the participants and the researcher worked collaboratively to identify themes for further analysis. The findings demonstrated that while the data collected by participants through the photographs and captions were highly personal to each participant, there were recurring themes that connected all of them which were identified broadly as; (dis)connection, closure and identity – all of which were discussed in great detail in a virtual focus group after the data was collected. This article focusses predominantly on the Photovoice method adopted for the study and how this was an effective method for participatory research. This article also focusses on how the pandemic affected the transitionary period between the participants’ identity shift from students to professionals. This study followed the principles of Participatory Action Research which meant that participants and the researcher worked together to cultivate and analyse the data collected and the findings that are discussed here reflect this collaborative process. As this report is being written, numerous new studies, reports and predictions as to the pandemics impact on our collective mental health emerge daily and so it is hoped that this project will serve as a small time stamp as to how the pandemic impacted this small group of students in Scotland and will honour their stories, creating a lasting space for them to be heard among the ever-increasing bombardment of news. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-06-02T01:33:46Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221105081
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Authors:Tamara Woodall, Kevin D. Browne, Kathleen Green, Pallab Majumder Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Instability in the lives of young people in care is a public health concern. Placement moves and loss of relationships can have serious implications for young people’s overall functioning, as well as their future life outcomes. Despite this, research often lacks the perspective and voice of young people in care. In this qualitative research, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to provide a deeper insight into young people’s perceptions and beliefs about their care experiences to explore the impact of these on their ability to achieve a sense of stability and permanency across time. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six males from UK foster, residential and semi-independent care homes. The main themes highlighted young people’s perceptions of their care environment, relationships with others, sense of self and future under the overarching issue of permanence. Policy and practice implications propose strategies to target instability at the micro-level and how that may facilitate positive outcomes. The study revealed insights that may be helpful for frontline professionals and highlight to policy makers the importance of ensuring environmental and relational stability. An awareness of attachment theory to implement effective caregiving, should be a priority for training parents, caregivers, professionals and policy makers. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-05-22T03:22:00Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221096749
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Authors:Ian F Shaw Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. I seek to depict in a relatively grounded way the form and character of social work practice under a late colonial regime. The article draws from an archival study of the development of social welfare in Singapore as a British colony, in the late colonial period from the end of Japanese occupation in 1945 through to final independence in 1965. In exploring social welfare in late colonial regimes, I take adoption as an illuminating example. I refer to the significance of private markets in adoption, the Chinese kinship system as it was at the time, and the cultural significance of mui tsai. I suggest that we should conclude that colonial governmental regimes were not monochrome, and that the tenor of late colonial welfare practices and policies should not be regarded as set on a unilinear course of modernisation. Taken as a whole, the historical material points to the need for a form of imperial social work research – and of imperial social work as such – that avoids the assumption, perhaps too evident in social work writing, ‘that all they needed to know about colonialism was its horrors’ (Cooper). Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-05-12T10:34:35Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221098602
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Authors:Violeta Gevorgianienė, Egle Šumskienė, Ciara Bradley Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This article explores the challenges faced by women with disabilities in combining the roles of ‘mother’ and ‘worker’ in Lithuania and reflects on the strategies mothers employed to overcome these. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with twenty women with a variety of (dis)abling conditions and diverse life experiences between 2014 and 2018. In-depth thematic analysis by qualitative research teams revealed a constant tension in women’s aspirations to have a family and work. This revealed women’s enormous personal resources which facilitated them to overcome challenges they faced in motherhood as well as seemingly insurmountable obstacles to employment. However, within the vicious circle of social and economic challenges, they fought their battles with silent compliance, which hid their experiences and potentially denied them opportunities for support. This research reveals a policy response in Lithuania that categorises disability as an individual issue to be overcome rather than a socially constructed experience. The findings indicate the need for reframing understanding at macro, as well as micro-level policy interventions. At the micro-level, sensitive forms of professional support would help mothers with disabilities to choose more pronounced strategies of coping while also maintaining their dignity and privacy. These findings provide insights into the specific situation of women in Lithuania but are also relevant to many other contexts. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-30T03:26:13Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221091995
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Authors:Eleni Skoura-Kirk Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The way social workers discursively construct ‘service user’ identities in everyday interactions (interviews, conversations and text) can affect quality of relationships and practice outcomes. Even though research has focused on the construction of ‘service user’ identities by professionals and service users, little has been done to explore such discursive formulations by pre-qualifying social work students. This is especially relevant, given the strengthening of the ‘expert by experience’ identity in social work education. This paper seeks to make visible mechanisms of student identity constructions as to ‘who a service user is’, and implications for practice through the examination of student written work pre- and post- a module focussing on lived experience. A critical discursive psychology approach was followed, recognising the interplay between localised professional encounters and wider contexts of power relations. The findings show a shift in the ‘service user’ identities employed by the students mainly based on individualistic discourses and deserving/undeserving themes (substance misuse the result of vulnerability, rather than selfishness, domestic abuse narratives denoting resilience rather than victimhood). The effect to practice showed shifts between the reflective, expert, person-centred and critical/radical practitioner, mainly stressing the need for professional growth at an individual level, with less emphasis on addressing social inequality. The paper argues that predominantly individualistic discourses can perpetuate de-politicised or oppressive categorisations of ‘service users’ and calls for further critical engagement with the discursive micro-practises enacted and developed in the social work classroom, if we are to unveil and challenge narrow, or stigmatising categorisations early on. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-27T12:15:39Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221088208
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Authors:Clementine J Degener, Hans WE Grietens, Diana D van Bergen Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Transcultural placements occur frequently in foster care, and impact the ethnic identity of ethnic minority foster youth. Studies that investigate how foster youth’s ethnic identity develop over time, and what role ethnic minority as well as ethnic majority influences play, are extremely scarce. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal qualitative study, in which we explored how transculturally placed foster youth develop their ethnic identity and what fluctuations occur over time. Results show that the ethnic identity of foster youth seems to be influenced by a sense of belonging towards foster parents, birth parents and peers, as well as by the foster youth’s ability to cope with receiving contradictory ethnicity messages. Furthermore, societal movements and discussions about discrimination and racism impact the way foster youth view themselves as being an ethnic minority in majority society. In future, more attention should be paid to how foster youth can be guided by foster parents and foster care workers in safely exploring an ethnic identity of their own, and how a positive bond with both foster parents and birth parents, can further contribute to this process. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-26T04:14:41Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221081758
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Authors:Kelly Faye Jackson, Sarah Yang Mumma Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Despite astonishing growth in the multiracial population since 2010 and increased empirical scholarship on the experiences of persons from two or more racial groups, little progress has been made to extend multiracial identity development theory. Drawing from constructivist grounded theory and multiple visual grounded theory (VGT) frameworks, our secondary qualitative study analyzed 26 participatory diagrams from two previous qualitative studies examining multiracial identity development. In alignment with our novel VGT analytic approach, we co-constructed a visual theoretical model that more accurately represents the dynamism between complex developmental and ecological processes that interactively influence multiracial identity development over time. Our findings suggest that multiracial identity development is a dynamic process influenced by critical events and experiences, including trauma and abuse, movement of place, and turning points and milestones that mutually shape a multiracial person’s social environments, interpersonal relationships, and sense of self. Reflecting on our innovative study, we advocate for more critical, emancipatory methods like VGT that have the potential to overcome epistemological barriers in research that restrict the more accurate and complete storytelling of the multiracial experience. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-25T04:18:25Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221087877
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Authors:Jay Marlowe, Jemma Allen Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The availability, affordability and usability of communication technologies have created new ways to conduct interpersonal qualitative research. Access to digital communications remains uneven, but the online environment provides an alternative, and at times a potentially preferable, research space. As Covid-19 has interrupted and disrupted the dominant assumption that qualitative research must be conducted in person, this paper outlines possibilities and reservations of online interpersonal methods. Though the standard ethical considerations of qualitative research hold true, we argue that these are necessary, but often inadequate, in the contexts of conducting online synchronous interpersonal research. Through centring relational and reflexive practice, we consider the associated pragmatic, methodological and ethical domains from feminist and virtual–material positional perspectives. Unpacking the complexities and possibilities of researching digital environments, we present six guiding principles to inform ethically responsive, methodologically robust and pragmatically feasible approaches to conducting online interpersonal qualitative research. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-25T03:27:49Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221087917
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Authors:Angie Malorni, Autumn Diaz, Michael S Spencer, Tiffany Jones Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. A research–practice partnership (RPP) is a collaborative, long-term partnership between researchers and practitioners. Autoethnography is a form of qualitative research where researchers recount stories of their personal experience to reflect on and better understand the wider cultural, social, and political world around them. In this paper, we demonstrate a collaborative approach to autoethnography that can serve as a useful tool for studying and transforming school culture with teachers and administrators in a middle school. We identify the key components of our approach and provide a detailed summary of how each element was applied and highlight the ways the inquiry process contributed to self and school-level transformation. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using autoethnography for RPPs in schools and discuss future directions for methodological development Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-25T02:42:29Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221088211
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Authors:Christiana Best, Catherine Holt, Lear Matthews Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. While the issue of microaggressions has been studied for marginalized groups, research on microaggressions directed at Caribbean and Central American immigrants, a population whose identities are merged in the more visible Latinx, African American or Asian-American identities, is rare. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants – fourteen immigrants and six American-born adult children of immigrants. This research explores how ethnic and racial identification of black and brown immigrants and their American born children connect to experiences of daily microaggressions in the workplace. The results revealed that due to their intersecting identities they pay a heavy emotional price to assimilate into the workplace. This research has implications for organizations, human resources and organizational development. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-24T10:50:18Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221094781
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Authors:Hanna Kara, Maija Jäppinen, Camilla Nordberg, Anna-Leena Riitaoja Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. In this article, we contribute to an emerging body of literature concerning the often-overlooked topics of access and consent in research. We posit our understanding of access and consent as continuous ethical reflection and negotiation, conceptualised here as ethical performance, which is particularly valuable in research in institutional contexts defined by numerous power asymmetries. We draw empirically from research on street-level institutional encounters between social work practitioners and migrant-background service users in the Helsinki capital region. Access in this research was a multi-stage process including various stage-related negotiations, and the previous stages always influenced the stages that followed. Nevertheless, access and consent were always erratic and subject to revision. We describe how the need for ethical reflexivity arises in various concrete, often unpredictable, situations, and argue for the importance of paying explicit analytical attention to negotiations regarding access and consent. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-21T06:09:12Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221088421
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Authors:Vera Fiorentino, Marjo Romakkaniemi, Timo Harrikari, Sanna Saraniemi, Laura Tiitinen Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the globe. The viral outbreak was followed by rapid changes in people’s everyday and working lives. Because of the wide-scale societal restrictions that took place to prevent the pandemic, social work was forced to take a digital leap. In this article, we examine Finnish social workers’ experiences of extending the use of digitally mediated social work (DMSW) in working with clients during the first wave of the pandemic, the spring of 2020. The data consist of 33 social workers’ personal diaries, which are analysed using a qualitative theory-based content analysis. Henri Lefebvre’s theory of spatial triad will be utilised in theorising how social workers represent DMSW through three dimensions of space, that is, how they perceive, conceive and live digital spaces when encountering their clients and how physical, mental and social spaces are embodied in the representations. The results suggest that the three dimensions of space 1) basis of, 2) conceived and 3) lived DMSW intertwine closely together. The results reveal how the physical space, including IT infrastructure, its functionality and applicability, along with the organisational contexts, form a bedrock for the social workers’ DMSW practice and had a decisive impact on their experiences. Second, the conceived space consists of workers’ cognitive and emotional elements, such as competencies, preconceptions and attitudes towards ICT. Finally, the third dimension of spatiality concludes with the social and relational aspects of the user experiences and encounters between clients and social workers. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-11T06:09:06Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221075603
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Authors:Pernille S Skotte Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The burdens of working in the frontline of the child welfare and protection services are well documented. Studies have identified individual and organisational indicators that lead to burnout, turnover and retention. In this article, I direct attention to enacted local cultures in child welfare teams and explore how embedded social practices contribute to social workers’ coping. I apply the concept of worker collectivity to explore how informal social practices in regular team meetings mobilise action and commitment among the team members. The article draws on an ethnographic study of two Norwegian frontline child welfare offices, involving intermittent observation of everyday work practices for two years. My analysis suggests that the collectivity is a crucial condition in bearing the demands of child welfare work. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-09T02:41:54Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221075600
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Authors:Rojan Afrouz, Beth R Crisp, Ann Taket Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Gender roles and gender stereotypes are culturally and socially constructed. Previous studies suggested that the Afghan community is a male-dominated and conservative society, where men are more visible in social activities, and women remain responsible mainly for household tasks. This research aimed to show Afghan women’ perceptions of gender roles and the possibilities for and barriers in Australian society to change those roles after their settlement in Australia. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 21 Afghan women who had been living in Australia between 6 months and 10 years. The interviews were conducted face to face or by telephone, in either Farsi (Persian) or English. An inductive thematic analysis was used to explore the data and build themes. Afghan women were aware of gender roles, patriarchy, and gender inequality, and they hoped to address those issues now as they live in a society that offers more freedom to women. Moving to Australia had enhanced women’s possibilities, self-confidence and skills and inspired many to go beyond traditional stereotypes and seek out options previously denied to them on the basis of their gender. However, their attempts at realising gender equality often met with the disapproval of their family or the wider Afghan community. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-03-12T01:52:27Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221076730
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Authors:Kate Phillippo, Robert Lucio, Emily Shayman, Michael Kelly Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The American education system has been significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led schools to shut down and convert to remote learning environments in spring 2020. However, long before these school closures, school social workers (SSWs) have faced significant practice dilemmas, as they have encountered obstacles to their engagement in best practices. While initial pandemic school closures presented SSWs with a range of uncertain situations, they also provided the possibility to respond to practice demands in different and dynamic ways. This article explores the pandemic's impact upon SSWs’ practice, and how SSWs responded in turn as they quickly adapted their practice during this widespread, ongoing crisis. Informed by crisis theory, previous analyses of SSW practice trends and dilemmas, and a review of traditional social work values and ethics, we conducted three focus groups in July 2020 with SSWs during the pandemic’s early months. From these interviews, we learned that participants’ work was disrupted by dramatic shifts in school and community settings, as well as changes in support needs within their respective school communities. Those disruptions gave way to substantial shifts in practice, which reflect a more prominent role for systemic practice and for traditional social work values in SSW decision-making. These findings offer implications for post-pandemic practice, and practice in other host settings. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-03-11T02:09:56Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221076061
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Authors:Jeanette Schmid Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Employing critical autoethnography, this article conveys how over my four decades of social work, I have come to adopt a contextualized social work stance and identifies what emerge as four key areas of contextualized social work. These include attention to race, ethnicity and culture as experienced in the local environment, the local articulation of social conditions and appropriate social work responses, the activation of local knowledge generation and curation, and finally, addressing and resisting expert power. Such theorization of contextualized social work augments previous work that positions contextualized social work as countering dominant conceptualizations of social work and instead centering on a critical interrogation of the local, foregrounding local understandings of social conditions, and privileging local/(i)Indigenous knowledge production and ways of doing and being. This critical understanding of context unsettles dominant notions of context by focusing on power relationships. I hope that my story will add to the growing discussion regarding alternative modes of practice and education that counter dominant Westernized individualized social work perspectives and promote decolonized approaches. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-03-02T01:24:51Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221075757
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Authors:Carlos Andrade-Guzmán, Margaret Lombe Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The study critically explores the meanings and expressions of co-responsibility based on the experience of Chilean social workers involved in public-private child welfare. It draws upon critical institutionalism to frame thematic analysis of interviews with practitioners participating in these arrangements. Results show that meanings and expressions of co-responsibility are diverse and co-exist in intervention. Some meanings are that co-responsibility is the responsibility assumed by the State as the first guarantor of rights with a private that takes responsibility for clients. It also means collaboration in a neoliberal system. Regarding expressions, it takes the form of a programmatic execution that operationalizes the rights approach. Another one is that co-responsibility expresses in individualistic performance that neglects the other colleague. Implications for critical social work practice, policy, and scholarship are discussed, based on the diversity of meanings and expressions of co-responsibility identified. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-28T03:33:49Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211071050
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Authors:Jenn M Lilly Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Although digital narrative methods lend themselves well to participatory, action-oriented inquiry, these relatively new methods also raise questions about potential risks involved in using digital technologies to engage marginalized groups in social work research. This article examines the feasibility, challenges, and opportunities of using digital narrative methods in anti-oppressive social work research (AOSWR) by providing empirical insights from the AltaVoces project—an AOSWR project that used digital narrative methods to engage Latino youth. This case study demonstrates the compatibility and feasibility of digital narrative methods in AOSWR by examining to what extent the AltaVoces project: (1) used methods that center the contexts, voices, and experiences of oppressed peoples, recognizing the social construction of knowledge and the politics inherent in knowledge creation, (2) critically interrogated power arrangements within research relationships and made efforts to form authentic, collaborative relationships and share power with co-researchers, and (3) acknowledged oppressive systems and institutions and reflected a commitment to transforming, dismantling, or abolishing them through the research purpose, process, and products. We found that digital tools offered new possibilities for centering the voices of Latino youth, rebalancing power in research relationships, and connecting knowledge to action through digital products, in alignment with AOSWR, but also introduced new power hierarchies and risks related to producing digital material. The AltaVoces project provides one example of how digital narrative research may be implemented and evaluated using the integrative AOSWR framework, exposing several aspects of digital narrative research that warrant specific attention and presenting practical strategies for doing so. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-23T05:18:08Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211070590
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Authors:Raj Yadav, Amit Yadav Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This paper offers the 6 A’s model of social worker associations and COVID-19, which includes (i) ‘Apprehend’, (ii) ‘act’, (iii) ‘advocate’, (iv) ‘alliance’, (v) ‘an emphasis on solidarity and resilience’ and (vi) ‘a future prospect’. The model is based on the findings of qualitative analysis of social worker associations’ reports on COVID-19. It also offers insights that can be utilised in similar crises in the future. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-17T01:25:30Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211068066
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Authors:Yuen-Han Mo Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. There is limited research into positive organizational scholarship in social work in China. This study aimed to address this research gap by investigating what social workers perceive as positive management practices that facilitate work performance, strengthen work motivation or increase job satisfaction, and discover the relationship between self-care and organizational support. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants in various agencies in southern China that resulted in the development of a two-dimensional model with seven conditions of positive organizational measures in social work. Suggestions are made for social work managers to create an effective organizational management system. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-14T01:54:49Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211057107
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Authors:Shelby L Clark, Sarah Jen Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Arts-based research methods have an important place in social work scholarship. Arts-based research methods, such as poetic inquiry, highlight lived experiences through creativity, emotion, and embodiment. This paper shares findings from a qualitative study that investigated social workers’ experiences with compassion in their professional practice through poetic inquiry. Findings are disseminated in a found poem that was collaboratively co-created by the researcher and study participants. The found poem highlights how compassion is a central and guiding force within social work practice. Compassion and connection remain core dimensions of the social work discipline and social work education, scholarship, and practice may benefit from continued exploration of compassion and related constructs. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-10T05:51:00Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211070795
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Authors:Stina Michelson Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Children’s perspectives on family-related adversities are important to social work practice and theory. Qualitative inquiry into children’s personal narratives can contribute to a deeper understanding of their project of handling difficult relationships and experiences in the family context. The present study explores children’s agency with a specific focus on how they negotiate difficult family-related relationships and experiences in, and through, their personal narratives. The analysis builds on teller-focused interviews with 22 children aged between 6 and 17 who receive support linked to their experiences of family-related adversities. The findings suggest that children negotiate difficult relationships and experiences in terms of closeness and distance. This is shown in their narrative practice of positioning and repositioning themselves and others in, and through, their telling. The findings are theorized in relation to the concepts of power and misrecognition. Finally, the implications for social work practice and research are discussed with an emphasis on how to promote a non-instrumental attitude to children’s perspectives and experiences within the child welfare system. The present study suggests that this pursuit would benefit from a child-centered and narrative understanding of children and their knowledge. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-07T09:31:02Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211066823
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Authors:Kate Vincent Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Within Australia, Whiteness is embedded within social work, requiring us to turn the lens in on ourselves as a profession. This article presents research data exploring how Whiteness is enacted within the practices of White Australian social workers who work with refugee arrived communities. Eight social workers with experience working with people of refugee background participated in this multimethod qualitative study. Data was analysed using a critical approach to narrative analysis. Participants told narratives of how their Whiteness was enacted through their powerful positions within relationships with clients. The reported experiences of social workers in this project also relate to the pressures, desires and often failures to be professional, as it is defined within White Western social work. The findings suggest that to disrupt Whiteness, we need to challenge the need for professionalism when working with people of refugee background. It is argued that this could be achieved through a focus on relationality, dialogue and two-way care. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-04T03:27:45Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211067719
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Authors:Yixuan Wang, Qin Gao, Fei Pei, Yi Wang, Zhen Cheng, Ji Zhang, Yang Wu Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has motivated social workers to reckon with and transform traditions in service delivery. The development, application, and evaluation of technology-enhanced practices have become more vital than ever. Garden on the Balcony (GOB) was an innovative internet-based social work service designed to respond rapidly to the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing. This paper introduces the underlying perspectives and design of GOB and reports participants’ reflections on the program to understand its mechanisms and implications. Interview data from GOB participants were collected 4 months after the program ended. Thematic analysis generated three major themes, suggesting that GOB had (a) promoted individual resilience and family cohesion; (b) built online and offline community bonds; and (c) cultivated a green lifestyle and spiritual reflection on life. This study demonstrates a practical example of the effective use of technology-enhanced practice. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-03T05:10:48Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211059431
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Authors:Sharon Zanti, Meagan Cusack, Hyeri Choi, Mark J Stern Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This work examines power dynamics at play in the early child-saving movement as illuminated in the case records and annual reports of the Pennsylvania Society to Protect Children from Cruelty (SPCC) from 1878 to 1881 and triangulated with other historical records. We draw on ecological systems theory and urban ecology to examine social and spatial relationships between child-saving institutions, communities, and individuals and families. The paper adapts template analysis for archival research as a replicable approach for studying historical power dynamics embedded in social welfare institutions. This approach highlights the changing role of community members in identifying and responding to neglect and abuse and uncovers common themes that continue to impact the modern child welfare system. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-03T05:02:05Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211059436
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Authors:Emily Keddell, Kerri Cleaver, Luke Fitzmaurice Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. The removal of a baby at birth is a significant intervention in family life. Avoiding removal requires attention to all levels of the family social ecology. Utilising a collective case study approach, and a critical realist epistemology, this project explores the experiences of three women who have avoided removal, and their community-based workers. Key themes are the necessity of intensive, ecological and relational service provision; and the mediation role of the community-based worker between women and the statutory child protection service. Services that were ‘by Māori for Māori’ were reported as most likely to maintain these fragile relationships. Effective services were holistic and intensive, drew on parent’s own motivation of care for children, and focussed on stress reduction and creating ‘friend-like’ relationships. The mediation role of community workers reflected their instrumental position, and included mediating risk perceptions between the statutory agency and women. o In the instance of disability, mediation included direct, collective advocacy to challenge risk perceptions utilising children’s rights concepts and a social model of disability. The implications for policy and practice are: to improve equitable access to intensive services based on an ecological theory of change and with an emphasis on relational practice; improve provision of by Māori, for Māori services; and require services to take a rights-based approach to both mothers with disabilities and their children. It also highlights the important role of community-based workers to advocate, support change and improve coordination between families and the statutory child protection system. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-02T11:40:21Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211058178
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Authors:King Lun Hung, Hok Bun Ku, Sameul S M Leung Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This study explores the grief of social workers who experience the death of clients in community mental health settings. “The ten participants represented three occupational categories: social work administrators, senior social workers team leaders and clinical leaders), and novice and frontline social workers.” A phenomenological research approach was adopted, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the types of grief experienced by the participants. Researchers found that the grief of these “wounded helpers” took various forms: guilt, shock, panic, anger, shame, loss, sadness, helplessness, regret, fear, and anxiousness. In addition, some suffered from debilitating flashbacks. Their experiences produced psychological pain that took a long time to fade. Studies have shown that the grief and suffering of those in the helping professions are strongly connected to their perceived professional identity and their understanding of what constitutes professionalism. Based on our findings, we finally discuss the lessons that can be learned from this group of social workers who experienced recovery from traumatic situations in their career. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-02T04:13:07Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211064811
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Authors:Wilberforce Kurevakwesu, Belamino K Chikwaiwa, Mulwayini Mandau Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. This study explores one of the key factors influencing the struggle for social work professional identity, enunciating the impact of the effectiveness of the Council of Social Workers of Zimbabwe (CSW) in regulation of social work. This article, as such, focuses on abuse of the social work title in Zimbabwe’s government departments. It examines how non-social workers abuse the title, together with related effects and possible interventions. The researchers used a qualitative approach and employed a phenomenological design. Participants were recruited through snowballing and the researchers reached data saturation after 17 semi-structured telephone interviews. The collected data were analysed through thematic analysis. Findings of the study reflect that government departments employ non-social workers as medical social workers and probation officers, and this generally affects proper service delivery and the social work profession in particular. The study further established that the CSW has to ensure the recruitment of qualified social workers and rigorous monitoring of – and improved collaboration with – government departments. The researchers then suggested that if the CSW is to make future changes in protecting the social work profession in Zimbabwe, it should, inter alia, review its current legislative framework and draw lessons of best practices from other countries. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-02-02T02:25:18Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211061827
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Authors:Raewyn Tudor, Shanee Barraclough Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print. Post-humanist theories and feminist new materialism are a growing feature of social work scholarship. It is timely to explore how these theories inform qualitative social work research approaches. Drawing on post-qualitative methodology and Barad’s concept and method of diffraction, in this article we engage in a performative re-analysis of an account of school social work practice with a group of boys with behavioural concerns. We illuminate the interplay of neurological and behaviourist ways of knowing boys and social workers’ expertise and their linkages with the materiality of the place and space of the school-based group programme. Moving beyond merely representing these material-discursive happenings, this paper affirms new social worker identities and behavioural boys’ subjectivities which emerge within the entangled relations with non-human, material objects and things in schools. Doing post-qualitative inquiry, co-configures us as researchers actively involved in knowledge generation as we seek to make differences that matter in social work practice. Diffraction not only offers methods to engage with the material-discursive interface of social work knowledge practices, but also an ethical methodology for researchers to do justice in our engagement with research data. Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-01-25T05:04:15Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250211056600
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Authors:Lissette M Piedra First page: 475 Abstract: Qualitative Social Work, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Qualitative Social Work PubDate: 2022-04-13T09:22:23Z DOI: 10.1177/14733250221095125
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