Search results for ‘Subject term:"social workers"’ Sort:
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Whence and whither research on political diversity? Toward turning up the volume on a more research-based conversation
- Author:
- EPSTEIN Irwin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Education, 47(1), Winter 2011, pp.163-171.
- Publisher:
- Council on Social Work Education
The political diversity of social workers and how this is expressed has implications for how social work is viewed and its social and political impact. Despite this, there are few published research studies on the subject. This research note reviews the very limited historical tradition of empirical enquiry into social workers' political diversity, its correlates, and its consequences. Earlier studies reveal the importance of demographic characteristics such as race, age and religious affiliation as important aspects of social workers political diversity. This review calls for further research to ‘raise the volume’ of research-based discussion on diversity in the coming decade. Implications for future research and for social work education are suggested.
Resilience of child protection social workers: a scoping review
- Authors:
- MOLAKENG Mahloma Hebert, TRUTER Elmien, FOUCHE Ansie
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 24(6), 2021, pp.1028-1050.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Child protection social workers (CPSWs) are exposed to several workplace risks, often leaving them vulnerable for negative outcomes like burnout. Some CPSWs do well despite exposure to these risks, which could be described as resilience. This scoping review was guided by the framework of Arksey and O'Malley and the PRISMA checklist. Our findings, from analysing 13 articles on CPSWs resilience, are embedded in the socio-ecological model which reveals that the resilience of CPSWs in included studies was informed by intrapersonal resilience processes (e.g., agency, and having emotional intelligence) and interpersonal resilience processes (e.g., supportive relationships). It appears as if CPSWs mostly initiate and sustain resilience enhancing processes, although supportive ecologies also play a role. Most research on CPSW resilience between 1995 and 2020 was conducted in developed countries, with only three studies done in low-income countries. It is important to understand CPSWs' resilience in developed countries, but there is a lack of research on CPSW resilience in low-income countries, such as Nigeria for instance, where there are high rates of child abuse and a need for effective CPSW services. Continued explorations of CPSW resilience across the globe, is necessary to respect and give voice to individual experiences and diversity (Edited publisher abstract)
Managing multiple accountability perspectives and expectations in practice. A scoping review of the use of accountability mechanisms by social workers
- Authors:
- TIER Michelle van der, HERMANS Koen, POTTING Marianne
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 24(3), 2021, pp.456-468.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Social workers are accountable to many different actors (e.g. service users, peers, employer, government) who all have their own perspective on practice and how it should be accounted for. Little is known about how social workers account their work to these multiple actors. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review of recent studies to review which type of accountability mechanisms come to the fore and how social workers use these mechanisms in practice to account their work to these multiple actors. Inspired by the work of Bovens, Schillemans, and Goodin [2014. Public accountability. In M. Bovens, R. Goodin, & T. Schillemans, T. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of public accountability (pp. 1–20). Oxford: Oxford University Press], we analysed the literature making use of the distinction between three types of accountability: professional, political-administrative and participative-democratic accountability. As broadly discussed in social work literature, the government and the management of social work organisations are influential actors and social workers struggle to implement managerial mechanisms because they are not always congruent with social work values and with the relational and contextual nature of the work. To uphold the professional accountability perspective in practice, social workers use street-level strategies which run the risk to decrease social workers legitimacy and to avoid an open dialogue about how accountability should be organised in social work practice. Our review also shows that although user involvement is an essential value in social work, relatively few studies report on mechanisms that can be used to empower citizens and service users in practice. We conclude that more research is needed to understand how social workers deal with the divergent perspectives on practice and still uphold professional standards of practice. Moreover, we conclude that more research is needed to gain a better understanding of how social workers manage the interaction between the use of accountability mechanisms in practice and the broader socio-political context in which they operate. (Edited publisher abstract)
Covariates of burnout and secondary traumatisation in professionals working with child survivors of trauma: a research synthesis
- Authors:
- VANG Maria L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 50(7), 2020, pp.1981-2001.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
It has been demonstrated that working with trauma-exposed children increases the risk for developing secondary traumatisation (ST) and burnout (BO). High correlations between ST and BO have been reported, suggesting an empirical overlap between the constructs. The purpose of the present review was to synthesise research investigating covariates of BO and ST to explore whether this overlap extends to covariates. Seven research databases were searched for studies investigating covariates of both BO and ST. Identified studies were screened in accordance with predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in thirteen articles being included for further review. Fourteen covariates were examined in two or more of the included studies and were synthesised according to the ‘levels of evidence approach’. Some individual and operational factors appeared to be equally related to BO and ST. There was a predominance of equivocal evidence for and against the salience of different covariates as well as an over-representation of demographic factors compared to organisational and operational factors in the current literature. More research investigating the nature of the overlap between BO and ST is needed, and future research would benefit from integrating covariates supported in the work and organisational literature with covariates from the psychotraumatological literature. (Edited publisher abstract)
A multi-level conceptual model to examine child welfare worker turnover and retention decisions
- Authors:
- WILKE Dina J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Child Welfare, 12(2), 2018, pp.204-231.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
There is little disagreement about the importance of a healthy stable workforce in promoting effective provision of child welfare services. This review proposes a multi-level conceptual model of child welfare workforce turnover combining traditional individual and organisational impacts with factors associated with community context. Identified gaps in the literature along with a related research agenda are reviewed. Also presented is an overview of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a longitudinal study of new hires into the child welfare workforce across Florida, providing opportunities to address gaps and test model characteristics regarding turnover decisions and related outcomes. (Edited publisher abstract)
Social worker shame: a scoping review
- Author:
- GIBSON Matthew
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 46(2), 2016, pp.549-565.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
While shame has historically been neglected in emotion research, there is now a large body of research evidence by which to understand the concept and the phenomenology which suggests that shame can have a pervasive and negative effect on individuals' lives and relationships. It can be considered to be an emotion that relates to a belief that the self is flawed and that one is not worthy of acceptance and belonging. This paper reports on a scoping review of shame experienced by social workers, identifying the nature and extent of the research evidence. Shame was operationalised through a working model provided by the seminal work of Lewis (1971). The search strategy sought to identify qualitative studies relating to social workers' personal experiences of practice. Data were extracted that met the criteria in the working model for shame and a thematic analysis applied to the extracted data. The results suggest that, while shame was unacknowledged in the research, it is a common experience for many social workers with indications that it influences practitioners' job satisfaction, staff retention and an ability to practice ethically. Areas for future research are identified. (Publisher abstract)
Critical commentary: the impact of work-related violence towards social workers in children and family services
- Authors:
- ROBSON Anna, COSSAR Jill, QUAYLE Ethel
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 44(4), 2014, pp.924-936.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This critical commentary assesses the research currently published on workplace violence towards social workers in child and family services. A literature search identified seven relevant studies. Verbal aggression and threats towards child and family social workers were found to be commonplace, had the most detrimental consequences, and were the hardest to identify and manage. Physical assaults were comparatively rare. However, all acts of violence were found to impact on well-being and practice, although not always in a negative way. Often, workers and services were able to learn from incidents and use them to aid the development of policies and training. (Publisher abstract)
Social work supervision research (1970-2010): the way we were and the way ahead
- Authors:
- O'DONOGHUE Kieran, TSUI Ming-Sum
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 45(2), 2015, pp.616-633.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article is a comprehensive review of the research on the supervision of practicing social workers published in peer-reviewed social work journals over a forty-year period (1970-2010). Eighty-six articles were located and analysed by decade, location, research design, research participants, research focus and findings. Following this analysis, the current state of knowledge is discussed in relation to the foundation it provides for theory and practice in social work supervision. It is recommended that future research efforts should focus on the development of empirically based supervision models, the evaluation of the impact of supervision on client outcomes, as well as comparative cross-national studies on supervision. (Publisher abstract)
Substance abuse among professionals: limited research on substance-abusing social workers
- Authors:
- WARREN Latoya, FEIT Marvin D., WELLS Josh
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 21(7), October 2011, pp.803-812.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Substance abuse affects professionals in many different fields. This review emphasises the lack of attention that professionals receive as they struggle with substance abuse. Evidence suggests that professionals have difficulty seeking help and are afraid of the stigma related to substance abuse, and therefore may deny and minimise their own drug and alcohol problems. For social workers, the NASW Code of Ethics highlights the standards of colleague impairment and how abusers should handle their personal issues, ensuring no client is harmed in practice. The ultimate consequences could be lost of licensure and termination of employment. The paper focuses on studies and the lack of research pertaining to the treatment of social work professionals with drug abuse problems. It calls for improvement of the recording of information on social workers who have substance abuse issues. This data would assist with improving programmes geared to social workers facing substance abuse issues.
Practice research: what it is and its place in the social work profession
- Author:
- PAIN Helen
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 14(4), 2011, pp.545-562.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The involvement of social work practitioners in practice research is being promoted in the UK and other countries. There is, however, continued debate surrounding the term ‘practice research’ and how it fits into the broader professional picture. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of literature to discern the key issues, any consensus of opinion, and practice research's role in the social work profession. A comprehensive search was conducted for articles published from 2000-2009 relating to the theory and practicalities of practice research. Practice research is defined as encompassing all research that is directly related to practice or concerning the application of research findings to practice, and its main purpose is to improve practice. The key issues discussed are: the conceptualisation of practice research; the methodologies appropriate to use; the practitioner-researcher role; ethical implications; and the benefits accrued from practice research. The paper concludes that practice research has a core that is sufficiently agreed upon to provide a firm basis for the profession to embrace it and practise it.