research relationship can be fruitful. Such an approach can help researchers acquire unexpected insights into the psychological and social meanings of research encounters beyond an analysis of just the text, thus adding to methodological discussions about qualitative interviews. Before explaining the method and discussing the case study, I introduce some background about the call for scholarly attention towards interpersonal research dynamics and the psychoanalytic concept of ‘(counter-)transference’. I draw attention to Sigmund Freud’s development of ‘transference
Practitioners must be able to listen, talk, communicate and engage with children and young people if they are going to make a real difference to their lives. The key principles of collaborative, relational, child-centred working underpin all the ideas in this bestselling, practice-focused textbook.
Using an innovative ‘Knowing, Being, Doing’ model, it features reflective exercises, practice examples, vignettes, cutting-edge research findings and theoretical perspectives.
This new edition includes:
• Updated references to policy, legislation, professional requirements, practice tools and research, including around unaccompanied young refugees and asylum seekers, and child sexual exploitation;
• New learning from ethnographic and observational research of social workers’ direct practice with children;
• Added focus on the context for practice, including the role of supervision and organisational containment in developing practitioners’ emotional capabilities.
With detailed coverage of key skills, this book will equip students and practitioners with the critical thinking and tools needed for effective practice in order to promote the welfare, protection and rights of children and young people.
Developing reflective practice is an invaluable resource, employing a unique ‘bottom-up’ approach to learning. Vivid examples of social work practice with children and families are presented, providing real life illustrations of the dilemmas and challenges facing practitioners.
Educators and practitioners provide analytic commentaries on course work submitted by social workers studying on a post-qualifying programme, indicating what went well, what didn’t go well, and where improvements might have been made.
Implications for policy and practice from the perspective of the middle manager are provided, along with a list of learning points.
Developing reflective practice is essential reading for students (on how to realise practice in a course work context), teachers (on how to assess course work and enhance practice performance), practitioners (on how to approach specific pieces of work) and managers/supervisors (on how to promote best practice), providing standards for both training and practice rooted in the reality of the workplace.
In the context of recent natural disasters and the increase of global terrorism, there is a need for a greater understanding of the psychosocial impact of such events on the individuals and communities involved. This understanding can also enhance the support offered to people sho have to face trauma in their individual lives. Those who provide such a response need to develop their skills in this area of work. They too need to feel that they are supported in their work.
This revised and expanded edition of a highly successful book consolidates the core elements of good proctice while bringing theory and practice issues up to date. As with the first and second editions, this book can be used as a guide for best practice and as a resource for instant reference when staff are faced with responding to traumatic incidents. It also provides up-to-date case studies, drawing on the author’s knowledge and experience and points the way for further, more specialised study. The book identifies core elements that are common to most traumatic events; discusses practical methods of intervention that are based on analysis of contemporary research and best practice in a multidisciplinary context; shows how the skills discussed can be transferred to individual clinical practice; addresses the needs of responders and the responsibility of organisations to provide a ‘duty of care’ for those who are exposed to trauma in their occupational roles and presents a modular programme of training, devised by the author, to prepare responders in the pre-crisis period.
Order from chaos is essential reading for all those who are or may be involved in supporting those who are experiencing the impact of trauma in their lives. It is also an invaluable resource for trainers in the field, and for social work and health and social care students and their teachers.
This international, edited collection brings together personal accounts from researchers working in and on conflict and explores the roles of emotion, violence, uncertainty, identity and positionality within the process of doing research, as well as the complexity of methodological choices.
It highlights the researchers’ own subjectivity and presents a nuanced view of conflict research that goes beyond the ‘messiness’ inherent in the process of research in and on violence. It addresses the uncomfortable spaces of conflict research, the potential for violence of research itself and the need for deeper reflection on these issues.
This powerful book opens up spaces for new conversations about the realities of conflict research. These critical self-reflections and honest accounts provide important insights for any scholar or practitioner working in similar environments.
This unique collection of 12 research projects carried out by experienced practitioners in the play sector in the UK and USA puts forward a range of perspectives on children’s play and adults’ relationships with it.
Drawing on a diverse range of research methodologies, the studies consider adults’ memories of play; the co-production of spaces where children can play (in adventure playgrounds, out of school clubs, children’s zoos, children’s museums and public space); therapeutic approaches to playwork; playwork and wellbeing; supporting the play of severely disabled children and young people; play and contemporary art practice; and children’s use of technology in a playground.
Offering a fresh look beyond the dominant singular voice of developmental psychology, this book is essential reading for anyone studying or working with children at play.
Are you a practitioner, supervisor, practice educator, mentor or university tutor supporting students who are struggling on, or failing, their practice placement? Here is the practical guidance you need.
Jo Finch draws on both her own experience training Practice Educators, and international multi-disciplinary research and literature. Chapters examine the signs and symptoms of a struggling student, emotional impact and emotional processes of decision making, and strategies for working effectively with students and academic institutions. Reflective exercises enable you to bring these methods to your own practice.
The ideas here will further knowledge and engender confidence for any teachers, assessors and supervisors on courses with a practice learning component.
Residential child care is a crucial, though relatively neglected area of social work. And yet, revelations of abuse and questions of effectiveness have led to increasingly regulatory and procedural approaches to practice and heightened political and professional scrutiny. This book provides a broad and critical look at the ideas and policy developments that have shaped the direction of the sector.
The book sets present-day policy and practice within historical, policy and organisational context. The author applies a critical gaze to attempts to improve practice through regulation and, fundamentally, challenges how residential child care is conceptualised. He argues that it needs to move beyond dominant discourses of protection, rights and outcomes to embrace those of care and upbringing. The importance of the personal relationship in helping children to grow and develop is highlighted. Other traditions of practice such as the European concept of social pedagogy are also explored to more accurately reflect the task of residential child care.
The book will be of interest to practitioners in residential child care, social workers and students on social work and social care courses. It should be required reading for social work managers and will also be of interest to policy makers and students of social policy, education and childhood studies.
The lifecourse perspective continues to be an important subject in the social sciences. Researching the Lifecourse offers a distinctive approach in that it truly covers the lifecourse (childhood, adulthood and older age), focusing on innovative methods and case study examples from a variety of European and North American contexts. This original approach connects theory and practice from across the social sciences by situating methodology and research design within relevant conceptual frameworks. This diverse collection features methods that are linked to questions of time, space and mobilities while providing practitioners with practical detail in each chapter.
This book draws on the findings of a two-year European research project to offer answers to the ‘problem’ of how to respond to violence involving young people that continues to challenge youth workers and policy makers.
‘Responding to violence through youth work’ combines elements of critical theory, psychosocial criminology and applied existential philosophy to present a new model for responding meaningfully and effectively to these issues, demonstrated through a series of case studies and insider accounts generated through peer research.
