Lutman, Eleanor (2020) Child neglect and social work practice : (re)producing institutional realities in and through interaction. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

PDF WRAP_Theses_Lutman-White_2020.pdf - Submitted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (2418Kb) | Preview

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

The way that the state responds when there are concerns about the welfare of children is related to values and conceptualisations regarding the rights, roles and responsibilities of children, parents, families, social workers and the state which have predominantly been examined and theorised at the broader organisational, political and societal level. Yet, there is a lack of research about how the rights, roles and responsibilities of children, parents, families and the state are constructed at an interactional level. This thesis examines the approaches to working with neglected children and their parents that are constructed in and through interaction, attending to the relationships between children, parents, social workers and the state that are constructed interactionally. In a socio-political context that has increasingly responsibilised parents, a focus on child neglect is particularly pertinent because poverty and social deprivation render the attribution of responsibility to parents more problematic. This study draws on social constructionism and uses an interactional sociolinguistics analytic approach to examine how approaches to working with children, parents and families are constructed in accounts of practice obtained through interviews and focus groups with social workers and in a practice context: the child protection conference.

The findings of the study show that social workers construct and negotiate multiple ideals of social work with children and families in their accounts of practice in relation to neglect. Tensions and contradictions between ideals are navigated through preferencing interactionally the ideal of protecting children from (risk of) harm. Analysis of the nature and extent of parents’ and professionals’ participation in child protection conferences provides a new model that extends our understanding of interaction in these meetings. The findings reveal the complex ways in which parents’ contributions are marginalised because they are interactionally disempowered. This challenges the ideal of participation and demonstrates that working in partnership with parents and anti-oppressive practice, core principles of social work, remain empty signifiers, not interactionally achieved. Together, these two complementary strands of the research demonstrate that a dominant child protection approach is constructed interactionally, reflecting but also constituting the broader context in which a similar approach dominates. This study contributes a greater understanding of how, in relation to child protection work, the local interactional context shapes and is shaped by institutional realities.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Family social work -- Great Britain, Social work with children -- Great Britain, Child welfare -- Great Britain
Official Date:	April 2020
Dates:	Date Event April 2020 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for Lifelong Learning ; Centre for Applied Linguistics
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Harrison, Christine, 1953-
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain)
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	vi, 264 leaves : colour illustrations
Language:	eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads