From Snapshots of Practice to a Movie: Researching Long-Term Social Work and Child Protection by Getting as Close as Possible to Practice and Organisational Life

Harry Ferguson,Tarsem Singh Cooner,Gillian Plumridge,Liz Beddoe,Jadwiga Leigh,Lisa Warwick,Tom Disney

doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcz119

Abstract

AbstractResearch into social work and child protection has begun to observe practice to find out what social workers actually do, however, no such ethnographic research has been done into long-term practice. This article outlines and analyses the methods used in a study of long-term social work and child protection practice. Researchers spent fifteen months embedded in two social work departments observing organisational practices, culture and staff supervision. We also regularly observed social worker’s encounters with children and families in a sample of thirty cases for up to a year, doing up to twenty-one observations of practice in the same cases. Family members were also interviewed up to 3 times during that time. This article argues that a methodology that gets as close as possible to practitioners and managers as they are doing the work and that takes a longitudinal approach can provide deep insights into what social work practice is, how helpful relationships with service users are established and sustained over time, or not, and the influence of organisations. The challenges and ethical dilemmas involved in doing long-term research that gets so close to social work teams, casework and service users for up to a year are considered.

Highlights

While a large research literature exists on social work, very little of it has got close to practice and explored what social workers and service users do and the impact of organisational culture and support on practice
We will argue that observation and a focus on time through a longitudinal approach enable deep insights to be gained into organisational life and the nature of practice and how relationships with children and families are established and sustained over time, or not
We tried to get around the possible biases that arose in becoming absorbed into the culture by discussing our feelings within the research team and by examining our interpretations of a sample of the same transcripts. This included critical reflection on how we used our power as researchers, especially with regard to vulnerable service users and being attuned to how and whether social workers exercised their power in anti-oppressive ways

Summary

Introduction

While a large research literature exists on social work, very little of it has got close to practice and explored what social workers and service users do and the impact of organisational culture and support on practice. This article is based on the research that sought to make a significant contribution to filling these gaps in knowledge It outlines and analyses the methodology used in a study of long-term social work and child protection that used participant observation of practice and social work organisations. We will argue that observation and a focus on time through a longitudinal approach enable deep insights to be gained into organisational life and the nature of practice and how relationships with children and families are established and sustained over time, or not Such sensitive ethnographic and mobile methodologies can get at the underlying forms of experience, sense-making, skill and decision-making that make social work what it is as it is practiced in real time (Pink, 2015; Ferguson, 2016a; Disney et al, 2019). Our aim is not to present the research findings, but to set out the methodology and Researching Long-Term Social Work and Child Protection Page 3 of 18 analyse what we learned from applying it, so that the potential we feel it has to inform research into all areas of social work may be realised

Objectives

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion