The Social Work Assessment of Parenting: An Exploration

Abstract

Summary The significance of parenting in the conduct of child-care practice is apparent in a range of legal and policy documents emanating from the government. This has been further emphasized in recent years in the refocusing debate emphasizing issues of need and support. While research in childcare has inevitably involved parenting (for example in relation to child protection), and as the broad concentration has progressed through issues of child protection and family support, this has not generally incorporated the social workers’ construction of parenting, and the ways this is incorporated into, and informs, their practice actions. This is particularly interesting because this focus enables an examination of this construction in the light of broad themes about parenting in the psychological literature. This relates also, therefore, to the debate on (and use of) an Evidence Base for practice. This paper seeks to explore social workers’ construction of parenting, and the way this ‘feeds into’ social workers’ practice actions. The paper found that, while some of the constructions reflected themes in the psychological literature, social workers were rarely informed by overt reference to knowledge gained from this literature. The concept of a ‘surface static notion of parenting’—one which restricted the social workers’ capacity to respond positively to the needs of parents underlying their parenting—was developed as a way of understanding social work constructions and practice actions in relation to parenting. While this is one study, the ‘surface static notion of parenting’ represents a means for understanding one way in which social workers’ constructions impinge on their practice with parents. The implications of this approach are explored. It is practically axiomatic that the assessment of parenting is a major component of child care practice. This assessment is a key element