Caroline Skehill

Researching the history of social work: exposition of a history of the present approach

This paper provides an exposition of Michel Foucaults ‘history of the present’ in order to make the case for its relevance to the study of social work history. It sets out the general principles underpinning this practice and considers its application to a particular research question relating to history of child welfare and protection social work in the Republic of Ireland. The paper seeks to highlight the challenges involved in its use and illuminate its potential value as an approach for researching the history of social work. It is concluded that this exposition offers one appropriate approach that could be employed within the growing field of social work history research across Europe.

Using a peer action learning approach in the implementation of communication and information technology in social work education

This paper reports on a peer group learning process developed within a School of Social Work to facilitate the implementation of intra-net sites to support all modules provided on a Masters Diploma in Social Work course. Based on principles of action learning, an exposition of the approach taken illuminates the value of using collective peer learning among a team of educators, especially when implementing teaching and learning methodologies which are relatively new and unfamiliar. Within the context of this demonstration, the importance of ongoing critical reflection about the use of C&IT resources to enhance learning and teaching is highlighted. The paper ends with a commentary on how learning from this process has enabled participants to become more advanced users of C&IT--advanced, not just in terms of the technical competence required to provide C&IT resources but also in terms of their ability to reflect critically on the pedagogical concerns. Possibilities for continuation and transferability of the learning process within social work education are considered.

Increasing Staff and Student Capacity to Use the Communication Facility in Queen's Online in Order to Support Learning and Teaching on a BSW Programme

In this article the authors explore and evaluate developments in the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) within social work education at Queens University Belfast since the inception of the new degree in social work. They look at the staff development strategy utilised to increase teacher confidence and competence in use of the Queens Online virtual learning environment tools as well as the student experience of participation in modules involving online discussions. The authors conclude that the project provided further opportunity to reflect on how ICT can be used as a platform to support a whole course in a systematic and coordinated way and to ensure all staff remained abreast of ongoing developments in the use of ICT to support learning which is a normative expectation of students entering universities. A very satisfying outcome for the leaders is our observation of the emergence of other ‘experts’ in different aspects of use of ICT amongst the staff team. This project also shows that taking a team as opposed to an individual approach can be particularly beneficial.

An Examination of the Transition from Philanthropy to Professional Social Work in Ireland

Objective The objective of the article is to examine the way in which social work in Ireland evolved from practices of philanthropy in the late 19th century to a distinct professional strategy in the present. Results The results of archival research show that philanthropy in Ireland was provided almost exclusively by religious organizations and was constructed within a discourse of sectarianism and rivalry between the two main denominations, Catholic and Protestant, up to the 1960s. It is only in the past 30 years that social work has become firmly established as a secular strategy. Conclusions It is concluded that although social work is now clearly distinct from voluntary and religious-based social work practices, some of its present principles and practices remain continuous with its historical antecedents.

Michel Foucault and Dorothy Smith in case file research: Strange bed-fellows or complementary thinkers?:

The aim of this article is to provide an exploration of how the work of two theorists with notably different stances could be used effectively to enhance critical research methods in relation to the history of child welfare social work. Our proposition is that the design and implementation of child welfare policies, practices and discourses could considerably benefit from a more historically well grounded scholarship that enables actors to connect their present concerns with the broader historical dynamics of social regulation. The article begins with a statement of the ‘problem’ and our questions to justify our reasons for engaging in this exploration. The article reports on the authors’ reflections to date on how the work of Michel Foucault and Dorothy Smith might be considered in parallel as two different perspectives to the same scene in time and place. The differences and similarities in their approaches are explored with an emphasis on concepts most relevant to researching child welfare archives including discourse; text; the subject and power-knowledge. The article concludes with a commentary on further developments which are necessary to take forward this methodological analysis.

Exploring innovative methodologies in time and place to analyse child protection documents as elements of practice

This article aims to demonstrate how a derived approach to case file analysis, influenced by the work of Michel Foucault and Dorothy E. Smith, can offer innovative means by which to study the relations between discourse and practices in child welfare. The article explores text-based forms of organization in histories of child protection in Finland and in Northern Ireland. It is focused on case file records in different organizational child protection contexts in two jurisdictions. Building on a previous article (Satka and Skehill, 2011), we attempt to demonstrate the potential of how the relations between practices and discourses – a majorly important theme for understanding child welfare social work – can be effectively analysed using a combination of two approaches. This article is based on three different empirical studies from our two jurisdictions Northern Ireland (UK) and Finland; one study used Foucault; the other Smith and the third study sought to combine the methods. This article seeks to report on ongoing work in developing, for child welfare studies, ‘a history that speaks back’ as we have described it.

History of Child Welfare and Protection Social Work in Northern Ireland: Finding Continuity amongst Discontinuity in Case Files from 1950 to 1968

This article reports on research carried out on 189 child welfare files from the largest welfare authority in Northern Ireland from 1950 to 1968. The literature review provides a commentary on some of the major debates surrounding child welfare and protection social work from the perspective of its historical development. The report of the research that follows offers an insight into this important period of child welfare history in Northern Ireland between the two Children and Young Persons Acts (1950 and 1968). Using a method of discourse analysis influenced by Michel Foucault, a detailed description of the nature of practice is offered. This article is offered as a work in progress, focusing specifically on the case file analysis. Further work is planned for dissemination of more detailed analysis and discussion of the broader context within which the practice operated. The research seeks to raise questions based on problems identified in the present with our current understandings of child welfare and protection histories. While recognising the limitations of this study and the need for contextualisation surrounding child welfare practice at the moment, it is argued that some salient conclusions can be drawn about continuity and discontinuity in practice that are of interest to practitioners and students of child welfare social work and can raise questions for further research.

Child protection and welfare social work in Northern Ireland and the Republic: commonalities, divergences and possibilities

This paper provides a comparison between child welfare and protection social work in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland by considering some key aspects of its historical development. It is argued that social work must always be understood within its specific genealogical context that provides the profession with legitimacy and space to operate. In relation to Northern Ireland, the particular way in which child welfare and social work developed over the thirty years of the ‘Troubles’ is considered. Similarities and differences between social work in Ireland and the rest of the UK are also presented. For the Republic of Ireland, the way in which the profession struggled to gain legitimacy and recognition within a medically dominated health board system is explored. The impact of a number of inquiries over the 1990s is also addressed. In addition to recognising the differences between social work in both jurisdictions, possibilities for recognising ‘dimensions of commonality’ are also considered (McDonald, et al., 1993). The shared challenges to social work on both sides of the border at micro, mezzo and macro levels are explored. The paper concludes with some suggestions as to how we can take forward our dimensions of commonality at a time of reform and expansion of social work education in both jurisdictions. It is argued that attention must be paid, not only to our genealogical context, but also to our own archaeological construction.

The Development of Child Welfare Services in the Republic of Ireland 1900–1950

The aim of this paper is to discuss the way in which archives were accessed and analyzed using a particular framework. Research into the development of child welfare and protection social work in Ireland will be used for the purpose of illustration. While the original research related to developments from 1862–1991, this paper will concentrate on the role of female philanthropists and female social workers from 1900–1950. In this short presentation, I wish to begin with a brief outline of the theoretical framework underpinning the archival research carried out. The challenges of firstly accessing and then analyzing archival material are discussed in this context. Following on from this, I illustrate the complexities of archival research through use of a case study from my own research referred to above. I conclude with some pointers for effective and valid archival research in historical study.