Ian O'Connor

Use of Theory and Research in Social Work Practice: Implications for Knowledge-Based Practice

Abstract This article presents findings of a small-scale, multi-method study of social workers’ use of knowledge in practice. The sample included 10 social workers employed in a statutory child-protection context who participated in three stages of data collection, which encompassed six research techniques: in-depth interviewing, observation, think-aloud, unstructured interviewing, reflective recall and knowledge mapping. Despite the innovative, intensive multi-method research design, which afforded participants considered latitude and opportunity to express what they know, most participants did not demonstrate a coherent, comprehensive and elaborated theory and research base to their practice. The results of the present study combined, with previous empirical research on this topic, highlight the necessity to engage with and promote knowledge-based practice.

Social work and social care practice

This lively and engaging book is an adaptation of the bestselling introductory social work book available in Australia. This edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect wider changes that have characterized social work training and practice in recent years. It offers readers an essential grounding in the knowledge, values, and skills needed for successful completion of their degree. Key Features: Comprehensive content - includes discussion of theoretical perspectives, policy; assessment; intervention, the ethics and values framework; and practice-learning.; A student-friendly approach - includes case-studies, chapter summaries, further reading sections, and discussion questions.; A multi-professional perspective - recognises the experiences of all those working across the field of social care and incorporates service-users voices.; Practice-oriented - offers specific guidance to overcome challenges and provides an effective framework for practice. This authoritative textbook will be an essential guide to the challenges and concepts underpinning social work practice. It offers a flavor of what social work entails and engages with recent debates about the nature of practice. It will be an invaluable text for social work trainees, and will also be useful reading for post-qualifying students and practitioners.

Aboriginal child welfare law, policies and practices in queensland: 1865–1989

Abstract State child welfare practices played a central role in the dispossession and attempted ‘resocialisation’ of Aboriginal people. This paper examines the particular form of law, policy and practice in Queensland in the period 1865–1989.

The effects of witnessing domestic violence on young children's psycho-social adjustment

Many researchers have examined the serious consequences that spouse abuse may have on battered womens physical and psychological health. Considerably less attention has been given to the effects on children of witnessing domestic violence. This article reports an empirical study which examined the effects of witnessing domestic violence on the psycho-social adjustment of 54 young children aged three to six years. The childrens adjustment was examined using the Child Behaviour Checklist and 42 percent of the children exhibited behavioural problems in the clinical range on this measure. Significant correlations were found between the childrens adjustment and the amount of verbal aggression and domestic violence in the home prior to parental separation. The implications of the research for social work and family violence policy and practice are also discussed.

Social crisis and social policy in Queensland: patterns of control

This article seeks to locate within its political economy the forms and patterns of care and control that developed in Queensland. It is argued that the State government sought to manage the social tensions that resulted from economic transition of the 70s and 80s through coercive methods and most notably through the criminal justice system. This argument is developed through an analysis of Queenslands use of the legal system, its pattern of social services and its law and order expenditures in comparison to other States. The changing patterns in Queenslands summary courts are consistent with the drift to coercion which identified in the analysis of the States response to its social and economic difficulties.