Laura Steckley

Ethical issues, research and vulnerability: gaining the views of children and young people in residential care

Children and young people in residential care are some of the most vulnerable in our society. They may have experienced violence and physical, sexual or emotional abuse. They may be involved in offending or the misuse of drugs and alcohol. They are separated from their families and have to cope with living in a group situation with other young people and staff members. Children and young people in residential care also possess strengths, competencies and resilience. We have much to learn from their experiences and perspectives, both generally and surrounding their time in care. This paper will address the ethical issues which arise from gaining the views of children and young people in residential care, drawing on the experience of carrying out three studies in particular (Kendrick et al. 2004, The development of a residential unit working with sexually aggressive young men. In: H.G. Eriksson and T. Tjelflaat, eds. Residential care: horizons for the new century. Aldershot: Ashgate, 38–55; Docherty et al. 2006, Designing with care: interior design and residential child care. Farm7 and SIRCC. http://www.sircc.strath.ac.uk/publications/Designing_with_Care.pdf; Steckley, L. and Kendrick, A., 2005. Physical restraint in residential child care: the experiences of young people and residential workers. Childhoods 2005: Children and Youth in Emerging and Transforming Societies, University of Oslo, Norway, 29 June–3 July 2005, Steckley and Kendrick 2007, Young peoples experiences of physical restraint in residential care: subtlety and complexity in policy and practice. In: M. Nunno, L. Bullard and D. Day, eds. For our own safety: examining the safety of high-risk interventions for children and young people. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, forthcoming). The paper will discuss: information, consent and choice about involvement in the research; confidentiality, privacy and safety. It will also explore some of the more complex issues of ethical good practice which arise from researching children in their own living space. The negotiation of childrens time and space must be approached carefully, with consideration of their rights and wishes. Sensitivity to children and young peoples priorities and preoccupations must be paramount.

Physical Restraint in Residential Childcare: The Experiences of Young People and Residential Workers.

There have long been concerns about the use of physical restraint in residential care. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study that explores the experiences of children, young people and residential workers of physical restraint. The research identifies the dilemmas and ambiguities for both staff and young people, and participants discuss the situations where they feel physical restraint is appropriate as well as their concerns about unjustified or painful restraints. They describe the negative emotions involved in restraint but also those situations where, through positive relationships and trust, restraint can help young people through unsafe situations.

Time is not enough: promoting strategic engagement with writing for publication

Research, scholarship and publication are central to the work of higher education. However, even academics with the necessary research and writing skills can struggle to publish as often as they would like. Research suggests that a writing retreat is one solution; there is a process going on there that addresses the problem, but how it does so has not been fully explained. The authors used a novel approach, containment theory, to explain why the functions of a structured retreat work. They argue that a retreat does more than simply provide time to write; it is a model for academics to meet the demands of research assessment. Finally, the authors conceptualise this as strategic engagement – a model for producing regular writing for publication while continuing to meet other professional demands.

Care ethics in residential child care : a different voice

Despite the centrality of the term within the title, the meaning of ‘care’ in residential child care remains largely unexplored. Shifting discourses of residential child care have taken it from the private into the public domain. Using a care ethics perspective, we argue that public care needs to move beyond its current instrumental focus to articulate a broader ontological purpose, informed by what is required to promote childrens growth and flourishing. This depends upon the establishment of caring relationships enacted within the lifespaces shared by children and those caring for them. We explore some of the central features of caring in the lifespace and conclude that residential child care is best considered to be a practical/moral endeavour rather than the technical/rational one it has become. It requires morally active, reflexive practitioners and containing environments.

Research leadership in writing for publication: a theoretical framework

Academics experience difficulty in managing competing tasks, particularly in relation to writing for publication. In a study conducted on a writing retreat, analysis of data obtained from academic writers revealed that facilitative leadership provided at a writing retreat was central to managing task complexity and writing-related anxiety. The question remains, however, about how this leadership can be modelled in campus settings in order to continue to support academics in managing the complexity of their multiple roles as teachers, researchers and writers, beyond purely technical-rational approaches. This article outlines one approach to answering this question: it explains how containment theory was used to shed light on the leadership role at the writing retreat, and it proposes a model—strategic engagement—for the leadership role in writing for publication in campus settings.

Leadership in residential child care : a relationship-based approach [Book review]

For well over two decades, Adrian Ward has given us models for understanding the complex, often chaotic, world of residential child care practice that are simultaneously highly theoretical and deeply practical. In this, his parting gift to the field, Ward has offered up a synthesis of the best of what leadership, psychodynamic and systems theories have to offer in an accessible and engaging book. His overall aim is to identify the difficulties associated with the leadership task, examine what people seek from leaders and provide guidance on how leaders might address these challenges and expectations. What sets this book apart is its explicit relationship-based approach to leadership, which he defines as emphasising the quality of human interactions at both a practical and emotional level. Recognisable examples from practice, including accounts of his own struggles as an emerging leader, are incorporated throughout in order to make tangible what might otherwise remain distant or abstract to some readers. Ward also brings his wealth of insight and experience to establish the particular complexities of the residential child care context and why they are important:

Parallel Processes: Getting it Write?

Abstract This paper offers a critical reflection on the processes surrounding the writing of a book aimed at foster carers and residential workers. By utilising the concept of parallel process as well as the four modes of reflection identified by Gillian Ruch in 2000, we explore the ways in which the wider context of both direct work with children and reflective practice have been impacted by the tensions between relationally based, child-centred practice and wider managerialist imperatives. The paper draws parallels between these practice tensions and those currently in play within the academy. By employing a dialogical and reflective analysis of the process and interactions surrounding the writing of a practitioner-targeted book, the paper demonstrates the ways in which critical and process reflection post-event took place, considering the heretofore unexplored parallel processes between writing for practice, and practice. In so doing, it identifies the ways in which the authors mirrored practitioners in relation to the management of anxiety, a sense of constrained autonomy and confidence, and an avoidance of recognising and challenging structural and political context. Implications for the creation of practice literature and for the academy are considered.