Mono Chakrabarti

Examining the Perceptions and Attitudes of Staff Working in Community Based Children’s Homes Are Their Needs Being Met?

There remains considerable ambiguity and negativity around the purpose and effectiveness of children’s homes. High levels of unqualified staff, low status and poor pay and conditions have continued to be the norm within residential child care. In light of this situation it is appropriate to ask why staff are viewed as a key ingredient in the service provision. It is particularly significant given the views of staff and the tasks they undertake have not been widely researched. This article provides a summary of findings from a doctoral study that attempted to address this deficit by examining the context of children’s homes, especially those social processes and interactions that shape key tasks.

Coping strategies of families in HIV/AIDS care: some exploratory data from two developmental contexts

Abstract Caring for a family member with HIV/AIDS presents multiple challenges that strain a familys physical, economic and emotional resources. Family carers provide physical care and financial support and deal with changes in family relationships and roles, often with little support from outside of the family. Carers in developing countries face even greater challenges, due to lack of medical and support services, poverty and widespread discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS. Little is known about how family carers cope with these challenges or about the ways that development impacts on the process of coping. The current study explored coping strategies used by family carers in two contexts, Kerala, India and Scotland, UK. As part of a larger study, 28 family carers of persons living with HIV/AIDS were interviewed −23 in Kerala and 5 in Scotland. A modified version of the Ways of Coping scale was used to assess coping strategies. Responses were compared on the total number of coping responses used as well as on selected subscales of the WOC. Differences were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U-test. The two cohorts differed significantly in terms of the coping strategies used. The carers from Scotland used a larger number of different coping strategies and scored higher on measures of problem focused coping, positive reappraisal, seeking social support, self-controlling and distancing/detachment. Respondents from Kerala scored higher on a measure of self-blame. Results are discussed in terms of the impact of community resources on coping strategies.

Exploring the perceptions of staff towards children and young people living in community-based children's homes

• Summary: This article examines the perceptions of staff working in community-based childrens homes. Data from interviews with staff, using the repertory grid technique, are analysed and presented in the form of a case study. Particular consideration is given to the child-worker relationship and how it might affect the quality of care provided. • Findings: The findings are selected from a doctoral study and suggest that despite significant changes in the residential sector, many staff feel powerless to address the real issues and problems affecting children. Rather than confront the realities of the situation and implement strategies that empower staff, it would appear that current developments in social work continue to de-prioritize the needs of children. • Applications: The authors argue that a fundamental change in residential care is needed if social work is to meet the needs of many of the most vulnerable children in society.

Improving the educational experience of children and young people in public care : a Scottish perspective

The context for this paper relates to the policy and practice implications of efforts to achieve social justice for Scotland’s 12,000 children and young people in the care of local government authorities. The paper is located within a growing evidence base of the educational experience of young people in care and leaving care. The data on attainment and exclusion from school in particular are reviewed and confirm that looked‐after children in Scotland, as elsewhere in the UK, typically leave education with significantly fewer school leaving qualifications than is now the common expectation for young people in their age group and are significantly more likely to lose time in school due to exclusion. However, the review also shows the devastating impact of being in care on young children’s attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. The implications of the data reviewed are discussed in relation to the concepts of social justice, resilience and the educationally rich environment.

Access courses and students from minority ethnic backgrounds

Abstract This article describes a study of the uptake of places on ‘access’ to higher education courses in Scottish further education (FE) colleges by students from minority ethnic backgrounds. Colleges surveyed recruited access students from minority ethnic backgrounds in close approximation to the proportions attracted to FE in general, despite the commitment to prioritise under‐represented groups, including students from minority ethnic communities. The study found a general acceptance of the principle of positive action by colleges, but little evidence of strategies likely to prove effective. It is suggested that the governments agenda for widening participation in education can only be accomplished when the FE sector recognises ethnicity as an important issue.

Can Scotland Achieve More for Looked after Children

The Learning with Care report (HMI and SWSI, 2001) made seven criticisms in relation to the provision of education for looked after children in Scotland. The most recent report, Looked After Children and Young People: We can and must do better (Scottish Executive, 2007), contains 19 actions for improvement. Graham Connelly and Mono Chakrabarti examine whether the distinctiveness of the Scottish political landscape has the potential to lead to improvements in tackling the deficits in the educational experience and attainment of looked after children and young people clearly acknowledged by the authors of both reports. Their article considers the recent history of political concern and asks whether things are getting better, concluding that while there is only limited improvement, the climate is more supportive and more emphatic in its expectations of the young people and the professionals who support them.

School improvement in the marketplace: the case of residential special schools

Over the past couple of decades, residential special schools in Scotland have faced fundamental changes to the way they operate. This has involved the withdrawal of state funding, a shrinkage of the sector and a situation in which schools now have to sell their services in a market economy in order to survive. This article gives a brief outline of the history and development of residential special education for children considered to be troubled or troublesome. It then draws on an evaluation of one former approved, or List D, school to describe how it managed the transition to the marketplace. Findings from the evaluation are introduced and some implications of these are discussed. It is concluded that the shift from state or local authority funding to private provision may have some advantages. However, it also raises a number of questions as to whether provision for some of society’s most damaged children should be determined by market forces.

HNC (Social Care) as an entry qualification for the Diploma in Social Work in Scottish Higher Education Institutions

This paper describes a study of the first cohort of students who progressed from HNC (Social Care) to DipSW. Though these students had performed well in HNC, they were experiencing more difficulties than expected in both academic and practice components of DipSW. The paper describes the views of the students, and their teachers, and discusses the findings within a broader context of the articulation of further and higher education courses.