Practicing from Theory: Thinking and Knowing to “Do” Child Protection Work

Abstract

Child protection practice in much of the Western world is performed using some specific models with limited attention paid to the underpinning of informing worldviews, theories for practice (explanatory theories) and theories of practice (intervention theories).Over the past few years we have explored how child protection practice may be undertaken using a child rights perspective and community development principles and practices. From this we have developed a model which we here seek to support with worldviews, explanatory and intervention theories. We hope this theoretical framework answers some of the complexity found in the "wicked problem" of child abuse and provides guidance to the practice of protecting children.

The Need for Participative Interventions in Child Protection: Perspectives from Nuevo León State

“…The idea is that in the absence of a dedicated familial network, supporting the child will always be only a partial and at times counterproductive practice [10,11]. Young et al [12], taking up the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, suggest that the best approach to child protection actions should include a sufficient level of resources so as to ensure not only the development of the child, but also the participation of parents in the decision-making process, holistic support to the family, and the preservation of cultures and their different identities, rather than, as a first response, to remove children from a situation that is assumed to be high-risk, and only at a second stage to evaluate what can be done in reparation.…”

Teaching about Decoloniality: The Experience of Non‐Indigenous Social Work Educators

“…We find a framework (Shannon & Young, ) developed originally for teaching students about social policy useful. Lewin and Cartwright's (, p. 169) dictum quoted above indicates that neither theory nor practice exist separately from each other, an accepted premise of social work theorists in the training of social workers to enable them to “explain and predict” (Howe, 1987, in Young, McKenzie, Omre, Schjelderup, & Walker, ). The Shannon and Young framework does not offer new theory, but provides a mechanism for identifying appropriate explanations and practice interventions.…”

“…The Shannon and Young framework does not offer new theory, but provides a mechanism for identifying appropriate explanations and practice interventions. It is left to the educators and subsequently the practitioners to populate the “eggs” with theories appropriate to the specific situation, a task undertaken by (Young et al., ) to apply to child protection and a task we now apply to decoloniality. Hence we populate the “eggs” diagram with examples of theoretical explanations and interventions from Indigenous writers and practitioners.…”

“…Individualism as a core social policy focus in much of the Western world upholds the value of the individual, with resultant expectations of self‐reliance, self‐sufficiency, and self‐responsibility. This conceptualization is most associated with “liberal” theory (Young et al., ) when referring to theorizing for child protection practice. Addressing social problems, such as poverty or crime, using liberal explanatory theory lead social work practitioners to understand the “problems” from an individual perspective and thereby to provide individual solutions (Shannon & Young, ).

Is this the only way of seeing this situation, we ask the students.

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Being Pono: Ethical dilemmas as learning tools for student social workers

“…In Máori social work practice, three values of tika (being correct and appropriate), pono (acting with integrity) and aroha (actions motivated by empathy and compassion) are central (Young, McKenzie, Omre, Schjelderup & Walker, 2014). Registered social workers in New Zealand are specifically expected to practice social work according to these values .…”