Making research matter: International literature reviews and their use in social work practice, a case example

The workshop will focus on the contested subject of the usefulness of social work research to social work practitioners and practice. A case example will be used of an international literature review that the workshop... [ view full abstract ]

The workshop will focus on the contested subject of the usefulness of social work research to social work practitioners and practice. A case example will be used of an international literature review that the workshop presenter and colleagues recently undertook regarding the role of social work support to, and supervision of foster carers, to enable foster children to receive warm, stable and effective foster care, whilst in public care (Brown, Sebba and Luke, 2014).
The literature review revealed the paucity of research that gives voice to the social worker in foster care. Internationally most research findings, addressing the support and supervisory role of social work in foster care, foreground the perceptions of foster carers, and in so doing offer valuable insights into the experiences, thoughts and feelings of foster carers about social work and social workers. This is valuable material to inform social workers and fostering services. However, the absence of the voice of the social worker means that we are left with a partial picture.
If we are to understand what effective social work with foster carers entails, to improve outcomes for foster children, we need to know what social workers understand about their work with foster carers and what they do. The literature review makes a number of practice and policy recommendations and identifies areas for further research.
The publication of the international literature review, in September 2014, was followed up by a Webinar with social wok practitioners and academics, and a social work practitioner and fostering services managers’ seminar. This proactive dissemination strategy will be explored in the workshop as a potential vehicle for integration of research findings into practice.