What do social workers gain from a practice research project?

This paper will present an on-going ethnographic research project that has formed partnership with a large municipality in Denmark. The research project explores how social workers manage their practice in relation to... [ view full abstract ]

This paper will present an on-going ethnographic research project that has formed partnership with a large municipality in Denmark. The research project explores how social workers manage their practice in relation to interventions and treatment of children and young people in vulnerable positions and which factors influence this practice.
The study was designed as case studies, and we did fieldwork in two of the municipality’s social services departments. The fieldwork consisted of participant observation, individual semi-structured interviews with the social workers and four focus group discussions with the social workers. The partnership project has a practice research approach, which involved a close collaboration with practitioners in the social services departments.
Fieldwork was organized in collaboration with the social workers, and this involved:
a) Dialogue with the practitioners about the specific research focus regarding issues that the social workers found relevant to explore.
b) The researcher enrolled as a kind of staff, doing participant observation every day during 4 month in each social services department, following the social workers’ everyday work practice at close quarters; and participating in meetings with other professionals, children and their parents.
c) Creating focus group discussions about key issues identified during fieldwork, the focus groups worked as space for critical reflection and learning for the practitioners.
d) Involving the management in creating space for discussions about research findings.
e) Involving practitioners in presentation of the research findings to social workers in other social services departments.
The presentation will show how this dialogue and collaboration, and the proximity to the social workers everyday work practice generated critical reflection about their practice both individually and collectively, hence providing an opportunity for development and learning in their community of practice.