| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© British Association of Social Workers
Decision making in Child Protection: The Use of Theoretical, Empirical and Procedural Knowledge by Novices and Experts and Implications for Fieldwork Placement
Dr Julie Drury-Hudson is currently the Director of Court Counselling with the Family Court of Australia. Dr Drury-Hudson has sixteen years experience working with families and children in a range of settings, including education, child protection and community health. She has worked previously in the State Court System in the area of child protection, establishing a service that utilized a family decision-making model in child protection work and has also worked as a supervisor within the State Welfare Department
Correspondence to Dr Julie Hudson, 89 Yorktown Road, Elizabeth Park, South Australia 5113
Summary
This paper is concerned with the process of decision making in child protection, particularly as it relates to the decision whether or not to remove a child from home. The study compared a group of novice social workers with expert practitioners, placing a particular focus on the types of knowledge that novices draw upon when making such decisions.
A three-stage, qualitative methodology was employed to investigate child protection decision making. All parts of the study utilized a case vignette of a neglect scenario. This paper reports on some of the findings in respect of the use of theoretical, empirical and procedural knowledge.
The findings suggest that novices tend to lack a clear understanding of the factors that are associated with child maltreatment. While they have a superficial awareness of the concept of risk assessment, they have an inability to weigh factors appropriately and to apply this to their practice.
The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to field education.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. Osmond Knowledge Use in Social Work Practice: Examining its Functional Possibilities Journal of Social Work, December 1, 2006; 6(3): 221 - 237. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. J. Taylor Factorial Surveys: Using Vignettes to Study Professional Judgement Br. J. Soc. Work, October 1, 2006; 36(7): 1187 - 1207. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. Muleya A comparative study of social work intervention in context in Zambia and England International Social Work, July 1, 2006; 49(4): 445 - 457. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Osmond The Knowledge Spectrum: A Framework for Teaching Knowledge and its Use in Social Work Practice Br. J. Soc. Work, September 1, 2005; 35(6): 881 - 900. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|