383|ESWRA Seminar 3rd September - CASW SIG|

Conversation Analysis and Social Work SIG

Title: Studying key concepts in social work as observable interactional phenomena using Conversation Analysis

 This seminar highlights the valuable contribution that Conversation Analysis (CA) offers to understanding social work interactions. CA's focus on in-depth exploration of actual instances of interaction makes it highly relevant for practice, providing insights into how social problems are addressed on an interactional level in social work settings. Furthermore, its collaborative approach to analysis can contribute to the promotion of collaboration between researchers and practitioners. The seminar will first introduce CA as a research method in social work and share findings from current conversation analytic research by members of the CASW SIG team on warmth, respect and trust as interactional phenomena in social work encounters. Finally, we will discuss the contributions, prospects, and challenges of CA research in social work.

Structure:

• Introduction to conversation analysis as a research approach in the field of social work/Jon Symonds, University of Bristol.
• Presentation 1: Warmth and respect in social work practice/Steve Kirkwood, Eve Mullins, University of Edinburgh.
• Presentation 2: Trust as an interactional phenomenon in social work encounters/Sabine Ellung Jørgensen, University of Copenhagen. 
• Discussion of the contributions, prospects, and challenges of CA research in social work

Register here:  https://forms.gle/CzbkPXZYG6aJPfhc9

|2024-08-27|4|1|§380|European Social Work Research welcomes: Your contributions and suggestions for|

‘Research, Exchange and Dialogue’

The Editors of ESWRA’s journal European Social Work Research are pleased to announce some exciting changes to a key section of the journal, and to invite distinctive contributions to this section:

The section that was formerly known as  ‘Research Policy and Practice Exchange’ has the new title ‘Reflection, Exchange and Dialogue’ (RED).  We think that this better reflects what the section is intended to offer and will make it more accessible to readers and contributors alike.

The RED section aims to provide:

• A lively space for timely critical reflection, exchange of innovative and challenging ideas or initiatives, and dialogue.
• An inclusive space that stimulates further contributions to the journal and to the European social work research field.

As before, contributions (normally 500 – 2000 words) may include:

• Think pieces or discussion pieces grounded on empirical research, or literature, or particular initiatives - highlighting the issues, innovations or challenges emerging.
• Critical discussion in response to particular ideas and questions raised in previous ESWR issues, or in other relevant research, policy or practice forums.

 

We are also now keen to encourage two new kinds of contribution (up to 4000 words), based on dialogue:

 

• Conversation pieces based on critical discussion/debate between two or more people with different perspectives on the same issue
  • these might written in a variety of formats including, for example, as letters exchanged between the discussants
  • the discussants will be the named authors of the piece
  • we strongly recommend that proposals for conversation pieces are discussed with the journal and/or section editors in advance, contacting us via eswr-journal@bristol.ac.uk
• Articles based on interviews conducted by one of the ESWR/RED section editors with particular social work researchers engaged in distinctive areas of work
  • the interviewee (not the interviewer) would be named as the author of the published piece
  • we warmly invite ESWRA members to contact the journal/section editors, via eswr-journal@bristol.ac.uk, proposing the names of researchers they would like to recommend for interview, and giving briefly their reasons and suggested focus.

All submissions (marked for RED) will be subject to peer review and should be submitted through Editorial Manager https://www.editorialmanager.com/eswr/default2.aspx

We very much look forward to receiving your contributions and your suggestions!

|2024-05-29|6|1|§459|ESWR journal ECSWR 2025|

ESWR 4.2 is due to publish in June 2026, which presents selected articles from ECSWR 2025 (Munich) on the theme of ‘Embracing Democracy in Social Work’. Sign up here to receive an email alert of the Table of Contents when this issue is released.

 

The European Social Work Research Editors’ Choice Collection is currently available, giving readers free access to our journal editors’ top articles from recent issues. These are free to read until 31 August 2026, please do share this work with any colleagues who might find it of interest.

|2026-05-13|1|0|§445|New ESWR Co-Editor announcement|

Policy press has announced the new Co-Editor of ESWR.

We are pleased to introduce the new Co-Editor of European Social Work Research; Panagiotis Pentaris. Panagiotis Pentaris is an Associate Professor of Social Work & Thanatology, and Academic Lead of Research and Ethics and Postgraduate Research Lead at Goldsmiths University, London.

“It is an honour to be joining ESWR at a time when social work research is expanding in scope, complexity and impact. I look forward to supporting innovative, interdisciplinary work that not only reflects the realities of contemporary social issues but also shapes the future directions of our field.”

Panagiotis Pentaris, incoming Co-Editor

We would like to thank outgoing Editor Elaine Sharland for her hard work and dedication to the journal. As one of the Founding Editors Elaine has been pivotal in all ESWR’s successes to date.

https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/welcome-to-the-new-co-editor-of-european-social-work-research 

|2026-01-28|3|0|§443|SIG-event in 2026: HISTORY|

SIG-event in 2026: HISTORY

'Social Work and (Anti-)Democracy - or: How (A)Political Conceptions of Social Work may contribute to Processes of (De-)Democratization' : a historic and current perspective

SIG-event in 2026: HISTORY

The idea for this thematic focus is inspired by actual driving (and thriving) forces that endanger the foundations (and the possibility) of democratic societies. It is also based on research that investigates the ambivalences of (a)political self-understandings within professional social work related to different historical periods, societal and geopolitical contexts. Can (and how could) we draw on historical experiences within social work to understand the complex and - maybe - also contradictory (pre)conditions and dynamics of (de)democratizing developments?

As in the years before, we would like to open up a common space of reflection about these crucial questions, because democracy is at stake, right here and now, and everywhere. We want to explore these issues from a historic and current perspective.

“The Social Work, History and Research” SIG Call for Papers.

The SIG “Social Work, History and Research” group would like to invite you to submit an abstract for our Special Interest Group pre-conference meeting in Aberdeen, 2026, which is planned as a whole-day-event.

Please do so until the 20th of December, and we will be more than happy to give short notice on the acceptance of your proposals, as to still allow you to register within the time line for the Early Bird fee (which runs out on January, 9th, 2026). We will accept later proposals after that date.

We are hosting a full day SIG, because this will give us, again, the opportunity to divide the day into two distinct slots:

Part 1 of the day will look at diverse conceptions of social work that could be described or understood as ‘political’ or ‘a-political’. Historical research that is related to this issue may refer to 

• Social work as a political strategy / a strategy of participation (of politically excluded or marginalized groups)
• Social work as a – meant to be - ‘neutral’ profession
• Social work’s contribution to processes of (de)democratization
• The issue of (anti-)democracy within social work itself: when it comes to professional relationships, institutions and practices

Part 2 of the day will be open to all papers examining any aspect of social work history and history related research.

We would especially welcome proposals that seek to examine the issues mentioned above with the use of critical memory work and through a variety of lenses, positions, positionalities, regions, and countries.

Email proposals to d.hill@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Susanne Maurer, Darren Hill and Darja Zavirsek. (Convenors of the SIG)

|2025-12-15|2|0|§441|International Course in Participatory Action Research|

International Course in Participatory Action Research: June 14-21, 2026 in the Austrian Alps

To all those interested in participatory action research and community-based research methods:

We are pleased to announce that applications for the sixth  'Action Research Summer Camp' are now open until December 31. visit suttneruni.at/camp for more information.

This international short course will take place from June 14 to 21 2026 in Innsbruck, Austria. The summer school offers a unique training opportunity combining personal development, deep academic learning, practical solidarity, and community engagement.

This microcredential program (6 ECTS credit points) is open to individuals with varying degrees of experience in participatory processes and community engagement, as well as to those who aspire to integrate community-based research into their work.

The Camp welcomes students, activists, researchers, academic leaders, union members, community workers, and members of non-governmental and governmental entities.

The residential week in June will take place at an off-campus venue belonging to our social partner, the progressive Waldhüttl  project. Camp participants will frequently interact with community members,  including Roma from Eastern Europe living there temporarily as well as local supporters.

Best regards,

The course leaders: Prof. Eberhard Raithelhuber (Austria), Prof. Corey Dolgon (USA) and Prof. Karin Sauer (Germany).

 

Dr. Eberhard RAITHELHUBER, Privatdozent (he/him)

Professor for Social Intervention and Transformation

Project Manager of the ERASMUS+ Cooperation Partnership „Mentoring for Social Inclusion in Europe: Sharing Knowledge and Building Capacity“ (Ment4EU, 2024-2026)

|2025-11-20|5|0|§435|ESWRA Seminar Series Solidarity and Social Work SIG February|

Title: Relocated Solidarity: rethinking social workers' roles in supporting politically displaced migrants

Date: Wednesday 11th February 2026                Start time: 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET 

Abstract

In the wake of the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, China’s imposition of a draconian National Security Law and subsequent suppression of political dissent, many Hongkongers migrated to countries offering ‘lifeboat’ schemes for them, creating new diasporic communities.  These migrants carried memories and sentiments rooted in their protest experience and its aftermath, particularly a strong commitment to solidarity with comrades and allies. Drawing on two related research projects, in this presentation, we analyse how these ideals are manifested within the Hongkonger diaspora in the UK through ‘relocated solidarity’. This takes two forms: ‘solidarity in exile,’ which informs continued political activism in the UK, and ‘exiled solidarity,’ which focuses on preserving the Hongkonger community in the host country. The practices adopted by Hongkongers reflect their political commitments and the varied challenges they face in adapting to life in the UK. Hongkonger diaspora as a case provides a critical lens to consider social workers and local authorities’ roles beyond the current focus on safeguarding. We will use three examples, UK Welcomes Refugees , the British Association of Social Workers and Sutton Council, to illustrate social workers’ roles as bridgers for resources and information, engineers of policy space for marginalised voices and community-oriented innovators. 

Authors

Dr. Sui Ting Kong is an Associate Professor at Durham University, specializing in feminist participatory methodologies and social work practice research. Her work focuses on the impact of social movements on personal lives, particularly examining gender-based violence and the experiences of the Hongkonger diaspora. She has developed innovative methods to democratize knowledge production and enhance understanding of violence against women in both political and personal contexts. 

sui.t.kong@durham.ac.uk                   https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/sui-t-kong/

Hei Chow is the programme Manager of UK Welcomes Refugees, a UK charity supporting refugees from worldwide. With the Background of Social work and Master’s Degree in Values Education,  Hei focused on youth work, community work, while he worked as a social worker, lecturer and fieldwork supervisor in Hong Kong and UK.  Hei hopes not only to support and resettle Hong Kongers but to play a key role in UKWR’s wider mission to build a more understanding and harmonious society for the common good of all. Part of Hei’s work also focuses on supporting refugees and overseas social workers from around the world, helping them to build mutual support networks, strengthen their professional identity, and develop new career pathways in the UK.

https://ukwelcomesrefugees.org/hei/                       Hei@ukwelcomesrefugees.org

|2025-10-29|2|0|§434|ESWRA Seminar Series January 2026 Arts Based Research SIG|

Why use Arts Based Research in Social Work?

Theoretical and methodological advantages and challenges:

Date: Wednesday 14th January 2026

Start time: 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET 

Registration link https://forms.gle/atxgPdAwavhpBCp4A

Contact: info@eswra.org 

ESWRA Arts based SIG (lead by Ephrat Huss: Nesrien Abu-Ghazaleh, and Susan Levy)

At the last ESRWA conference, we witnessed a significant number of arts-based research presentations, highlighting how the arts have become canonized as a “third pillar” of social work, alongside science and the social sciences. This shift is evident in both practice and research.

The aim of this webinar is to articulate the theoretical rationale for employing arts-based research methods in social work—both as a distinct approach and in relation to central methodological streams such as participatory, qualitative, and quantitative methods. We will demonstrate how the arts can serve as method, subject, and product of social work research, and we will also address the challenges and limitations of arts-based methods. Using examples from our SIG members research that they will present, we hope to demonstrate a set of arts baed methodologies currently being used, and to highlight their advantages and challenges.

Our overall aim in this webinar is to demystify arts-based methods, that often feel unfamiliar to social workers- and to provide participants with a clear theoretical framework for understanding arts-based methods, as well as to provide a toolbox of methodologies that they will be able to apply in their own research.

 

Arts based research Webinar: For ESWRA

Dr Nasrien Abu-Ghazala: Professor Ephrat Huss: Dr Susan Levy

In the last ESRWA conference we saw a large among of arts-based research presentations: showing how the arts have become canonized as a “third pillar” of social work, next to science and social sciences. This is apparent in both practice and research:

The aim of this webinar is to explain the theoretical rational for using arts-based research methods in social work specifically, and in relation to central methodological streams such as participatory, qualitative, and quantitative methods. We will exemplify how the arts can be utilized as method, subject and end- product of research. We will address the challenges and limitations of using arts-based methods, and we will exemplify structured arts-based methodologies in each of these areas, using our Sig’s participants current research projects. Participants will emerge with a theoretical understanding of arts-based methods, and also with a toolbox of methodologies that can be applied to their own research.

|2025-10-29|4|0|§433|ESWRA Seminar Series Workforce Special Interest Group December 2025|

Workforce Special Interest Group

Date: Wednesday 10th December 2025

Start time: 13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET 

Registration link: https://forms.gle/RUoMjEiaC39T6Q219

Contact: info@eswra.org 

General Abstract

Symposium Title:  Democracy for social workers? Practising social work in neo-liberal contexts: the impact on self, service users and opportunities for resistance and change

Reflecting growing concerns about the impact of social work practice on social workers and service users, this symposium draws on four studies from Romania, the USA, Northern Ireland and an international literature review. These enable consideration of what it means and how it feels to practise social work in neo-liberal contexts, and reports on ways in which social workers, social work students and social work academics are seeking to resist and generate change. Using democracy as the key organising concept and principle, the symposium questions the extent to which democratic values and practices characterise the experience of being a social worker. It argues that an erosion of democracy within social work is manifest in how social workers are treated as individuals and as a professional group. Moreover, it interrogates the feasibility of social workers supporting service users to seek social justice from a basis of relative powerlessness, compromised autonomy and often a sense of professional despondency.

In seeking to redress this, the presentations reflect the democratic value of research with social workers and social work students, for affording primacy to their voice and recording the barriers they encounter in neo-liberal working contexts, including, unmanageable workloads, serious resource constraints, a lack of agency and power, and moral injury arising from being unable to practise in line with the core social work value of social justice, all of which manifest in high levels of stress. The discussions employ a range of theoretical framings to expand on the relationship between social work and democracy. Addressing ‘human sustainability’, the first presentation reports on the experience of Romanian social workers and provides visceral insights into the lived reality of practice in a post-communist state, one that has largely adopted the type of neo-liberal management practices that dominate the social profession internationally. The second presentation reflects on similar problems, this time facing the social work workforce in Northern Ireland. Using the concept of ‘safe staffing’, it contends that the impact of understaffed and over-stretched workforce is felt by not only by social workers but also by the older client group they suport, undermining their democratic rights to effective social care, and arguably representing a form of ageism. The third presentation draws on the history of social work in the United States and highlights how the profession was founded on a commitment to ‘social democracy’, as embodied in the settlement movement. It contrasts the collectivist and rights-based approaches that have characterised much of social work practice with the individualist and de-politicised methods propagated by neo-liberalism. In questioning the possibilities for social work practice within these contexts, it finds that social workers have and continue to find ways to resist, with resistance seen as integral to democracy within the profession.  Similarly, the final presentation, which considers the concepts of ‘self-care’ and ‘workplace democracy’, addresses the serious challenges facing social workers but offers a way of conceptualising self-care that embodies values of social justice and supports anti-oppressive practice, both of which are key to social work as a practice of democracy.   

1.       Title: Social Workers Under Stress: Navigating structural, political, organisational and individual challenges.

Silvana (Bobarnat) Crivoi) 1,2, Florin Lazar1, Georgiana-Cristina Rentea1, Anca Mihai1, Daniela Gaba1, Lucian Alecu3, Ovidiu Pop3, Adrian Luca3, Ana-Maria Mustatea1 1University of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work; 2National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection; 3University of Bucharest, The Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Romania.

The social work profession requires strong vocational commitment, but the constant pressure on social workers often undermines their participation in processes that characterise democracy within organizations, including decision-making and contributing to change. Using the lens of ‘human sustainability’ proposed by Docherty et al. (2009), this research explores strategies for improving working conditions and enhancing democratic practices in both public and private social service providers. 

Between December 2023 and February 2024, 22 semi-structured interviews were carried out with Romanian qualified social workers focusing on their working conditions and experiences. Our preliminary results highlight that social workers are confronting a professional crisis, characterised by structural and organisational challenges which impact significantly at the individual level. Intensive workloads, work-life imbalance, underpayment, and reduced autonomy lead to discouragement among social workers that further result in their retraction from the processes required to facilitate the organizational renewal the profession urgently requires.

Our study illustrates that when organizations and government are guided by managerialist and post-Fordist principles, the constant and multiple pressures on frontline social workers undermine their active role in the places where they work, and the quality of their working lives. The results show the necessity for organizational and structural change to develop democratic practices for social workers, these practices being one of the key dimensions of human sustainable organizations. The diversity and complexity of social work require institutional internal capabilities to carry out continuous and sustainable change. Liberating, democratic practices would allow social workers to actively contribute to this continuous change process. 

2.       Title: Safe Staffing in Older People Social Work: The democratic rights of older citizens to access to social work services from a stable workforce

Professor Paula McFadden, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland.

 

Workforce planning models in social work are less developed than other health and social care disciplines.  A research project, commissioned by the Department of Health, Northern Ireland provided baseline analysis to inform ‘safe staffing’ policy and legislation policy and legislative developments expected between 2025-2028.

 

This presentation focuses on analysis of 80 older people’s social work community teams in Northern Ireland. Analyses of staffing supply and service demands were conducted at individual, team, and regional levels within older people services. Mixed methods were used for scale and in-depth analysis on staffing supply and service demands.  A survey collected team level data and 5 focus groups with teams and 12 interviews with front line social workers provided voice to support the analysis of staffing levels and caseload demands.  The findings reveals social workers and managers frequently face overwhelming worker-to-caseload ratios, routine use of waiting lists, and team vacancies. The findings indicate that the democratic rights of older people, to a timely, safe and effective service, is likely to be severely impacted by high workloads and delays due to the need for waiting lists, as well as social worker vacancies. This raises broader questions about the priority given to older people within social services and their lack of agency and engagement in shaping service provision. The results underpin the importance of foregrounding social workers’ views when scoping workforce issues so that policy formation is a democratic, evidence-based process.

3.       Reclaiming the Democratic Profession in the United States: Social Workers’ Involvement in Resistance 

Jessica Toft, Associate Professor; Elin Amundson, PhD Student, and Channel Lowery, PhD Student, University of Minnesota, USA.

In response to early US industrialization, social workers founded settlement houses to facilitate ‘social democracy’ to workers (Addams 1902, 1910), enabling social activity and access to learning. These reformers also supported labor unions to challenge dangerous and exploitive work. During the Depression, social workers organized a Rank and File movement to protect their and their clients’ rights. Social work has thus long utilised collective approaches to fight for civil, political, social, and economic rights, yet, since the rise of neoliberalism in the 1980s, social work management has largely advocated individualized interventions over collective ones. Practice related to the social aspects of democratic well-being - advocacy, addressing social policy issues, collective action – are often thwarted under neoliberal administrations, and social workers experience exploitive working conditions and de-professionalizing pressures.

This presentation interrogates how social work’s mission to promote democratic principles stacks up when social workers themselves experience low wages, long hours, and poor working conditions. Do social workers follow the dictates of neoliberal individualized practice to protect their jobs? Or do they resist, and possibly threaten their pay and even employment? Do they somehow embody both? If so, how does this unfold in the workplace? The presentation provides evidence from a statewide survey and interviews regarding resistance to neoliberal managerialism. Following Strier and Bershtling’s (2016) prescription that resistance is practice, it identifies ways that social workers are resisting in real time, from hallway discussions to union actions, and in doing so offers hope for how democratic principles and practices can be supported within the profession.

4.       Title: Conceptualising self-care as a form of workplace democracy for social workers and social work students

Dr Pearse McCusker1 and Dr Sarah Rose2

University of Edinburgh1; Edinburgh Napier University2

Concerns about wellbeing for social workers have grown in tandem with increasing research highlighting challenging working conditions across social work contexts and countries. ‘Self-care’ is a contested term used to describe approaches aimed at mitigating the negative impact of such conditions on social workers. Various definitions of self-care emphasise the importance of maintaining a sense of personal agency and the opportunity to ‘take ownership’ of personal wellbeing (Lee and Miller, 2013). While potentially useful, this individualised approach to self-care can characterise broader issues as personal problems, thus obscuring the impact of organisational and structural factors (Collins, 2021) and placing expectations on individuals to adapt rather than address these.

Based on the findings of a narrative literature review, undertaken as part of a funded participatory action research project with social work students, this presentation advocates for a broader conceptualisation of self-care that can be understood as a form of ‘workplace democracy’, embodying the democratic values of respect for diversity, collective action and social justice. In reference to these three key democratic values, it considers the importance of adopting a diverse understanding of the ‘self’ beyond narrowly defined social and cultural norms. It explores how self-care practice can support the wellbeing of social workers by collectively addressing the organisational factors and working conditions that precipitate stress and burnout. Moreover, it highlights the potential for self-care to support the social justice aims of the profession by enhancing social workers’ reflexivity, awareness of social inequality and capacity for anti-oppressive practice

|2025-10-29|5|0|§432|ESWRA Seminar Social Work, Crime and Criminal Justice SIG (SWCCJ) |

Title: Criminal Justice Social Work from a Global Perspective

Date: Wednesday 5th November 2025   Start time: 14:00 GMT / 15:00  CET 

Registration link: https://forms.gle/c2FT7cYWr2uYVuos7

Contributors: Caroline Bald, Inés Martínez-Herrero, Donna Peacock, Jeanne Hersant, Rose Parkes, Donna-Maree Humphrey, Tracey Bone.

This seminar explores the role and contemporary challenges of criminal justice social work practice and research internationally. It draws on the forthcoming Routledge International Handbook of Criminal Justice Social Work, one of the first major collaborative achievements of the ESWRA Social Work, Crime and Criminal Justice (SWCCJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) since its establishment in 2022.

The handbook features contributions from many SIG members as well as authors from diverse backgrounds around the world. Together, they offer a global overview of how criminal justice social work is understood, practiced, and researched.

This online seminar aims to:

• Provide ESWRA members with insight into this global perspective
• Update on the work of the SWCCJ SIG
• Open dialogue for debate and international collaboration in future research

Programme

1.     Introduction to the SWCCJ SIG and the Handbook
Caroline Bald and Inés Martínez – 10 min

2.     Snapshot Presentations (50 min total)

• Disability Studies, Social Work and Criminal Justice: Conceptualising a dis/ableist criminology
  Donna Peacock
• Social Work and Chilean Drug Treatment Courts for Juvenile Offenders
  Jeanne Hersant
• Looking Out as Well as In: Justice Social Workers, Prison Yoga Teachers and Resisting ‘Secondhand Carcerality’ in UK Prisons
  Rose Parkes
• Trauma-Informed Youth Offending Practice: Ethical Considerations
  Donna-Maree Humphery
• Criminal Justice Social Work Education and Practice with Deaf Offenders in Canada
  Tracey Bone

3.     Q&A, Discussion and Closing – 30–45 min

Presenters’ bios:

Donna Peacock
Donna Peacock is Head of the Department of Criminology and Sociology at Birmingham City University, UK. Her research focuses on vulnerability in police custody and the intersections between disability studies and criminology.

Jeanne Hersant
Jeanne Hersant is an Assistant Professor in the Social Work School at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her research explores access to justice and judicial reforms in Latin America.

Rose Parkes
Rose Parkes is Associate Dean (Academic Programmes) at the Institute of Law, Jersey, and a part-time PhD researcher and Associate Lecturer at The Open University, UK. Her work examines criminal justice, marginalisation, and education in prisons.

Donna-Maree Humphery
Donna-Maree Humphery is a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Salford, UK. Her research interests include gender, criminal justice, social work, and trauma-informed practices.

Tracey A. Bone
Tracey A. Bone, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba, Canada. Her research focuses on Deaf studies, mental health, and forensic social work.

Caroline J. Bald
Caroline Bald is a Lecturer in Social Work at The Open University, UK. Her research focuses on inclusive social work education, curriculum development, and equitable admissions practices.

Inés Martínez-Herrero
Inés Martínez-Herrero is a Lecturer in Social Work at the National University of Distance Education (UNED), Spain. Her research explores human rights, social justice, and the histories of social work.

Zoom link:

Thank you for registering for this event the zoom link is:

Topic: ESWRA Seminar SWCCJ

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85756040594?pwd=KhT3E2Lgq7ryR8naXl8Zwd6JS0MH0c.1

Meeting ID: 857 5604 0594

Passcode: 080041

|2025-10-23|3|0|§430|ESWRA Annual Awards for Outstanding Publications|

ESWRA is seeking nominations for two Annual Awards for Outstanding Publications:

1. The ESWRA Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research.
2. The ESWRA Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research
   Based on a Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation.

The second award is open to all who were doctoral students at the time of the research nominated for the award.

Prizes!

The winners will receive:

• The registration fee for the ECSWR 2026 Aberdeen 15th EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH  15th – 17th April 2026
• 500 Euro
• A certificate of award presented at ECSWR 2026 Aberdeen

Eligibility criteria for the awards

The awards are made for social work research papers published for the first time either in an Advance Access format or in hard copy during the period 1st January to 31st December 2025

Nominations for general awards must be for articles published in a peer reviewed social work or equivalent social science journal; nominations for the doctoral award must be for articles based on the candidate’s PhD research.

Nominations for either award must demonstrate a significant contribution to research against the following criteria:

• Overall research quality, including appropriate rigour, transparency, and validity.

AND at least one of the following:

• Explores a demonstrably new area of research.
• Demonstrates methodological innovation.
• Makes a significant conceptual or theoretical contribution to its field.
• Has a (potential) impact for policymakers, practitioners, and other research users.

The awards will go to individuals whose research and publication are deemed to have made the most significant contribution to research in social work of those put forward for consideration.

In the case of articles with more than one author who must meet the criteria, the certificate of award will be given to all authors (the authors must decide among themselves how to share the conference fee and the 500 Euro prize).

Nomination process

Nominations for the awards should be made no later than January 31st, 2026.

A nomination for the award should include:

1. A completed nomination form which is available below or can be requested at info@eswra.org (self-nominations are welcome for the general award).
2. A proposal statement of not more than 1,000 words in support of the nomination. The statement must include the reasons for which the article is a candidate for the ESWRA award, not for instance the biography of the author or the abstract of the article. In the case of the doctoral research award, the statement could be provided by either a supervisor or external examiner.
3. A copy of the publication in English or a link/citation to where the publication can be accessed in English.

|2025-10-16|4|0|§421|Call for Papers - 9th Social Work International Conference|

The Social Work Department of the University of Bucharest is pleased to invite submissions for presentations at the 9th edition of the Social Work International Conference (SWIC) to be held from October 29th to 31st, 2025.

This year’s theme, Social Work in a shifting world: Responding to transforming realities and their ripple effects is an invitation to critically explore how social work is adapting to the complex and often disruptive transformations shaping our societies today. These transformations include economic instability, political turbulence, global and regional conflicts, migration, demographic changes, climate crisis, technological advancement, and growing social disparities.

The SWIC 2025 conference aims to provide a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration among social work scholars, educators, practitioners, policymakers, and students. Participants are encouraged to reflect on how social work can remain responsive and proactive in the face of these evolving realities. Emphasis will be placed on intersectional perspectives, innovative practices, and cross-sectoral collaborations that contribute to equitable and sustainable social work responses.

We invite researchers and practitioners from the field of social work as well as other connected social science fields. We welcome scientifically sound and original contributions from researchers, educators, practitioners, and students from social science in the areas listed below. Submissions can be empirical, theoretical or practice based.

Special focus: student and practitioner engagement

The first day of the conference (October 29th, 2025) will be activities engaging students and practitioners, including:

• A special student paper stream (undergraduate, master, and doctoral level)
• Interactive workshops and panels
• Networking opportunities with experienced researchers and professionals

This dedicated day reflects our commitment to promoting the active involvement of practitioners and students in shaping the future of social work education, research, and practice.

Conference streams / focus areas

The streams of the conference are divided based on the following focus areas:

1. Social work responses to inequalities, poverty, and systemic marginalization in times of change
2. Child welfare, aging populations, and intergenerational support systems
3. Social work responses to climate justice and eco-social work
4. Social work responses to digital and AI advancement in social work practice and education
5. Social work ethics and professional resilience amid global crises
6. Social work responses and solutions to current socio-economic changes (miscellaneous)

Publication of papers

All submissions to SWIC 2025 must be in English (abstracts and/or full-texts). They will be evaluated through a peer-review process. Selected full-text papers will be published in a special number of the The Social Work Review.

Types of presentations   Presentation types include individual or co-authored papers, poster presentations, and workshops. The abstracts will be evaluated based on their relevance to the conference theme, methodological strength, relevance to social work and actuality of the topic.

Abstract submission   We are now receiving abstract submissions. To apply please fill out the [Abstract Submission Form].

Abstract submissions should include the following:

• Title of the presentation
• Name and affiliation of the author(s)
• 3-5 keywords

The abstract body (300 words or less, maximum 3000 characters) should follow as much as possible the below structure:

• Background/Context
• Research objective
• Methodology
• Main results and/or implications for social work education, practice and/or research
• General conclusion

All submissions are made through the [Abstract Submission Form]., by July 15th, 2025. Please address any enquiries about the conference toswicub@sas.unibuc.ro.

The SWIC 2025 Organizing Committee looks forward to receiving your abstract!

 

|2025-07-14|1|0|§414|Professional Development Social Care Conferences & Masterclasses - Please share with your networks|

Please find below details of our forthcoming conferences & masterclasses that maybe of interest to your members and networks to support their CPD.  Would you mind circulating this information please by email/in your next newsletter, listing on your website and via your social media? 

We are pleased to offer a 20% discount with code hcuk20eswra and we can also give your organisation a presence at the event if you would like to provide your logo to be added to the conference web pages and brochures, with a link to your website, for the virtual landing pages as a resource for delegates.

Self Neglect & Adult Safeguarding: Responding to Self Neglect & Hoarding

WEDNESDAY 2nd JULY 2025

VIRTUAL, Online

Self-neglect can be a complex and challenging issue for practitioners because of the need to find the balance between respecting a person’s autonomy and fulfilling a duty to protect the adult’s health and well-being.

This conference which features extended interactive sessions focuses on the difficult issue of self neglect and adult safeguarding and includes an extended focus on hoarding. Through national updates, practical case studies and extended interactive group work the conference will cover self-neglect, meeting the statutory safeguarding guidance, safeguarding people who self-neglect: the evidence and what works, developing guidance for professionals when dealing with self-neglect and resistance to engage with services, an extended session on hoarding, and an extended session on dealing with the underlying causes of self-neglect working in partnership with people who are self-neglecting in a multi disciplinary way. The conference will also focus on the increasing issue of loneliness and social isolation in older people which evidence shows can contribute to self neglect.

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/self-neglect-and-adult-safeguarding-responding-to-self-neglect-hoarding or click on the title above or email guillermo@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on X @HCUK_Clare  #SelfNeglect

A Guide to Social Prescribing

FRIDAY 12th SEPTEMBER 2025

VIRTUAL, Online

This conference will focus on increasing the scale and impact of social prescribing as outlined in the NHS long term plan. We will take a practical case study based approach to assessing, monitoring and improving the health outcomes of people who typically experience health inequalities.

There will be an emphasis on understanding the evidence base, and learning from organisations that have succeeded in addressing the challenge of social prescribing for people from economically deprived areas in the country.

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/a-guide-to-social-prescribing or click on the title above or email guillermo@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on X @HCUK_Clare  #SocialPrescribing

Safeguarding Children from County Lines Exploitation

WEDNESDAY 17th SEPTEMBER 2025

VIRTUAL, Online

The issues surrounding county lines exploitation remain high on the Government agenda, with The Crime and Policing Bill looks set to introduce new laws which will help to tackle the problem. The proposals would make it a criminal offence to use a child to commit criminal activity, as well as the introduction of new child criminal exploitation prevention orders.

Join us for an essential one-day conference dedicated to Safeguarding Children from County Lines Exploitation, designed for professionals working on the frontline of child protection. As County Lines operations continue to evolve and target vulnerable children, it's more important than ever to equip staff with the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to combat this growing threat. Through a combination of expert-led presentations and real-life case studies, this conference will empower safeguarding professionals to identify risk factors, intervene early, and work collaboratively to prevent child exploitation.

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/safeguarding-children-from-county-lines-exploitation title above or email guillermo@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on X @HCUK_Clare  #CountyLinesExploitation

Safeguarding NHS Level 5

MONDAY 22nd & TUESDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER 2025

VIRTUAL, Online

This two day masterclass facilitated by Lindsay Fox Associate Trainer The Athena Programme, will allow Leaders and Managers to gain strategic knowledge and practical skills to support them with their operational and strategic roles and responsibilities when managing/leading staff who have a responsibility for children or adults.

Participants will also develop confidence and competence in supporting a culture of safety.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Aimed at Clinical Directors, Senior Managers, Board Members, Professional Advisors or Governors that oversees or must understand the organisation’s safeguarding structure.

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/safeguarding-nhs-level-5   or click on the title above or email kam@hc-uk.org.uk

Complaints Handling in Social Care: A Guide to Best Practice

THURSDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2025

VIRTUAL, Online

This conference is focused on navigating the complexities of complaints handling in social care settings. Join us as we share the latest insights into practical challenges, best practices and legal guidance for managing and resolving complaints effectively. Through a series of expert-led sessions, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of how to handle complaints fairly, improve transparency, and enhance the experience of service users while maintaining compliance with regulatory expectations.

https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/complaints-handling-in-social-care title above or email petra@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on X @HCUK_Clare  #ComplaintsHandling

|2025-05-06|5|0|§411|ECSWR 2025 Munich Poster Competition winners|

It was wonderful to see so many poster at ECSWR 2025 in Munich, As usual ECSWR attracted many high quality posters  translating innovative, compelling research and complex ideas into visually engaging and intellectually stimulating posters.

We are pleased to announce the winning poster at ECSWR 2025 Poster Competition for the poster entitled: Introducing Professional Supervision into Social Services of Local Authorities in Italy: A Qualitive Study. The authors are 

• Valentina Calcaterra, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano - Italy
• Maddalena Floriana Grassi, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro - Italy
• Mara Sanfelici, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Italy

CONGRATULATIONS!
Download the PDF version here 

|2025-04-07|1|0|§410|ESWRA Annual Awards for Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research|

We are delighted to announce that the winners of this year's Award for Outstanding Publication in European Social work Research  based on a Doctoral Thesis are Dr. Jonathan Berg and Dr. Diletta Mauri

Jonathan Berg, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, The Netherlands

Berg J, Oldenhof L, Putters K, van Wijngaarden J. Which client is worthy of using discretion? Analysing storytelling practices of Dutch street-level bureaucrats in inter-departmental settings. Journal of Social Policy. Published online 2024:1-20. doi:10.1017/S0047279424000199 

Jonathan says: I’m truly honoured to receive this prestigious award for our paper on how social workers use collective storytelling to determine who ‘deserves’ responsiveness when resources are scarce. The award means a lot to me, as it acknowledges our contribution to the field of Social Work (research), which I care about deeply. We owe the quality of our paper to the amazing efforts and contributions of social workers in Rotterdam, along with the inspiration we've drawn from both the Social Work Research community and the Narratology community. I firmly believe in the merit of interpretive research to support social workers in their roles as both policy practitioners and agents of change, and will continue to contribute to the field in the best of my ability.

Dr. Diletta Mauri, Trento University, Italy 

Constructing the ‘zero family’: Breaking the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment from the perspective of care-experienced parents, Child Abuse & Neglect, Volume 153, 2024, 106855, ISSN 0145-2134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106855,  www.sciencedirect.com  

Diletta says: When I received the award, I expressed my deep gratitude for this recognition from such an important organization as ESWRA. I thanked the committee for their trust in my work and everyone who has supported me throughout my research and PhD journey. In particular, I acknowledged my supervisor, Silvia Fargion, for her invaluable guidance, passion, and wisdom.

I also thanked my community of social work researchers, both in Italy and abroad, who make me feel part of a professional network that is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement.

Finally, I expressed my gratitude to the parents who participated in the research. Their stories of struggle, but above all, of courage and care for themselves and their children, have been the most meaningful and engaging part of my work. I also shared my hope that this comes through in the article that has received this important recognition.

|2025-04-07|6|0|§408|ESWRA SEMINAR Children's Rights in Practice|

Presentation by Professor Laura Lundy

Professor Lundy is a distinguished expert in international children's rights, serving as Professor of Children's Rights at Queen's University Belfast. Her research focuses on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, education rights, and children's participation in decision-making.

In her seminal 2007 paper, '‘Voice’ is not enough,' Professor Lundy introduced a model of child participation based on four key concepts: Space, Voice, Audience, and Influence. This 'Lundy model' has been widely adopted in both scholarship and practice, influencing policies and frameworks globally.

During this interactive presentation Professor Lundy will discuss and apply her model of participation to child welfare. 

SIG convenor: Dr. Paul McCafferty Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Queens University Belfast and Lead Convenor Special Interest Group: Children’s Rights in Practice along with Dr. Esther Mercado Garcia Complutense University Madrid, Wendy Eerdekens Artevelde University of Applied Sciences and Dr. Inger Sofie Dahlø Husby Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Register via google forms here: https://forms.gle/8dRJNdYZy91M2yuX9

Date: Thursday 8th May 2025

Start Time: 14:00 BST / 15:00 CEST 

Venue: online via the European Social Work Research Association. A link will be sent nearer the time. 

If you have any issues registering please email Claire Prater,  info@eswra.org

 

Dr. Paul McCafferty p.mccafferty@qub.ac.uk corresponding author

(On behalf of the Children’s Rights in Practice SIG: Participation, Protection, Inclusion)

Dr. Esther Mercado,  Dr. Inger Sofie Dahlø Husby, Wendy Eerdekens

|2025-04-01|2|0|§407|ESWRA General Assembly |

Dear ESWRA Member,

The ESWRA General Assembly will be taking place at ECSWR 2025, Wednesday 12th March,  Carl-Orff-Saal, Rosenheimer Str. 581667 München,  18:15-19:30. The agenda and associated papers can be down loaded here:  ESWRA GA Papers

ESWRA General Assembly Agenda
Wednesday 12th March
1815 Welcome
1825 General Assembly Notes 2024 approval
1830 Finances
1845 Annual Report 
1850 ESWRA Board roles and committees
1855 ESWRA Committees 
  >SIG Committee
  >Research Resources and Member Services Committee
  >Prizes and Sponsorship Committee 
  >Nomination and Election Committee
  >External Relations Committee
  >Country Representation Committee
1915 Open discussion
1930 END

|2025-03-06|5|0|§406|European Social Work Research (ESWR), |

European Social Work Research (ESWR), ESWRA's flagship journal, Is inviting paper submissions from all who present at the Munich conference. The Special Issue is being edited by Lars Uggerhoj, Carolin Auner and Florian Spensberger, and will be published in June 2026. See here for the full call: European Social Work Research Call for Papers ECSWR 2025   A benefit of ESWRA membership is full access to ESWR. For those of you who are not members, Policy Press (the publishers) would like to offer a taster - during the conference week, the most recent issue of the journal will be free to view. 

Sarah Bird from Policy Press will be at the conference - do drop by the Policy Press stand during the conference if you would like to learn more about the journal.

|2025-02-27|1|0|https://eswra1-my.sharepoint.com/:i:/g/personal/eswra1_eswra1_onmicrosoft_com/Edpy3X7d9OJLkKo58ZndMp0BqZgAXPy7QxgPzwETdaeyjw?e=vR4Uns§405|European webinar on research-based solutions to the crises in welfare services|

Research-based solutions to the crises in welfare services

4th March 2025, 15:30 CET.

Success stories in organizing healthcare and social services

“Never change a winning system or replicate a failing one”. This open webinar is designed to share academic research findings to help European national health and welfare service systems learn from each other’s successes and failures.

More information and registration (free-of-charge) https://www.jyu.fi/en/events/success-stories-in-organizing-healthcare-and-social-services

Organised by 

Aila-Leena Matthie

Professor of Social Work (emerita)

University of Jyväskylä

Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius

Aila-Leena.Matthies@jyu.fi

|2025-02-23|4|0|§403|Call for Associate Editors of Families, Relationships and Societies|

Call for Associate Editors of Families, Relationships and Societies - Deadline 7 March 2025

Policy Press and the Editorial Management Board of Families, Relationships and Societies invite applications for Associate Editor positions, starting in April 2025 for an initial period of three years, with the possibility of renewing for a second two-year term. While the journal is long-established, it is developing considerably with an increasingly international scope and as well as Associate Editors with strong UK networks, we are also seeking Associate Editors who can use their international networks to support the journal.

About the journal
Families, Relationships and Societies (FRS) is a vibrant social science journal advancing scholarship and debates in the field of families and relationships. It explores family life, relationships and generational issues across the life course. Bringing together a range of social science perspectives, with a strong policy and practice focus, it is also strongly informed by sociological theory and the latest methodological approaches. The title encompasses the fluidity, complexity and diversity of contemporary social and personal relationships and their need to be understood in the context of different societies and cultures. The journal impact factor is currently 1.3 and it publishes 4 issues a year. 

Editorial team

You will be working with the new Editorial team which commenced their editorship in January 2025:
Harriet Churchill, Co-Editor-in-Chief, University of Sheffield, UK
Katherine Davies, Co-Editor-in-Chief, University of Sheffield, UK
Majella Kilkey, Co-Editor-in-Chief, University of Sheffield, UK
Julie Walsh, Co-Editor and Special Issues Editor; University of Sheffield, UK
Sundari Anitha, Co-Editor, University of Sheffield, UK
Adam Carter, Co-Editor; University of Sheffield, UK

About the role
Becoming an Associate Editor of a journal is a rewarding and fulfilling experience, providing an opportunity for you to make a contribution to the academic community and champion the research you care about, while developing your position as a leading figure in the field. As well as building your own networks, you will gain an insight into scholarly journals publishing. The journal is published by Policy Press, an imprint of Bristol University Press, a not-for-profit publisher whose goal is to publish the highest quality international scholarship and strives to ensure the work we publish makes a positive contribution and has impact beyond academia. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and develop the journal over the coming years. The core roles of an Associate Editor include peer reviewing, handling papers through the review process, being an ambassador for the journal and making a contribution to strategic and intellectual directions for the journal.

Job Description:

Reviewing activities:

• Related to areas of expertise reviewing submissions to the journal in a timely way in line with reviewer guidelines and timeframes (7- 10 articles per year).
• Related to areas of expertise suggesting reviewers for submissions if requested. 
• Related to areas of expertise provide assistance with the peer review process (for example adjudicating in cases where reviewers disagree).

Some paper handling activities which may include:

• Identifying reviewers and sending articles for peer review.
• Ensuring at least two independent reviews are obtained for each article.
• Making final decision recommendations on articles to the Editors in Chief/co-editors.

Being an ambassador for the journal which may include:

• Encouraging submissions of articles from colleagues, especially focusing on
• those in your area of expertise (e.g. geographical region or topical area).
• Promoting the journal at conferences and other appropriate gatherings. The
• Publisher can provide leaflets and PowerPoint slides to assist you in this.
• Submitting articles to the journal yourself.
• Using listservs, LinkedIn and other communication and social media channels to
• promote the journal in your networks, for example including the journal link in
• your email signature.
• Helping to promote key articles and special issues/themed sections in social
• media, blogs and within your networks.
• Encouraging your library to subscribe to the journal.
• Helping scholars find relevant articles by including articles in your reference lists
• and in presentations you give, and including materials from the journal in reading
• lists for teaching at your institution.
• Mentoring PhD/ECRs when they write articles prior to submission to the journal.
• Promoting wider journal activities and events among research and topic related networks 

Using your expertise to input in a strategic way to the intellectual and organisational success of the journal. This may include:

• Advising the publisher and co-editorial team of developments in your area which
• could shape the journal strategy.
• Attending journal meetings (online or at relevant conferences) and providing brief
• reports on activities in your area as required.
• Voting on and contributing to discussions about key decisions e.g. prizes, special issues.
• Identifying possible (emerging) themes for a special issue/themed section and. Where appropriate, be willing to be editor/co-editor of special issues/themed sections.
• Advising the publisher of key contacts for promotion of the journal.
• Advising the publisher of promotional opportunities, particularly for special
• issues/themed sections.

How to apply

Applications should include a short CV (2-pages maximum) highlighting relevant experience and a response to the following:

1. An outline of your research area and expertise (up to 200 words).
2. An overview of your reviewing experience (up to 200 words).
3. An overview of your expertise in evaluating research design, methods and ethical practice (up to 200 words).
4. An overview of how you will contribute to consolidating and increasing FRS’s growing international presence (up to 200 words).
5.  An overview of which areas/issues you feel are currently underrepresented in the journal and how you would support an increase in submissions on these issues (up to 200 words).

For informal enquiries about the role please contact one of the below:

• Harrie Churchill H.Churchill@sheffield.ac.uk
• Majella Kilkey M.Kilkey@sheffield.ac.uk 
• Katherine Davies, K.Davies@sheffield.ac.uk

Applications should be forwarded by email to Sharon Harris (sharon.harris@bristol.ac.uk) Journals Development Editor at Policy Press no later than Friday 7 March 2025.

Sharon Harris PhD, Journals Development Editor

Bristol University Press and Policy Press, 1-9 Old Park Hill, Bristol BS2 8BB, UK

sharon.harris@bristol.ac.uk

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5873-3563

www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-harris-471b212a9

 

|2025-02-05|6|0|§402|ESWRA World Cafe is back!|

Dear Members and Coffee Lovers,

  ESWRA World Cafe is back Monday 10th of February 17:00 GMT / 18.00 CET

The ESWRA Member Services & Research Resources Committee, in collaboration with the PhD Early Career Special Interest Group (SIG), warmly invites you to the third meeting of the ESWRA World Research Café. This initiative continues to shine as a cornerstone for fostering global dialogue among social work professionals. Your active participation has been vital to our success, and we eagerly anticipate your involvement in this upcoming gathering.

In these dynamic times, the ESWRA World Research Café has firmly established itself as a platform for fostering cross-border connections within the social work community. Whether you’re embarking on your academic journey or a seasoned expert in the field, this café offers a unique opportunity to:

• Engage Globally: Connect and collaborate with social work professionals from around the world.

• Exchange Knowledge: Present your research, gain diverse perspectives, and deepen your understanding of complex issues.

• Collaborate: Discover opportunities for co-authored publications and joint research projects.

• Expand Your Network: Broaden your professional connections within the international social work research community.

Building on the momentum of our first two meetings, we are inspired to continue this journey of discovery and collaboration. These initial gatherings have laid a strong foundation for exploring new research endeavors, cultural dialogues, and potential collaborative projects.

Why Your Participation Matters:

• Share insights and best practices with a vibrant, global network of social work professionals.

• Explore innovative approaches and strategies in the field of social work.

• Be part of a supportive community committed to advancing social work research and practice.

Your voice and insights are instrumental in enriching our discussions and advancing the field. Let’s come together to explore new horizons and shape the future of social work research.

Organisers:

• Marcin Boryczko, Prof., University of Gdansk, Poland

• Ippokratis Efstathiou,Social Worker - PhD Candidate - Adjunct Staff Member University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

• Ozan Selçuk, PhD, Asst. Prof., Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey

• Michelle van der Tier, senior researcher and teacher Master Social Work, HAN University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands

Zoom link

Topic: ESWRA World Cafe

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83389543855?pwd=vnqVRJ23bB1Ugb8O5FKO01SNLVa8sJ.1

Meeting ID: 833 8954 3855
Passcode: 622764

 

|2025-02-02|3|0|§401|ESWRA Seminar 5th February 2025|

European Network on Gerontological Social Work (ENGSW)

Title: Carer Harm: A Challenge for Practitioners, Services and Research

Date: Wednesday, 5th February 2025

Time 14:00 – 16:00 GMT / 15:00 – 17:00 CET 

Presenters:  Dr Sarah Donnelly, University College Dublin, Prof. Sarah Wydall, Cardiff University and Prof. Alisoun Milne, University of Kent. Chair: Lousie Isham, University of Birmingham

Abstract

This webinar considers how carer harm is understood, surfaced and responded to in contemporary policy, practice and research. The intention is that in mapping this landscape, promising linkages between areas of practice and research are identified and attention is drawn to the common obstacles that inhibit effective, sensitive responses to carer harm. We consider first the naming and framing carer harm. In turn, we highlight the importance of engaging with the gendered dimensions (and inequalities) that lie at the intersection of experience of care and violence and the need to move beyond binary conceptions of power(lessness) in family and intimate relationships over the life-course. This is particularly important given the growing number of family carers, caring for longer periods, in constrained social circumstances. We suggest that changing the way we think and talk about carer harm may support practitioners to better recognise the impact of direct and indirect forms of carer harm without stigmatising or unduly blaming people with care needs. The article also considers how carer harm is ‘hidden in plain sight’ on two accounts. The issue falls through the gaps between, broadly, domestic abuse and adult and child safeguarding services; similarly, the nature and impact of harm is often kept private by carers who are fearful of the moral and practical consequences of sharing their experiences. We reflect on these issues in discussing what can be done to better support carers and their families across practice, policy and research domains. The article sets out recommendations to this effect and invites an ongoing conversation about how change for carers and families can be realised. 

Registration link: https://forms.gle/22Ycwe8XwieZWHGm9  (Google forms). If you are unable to regisiter via athe link please email info@eswra.org

Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88310232953?pwd=bLqba3ODkePjdhPrhNwHlrsGkZysRC.1

Meeting ID: 883 1023 2953
Passcode: 250448

|2025-01-08|4|0|§400|Horizon Bid - Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive society|

Horizon Bid - Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive society

Improving mental health outcomes for people in education, training and work.

Dear ESWRA Member

We are looking to actively recruit research partners from ESWRA to become involved in a Horizon bid exploring young people and mental health from a European perspective.

We would like to understand the scale and problem of youth mental health in your country, region and area.

The research process will be participatory building upon the experiences of young people, families and communities to define the issue and develop interventions to promote better mental health outcomes for young people.

There is between 3 to 5 million euros funding available, to design, deliver and review this innovative project. We would like to have between 8-10 European Partners.

If you are interested, we will be hosting several drop-in sessions to meet with potential partners week beginning the 6th January 2025.

• Monday 6th January 12.00 (GMT) 13.00 (CET)
• Wednesday 8 January 12.00 (GMT) 13.00 (CET)
• Friday 10th January 12.00 (GMT) 13.00 (CET)

Please email Dr Darren Hill at d.hill@leedsbeckett.ac.uk to receive an invite link to the online meetings.

Pre-Meeting Preparation Work.

We need participants who want to be involved to assist with the submission, we will take the lead as native English speakers in writing the document.

It would be great if you could provide a brief lit review of 250-500 words exploring the questions below.

• What is the scale and problem with youth mental health in your country and region?
• Do you have dedicated child and adolescent mental health services in your country and region?
• Do you have relationships with youth and mental health services, or practitioners in your area?
• What models and intervention do you know about or are used in education and training sessions to work with young people with mental health problems?
• Do you have any examples of digital apps or tools within the sector?

To view the terms under which this email is distributed, please go to:

https://leedsbeckett.ac.uk/disclaimer/email

|2024-12-11|3|0|§399|Decoloniality In Social Work - Launch Seminar|

Decoloniality In Social Work: Embracing Authentic Self

Speaker: Valerie Ouedraogo

Date: 25th November 2024

Time: 12:30 - 13:45 CET

click on the link below for zoom link

C:UserseswraOneDrive - ESWRASeminar SeriesSIG Webinar poster De-colonistiano.png

|2024-11-20|3|0|C:UserseswraOneDrive - ESWRASeminar SeriesSIG Webinar poster De-colonistiano.png§397|SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ON HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK |

Coordinators:

Dr. Darren Hill, Leeds Beckett University,  D.Hill@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Prof. Susanne Maurer, University of Marburg,  maurer@staff.uni-marburg.de

Prof. Darja Zaviršek, University of Ljubljana, darja.zavirsrk@fsd.uni-lj.si

Issue: SIG Event, Pre-Conference of ECSWR in Munich/Germany, 2025

The Social Work, History and Research SIG Call for Papers

Deadline: 15th December, 2024 (Feed back: before 31st December, 2024)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Embracing the complexity of Social Work History.

The Social Work, History and Research group would like to invite you to submit an abstract for our Special Interest Group pre-conference meeting on March 12th 2025.

The Focus of the special Interest Group (SIG) will be to explore the concept of (idealised) historical narratives and positionality within social work.

There is a tendency to address social work either as a ‘good’ (‘helpful’, ‘supportive’, even ‘emancipatory’ and ‘empowering’) practice and focus f. e. upon the ‘progressive’, ‘innovative’ or ‘radical’ kernel within social work traditions. On the other hand social work can be strongly problematized by reconstructing its disciplinary and violent aspects (‘the bad’ and ‘the ugly’ side of social work’). It is important to recognise that social work history and its associated personalities, institutions and policy landscape are more complex and refer (at least) to the dual narrative of ‘care and control’.

We would welcome papers that explore these tensions by addressing f. e. the following themes:

• Eugenics, biological determinism and social work.
• Social works contributions to European colonialism.
• Social works hero(ine)s? The complex involvements of ‘Grand Protagonists’
• Self-help and rescue work.
• Managing and maintaining social order.

The SIG event will be divided into two parts with one section looking explicitly at the main theme of the call, and the second part looking into other aspects of social work history/historical research and its methods. We encourage every interested participant to share their proposal with us.

The deadline is: 15th December 2024.  We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Please send your proposals to:  Darren Hill, D.Hill@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Paper Submission Guidelines.

The oral paper presentation may be authored by an individual or by a group. The abstract should explicitly mention its relation to the main theme or otherwise. The abstract submitted should be 500 words or less. More information about the abstract is provided below. The following guidelines for all kinds of presentation are advisory. If you think there are good reasons to amend them, please feel free to do so.

If your abstract is for a presentation based on one or more empirical research projects, it could include the following:

· Background and purpose: description of the problem, study objectives, research question(s) and/or hypotheses.

· Methods: study design, including a description of participants and selection strategies, data collection procedures, measures, and approaches to analysis.

· Findings: specific results in summary form.

Conclusions and implications: description of the main outcome(s) of the study and implications for practice, policy or further research.

|2024-10-31|2|0|§396|Child Poverty and Social Work : A special issue of Social Sciences|

Child Poverty and Social Work A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section 'Childhood and Youth Studies'.

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025

Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci/special_issues/EI773C4IV3

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue explores the complex and interwoven realities of child poverty and social work, emphasizing the profound impact of poverty on children's development and well-being. It will critically examine how social work and social welfare systems address, mitigate, or sometimes inadvertently reinforce the issues of poverty and marginalization. With a strong focus on social justice, this Special Issue will analyze how power imbalances within institutions, structural inequalities, and systemic barriers affect vulnerable families and deepen cycles of poverty.

Contributors are invited to investigate the economic and social as well as the mental and emotional burdens that child and family poverty inflict, particularly the experiences of shame, social exclusion, and stigmatization, which compound poverty's effects. By addressing the social, economic, and mental dimensions of poverty, this Special Issue aims to uncover the nuanced role that social work can play in promoting resilience, empowerment, and inclusion.

The Special Issue welcomes both theoretical explorations and empirical studies, highlighting innovative practises, policies, and interventions in social work aimed at alleviating poverty and its repercussions. By centering the voices of marginalized children and families, it seeks to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive understanding of social welfare, aiming ultimately to foster more just and compassionate responses to poverty.

Dr. Gottfried Schweiger

Guest Editor

|2024-10-23|6|0|§387|ECSWR 2024 Vilnius Poster Competition|

It was wonderful to see so many participants at ECSWR 2024 in Vilnius and to see the 42 posters that were submitted. Unfortunately, the poster competition did not take place at the time of the conference because of logistical reasons.
 
However, we are delighted to present the ESWRA Academic Poster Competition, online. You can view the posters which translate innovative, compelling research and complex ideas into visually engaging and intellectually stimulating posters.
 
All members can vote for their favourite poster. To do so go to The ESWRA website and log into MyESWRA, click on the Poster Competition at the top of the dashboard menu. Please vote by the 10th September 2024.
 
The winner will be announced by the end of September. All the posters will remain online until March 2025.
 
If you have difficulties accessing my ESWRA or voting, please don't hesitate to contact info@eswra.org.

|2024-07-30|0|0|§385|Introduction to the ethics of social work. Socio-pedagogical study |

In connection with the monograph published by the Scientific Publishing House of the University of the National Education Commission, Krakow, authored by prof. Arkadiusz Żukiewicz 'Introduction to the ethics of social work. Socio-pedagogical study - references to the scientific achievements of Helena Radlińska', we kindly request your assistance in disseminating information about this monograph.

We also encourage its use for educational purposes.

The book was created as part of the project 'International Social Work: Introduction to the Ethics of Social Work', funded by the state budget allocated by the Minister of Education and Science under the 'Excellent Science II' Programme.

The open version of the book is available on the website radlinska.uken.krakow.pl

|2024-07-25|6|0|§384|The SIG Newsletter|

https://mailchi.mp/c651a1782f72/eswra-sig-newsletter-july

|2024-07-10|3|0|§381|Social Care UK Conferences|

Details of the Social Care UK CPD  forthcoming conferences & masterclasses that maybe of interest to your members and networks to support their CPD.  Would you mind circulating this information please by email/in your next newsletter, listing on your website and via your social media? 

We are pleased to offer a 20% discount with code hcuk20eswra and we can also give your organisation a presence at the event if you would like to provide your logo to be added to the conference web pages and brochures, and any content (description, pdf flyers, web & social media links, short video or PowerPoint presentation) for the virtual landing pages as a resource for delegates.

Responding to Subject Access Requests for Health & Social Care

TUESDAY 16th JULY &  TUESDAY 24th SEPTEMBER 2024  VIRTUAL, Online

This practical workshop, facilitated by Barry Moult, a former Head of Information Governance for an NHS Trust, will look at managing Subject Access Requests and what you need to consider to comply with legislation and upholding individuals rights to access personal and sensitive information held about them. This will enable delegates to look at case studies and have the confidence to respond to requests.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/subject-access-requests or click on the title above or email emily@hc-uk.org.uk

 

Data Protection Impact Assessments in Health and Social Care

THURSDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2024   VIRTUAL, Online

Learn about DPIAs, when are they required, who should complete them, who reviews them, who signs them off, mitigating risks, owning risks and demonstrating compliance with the law.

This masterclass will focus on GDPR Article 32 requirements for data controllers and processors to implement technical and organisational measures, this is ‘data privacy by design and default’. Article 32 mandates Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIAs) certain circumstances.

https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/data-protection-impact-assessments   or click on the title above or email emily@hc-uk.org.uk

 

Masterclass: Safeguarding Adults at Risk - NHS Level 4

THURSDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2024   VIRTUAL, Online

This one day masterclass, facilitated by Christina Fairhead, Associate Facilitator, The Athena Programme, will enable you to focus in detail, on the various forms of abuse that can take place and develop a better understanding of who is an adult at risk, who the potential abusers are, and the actions you must take where abuse is disclosed (safeguarding thresholds).

This course examines the concept of vulnerability and the safeguarding of adults at risk in a variety of situations – some of which are regulated under the Care Standards Act 2000.

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/masterclass-safeguarding-adults-at-risk-nhs-level-4 title above or email kerry@hc-uk.org.uk

 

Self Neglect & Adult Safeguarding: Responding to Self Neglect & Hoarding

THURSDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2024   VIRTUAL, Online

Self-neglect can be a complex and challenging issue for practitioners because of the need to find the balance between respecting a person’s autonomy and fulfilling a duty to protect the adult’s health and well-being.

This conference which features extended interactive sessions focuses on the difficult issue of self neglect and adult safeguarding and includes an extended focus on hoarding. Through national updates, practical case studies and extended interactive group work the conference will cover self-neglect, meeting the statutory safeguarding guidance, safeguarding people who self-neglect: the evidence and what works, developing guidance for professionals when dealing with self-neglect and resistance to engage with services, an extended session on hoarding, and an extended session on dealing with the underlying causes of self-neglect working in partnership with people who are self-neglecting in a multi disciplinary way. The conference will also focus on the increasing issue of loneliness and social isolation in older people which evidence shows can contribute to self neglect.

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/self-neglect-and-adult-safeguarding-responding-to-self-neglect-hoarding or click on the title above or email aman@hc-uk.org.uk   Follow the conference on X @HCUK_Clare  #SelfNeglect

 

Safeguarding Children from County Lines Exploitation 2024

TUESDAY 24th SEPTEMBER 2024   VIRTUAL, Online

As part of a continued focus on ending gang violence and exploitation, the government has updated guidance for frontline professionals on managing criminal exploitation in relation to county lines. It is essential that those working with vulnerable children and young adults are equipped with knowledge in this very complex area.

With the impact of the cost-of-living crisis being felt up and down the county, there are many more children becoming vulnerable to county lines drugs gangs. Join us for this one-day conference to hear from expert speakers, including those with lived experience, to help you to understand the risks as well as supporting you to identify and intervene where children and young people are at risk.

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/safeguarding-children-from-county-lines-exploitation  or click on the title above or email frida@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on X @HCUK_Clare  #CountyLinesExploitation

Becka Miller

Healthcare Conferences UK Ltd | Social Care Conferences UK Ltd | Education Conferences UK Ltd

HC-UK Conferences Ltd

|2024-06-27|5|0|§379|ESWRA Seminar - June 12th 2024|

Workforce SIG

Title: The Utilization of Wearable Biometric Technology: A Catalyst for Change in Child Welfare

• Date:  Wednesday 12th June 2024
• Time: 14:00 - 15:30 BST/ 15:00-16:30 CET
• Contact: info@eswra.org

Abstract

Occupational stress in child welfare negatively impacts society and the health of those working in the profession. However, the utilization of innovative technology may serve as an essential tool for change. This presentation will explore the details of a novel study conducted in America, where multiple cohorts of child protection workers contributed ongoing objective physiological data through wearable biometric technology - during work hours. An interactive discussion will identify opportunities for implementation, as it relates to research design, facilitation, dissemination, and collective advocacy. Robust assessment and evaluation approaches that integrate objective biometric data collection techniques may serve as a viable catalyst for real change in child welfare. 

There will be a 45 minute presentation followed by 30 minutes discussion and Q&A session.

Lead: Austin Griffiths, Ph.D., CSW, Associate Professor, Master of Social Work Program, Director, LifeSkills Center for Child Welfare Education and Research (LCCWEAR), Department of Social Work, Western Kentucky University.

Register: https://forms.gle/VtaZ1GiAryYGdnJFA 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82547527204?pwd=Qk9HUUFiRGRTOVVnT0RreFBuNDdHUT09

Meeting ID: 825 4752 7204
Passcode: 462691

|2024-05-28|3|0|§378|Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group|

SAVE THE DATE

The ESWRA SIG Evidence into Practice (EIPSIG) is delighted to announce the first in a series of seminars Title : Enhancing Social Work with Evidence-driven Artificial Intelligence: Benefits and Concerns, Presentation by Bart Gajderowicz

Time 19:00 (CET)/ 18.00 BST/ 13:00 (Toronto) on Microsoft Teams
Join the meeting  Meeting ID: 350 465 639 635 Passcode: sTHyBV

Welcome
30 min for talk
30 min for questions and answers /  discussion

Enhancing Social Work with Evidence-driven Artificial Intelligence: Benefits and Concerns

Abstract
This presentation explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in social work, highlighting advanced and traditional AI methods. We will cover advances in technology which can aid social workers by providing instant information access, generating insights from unstructured data, and enhancing client communication. We will discuss the benefits and shortcomings of such models and their application in social work.
 
The presentation will cover recent advances in artificial intelligence, such as Large Language Models (LLMs), as well as traditional AI techniques such as agent-based simulation, which models social interactions to predict outcomes, and linear regression and statistical methods, which identify trends and evaluate program effectiveness. These methods enable data-driven decision-making and improve the understanding of social dynamics.
 
Through case studies and practical examples, the presentation will demonstrate how AI tools can enhance social work practices, providing insights and improving efficiency. Attendees will gain knowledge of AI technologies and methods, empowering them to better serve their clients and communities.
 
Speaker Biography
 
Dr. Bart Gajderowicz is the Executive Director and a Research Associate at the Urban Data Centre, School of Cities, at the University of Toronto, and a member of the Centre for Social Services Engineering. His research goals focus on developing tools and methods for data-driven policymaking in the social service domain. He manages the Canadian Urban Data Catalogue project (CUDC), is a co-author of the Common Impact Data Standard (CIDS), is the lead researcher on SMILE, an explainable AI language model for measuring impact, and the development of tools for data translation, consolidation, and analysis. In 2019, he completed his Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the University of Toronto, creating a high-fidelity simulation environment (BRAMA) for emotion-based reasoning of social services clients and an ontology of social service needs (OSSN). He has held postdoctoral fellowships at Lakehead University, Tata Consultancy Services, and the University of Toronto.
 
 We look forward to seeing you at this event
 
Anne
EIPSIG Convenor 

|2024-05-23|2|0|§377|ECSWR 2025 Munich Call for abstracts|

The main theme of the 14th European Conference for Social Work Research is 'Embracing Democracy in Social Work Practice and Research' Researchers, scholars, practitioners, and students are invited to submit abstracts for the following types of proposal, Oral Paper Presentation, Poster Presentation, Symposium, Workshop. Abstract submission deadline is 23. September 2024.

For more information about the conference and the submission process please visit the ECSWR 2025 website https://www.ecswr2025.org please share with your friends and colleagues.

|2024-05-07|1|0|§376|European Social Work Research - Call for papers|

Special Issue Call for Papers

Envisioning Future: Social Work Research and Discourse in the Age of Industry 4.0

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 31 May 2024

This special issue will showcase stimulating, quality papers presented at the European Conference on Social Work Research held in April 2024 at Vilnius University, Lithuania.

Manuscripts are invited from all who presented at the conference.

The European Social Work Research journal provides an international forum for the publication of high-quality contributions relating to all aspects of social work research and drawing on diverse research methodologies, ideas and knowledge. This peer-reviewed journal is published through a partnership between the European Social Work Research Association and Policy Press.

This special issue will focus on one or more of the nine conference subthemes with a connection to the main conference theme: ‘Envisioning Future: Social Work Research and Discourse in the Age of Industry 4.0’.

The nine subthemes are:

• Challenges and opportunities for social work research, practice, policy or education in contemporary contexts
• Social work research, policy, practice or education across national, social, cultural, disciplinary and professional boundaries
• Exploring the impact and effectiveness of social work practice
• Social work history and identity as a profession and discipline
• Linking the industry 4.0 and digital welfare state
• Theorizing social work and/or social work research
• Linking social work research and practice, including the co-creation of knowledge
• Methodological development, innovation, technologies and capacity building in social work research
• Technology-driven changes in social work identity, ethics, values and commitments.

Please see the conference website for further description of the conference themes https://www.ecswr2024.eu/theme/.  We welcome in particular research that uses innovative methods or applies theory in new ways.

The special issue, like all issues of the journal, includes a ‘Reflection, Exchange and Dialogue’ section, which provides a dedicated space for shorter contributions that focus on issues that are important and topical for social work research. These contributions will be critical and discursive and are intended to stimulate further inclusive discussion and debate. Further details are available here https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/eswr/eswr-overview.xml?tab_body=instructions-for-authors

Abstracts should be submitted by email to eswr-journal@bristol.ac.uk no later than 31 May 2024 with a maximum length of 500 words.

Please note that papers must not be submitted to, or under consideration with, another journal. All research articles will undergo the journal’s standard double-anonymous peer review process, and accepted papers will be published in the journal, either in the special issue or in subsequent issues.

Authors will be notified of acceptance of their abstract and invited to submit a full paper by 26 June 2024, and the deadline for submission of the full paper online via Editorial Manager is 2 September 2024. Publication date of the special issue is scheduled for June 2025.

For further information please contact one of the special issue editors:

Lars Uggerhøj, Professor of Social Work, Aalborg University, Denmark lug@socsci.aau.dk

Jolita BuzaitytÄ—-KašalynienÄ—, Associated Professor, Vilnius University, Lithuania jolita.kasalyniene@fsf.vu.lt

JÅ«ratÄ— Charenkova, Associate Professor, Vilnius University, Lithuania jurate.charenkova@fsf.vu.lt

|2024-04-30|6|0|§372|DARE conference in Zurich|

Join us at the 8th DARE conference in Zurich

Dear colleagues,

We warmly invite you to the 8th conference on Decisions, Assessment, Risk, and Evidence in Social Work (DARE), which will take place in Zurich on 20-21 June 2024.

The biennial DARE conference brings together academics, practitioners, and policy makers to share and discuss the latest evidence in social work on:

• professional judgement
• assessment tools
• decision processes
• risk assessment and management
• the use of evidence
• and other ethical, emotional, technological and contextual aspects of decision making, assessment, risk and evidence

At the conference, you will have the opportunity to strengthen your network and launch new research and practice development initiatives in social work.

This year’s program includes 51 oral presentations, 2 symposia, 3 workshops, and 12 posters. An overview of all accepted submissions is available at our conference website. The final program will be published in early May.

We are particularly happy to announce our three distinguished keynote speakers:

• Professor Emeritus Brian Taylor, Ulster University, on “Decisions, Assessment and Risk: Where Are We Now?”
• Professor Cheryl Regehr, University of Toronto, on “Stress, Trauma and Decision-Making in Social Work”
• Professor Rhema Vaithianathan, Auckland University of Technology, on “Can using predictive risk models reduce racial bias? Evidence from Child Welfare and Homelessness Systems”

Registration is open now.

|2024-04-08|1|0|§369|ESWRA Elections Candidates|

Dear Member,

Thank you for your continuing membership and support of ESWRA.  As we grow from strength to strength, we are keen to ensure that the membership of the Board of ESWRA provides the Association with the best combination of continuity and change.

You are invited to vote for 4 General Board members, 1 Doctoral member and the re-election of 1 Board member. The candidates' profiles are below. Please read the profiles carefully before casting your vote. The ballot will open from 13th - 20th March. 

How to vote:

• log in to My ESWRA,
• click on ELECTIONS 2024
  • 4 General Board members  and 1 Doctoral Board 

GENERAL CANDIDATES

Dr. Caroline Bald

Lecturer, Essex University, UK

I am Scottish criminal justice social worker (1999) joining academia in 2016. Now at the University of Essex (UK), I teach research methods and human rights social work. I am an active ESWRA member. I have senior management experience with school responsibility for student recruitment. I have board experience (Essex Human Rights Centre, Social Work Education, international journal, elected co-chair of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Criminal Justice Group). I have governance experience as a trustee for two charities with finance and safeguarding roles. I am a collegiate, energetic colleague with strong IT skills, particularly in social media and event management. My have international collaboration experience, committed to growing collaboration such as currently co-editing a Teaching Human Rights Social Work Special Issue of Social Work Education journal and a Routledge International Handbook of Criminal Justice Social Work – each ensuring global, lived/practice/academic experience.

Thank you for your consideration. It would be an honour to sit on the ESWRA board and serve the European social work community.

Profile link: https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/BALDC96308/Caroline-Bald/

Dr. Michelle van der Tier

Senior Researcher, University of Applied Sciences HAN, The Netherlands

Aside from my working experience as a social worker, I worked for over 12 years as a social work researcher. I always had a strong drive to contribute to the development of the social work profession. A profession I love and believe that makes an important, but yet often underestimated, contribution to our society. In my work I enjoy looking across borders. I believe the European Social Work Research Association is an important and valuable institution to advance the social work profession, which I would be honoured to contribute to.

As a researcher at a University of Applied Sciences I do my research in collaboration with social workers, other public professionals, and experts by experience, and translate this knowledge to the education of our future generation of social workers.

My field of interest is: legitimization of social work; advocacy and policy practice; community development; professional identity; and social work theory.

Profile link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michelle-Van-Der-Tier

Dr. Darren Hill

Reader in Social Work, Leeds Beckett University, UK

I would love to support and promote the work of ESWRA as a board member. I have a teaching and research background in UK based social work and social care. From this foundation I have developed external links with European Universities (Czech, Spain, Netherlands & Romania) supporting the development of international learning and research platforms through Erasmus funded schemes. Post Brexit I have worked with colleagues in Germany to develop shared teaching and learning experiences, in the form of summer and winter schools for social work students and practitioners. I am an active researcher across Europe and support the ESWRA History & Research SIG, as one of the Convenors. The SIG acts as a positive platform for sharing international research collaboration. I have experience of Chairing a university department and currently act as the Trade Union Chair for University & College Union at my institution. I am currently learning German and I am a native speaker of English.

Profile link: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/staff/dr-darren-hill/

Dr. Ozan Selçuk

Associate Professor, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Turkiye

I am Ozan Selçuk, Associate Professor of Social Work at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Turkiye. I have extensive experience in qualitative research and interdisciplinary collaboration and am committed to promoting evidence-based practices and global networks in social work research. As a current ESWRA doctoral board member, and members of several committees within ESWRA, as well as an active participant in the ECSWR conferences, I bring a strong connection to the European social work research community. In addition, my particular experience with Erasmus+ and COST projects as well as my IT skills and experience in organising academic events can support ESWRA in developing new projects, activities and resources. I look forward to contributing to the growth and impact of ESWRA and bringing my expertise, energy and commitment to the Board to advance social work research in Europe and beyond.

Profile link: https://avesis.erdogan.edu.tr/ozan.selcuk

DOCTORAL CANDIDATES

Breogán Riobóo Lois

PhD Student, University of Vigo, Spain

My main research field is on Social Work and independent living of people with disabilities (PwD). My way of working is related to the objectives of ESWRA: trying to generate benefits for PwD and for social workers, which have a key role in access to human rights for these people; generating knowledge and adding to the construction of networks on the subject. I have done three research stays (Portugal, Norway, UK). I have experience in administration tasks as a co-founder and secretary of the Association of Research Staff of the University of Vigo since its creation (April 2022), and its new chair since February 7th, 2024 (140 members). I am also in the organisation team of FPU Investigate, which tries to improve the rights of predoctoral staff in Spain. I am highly motivated to contribute to ESWRA doctoral and early career members' growth and development.

Profile Link: Research and Teaching profiles from my university. Social Media: ResearchGate, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter)

Vaida Aleknaviciene

PhD student at University of Lapland, Finland

I am a PhD student at University of Lapland, Finland. I am engaged in the research field of social work with children and youth, social workers challenges and changes. I am a lecturer at Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania where I give lectures on Social projects and programs for international ERASMUS students and Lithuanian students. I work with international social projects and can offer help in terms of languages (Lithuanian, Englis, German, Italian, Norwegian), international collaboration.

|2024-03-13|3|0|§362|ESWRA Seminar: Residential Child Care, Rights, and Identity formation for looked after Children|

Residential Child Care, Rights, and Identity formation for looked after Children

Date:  Wednesday 13th  March 2024

Time: 14:00 - 15:30 GMT/UT  15:00-16:30 CET

Contact: info@eswra.org

Register: https://forms.gle/Ky3pr9FEcfyBV3Tf7

Children's Rights in Practice SIG

Lead convenors Dr Paul McCafferty, Dr Esther Mercado Garcia, Dr. Inger Sofie Dahlø Husby, & Wendy Eerdekens. 

Speaker Dr. Gerry Marshall Queen’s University Belfast

In this seminar Dr Gerry Marshall from Queen’s University will consider some of the complexities and challenges involved in the application of children’s rights in a residential setting. He will also explore issues related to Identity formation, considering potential implications for young people who grow up in group care rather than a family setting. The issue of identity formation is under-researched within the social work literature and practice (McMurray, 2010) yet identity formation is enshrined as an entitlement in the UNCRC. So, with reference to Honneth’s recognition theory, part of the seminar will explore his research findings about the psycho-social processes inherent in forming a sense of self, including the critical importance of relationships to healthy identity formation in a residential childcare setting. The session will be collaborative and discursive, and Dr Marshall has an interactional style which encourages audience participation, so there will be ample opportunity for discussion and reflection. 

The purpose of the seminar aligns with aim 5 of our SIG: To bring together social work as well as other disciplinary researchers, academics, policy makers, and practitioners with different backgrounds to discuss and debate children’s rights within the research and practice environment to further expand and deepen practical and theoretical developments in the field.

This aim also aligns closely with ESWRA’s aim of taking forward the development, practice, and utilization of social work research to enhance knowledge about individual and social problems, and to promote just and equitable societies.

Outline of the seminar.

14.00  Introduction to the SIG Dr Esther Mercado Garcia 

14:15 Main speaker Dr Gerry Marshall 

14:45 Break 

15:00 Discussion 

15:25 Plenary & close

|2024-02-14|2|0|§361|ESWRA Awards for Outstanding Pubication in European Social Work Research|

Deadline Extension to Wednesday February 14th 2024

The call for nominations is here: https://www.eswra.org/awards_nominations.php

|2024-01-29|3|0|§360|ESWRA Seminar: Mutual learning in Social Work education with practitioner research|

Mutual learning in Social Work education with practitioner research

Wednesday 21st February 15:00 - 17:00 CET  Social Work Practice Research SIG

Regsiter here

Social Work Practice Research SIG Convenors: 

• Caterine Torbjørnsen Halås - Centre for Practical Knowledge, Nord University (Norway)
• Martine Ganzevles – HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (the Netherlands)

Introduction

Many Social Work master programs (and even bachelor programs) focus on developing research skills and conducting research, in particular practitioner research. This research often takes place in different working fields or internships where the (future) social professionals work and learn. This form of research led by practitioners can lead to quality improvements in daily practice, greater problem-solving abilities and a broader understanding of social work and the real needs of people (Sheikhattari et al., 2022). It can also be seen as a professional learning strategy that contributes to the development of professional skills.

Practitioner research is defined as follows:

Practitioner research consists of empirical studies conducted by social workers, nurses, and other health professionals to answer questions resulting from their practices. The research takes place as an interaction between the practitioner doing the research and his or her colleagues, patients, or clients. The primary goal of practitioner research is to improve one's own practice (Sheikhattari et al., 2022, p. 2).

Through this bottom-up approach, (aspirant) social work professionals can contribute to increasing the body of knowledge, and quality improvement of social work, promoting social change and development.

In practitioner research, perceptions of different stakeholder groups inside and outside the organization can be connected. The research process promotes informal forms of knowledge development that initiate learning. The method forces institutes for social work education to have a responsibility to value, incorporate and disseminate knowledge and innovative solutions that (future) professionals generate through practitioner research. In this, they can help explain the knowledge of social minorities who are grossly underrepresented in the academic world and the specific knowledge of practitioners which can only be partially captured in academic study (Wright, 2019). Therefore, it is important for the staff at these institutions to adopt an inquisitive attitude, to facilitate learning networks and to bring practitioner research into their institutional practice.

Content and purpose of online seminar

Bas van Lanen will go into practitioner research and the method's specific characteristics during this online seminar. He discusses how learning processes can occur and how practitioner research can have a catalytic effect on learning. In particular, he will reflect on quality criteria that can be used to evaluate this specific form of research. These quality criteria can be of value in looking critically at how institutes for social work education can contribute to the mutual learning process. As part of the online seminar, there will be room for interaction and sharing experiences on good practices.

About the presenter/speaker

Bas van Lanen is lecturer for research methods and practice development in the Master of Social Work program at HAN University of Applied Sciences Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Together with Cyrilla van der Donk he developed the practitioner research method and wrote several textbooks on practitioner research for Social Work, Nursing, the Health professions and Education. For over 14 years, the method has offered practitioners guidance to conduct research as an insider. Collaborating with international experts, the practitioner research method is introduced in Germany, Brazil and the United States.

References

Sheikhattari, S., Silver, G., Van der Donk, C., Van Lanen, B., & Wright, M. T. (2022). Practitioner research for social work, nursing and the health professions. JHU Press.

Wright, M. T. (2019) Ten geleide: Bridging the Gap with Practitioner Research. In C. Van der Donk, & B. Van Lanen, B., Praktijkonderzoek in zorg en welzijn (pp. 5-6). Coutinho.

Regsiter here

|2024-01-22|3|0|§356|Researching Emotions in Social Work SIG Inaugural meeting|

Researching Emotions in Social Work SIG

Inaugural meeting!

1st Researching Emotions in Social Work SIG meeting will take place online 23 January 2024 at 14:00 UK. Members have been sent invites. If you are interested in joining this SIG or attending the online meeting please email either louise.oconnor@rhul.ac.uk or m.j.gibson.1@bham.ac.uk   We welcome anyone interested in researching the topic of emotions in social work.

|2024-01-04|2|0|§353|CPD Conferences & Masterclasses |

Healthcare Conferences UK Ltd | Social Care Conferences UK Ltd | Education Conferences UK Ltd  are pleased to offer a 20% discount with code hcuk20eswra  

Deprivation of Liberty: Moving Forward

WEDNESDAY 17th JANUARY 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

The Department of Health and Social Care announced on the 5th April 2023 that the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards will be delayed until at least the next general election (anticipated to be in Autumn 2024).

With the delay to the Liberty Protection Safeguards it is more important than ever to ensure the existing scheme of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) works, that providers understand the application of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and interaction with the Mental Capacity Act. It has been widely recognised that there are number of challenges associated with the current DoLS system, particularly in light of the increases in the number of DoLS applications – which have been seen across England and Wales. In light of the UK Government decision, we will need to consider how we strengthen the current DoLS system in order to continue to protect and promote the human rights of those people who lack mental capacity.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/liberty-protection-safeguards-mca or click on the title above or email aman@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow on Twitter @HCUK_Clare #LPS2024

Self Neglect & Adult Safeguarding: Responding to Self Neglect & Hoarding

FRIDAY 9th FEBRUARY 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

The Covid-19 pandemic has created new levels of isolation and loneliness for people increasing the risk of self-neglect. Self-neglect can be a complex and challenging issue for practitioners because of the need to find the balance between respecting a person’s autonomy and fulfilling a duty to protect the adult’s health and well-being. https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/self-neglect-and-adult-safeguarding-responding-to-self-neglect-hoarding or click on the title above or email kate@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare  #SelfNeglect

Improving Mental Health Support for Asylum Seekers and Refugees Conference

FRIDAY 1st MARCH 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

We are pleased to announce the Ninth Annual Conference to focus on improving Mental Health Support for Asylum Seekers and Refugees.

This Conference will focus on the highly relevant and complex area of improving Mental Health Support for Asylum Seekers and Refugees.

Attending this conference will enable you to:

• Network with colleagues who are working to improve mental health support for refugees and asylum seekers
• Reflect on the lived experience of a refugee to this country
• Understand the national context
• Understand the vulnerabilities that lead to mental health issues in refugees and asylum seekers
• Examine how to set up holistic services that meet the mental health needs of refugees and asylum seekers
• Reflect on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on refugees and asylum seekers, and how we can improve support during and beyond Covid-19
• Learn from the experiences of the Red Cross and Doctors of the World in delivering Multi-tiered and comprehensive MHPSS Systems & Psychological First Aid
• Hear how you can support the effective integration of refugees into the education system
• Improve your skills in working with asylum seekers and refugees who have experienced trauma
• Develop strategies for providing peer and community support
• Understand the role of specialist interventions such as trauma focused CBT
• Working with victims of human trafficking
• Improve practice in building resilience and improving care of unaccompanied young people seeking asylum
• Self assess and reflect on your own practice

 

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/improving-mental-health-support-for-asylum-seekers-and-refugees  or click on the title above or email aman@hc-uk.org.uk

 

Trauma-Informed Practice in Adult Safeguarding

FRIDAY 8th MARCH 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

This conference focuses on a practical guide to developing trauma informed practice in adult safeguarding.  An awareness of trauma and trauma informed practice can support people to feel safe, prevent re-traumatisation and deliver a strengths based approach to providing care, aiding recovery and identifying ongoing support. The conference will identify how individuals, services and organisations can deliver trauma informed culture and safeguarding practice.

Through national developments and practical case studies the conference will provide you with an essential guide to delivering trauma informed adult safeguarding in your service.

This conference will enable you to:

• Network with colleagues who are working to deliver trauma informed adult safeguarding practice 
• Reflect on the lived experience of how understanding past trauma can improve safeguarding 
• Update your knowledge on principles of trauma informed practice 
• Develop your skills and competence in trauma informed adult safeguarding
• Explore frameworks that can support delivery of trauma informed responses 
• Implement trauma informed practice in healthcare settings 
• Reflect on trauma informed responses to adverse childhood experiences 
• Practice skills and share resources in responding in a sensitive way to trauma
• Identify key strategies for delivering a trauma informed safeguarding culture in your service 
• Learn from case studies including adverse childhood experiences and supporting refugees and asylum seekers 
• Manage disclosure and prevent re-traumatisation
• Understand how to better support staff who are working with people who have experienced trauma to prevent secondary trauma 
• Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes

 

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/trauma-adult-safeguarding or click on the title above or email aman@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare  #TraumaAS

Safeguarding Children from County Lines Exploitation 2024

TUESDAY 26th MARCH 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

With the impact of the cost-of-living crisis bring felt up and down the county, there are many more children becoming vulnerable to county lines drugs gangs. Join us for this one-day conference to hear from expert speakers, including those with lived experience, to help you to understand the risks as well as supporting you to identify and intervene where children and young people are at risk.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/safeguarding-children-from-county-lines-exploitation or click on the title above or email aman@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow the conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare  #CountyLinesExploitation

Data Protection Officer in Health and Social Care: What Good Looks Like

FRIDAY 12th JANUARY 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

This practical workshop will cover the essential aspects of the requirement for health and social care bodies to have a Data Protection Officer as outlined in the General Data Protection Regulation and associated legislation and guidance. It will concentrate on the tasks the Data Protection Officer must disperse.

In 2018 both the General Data Protection Regulation and a new Data Protection Act were introduced in the UK, requiring health and social care bodies, by the nature of their work, to employ a Data Protection Officer. There is, to a certain extent, relatively clear guidance in the legislation as to what this role entails. This course, however, facilitated by two highly experienced professionals in the field, undertakes to highlight how to practically implement the requirements, introducing a practical approach to concepts such as Data Protection Impact Assessments / Privacy by Design and Data Breach Management.    

It will move beyond the letter of the legislation, to guide delegates towards the support that is available to them in the wider health and social arena and beyond in the dispersal of their duties as a Data Protection Officer.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/data-protection-officers or email kate@hc-uk.org.uk

Masterclass: Safeguarding Adults at Risk - NHS Level 4

WEDNESDAY 17th JANUARY 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

This one day masterclass, facilitated by Christina Fairhead, Associate Facilitator, The Athena Programme, will enable you to focus in detail, on the various forms of abuse that can take place and develop a better understanding of who is an adult at risk, who the potential abusers are, and the actions you must take where abuse is disclosed (safeguarding thresholds).

This course examines the concept of vulnerability and the safeguarding of adults at risk in a variety of situations – some of which are regulated under the Care Standards Act 2000.

Our course will help you in analysing legislation and regulatory frameworks surrounding interagency collaboration including The Care Act 2014, the Care and Support Statutory Guidance, Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Safeguarding Adult Reviews.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/masterclass-safeguarding-adults-at-risk-nhs-level-4  or click on the title above or email aman@hc-uk.org.uk

Neglect: The Hidden Abuse

TUESDAY 20th FEBRUARY 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

Understanding and recognising the impactful nature of neglect on a child’s life. Learning how to spot the signs and symptoms of neglect including affluent neglect and how this can be managed within your setting. As well as practical exercises of how to gain support for the child. This course is designed for all people working closely with children in a wide range of settings. It will help you to identify, often the hidden abuse which comes with neglect and understanding the importance of spotting and recording all signs. We will also cover the relatively unknown factor of affluent neglect and its equally impactful nature on a child’s life. The course will look closely at disguised compliance and appreciate why it is so harmful for a child. We will look at a wide range of realistic scenarios which will equip staff with the skills and how best to respond in such situations, as well as how to access support for both the child and staff if required.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/child-neglect-the-hidden-abuse or click on the title above or email kam@hc-uk.org.uk

Supporting Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing

THURSDAY 7th MARCH 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

This essential masterclass provides delegates with an essential overview of your role and responsibilities in relation to staff mental health and wellbeing.

Join us for this one-day masterclass for a complete guide to supporting staff mental health and wellbeing. Our expert speaker will take you through your legal responsibilities as well as looking in detail at how you can support staff with mental ill-health. During the afternoon you will consider the importance of taking proactive steps to support staff and how you can manage the stress in the workplace. You will come away feeling prepared to audit your current practice and put in place an action plan going forward.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/supporting-staff-mental-health-wellbeing  or click on the title above or email kerry@hc-uk.org.uk

Responding to Subject Access Requests for Health & Social Care

THURSDAY 14th MARCH 2024

VIRTUAL, Online

This practical workshop, facilitated by Barry Moult, a former Head of Information Governance for an NHS Trust, will look at managing Subject Access Requests and what you need to consider to comply with legislation and upholding individuals rights to access personal and sensitive information held about them. This will enable delegates to look at case studies and have the confidence to respond to requests.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/subject-access-requests  or click on the title above or email kate@hc-uk.org.uk

 

Follow the conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare  #RefugeeMentalHealth

 

|2023-11-30|5|0|§352| SAGE Handbook of Decision Making, Assessment and Risk in Social Work.|

Taylor BJ, Fluke JD, Graham JC, Keddell E, Killick C, Shlonsky A & Whittaker A (Eds) (autumn 2023) The SAGE Handbook of Decision Making, Assessment and Risk in Social Work. London: Sage

The SAGE Handbook on Decision Making, Assessment and Risk in Social Work provides a comprehensive overview of key strands of research and theoretical concepts in this increasingly important field. With 49 chapters and 4 section summaries (written by over 80 authors, from over 20 countries), this Handbook describes the ‘state of the art’; discusses key debates and issues; and gives pointers on future directions for practice, research, teaching, management of services, and development of theoretical understanding. A key aim of this Handbook is to support the development of sound, applied knowledge and values to underpin reasoned professional judgement and decision making by social workers in practice and those in teaching, management and regulatory roles. With contributions by a global interdisciplinary body of leading and emerging scholars from a wide variety of roles, this handbook has been designed to be internationally generalisable and applicable to all major areas of social work. This Handbook provides a field-defining account of decision making, assessment and risk in social work which is unrivalled for its diversity and strength of coverage, and will be of value to social work researchers, teachers and practitioners, as well as to those in allied fields such as health care.

Killick C & Taylor BJ (2024) Assessment, Risk and Decision Making in Social Work: An Introduction (2^nd ed). London: Sage.

This book is designed as a textbook for students on qualifying social work courses. It focuses on the essential social work skills of undertaking assessment and making decisions in a context of risk. The book outlines a framework for this challenging aspect of practice, and considers key dimensions such as involving clients, use of assessment tools, collaboration with other professionals and decision systems such as case conferences and courts. Particular attention is given to using knowledge within assessment and forming a professional judgement. It addresses underpinning legal and ethical issues for social workers involved in safeguarding and service eligibility decision making. A final chapter focuses on the development of professional skills in this increasingly important area of assessment, risk and decision making. This second edition (2024) provides a deeper focus on analysis and risk assessment in an uncertain world. The discussion of the potential for bias within assessment and professional judgement has been extended, and care has been taken to give balanced relevance to all aspects of social work including adult social care, families and children, and justice. This edition makes more explicit reference to recognition of spirituality and cultural competence within assessment and decision making. Where possible the focus on statutory services has been complemented with material relating to the voluntary (NGO) sector. Underpinning legal and policy aspects for UK services have been updated, although the general thrust of the book is to be relevant internationally. Additional visual material has been added in response to readers’ feedback.

|2023-11-23|3|0|§349|ESWRA Seminar: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Social Work: Evidence for Impact?|

Mental Health SIG

Wednesday 6th December 2023, 12:00 GMT / 13:00 CET     Contact: info@eswra.org 

Contributors: Pearse McCusker, Lauren Gillespie, Gavin Davidson, Sarah Vicary and Kevin Stone

Abstract: 

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter CRPD) has provided a radical imperative for the reform of mental health and capacity legislation around the world. The interpretation of the CRPD has been controversial, ranging from the complete abolition of detention, forcible treatment, and substitute decision-making to accepting that elements of these measures need to be retained based on non-discriminatory criteria, additional safeguards, and a comprehensive shift towards supported decision-making. While the potential effects of the CRPD on mental health social work and social work generally are considerable given their shared commitment towards social justice, to date there has been no review of research evidence exploring their relationship. In addressing this knowledge gap, this study held a preliminary discussion with practitioners and academics at the European Association of Social Work Mental Health Special Interest Group in Amsterdam 2022, followed by a scoping literature review on the question: What impact, if any, has the CRPD had on social work practice? The review produced four main findings: impact on legislation; positive impact on practice; limited impact on practice; and impact on social work education and research. In sum, while there were some positive indications of social work and mental health social work practice being influenced by the CRPD, these were scant. Barriers to change included tendencies among some social workers to practise substitute decision-making, in part related to resourcing and policy contexts, and understandings of disability aligned to individualised/medical rather than social perspectives. The results indicate that legal reform on its own is insufficient to impact social work practice, and that realising the potential of the CRPD will necessitate good quality training, as well as improving social workers’ knowledge of the human rights of people with mental impairment.

To regsiter: https://forms.gle/JSXXuZyRAzFEfYti9

|2023-10-26|4|0|§348|Statement|

The Israel/Palestine conflict is causing deep concern for all victims and for the future. ESWRA unites its voice to those who engage in non-violent dialogue and the peaceful coexistence of peoples and nations. True peace is the only possible condition for achieving social justice, human rights, collective responsibility, and respect for diversities. These are the central principles of social work, and social work research.

|2023-10-17|0|0|§347|ESWRA Seminar -�Learning together: Teaching practice research through partnerships with field educators, social work, communities and university.|

Wednesday 8th November 09:00 GMT / 10:00 CET., is lead by the Social Work Practice Research SIG

Title:  Learning together: Teaching practice research through partnerships with field educators, social work, communities and university.

By Dr associate professor, Laura Yliruka, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) - Finland

Abstract: The presentation will discuss about the practice research as a way for mutual, contextual learning in partnership between different stakeholders. Yliruka will use learning about systemic social work as a case, where students received their topics from the social work communities. 

The seminar connects with the work of Social Work Practice Research SIG. 

Speaker: Dr., associate professor, Laura Yliruka works currently at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Before that she was the development manager in the Heikki Waris Institute within Centre of Excellence on Social Welfare in the Metropolitan Helsinki Area, Socca. Her research interests are related to practice research, social work expertise, knowledge practices, pedagogy, child welfare issues as well as social work in health and mental health. 

Structure:  
Time CET 
1000 - 1005  Welcome, by Catrine T Halås and Sara Serbati  
1005 – 1035 Laura Yliruka present her work 
1035 - 1050   Questions to Laura 
1050 - 1055 Introducing question for dialogue, by Sara Serbati.  
1055 – 1115  Breakout room  
1115 – 1130  WRAP-up in plenary 

Published material:  
Satka, M., Kääriäinen, A., & Yliruka, L. (2016). Teaching Social Work Practice Research to Enhance Research-Minded Expertise. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 36(1), 84–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2016.1128779 

If you would like to register for this seminar please follow the link below and complete the form.  if you have any problems registering please email info@eswra.org  ESWRA seminars are free of charge we understand that colleagues are under time pressure however if you have registered please do make every effort to attend.

Register for Learning together:

|2023-10-12|2|0|§346|Brain Health - ESWRA members interested on the topic?|

One of members Gabi Lombardo is gathering a task force of experts studying issues related to the health of the brain (eg. the impact of society on the brain health from sociology, languages, ageing, trauma recovery). I'd be particularly interested to hear if you have a research centre or projects which are related to this topic.

https://stresas.wordpress.com/ 

Please reply to Gabi Lombardo at gabi.lombardo@eassh.eu

|2023-10-05|3|0|§343|New Special Interest Groups|

We are delighted to annouce the establishment of two new SIGs, 

Social Work and Disability & Researching Emotions in Social Work (REMOSIG) 

Social Work and Disability

Convenors:

Prof. Roni Holler (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), roni.holler@mail.huji.ac.il

Dr. Susan Levy (University of Dundee, UK), S.Levy@dundee.ac.uk

Dr. Limor Gadot (Sapir Academic College, Israel), ligadot@gmail.com

In recent decades, we have witnessed a paradigmatic change in the way disability is conceptualized and treated. As part of this tectonic shift, disability activists, researchers, and professionals have increasingly challenged the traditional individual deficit views of disability. They have called for alternative constructions of disability, recognizing it as resulting from social oppression and exclusion. These social orientations encompass various models and theories, which are based on diverse, and sometimes contradictory, ontological and epistemological assumptions. What remains common among all these approaches is the focus on addressing social barriers as the primary route to inclusion. This paradigmatic transformation, accompanied by recent policy changes, has significant consequences for social work professionals. Most importantly, it offers social workers a significant opportunity to take a leading role in addressing barriers within society, promoting disability rights, and creating more inclusive societies where the voices of disabled people are integral within social work practice.  However, this opportunity is not without its challenges, as various scholars have highlighted that the profession often falls short in realizing its social justice vision across all levels of intervention: micro, mezzo, and macro.

The general aim of the "Social Work and Disability" SIG is to be an academic forum for exploring the policy and practice context of social work with disabled people, and to develop creative ways to achieve more inclusive practices that lead to positive outcomes for disabled people.  The aim is to bring together researchers with different methodological backgrounds to examine, compare and evaluate how disability and disability-related practices are conceptualized and implemented in different European countries, as well as to foster research collaboration around these issues. The SIG will also focus on sharing experiences and ideas related to research methodologies, especially those that actively involve the participation of disabled individuals and their relatives/carers. The SIG will cover a wide range of disability-related topics and life domains, including employment, diversity, sexuality, community living, poverty, social services, abuse, parenthood, social care, migration, education, and more.

Researching Emotions in Social Work (REMOSIG) 

Convener:  Dr Louise O’Connor Royal Holloway University of London

Co-conveners                   

Prof Maria Appel Nissen                Aalborg University

Dr Matthew Gibson                         University of Birmingham

Dr Mark Gregory`                             University of East Anglia

The overall aim of the Researching Emotions Special Interest Group (REMOSIG) is to develop and extend research-based knowledge on the topic of emotions in social work. We aim to develop a network of researchers, practitioners/managers and educators involved in researching diverse aspects of emotions and emotion practices in social work and social care. The primary purpose of the network is to strengthen knowledge, explore opportunities for collaborative research and publications with a view to increasing the profile and application of research on the topic of emotions in social work. The role and function of emotions in social work and social care are receiving growing attention from a diverse range of researchers, having been traditionally a more neglected topic within the discipline. The Researching Emotions Special Interest Group will provide a platform for researchers from different regions, theoretical and methodological perspectives, and diverse standpoints. An important element of this will be to explore opportunities for collaborative activities and develop research which illuminates the experience of key stakeholders such as practitioners and people with lived experience of social work services.

|2023-09-18|2|0|§342|ESWRA Seminar Approaching Late Colonial Social Work|

Date:  Wednesday 4th October 2023
Time: 14:00 - 16:00 BST / 15:00 -17:00 CEST  (13:00 UT)

Abstract

I will critically assess how social work writing has dealt with the colonial. The seminar will draw from an archival study of the development of social welfare in Singapore as a British colony, in the late colonial period from the end of Japanese occupation in 1945 through to final independence in 1965.

I will take two broad questions by way of illustration and include group exercises on this material. First, I will sketch a case study of late colonial, welfare-engaged women in Singapore, in a world of imperial privilege, welfare exceptionalism and late colonial fragmentation. Second, I will depict late colonial social work practice, taking adoption in the ethnically diverse community of Singapore as the anchor for this. If we are to grasp the colonial heritage, these lives and practices should neither be ignored nor assigned to a past that has irretrievably been left behind. I seek to avoid the assumption that all social workers need to know about colonialism is its horrors.

The seminar connects with the work of these SIGs: Social Work History and Research. Social Work Research on Migration And Asylum. Social Justice and Human Rights; and Social Work Workforce Research

Speaker

Dr Ian Shaw. Formerly S R Nathan Professor of Social Work, National University of Singapore, and Professor Emeritus, University of York.

Structure

1. Critical review of social work writing on the colonial, followed by brief Q&A. 15 minutes

2. Theme #1: late colonial, welfare-engaged women in Singapore. Archive material followed by exercise considering instances from the data. 30 minutes.

3.  Theme #2: late colonial social work practice. Adoption in Singapore, 1945-1965. Archive material followed by exercise considering instances from the data. 30 minutes

4. 10 minute break

5. Inferences and implications: I will signal the relevance of mutual influences between colonies and the metropole; the inter-relation of war and welfare; the role of central and colonial government officials; the significance of work by imperial anthropologists; women in late colonial social welfare; and the meaning of nation-building as part of late and post-colonial welfare programmes.  20 minutes

6.  Final Q and A.  10 minutes

The most helpful reading in advance of the seminar is the paper  appeared in The British Journal of Social Work Late colonial social work practice earlier this year, Late colonial social work practice It provides the foundations for the more empirical parts of the seminar.

Published Material

Shaw, I. 2023. ‘Approaching the colonial.’ British Journal of Social Work. 53 (1): 637-655

Shaw, I. 2022. ‘Late colonial women in a welfare world.’ Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/02185385.2022.2077817. Online first.

Late colonial social work practice. Qualitative Social Work, 22(4), 735–752, https://doi-org/10.1177/14733250221098602 

For more information and to  register for the 4th October 2023 Seminar led by Prof. Ian Shaw 'Approaching late colonial Social work' please follow the google forms link: Register 04/10  If you have trouble accessing Google forms or have any questions about the seminar series please email info@eswra.org . We look forward to seeing you!

|2023-09-07|3|0|§341|ESWRA Seminar Series|

Upcoming Seminars

Details about each seminar will follow in the coming weeks visit the new Seminar page here: https://www.eswra.org/seminars.php

10th January 2024 Social Work Crime & Criminal Justice SIG (SWCCJ) Ines Herrero & Caroline Bald

Title: Researching Social Work, Crime and Criminal Justice, more information and regsiter on the seminar page:  https://www.eswra.org/seminars.php

21st February 2024 Social Work Practice Research SIG Martine Ganzevles

13th March 2024 Children's Rights In Practice SIG Paul McCafferty

15th May2024 The use of evidence in social work practice: Beyond the obvious facilitators and barriers Holger Suarez

12th June 2024, Social Work Workforce Research SIG Austin Griffiths

Date to be arranged        Conversation Analysis and Social Work (CASW)

Date to be arranged        Research on Social work and Policy Engagement

|2023-09-05|4|0|§339|Call for papers - Annual Review of Social Work & Social Pedagogy in Austria (OeJS) |

on behalf of the editors, I send you the call for papers for Volume 7 (2025) Österreichisches Jahrbuch für Soziale Arbeit - Annual Review of Social Work & Social Pedagogy in Austria (OeJS) with the request for distribution to the respective networks.

Please take into account the deadline for submitting proposals by 13 July 2023. Further information available at www.plus.ac.at/oejs.

|2023-06-19|6|0|https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=046de6d2d9&attid=0.0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1766588599461753816&th=18842ef8af2c33d8&view=fimg&fur=ip&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ9IRYjwLc2HT3M6TRUglIflU_pOmHJOEusaGF7VcEylPIiWnJTPAinm7eHFYUI5KtNlS1EjciT_8yEPiHmAVQlgfX0D98H§336|Job opportunitiy|

Director of the Centre for Adult Social Care Research (CARE) and Professor of Adult Social Care

This is an exciting job opportunity for someone to lead a new research centre, recruiting nine other staff and leading the centre set up, with a £3m grant from the Welsh Government. The Centre's aim is to generate ambitious high-quality research, gaining grants from UK-level research funders. Please think about applying yourself and also pass this email on to others who might be interested. 

News item

Job details and application process

If anyone wants to know more, or has any questions, please contact me for a conversation about the post.

best wishes,

Jonathan

 

Jonathan Scourfield

Professor of Social Work /  Professor of Social Work

Children's Social Care Research and Development Center (CASCADE)

Cardiff School of Social Sciences /  Cardiff School of Social Sciences

Telephone /  Direct line : +44(0)29 20875402

E-mail /  e-mail :  @cardiff. and.uk

Website /  Web page :  http://www.cardiff.ac. uk/people/view/38087- scourfield-jonathan

|2023-05-22|3|0|§335|European Social Work Research - Special Issue Call for Papers|

Special Issue Call for Papers

Social work research through and towards human relationships

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 31 May 2023

This special issue will showcase stimulating, quality papers presented at the European Conference on Social Work Research held in April 2023 at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy. Manuscripts are invited from all who presented at the conference.

The European Social Work Research journal provides an international forum for the publication of high quality contributions relating to all aspects of social work research and drawing on diverse research methodologies, ideas and knowledge. This peer-reviewed journal is published through a partnership between the European Social Work Research Association and Policy Press.

This special issue will focus on the main 2023 conference theme: ‘Social work research through and towards human relationships’ and on the seven sub-themes:

• Challenges and opportunities for social work research, practice, policy or education in contemporary contexts;
• Social work research, policy, practice or education across national, social, cultural, disciplinary and professional boundaries
• Exploring the impact and effectiveness of social work practice
• Social work history and identity as a profession and discipline
• Theorizing social work and/or social work research
• Connecting social work research and practice, including the co-creation of knowledge
• Methodological development, innovation and capacity building in social work research

Please see the conference website for further description of the conference themes https://convegni.unicatt.it/ecswr2023-themes).  We welcome in particular research that uses innovative methods or applies theory in new ways.

The special issue, like all issues of the journal,  includes a ‘Research, Policy and Practice Exchange’ section, which provides a dedicated space for shorter contributions that focus on issues that are important and topical for social work research. These contributions will be  critical and discursive, and are intended to stimulate further inclusive discussion and debate. Further details are available here https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/eswr/eswr-overview.xml?tab_body=instructions-for-authors

Abstracts should be submitted by email to eswr-journal@bristol.ac.uk no later than 31 May 2023.

Please note that papers must not be submitted to, or under consideration with, another journal. All research articles will undergo the journal’s standard double-anonymous peer review process, and accepted papers will be published in the journal, either in the special issue or in subsequent issues.

Authors will be notified of acceptance of their abstract and invited to submit a full paper by 26 June 2023, and the deadline for submission of the full paper online via Editorial Manager is 1 September 2023. Publication date of the special issue is scheduled for June 2024.

For further information please contact one of the special issue editors:

Lars Uggerhøj, Professor of Social Work, Aalborg University, Denmark lug@socsci.aau.dk

Elena Cabiati, Professor of Social Work, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy Elena.Cabiati@unicatt.it  

Valentina Calcaterra, Social Work Researcher and Assistant Professor, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy valentina.calcaterra@unicatt.it

|2023-05-16|6|0|https://eswra1-my.sharepoint.com/personal/eswra1_eswra1_onmicrosoft_com/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Feswra1%5Feswra1%5Fonmicrosoft%5Fcom%2FDocuments%2FJournal%20%2D%20ESWRA%2FMedia%2FESWR%20Twitter%2Ejpg&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Feswra1%5Feswra1%5§334|Annual Award for Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research |

General Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research - winner 2022

The General Award winner is Mandi Macdonald of Queens University, Belfast, with the article titled Digital Relationality, Rights, Resilience: Conceptualising a Digital Social Ecology for Children’s Birth Family Relationships When in Care or Adopted’. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac140

The Doctoral Annual Award for Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research - winner 2022

The doctoral award winner 2022 is Louise O'Connor, University of London, with the article titled: Agile Emotion Practices: Findings from an Ethnographic Study of Children and Families Social Work. British Journal of Social Work. British Journal of Social Work  https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac051

Congratulations!

 

|2023-05-04|3|0|§333|ESWRA Chair and Secretary|

ECSWR 2023 Milan saw the outgoing Chair, Alessandro Sicora, and ESWRA Secretary, Emilio José Gómez Ciriano, hand over to Karen Winter, as ESWRA Chair, and Elena Cabiati, as ESWRA Secretary.  We would like to thank Alessandro Sicora and Emilio José Gómez Ciriano for their valuable contribution to the continuing success of ESWRA.

A warm welcome to Karen Winter and Elena Cabiati, who began their mandates after the ESWRA Board meeting in April 2023. Building on the success of previous chairs and secretaries, their aim is to continue to develop ESWRA to support its thriving community of social work researchers.   

Handover at the closing ceremony ECSWR 2023

|2023-04-24|3|0|0e506afc-1fcc-4d71-8d23-8a50961a5f48.jpg§328|Now online: European Social Work Research |

The inaugural issue of European Social Work Research (ESWR) is available to read online. ESWR is the brand new flagship journal of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA) and is dedicated to the development, practice and utilisation of social work research. It is the only Europe-wide journal to focus uniquely on social work research.

The inaugural issue is free to access until 30 June 2023, so please share the journal with your colleagues!  

ESWR is open for submissions of research articles, book reviews and contributions to our ‘Research, Policy and Practice Exchange’. Read our call for submissions to learn more.

Volume 1 Issue 1

|2023-04-03|3|0|Launchissue.jpg§326|European research organisations and funders call for urgent implementation of UK association to EU and R&I programmes|

The Guild, as part of a wider network of key organisations of universities and research funders in the UK and Europe, welcomes the announcement of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the EU is open to implementing UK association to Horizon Europe. The Windsor framework constitutes a major milestone in EU-UK relations, and it is a critical step towards safeguarding scientific collaboration across borders.

The Guild believes that securing the UK's place in EU programmes for research and innovation is critical for securing Europe’s and the UK’s role in delivering world-leading research, sustainable growth, and high-level skills. As UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphasised, the UK and the EU face key challenges together such as energy and climate change. Research collaboration will be essential in the UK’s and the EU’s bid to confront these challenges and overcome them.

The signatories of the joint statement now emphatically call on the political will and commitment to finalise UK association to EU R&I programmes, and to do so without delay.

Jan Palmowski, Secretary-General of The Guild, said: ‘Now is the time for researchers to overcome any hesitations they might have had to develop Horizon-funded applications. And if UK colleagues had given up hope to apply for funding from the ERC and MSCA – now is the time to re-engage. We must now all act, with immediate effect, to ensure we make a success of UK Association so that the added value of UK-EU science collaboration can never be undermined again. And politicians must do their bit to bring UK association over the line, and ensure we can collaborate right across the programme.’

Read more here:  http://bit.ly/3IElwWj

|2023-03-06|3|0|§325|CPD Virtual Online Conferences & Masterclasses|

Self Neglect & Adult Safeguarding: Responding to Self Neglect & Hoarding

FRIDAY 10th MARCH 2023

VIRTUAL, Online

The Covid-19 pandemic has created new levels of isolation and loneliness for people increasing the risk of self-neglect. Self-neglect can be a complex and challenging issue for practitioners because of the need to find the balance between respecting a person’s autonomy and fulfilling a duty to protect the adult’s health and well-being. This conference which features extended interactive sessions focuses on the difficult issue of self neglect and adult safeguarding and includes an extended focus on hoarding. 

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/self-neglect-and-adult-safeguarding-responding-to-self-neglect-hoarding  or email kerry@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow this conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare #SelfNeglect

 

Safeguarding Adolescents and Young Adults: Delivering a Strengths-Based Approach

THURSDAY 16th MARCH 2023

VIRTUAL, Online

We are pleased to announce National Safeguarding Adolescents and Young Adults Conference which this year will focus on improving safeguarding practice: delivering a strengths based approach, transitional safeguarding, contextual safeguarding and complex safeguarding. Through national expert sessions and practical case studies the conference aims to bring together safeguarding leads working with adolescents and young people to understand current issues and the national context, and to debate and discuss key issues and areas you are facing in practice including supporting adolescents and young adults through and beyond Covid-19, and developing a strengths based approach to adolescent safeguarding.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/safeguarding-adolescents-and-young-adults or email kerry@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow this conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare #SafeguardingYoungAdults

 

Moving from Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards to Liberty Protection Safeguards

FRIDAY 21st APRIL 2023

VIRTUAL, Online

The draft Code of Practice and draft regulations that support the Liberty Protection Safeguards have now been published. This conference will update delegates on the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards in your service with particular focus on the Draft Code of Practice which was published in March 2022. 

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/liberty-protection-safeguards-mca or email Frida@hc-uk.org.uk

Follow this conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare #LPS2023

 

Preparation for the New Inspection Framework

FRIDAY 3rd MARCH  2023

VIRTUAL, Online

With the CQC bringing in the Single Assessment Framework in 2023, social care providers need to prepare their services for the new inspection and regulation regime. This will entail changes to systems and processes including governance and quality systems to gather the required evidence. One of the sources of evidence will be the observation, this is the new name for inspection and whilst these only forms one of six types of evidence it is still a vital form of evidence gathering for the CQC. This course will help social care providers prepare for the new inspection framework.

For further information and to book your place visit 

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/new-inspection-framework  or click on the title above or email kate@hc-uk.org.uk

 

Masterclass: Safeguarding Children NHS Level 4

MONDAY 20th MARCH 2023

VIRTUAL, Online

The course will explore child protection conferences, preparing child protection plans and the role of core groups to ensure the best outcomes for children at risk of harm. You will have the opportunity to take part in a simulated Case Conference based on a detailed case study.

The aim of the course is that you will have a clear understanding of the assessment and decision-making processes and a sound grasp of the principles and processes for effective collaboration. You will also gain skills in preparing for the Case Conference including how to write a formal report, identifying what is and what isn’t evidence-based information and how to challenge decisions.

For further information and to book your place visit

https://www.socialcareconferences.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/masterclass-safeguarding-children-nhs-level-4 or email frida@hc-uk.org.uk

 

|2023-03-02|5|0|§324|Cfp: PhD/Early Career Researcher SIG at the ECSWR 2023 in Milan|

The PhD/Early Career Researcher SIG event at the ECSWR 2023 in Milan (April 12-14) will take place within a 90-minute slot in the regular conference program on Thursday, April 13 from 15:00 to 16:30 as an in-person event.

That way, we want to provide SIG members with the opportunity to attend both - our SIG event during the conference, as well as events of other SIGs in the pre-Conference program. This is also a way to make the event free of charge, as we strive to keep costs down for PHD attendants. All you need for this SIG is your regular conference registration.

This time around, our SIG is all about networking! We are planning a 3MT challenge, but other than that, we plan a networking activity to use our SIG as an opportunity to get to know each other and provide you all with a platform for building relationships with other social work PhD students/early career researchers!

The 3MT challenge will be an ideal opportunity for you to share your research and also to win a 100 Euro prize!

Here´s what it is:

Call for contributions - 3 Minute Challenge (100 € prize)

“An 80,000-word PhD thesis would take 9 hours to present. 

Their time limit... 3 minutes.” (3MT) 

Developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), the competition cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. Presenting in a 3MT competition increases your capacity to effectively explain your research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. Competitors are allowed one PowerPoint slide, but no other resources or props. If you would like to find out more about the 3MT go to https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/home 

We already held the 3MT at the ECSWR 2022 in Amsterdam and many participants enjoyed it. 

A jury consisting of (early career) Social Work researchers will choose a “winner” amongst all participants, based on these judging criteria: https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/resources/judging-criteria. 

The winner will receive 100 € prize money!!!

Please submit an abstract (max. 150 words, *.doc or *pdf) describing your contribution (background/problem, research questions/hypotheses, methods, (expected) results, discussion) to phdsigeswra@gmail.com by March 30 the latest. Should the number of submissions exceed the number of potential presentations based on our time slot, the SIG convenors will choose eligible contributions based on criteria such as clear and logical sequence of the abstract, concise language, etc. on the one hand, while trying to ensure that a variety of topics and methods are covered on the other hand.  

Hope to hear from you soon!

Cheers, 

Ozan 

(SIG convenor)

|2023-03-02|2|0|§319|BASW England World Social Work Day 2023|

Respecting diversity through joint action - Refugees and people seeking asylum - an international and domestic response

This session will explore recent research on current issues around migration and social work in Europe and the UK. It will provide an opportunity to hear about the work being done by social workers in terms of direct work with refugees and people seeking asylum and also explore campaigning activity

We are excited to announce that we have some amazing speakers confirmed for this event! Definitely not one to be missed. 

Emilio José Gómez-Ciriano, Elena Cabiati and Sofia Dedotsi - Editors of  'Migration and Social Work Approaches, Visions and Challenges'

Taking place online on Tuesday 21st March 2023, BASW members - Free / non-members £4 (+VAT)

To find out more about this event and to register please visit: www.basw.co.uk

|2023-01-25|5|0|§318|Research on Social Work Practice|

Editorial Board:  Call for Self-Nominations

Invitations are extended to members of the social work community to apply for a three-year appointment to the journal’s Editorial Board, for the period 2023-2025.  Editorial Board members should be professional social workers with a background commensurate with the journal’s purposes.  This would normally include receipt of a doctoral degree in social work or a closely-related field, post-MSW practice experience, and having authored a number of empirically-based research publications related to social work practice, including intervention studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and psychometric studies on assessment measures  Editorial Board members are expected to use the Journal Article Reporting Standards for Quantitative and Quantitative Studies, found in the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. and the CONSORT, TREND and PRISMA standards, as appropriate, in preparing their analyses of submissions (see https://www.equator-network.org/).  In addition, knowledge of the principles of evidence-based practice and the work of the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations is essential.   Editorial Board members are expected to volunteer to review about eight manuscripts year, and to make use of the journal’s web-based portal to receive manuscripts and to submit their reviews.  New Editorial Board members should be available to receive manuscripts for review beginning in January 2023.  Usually, each week the Editor sends an email to the Editorial Board announcing what papers are available for review, and Editorial Board members self-select the papers they will review.

Interested social workers are invited to submit a cover letter expressing an interest in being appointed to the Editorial Board, along with a current c.v., (both formatted in Word), to the Editor, Bruce A. Thyer, Ph.D., LCSW, BCBA-D, at Bthyer@fsu.edu. The journal particularly welcomes self-nominations from members of historically-under-represented groups and from social workers outside of North America.  Only self-nominations are accepted.  General inquiries regarding an Editorial Board appointment may also be directed to the Editor.

|2023-01-25|6|0|§310|Special Interest Groups|

We are delighted to announce the establishment of two new Special Interest Groups Children’s Rights in Practice SIG and Social Work Crime and Criminal Justice (SWCCJ) read on for more information

Children’s Rights in Practice SIG
Children’s rights exist at the contested nexus between research, practice, theory, policy, and legislation.  Within this nexus professionals are entrusted with fulfilling their legal, moral, and practical obligations of ensuring children’s rights are enacted and in line with the UN Sustainable Goals. However, in enacting their obligations, professionals are confronted with a myriad of different practical, legal, ethical, theoretical, and philosophical challenges.
 
The general aim of the SIG therefore is to provide a forum to bring together international scholars, policy makers, research students, managers, and practitioners interested in issues related to children’s rights in practice across various organizations (public and non-governmental) to examine these challenges and produce research led solutions.  In addition, the SIG will explore the possible ways of applying children's rights across a range of practice settings e.g., in child protection, social services, kindergarten, local communities, school, health services and leisure with a particular focus given to those children that are at risk of abuse. 

Convenor Dr. Paul McCafferty, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland
p.mccafferty@qub.ac.uk

Social Work Crime and Criminal Justice (SWCCJ)
Worldwide social workers have many functions and roles to play in the areas of crime and criminal justice. The SWCCJ offers opportunities for sharing research and practice in relation to these, including: CCJ issues relating to the social work work force (e.g. social work education admissions decision-making, representation of CCJ lived experience among social workers) and CCJ issues relating to social work practice (e.g. maternal imprisonment. carceral human rights, rehabilitation and inter-professional working with police and prisons). 

Social work practice and research in these and other CCJ areas are often dominated by legalistic approaches and regulation constraints. Because of this, social workers and researchers in this field often feel powerless facing oppressive procedures and regulations when working and advocating for service users and in their struggle to promote social justice-oriented change. In the SWCCJ SIG we strongly believe, drawing from the experience of our members, that international comparison and collaboration is a key avenue for learning good practice and envisaging alternative understandings, practices and regulations regarding social work in the areas of crime and criminal justice, and for enhancing social work’s contributions and influence on these. Hence the SWCCJ is conceived as an empowering and fruitful space for discussion, mutual learning, peer support, collaborative publication and research based social justice advocacy for social work researchers across Europe in the SWCCJ field.

Convenors: Caroline Bald, University of Essex, and María Inés Martínez Herrero, Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR)

|2022-11-03|2|0|§308|International Symposium on Social Work Practitioner Research|

hu, 17 November 2022, 09:00 – 11:30 GMT

Registration is now open: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-2nd-international-symposium-of-social-work-practitioner-research-2022-tickets-430807937137

It is free but booking is essential. 

|2022-10-18|5|0|§298|Social Work Professional Organizations in Europe and Beyond|

Social Work Professional Organizations in Europe and Beyond

An Opportunity for Social Work and Social Policy in Complex Societies?

International Blended Seminar

June, Monday 27th, 2022, 09:30-16:30   (Central European Summer Time)

Physical Venue: Pisa, Aula Magna – Department of Political Science, Via Serafini 3

Virtual Venue: https://sp.unipi.it/c/220627-social-work via MS Teams

Current social work practice is often fragmented, developed at micro-level, focused on case- management and embedded within multiple and specific organizations. Nevertheless, social work as a profession is something more than this.

In many countries of the world social work practice has been shaped by complex socio- institutional processes at national and international level. Social Work Professional Organizations (SWPOs) are a key-actor of these processes, and they sometimes emerge as one of the most relevant outcomes (and a resource for the further development) of the institutional recognition of social work.

SWPOs may play a relevant role in current societies. Beyond and differently from the work organizations, they may give social workers several opportunities in terms of collective identification, ethics, protection, coordination, training, networking. Their action could be relevant for the users (e.g. through the ethical statements) and the policy-making, especially in the critical junctures of our societies (e.g. democratic transition, austerity). SWPOs are probably highly dependent on the contexts where they act and they may push social work and social policy in different directions.

While this is clear enough in general terms, still very scarce is knowledge about SWPOs in a comparative perspective. This Seminar contributes to fill this gap by focusing on the continuities and changes of the basic characteristics, intra-organizational dynamics, and policy action of the European SWPOs, in relation to the evolutions of the context at national and international level.

A better understanding of the SWPOs is an opportunity for strengthening the debate between academics and practitioners on a neglected but crucial topic: the collective dimension of social work as a profession and the reconfigurations of the organizations which are expected to shape today and tomorrow social work.

For information: Riccardo Guidi, riccardo.guidi@unipi.it

***The International Seminar is part of the UniPi-PRA Project 2020_42 “Social Sciences and Public Engagement: Towards a New Alliance between Public Knowledge and Society” (Coord. Andrea Borghini).

Participation is free of charge and warmly encouraged. Registration welcome through urly.it/3ntph

PROGRAM

09:30 – 09:45 Welcome

09:45 – 11:15 Opening Session.

 

Approaching Social Work Professional Organizations in Contemporary Societies

Riccardo Guidi (Chair), University of Pisa

Introduction: Why Social Work Professional Organizations Deserve More Attention

Andrea Borghini, University of Pisa

State, Powers and Social Work through the Lens of Public Sociology

Annamaria Campanini, IASSW President

The Institutional Processes of Social Work and their Organizations: an International Look

Vasilios Ioakimidis, University of Essex

Social Work Professional Organizations in Critical Junctures

Coffee Break

11:30 – 13:30 Research Session.

Social Work Professional Organizations in Europe.

Chair: Andrea Salvini (University of Pisa)

Paper 1.

Social Work Professional Organizations in Southern Europe: Continuities and Changes, Convergences and Divergences

Riccardo Guidi, Maria Ines Amaro, Francisco Branco, Maribel Martín Estalayo, Vasilios Ioakimidis, Ana Belen Dominguez

Paper 2.

Social Work Professional Organizations in Germany

Benjamin Benz, Oscar Corman, Dieter Kulke

Paper 3.

Contemporary Social Work Professional Organisations in Britain: a Consideration of Strengths and Weaknesses of Social Work Representative Bodies

Michael Lavalette

Paper 4.

Social Work in Ukraine: Changing the Professional Landscape

Tetyana Semigina, Olena Chuiko, Valentyna Shkuro

Lunch Break

15:00 – 16:30 Final Roundtable.

Moving a Step Forward: Social Work Professional Organizations in Social Work and Social Policy Future Agenda

Chair: Riccardo Guidi, University of Pisa Contributions:

• Annamaria Campanini, International Association of the Schools of Social Work (IASSW)
• Gianmario Gazzi, National Council of Social Workers (CNOAS) – Italy (invited, to be confirmed)
• Sigrid Leitner, University of Applied Sciences Cologne
• Angelo McClain, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – USA
• Idit Weiss-Gal, Tel Aviv University

Conclusion: John Gal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

CONTRIBUTORS

Maria Ines Amaro, University Institute of Lisbon. Former Vice-president of the Portuguese Professional Association of Social Work and the EASSW.

Benjamin Benz, Protestant University of Applied Sciences Bochum.

Andrea Borghini, University of Pisa. Coordinator of the UniPi-PRA Project 2020_42 “Social Sciences and Public Engagement: Towards a New Alliance between Public Knowledge and Society”.

Francisco Branco, member of the Installing Committee of Portuguese College of Social Workers.

Annamaria Campanini, President of the International Association of the Schools of Social Work (IASSW).

Olena Chuiko, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Oscar Corman, Member of the Expert Committee for Social Work Policy in the German Society for Social Work (DGSA)

Ana Belen Dominguez, General Council of Social Work (CGTS) – Spain.

Maribel Martín Estalayo, Complutense University of Madrid.

John Gal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Co-editor of the Series Research in Social Work (Policy Press).

Gianmario Gazzi, President of the National Council of Social Workers (CNOAS) – Italy (to be confirmed).

Riccardo Guidi, University of Pisa.

Dieter Kulke, University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt.

Vasilios Ioakimidis, University of Essex. Chair of the Global Education Commission of the International Federation of Social Workers. Co-editor of the British Journal of Social Work.

Michael Lavalette, Liverpool Hope University. Convenor of the Social Work Action Network in the UK and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Critical and Radical Social Work.

Angelo McClain, CEO of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – USA.

Sigrid Leitner, University of Applied Sciences Cologne. Coordinator of the Project 'Welfare state reform from below: Democratization of social policy through social advocacy?”.

Andrea Salvini, University of Pisa.

Tetyana Semigina, Academy of Labour, Social Relations and Tourism, Kyiv.

Valentyna Shkuro, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Idit Weiss-Gal, Tel Aviv University

|2022-06-15|5|0|§294|ECSWR 2022 Amsterdam Poster Competition|

The winner of this year's poster competition is�Andrea Nagy, PhD�at the 11th European Conference for Social Work Research 6th � 8th April 2022 held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands�For their poster entitled: �Career Aspirations of Care Leavers and their Pathways to Autonomy from a Retrospective Perspective. The OCAS �Research Project in the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy)

|2022-05-04|3|0|§293|The ESWRA Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research based on a Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation, 2021|

This years winner of the��The ESWRA Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research based on a Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation,�is�Merete Tunestveit� in recognition of their paper:� �The research circle as a strategy for developing knowledge about children�s participation in child welfare services�. Congratuations!

Abstract

In this article I explore how the research circle can work as a strategy for knowledge development. The article is based on empirical material from the action research project�A research circle on children�s participation in child welfare services (CWS), the objective of which was to improve the participation of children and adolescents in CWS. The participants in the project included representatives of three CWS offices in Norway and researchers from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL). This study provides a unique analysis of�how�the research circle model provides structure and strategies for combining critical reflection on practice with theoretical insight, promoting knowledge production and serving as basis for improving practice.

https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2020.1838449

�

|2022-05-04|6|0|§292|ESWRA Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research|

Congratulations to�Harry Ferguson, Laura Kelly and Sarah Pink on receipt of��The ESWRA Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research� in recognition of their paper:��Social work and child protection for a post-pandemic world: the�re-making of practice during COVID-19 and its renewal beyond it�

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic presented social workers and managers in child protection with complex practical and moral dilemmas about how to respond to children and families while social distancing. This paper draws on our research into practice during the pandemic to show some of the ways social workers changed their practice and to provide theories and concepts that can help to account for how such change occurs. Drawing on anthropological uses of the concepts of �contingency� and �improvisation� and Hartmut Rosa�s sociological work on �adaptive transformation� and �resonance� we show how social workers creatively �re-made� key aspects of their practice, by recognising inequalities and providing material help, through digital casework, movement and walking encounters, and by going into homes and taking risks by getting close to children and parents. It is vital that such improvisation and remaking are learned from and sustained post-pandemic as this can renew practice and enable social workers to better enhance the lives of service users.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02650533.2021.1922368

|2022-05-04|6|0|§291|Call for papers - European Social Work Research (ESWR) |

The inaugural issue of European Social Work Research

Abstract Submission deadline: 30 April 2022

ESWR is the new journal of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA) which is dedicated to the development, practice and utilization of social work research. ESWR will provide a forum for the publication of high-quality contributions relating to all aspects of social work research. It will be read by scholars, students, practitioners, policymakers and other researchers who have an interest in social problems, social work and the contribution that social work makes to just and equitable societies. The journal is published online and in print, through a partnership between the European Social Work Research Association and Policy Press, an imprint of Bristol University Press.

ESWR welcomes original scholarly contributions that may be theoretical or literature based, or grounded in empirical research, and that focus on any topic of contemporary relevance to social work policy, practice, research, education, and to the communities that social work serves. The journal values innovation and diversity, and so embraces research that uses a wide range of methodological approaches and is informed by a wide range of theoretical and conceptual frameworks. The Journal will primarily include original scholarly articles, alongside book reviews and shorter discussion pieces to stimulate debate.

The inaugural issue focuses on ‘Challenges and Opportunities for European Social Work Research’. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the first research published in a brand new journal. Articles are invited which offer one or more of the following:

• provide valuable perspectives on aspects of European social work research;
• promote understanding and critical discussion of social work research across Europe;
• address and explore social work research challenges such as collaboration across cultures and jurisdictions;
• address and explore social work research opportunities such as diversity of knowledge and skills;
• explore the role of social work research in addressing contemporary social issues;
• analyse political, legal and cultural influences on social work research;
• illustrate innovation, breadth, depth and richness of social work research in Europe.

Authors are invited to submit an abstract of their proposed article, no longer than 800 words. Abstracts should be submitted as a Microsoft Word attachment and emailed to eswr-journal@bristol.ac.uk.

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 April 2022

For further details about the journal, guidance for authors and any other queries please contact: eswr-journal@bristol.ac.uk  

Please note that papers must not be submitted to, or under consideration with, another journal.

All research articles will undergo the journal’s standard double-anonymous peer review process, and accepted papers will be published in the journal, either in the inaugural or in following issues.

Editor in Chief:
Lars Uggerhøj, Aalborg University, Denmark
Co-Editors:
Ana M. Sobočan, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Elaine Sharland, University of Sussex, UK
Brian Taylor, Ulster University, N Ireland

|2022-04-28|3|0|§286|New Journal Announcement: European Social Work Research|

Policy Press and the European Social Work Research Association are pleased to announce an exciting new journal for 2023: European Social Work Research. 

Aims and Scope

European Social Work Research (ESWR) is the flagship journal of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA) and is dedicated to the development, practice and utilization of social work research. It is the only Europe-wide journal to focus uniquely on social work research and its intended audience is scholars, students, practitioners, policymakers and other researchers who have an interest in social problems, social work and the contribution that social work makes to just and equitable societies.

ESWR seeks to advance scholarship and debate, connecting empirical research with theoretical understandings that may inform, and be informed by, social work.  The journal particularly welcomes innovation in social work research, including the development and application of innovative research methods and theory. As a double anonymous peer-reviewed journal, it provides a forum for high-quality research that contributes to understanding and furthering all aspects of social work. Articles need not originate in Europe but must be relevant to contemporary European social work contexts and issues.

ESWR seeks to include high-quality research articles examining:

• All major social work practice areas, including (but not limited to): vulnerable children and families; mental health; addictions; disability; migrants, refugees, and immigrants; employment and unemployment; health care and hospital social work; criminal justice; and sustainable social development.
• Contemporary challenges facing social work and the communities it serves, among them: poverty; social exclusion; discrimination and oppression; inequalities, injustice and relationships of power; abuse, trauma, violence and conflict; cultural, political and environmental hazards.
• Developing and strengthening effective social work practices, organisations, programmes, policies or movements for achieving positive change and empowerment.
• Developing and strengthening the social work profession, including social work education and training; professional identity, ethics and values; and interprofessional practice.

The journal values innovation and diversity, and so embraces research that uses a wide range of methodological approaches and is informed by a wide range of theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Scholarly articles may be literature-based, conceptual or based on empirical research. They may use quantitative, qualitative or mixed empirical methodologies. Innovative methods and high-quality participative and practice research that engages with service users, carers and communities, are encouraged. ESWR also welcomes a variety of perspectives, such as psychological, philosophical, sociological, political, legal, ethical or related to human growth and development, whilst showing clear relevance to practice, management, regulation, policy, research, education or training in social work.

In addition to traditional research articles and book reviews, ESWR features a Research, Policy and Practice Exchange section for shorter articles, critical discussions and reflections. Within this section, short papers relevant to furthering social work research in Europe are welcomed. These may include:

• reflective, research-informed commentaries on topical issues
• reports of significant new research initiatives, conferences or meetings
• guidance about, and critical appraisal of research funding sources, research training and capacity development opportunities and resources.

For questions and pre-submission enquiries, please contact the editorial team at: eswr-journal@bristol.ac.uk.

Editorial team

The editorial team is led by Editor in Chief Lars Uggerhøj (Aalborg University, Denmark) and Co-Editors  Ana M. Sobocan (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), Elaine Sharland (University of Sussex, UK), and Brian Taylor (Ulster University, N Ireland). Find out more about the wider editorial team and board.

|2022-03-24|6|0|§279|The Noises of War|

Noises of war are rising from within Europe, causing victims, pain and deep concern for the future. Eswra unites its voice to those who engage in non-violent dialogue and the peaceful coexistence of peoples and nations. True peace is the only possible condition for achieving social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities. These are the central principles of social work, and social work research.

|2022-02-28|6|0|§250|Award Winners of ESWRA Awards for Outstanding Publications in European Social Work Research |

The ESWRA Awards Committee is delighted to announce that the winner of the General Award 2020 is Dr Paula McFadden, Ulster University for the article Growing Older in Social Work: Perspective on Systems of Support to Extend Working Lives—Findings from a UK Survey’ 

https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcz165

The ESWRA Awards Committee is delighted to announce that the winner of the Doctoral Award 2020 is Dr. Aila Brand Levi, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, for the article ‘Service users' perspectives of social treatment in social service departments in Israel: Differences between standard and poverty‐aware treatments’ 

https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13099

|2021-06-01|1|0|§228|EJSW Special Issue|

Social work research and human rights: where do we go from here?

ESWRA would like to congratulate Koen Hermans and Griet Roets on the publication of this special issue which was launched as part of the European Conference for Social Work Research that took place in Leuven (Belgium) in April 2019. The conference focused on the ways social work research and practice can operate in a context of changing welfare state paradigms, and in particular how core values of human rights and social justice can be embodied and realised in social work research. What are the implications of this strong value orientation for social work research and practice development given these societal changes? How can these values be integrated in the daily practice of social work and social work research? What are the implications for the position of the social worker, the social work researchers and the social work participants? In this special issue, we present fourteen papers that were presented during the conference and that focus on different aspects of these issues.

Remember ESWRA members can access current and past issues of the EJSW through the ESWRA website in My ESWRA.

Koen Hermans & Griet Roets (2020) Social work research and human rights: where do we go from here?, European Journal of Social Work, 23:6, 913-919, DOI: 10.1080/13691457.2020.1838086

 

|2020-11-11|1|0|§226|New book to be published 9th October by Routledge: Women, Vulnerabilities and Welfare Service Systems|

New book to be published 9th October by Routledge: Women, Vulnerabilities and Welfare Service Systems, edited by Marjo Kuronen, Elina Virokannas and Ulla Salovaara.
https://www.routledge.com/Women-Vulnerabilities-and-Welfare-Service-Systems/Kuronen-Virokannas-Salovaara/p/book/9780367228026

Book launch will be organized on Friday 30th of October at 3pm (Finnish time) virtually via Zoom.

Book Description
This book studies welfare systems in Europe and beyond from the standpoint of women in vulnerable positions in society. These systems are under major transformations with new models of service delivery and management, austerity measures, requirements for cost-effectiveness, marketization, and the prioritization of services.

This book considers the experiences and encounters with the service system of women in poverty, homeless women, women with substance use problems, women sentenced of crime, girls and young women in care, and refugees and asylum-seeking women.

Drawing upon research and critical discussions from Finland, Canada, Israel, Slovenia, Spain and the UK, this book provides new empirical findings and critical insights, and a valuable resource for the academics and students in social work, social policy, sociology and gender studies, but also for policy makers and professionals in social and health care.

|2020-10-21|1|0|§223|The Routledge Handbook of Service User Involvement in Human Services Research and Education’ |

A new international book with many contributions from ESWRA SIG members on service-user involvement in education and research ‘The Routledge Handbook of Service User Involvement in Human Services Research and Education’ by Hugh McLaughlin, Peter Beresford, Colin Cameron, Helen Casey, Joe Duffy ISBN 9781138360143     Read more

Worldwide, there has been a growth in service user involvement in education and research in recent years. This handbook is the first book which identifies what is happening in different regions of the world to provide different countries and client groups with the opportunity to learn from each other.

The book is divided into five sections: Section One examines service user involvement in context exploring theoretical issues which underpin service user involvement. In Section Two we focus on the state of service user involvement in human services education and research across the globe including examples of innovative practice, but also identifying examples of where it is not happening and why. Section Three offers more detailed examination of such involvement in a wide range of professional education learning settings. Section Four focuses on the involvement of service users in research involving a wide range of service user groups and situations. Lastly, Section Five explores future challenges for education and research to ensure involvement remains meaningful.

The book includes forty-eight chapters, including seventeen case-studies, from all regions of the world, this is the first book to both highlight the subject’s methodological and theoretical issues and give practical examples in education and research for those wishing to engage in this field.

It will be of interest to all service users, scholars and students of social work, nursing, occupational therapy, and other human service subjects.

|2020-10-15|1|0|§222|New publication|

Killick C & Taylor BJ (2020) Assessment, Risk and Decision Making in Social Work: An Introduction. London: Sage.  ISBN: 9781529702224

This book is designed for students on qualifying social work courses. It focuses on the essential social work skills of undertaking assessments and making decisions in a context of risk and uncertainty. The book outlines a framework for this challenging aspect of practice, and considers key dimensions such as involving clients, use of assessment tools and collaboration with other professionals and decision systems such as case conferences and courts. Particular attention is given to analysing knowledge within assessment and forming a professional judgement. It addresses generic legal and ethical issues for social workers involved in safeguarding and service eligibility decision making. A final chapter focuses on the development of professional skills in this increasingly important area of assessment, risk and decision making.

Link to SAGE https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/assessment-risk-and-decision-making-in-social-work/book269788#contents

|2020-10-05|1|0|§219|Making virtue of necessity. Experiences and lessons from Spain during Covid-19|

The present paper intends to give an overview of how students and lecturers of the Faculty of Social Work at Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) experienced and faced the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the paper, it will be explained what measures were taken, the effects that these measures had on the academic community, the challenges of becoming digital for most of the lecturers and students. The paper will conclude by reflecting on the new opportunities that the context paves the way for, and the insights gained, lessons learnt and ideas to put in action for the future.

Emilio José Gómez-Ciriano (2020): Making virtue of necessity. Experiences and lessons from Spain during Covid-19, Social Work Education, DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2020.1819974 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1819974

Link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1819974

|2020-09-22|6|0|§218|New from Oxford Social Work - Oxford University Press|

PRACTICE RESEARCH  IN THE HUMAN SERVICES -  A University-Agency  Partnership Model

Save 30% with promo code  ASFLYQ6 on oup.com/academic

• Provides information relevant to a wide variety of human service practice  settings (public, nonprofit, child welfare, adult and aging services, employment/  benefits, public health, corrections, etc.)
• Represents a unique synthesis and application of a wide variety of research approaches all related to practice research.
• As with other volumes in this series, the book is packaged in an accessible and inexpensive format filled with practical information.
• It includes clear description of research methods and illustrations of case  examples and applications that will be useful for both graduate level education  and in-service agency training programs.

Michael J. Austin, PhD, MSW, MSPH is the Milton and Florence Krenz Mack Distinguished  Professor Emeritus of Nonprofit Management and director of the Mack Center on  Nonprofit and Public Sector Management in the Human Services at the School of Social  Welfare, University of California, Berkeley.

Sarah Carnochan, PhD, MSW, JD, is the Research Director for the Bay Area Social  Services Consortium.

978-0-19-751833-5 | 320 pages | Paperback  Price: $39.95 $27.96* USD

Follow on Twitter  @ouppsychology

Offer valid for individual customers when ordering direct from the Oxford University Press website. This offer is exclusive and cannot be redeemed in conjunction with any other promotional discounts

|2020-09-07|6|0|§217|Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work : Symposium|

UPDATE

Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work: 6th International Symposium will now be held on 30 June & 01 July 2021, Belfast

The call for abstracts is now open - further details on the weblink:  https://www.ulster.ac.uk/conference/dare

We have an exciting line-up of plenary speakers:

Professor Pascal Bastian, Professor of Social Pedagogy, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany, who has undertaken a wide range of research on judgement and decision making in social work including on issues of big data.

Professor Karen Broadhurst, Professor of Social Work, Lancaster University, England who will Co-Direct a data partnership central to the Nuffield Foundation’s new Family Justice Observatory for England and Wales which aims to improve the use of national family justice data to improve practice and systems.

Dr Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Associate Professor and Director of the Children’s Data Network, University of Southern California, United States of America, whose work focuses on the integration and application of data to inform interventions and policies.

Further details will be added to the website over the coming months. Please disseminate this publicity to your colleagues. 

Questions may be addressed to Mrs Sharon Lucas dare@ulster.ac.uk or if you would like your name removed from our mailing list please let me know by return.

On behalf of

Brian Taylor
Professor of Social Work
Ulster University, Northern Ireland

|2020-08-05|5|0|§216|EC Socio-Economic Delphi survey on Covid 19|

On Behalf of EASSH

The European Alliance for Social Sciences and the Humanities (EASSH) and the World Pandemic Research Network (WPRN) have decided to support a foresight study launched by the European Commission to support the reflection on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involves a Delphi survey aiming to collect expert views on the near term future of socio-economic conditions.

Please can you identify within your institutions and organisations, those experts who would be better suited to respond to the survey?

To participate in the socio-economic part of the survey please use the following link:

http://covid-19-consultation.prospectiva.ro/Survey/Home.aspx?scode=SECO

The first round of the study will be open until Sunday, 2nd of August. All entries in the survey will be treated in the strictest confidence and in line with EU legislation on data protection.  The information gathered will be reported to the European Commission only in an aggregate and anonymised form.

The European Alliance for Social Sciences and the Humanities (EASSH) and the World Pandemic Research Network (WPRN) consider important to mobilise the SSH expert community so that we can better feedback the European Commission and help frame future funding opportunities to understand and mitigate the socio-economic impact of the current pandemic. 

Please do not hesitate to get back to Nikolaos Kastrinos, Chief Economist – R&I Strategy and Foresight, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, or Dr Peter Varnai of Technopolis who leads the study, at covid-foresight@technopolis-group.com if you have any question.

Thanks

Olivier Bouin, EASSH President and WPRN Coordinator

Saadi Lahlou, LSE Chair in Psychology and WPRN Coordinator"

|2020-07-27|0|0|§215|#EUInvestInKnowledge|

More than ever, the global Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the true value of excellent research, innovation and education. In the campaign “Seize our common future”, 15 associations representing more than 800 universities have called for an ambitious long-term EU budget for research, innovation and education to boost efforts to solve the manifold future challenges. Today, the same university associations unite and call on European leaders to step up investment in these areas, both in the Multiannual Financial Framework from 2021 to 2027 and Next Generation EU, and to commit to putting sufficient resources behind common ambitions

Europe’s universities welcome the European Union’s approach to embark on a sustainable recovery path, supported by an ambitious and unprecedented effort to enhance the welfare and strengthen the economic base of the continent. At stake is our shared capacity to successfully tackle global challenges and become a frontrunner in addressing the green and digital transitions. Research, innovation and education are key building blocks to facilitate the European Union’s necessary progress towards sustainability and resilience. Errors made in the past should not be repeated: only long-term, holistic and collaborative approaches will help overcome multi- faceted challenges. Universities across Europe restate their full commitment to contribute to these goals.

Thus, Europe’s universities stand disappointed and concerned by the limited budget proposed for the EU’s flagship programmes Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. The current proposal for Horizon Europe falls far too short of the 120 billion euros that the European Parliament and the university community considered necessary even before Covid-19. A budget cut of more than 3% (compared  to the 2018 Commission proposal) for vital instruments such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and the European Research Council would hamper efforts towards strategic resilience. Under Horizon 2020, this pillar has been central in enabling Europe to move forward in tackling the current pandemic and must therefore be reinforced. For Erasmus+, plans to double (European Commission) or triple (European Parliament) funding for the programme have not been met with a lower proposal of 24.6 billion euros (2018 prices). This is clearly insufficient to meet the new and ambitious policy objectives for the next programme, including support to both physical and virtual mobility and education for all.

Both Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ are investments in our future and in our youth. They will reinforce Europe’s capacities to face today’s challenges, and those yet to come. Such challenges may take various forms and solutions will require mobilising various types of knowledge, citizens, and society.

To drive sustainability, Europe must invest in research and innovation. We urge the European institutions to (1) ensure that the funding programmes support science in all areas;(2) encourage and facilitate collaboration across disciplines and (3) foster timely association of interested non-EU countries to Horizon Europe. Finally, EU leaders must (4) recognise the long-term benefit of strengthening investigator-driven frontier research to achieve a proper balance of bottom-up and top-down approaches, throughout Horizon Europe. Europe’s universities recommend that the funds dedicated to research and innovation within Next Generation EU address holistically all challenges related to the coronavirus crisis through the same balanced approach.

Universities across Europe will contribute best to the common recovery and societal resilience if there are more  synergies  across research, innovation and education policies and funding programmes, and coordinated efforts between funders at European, national and regional levels.

It is now important to reach an agreement in time so that the European Union can move forward and deliver on its ambitious objectives in 2021. It is also the member states’ duty to intensify efforts in research, innovation and education, so that our societies and economies can benefit from an unprecedented momentum towards a sustainable recovery path. Therefore, we call for a commitment to new and reinforced targets for the proportion of GDP invested in research and innovation, both for public and private funding.

We, universities of Europe, urge European leaders to step up investment in research, innovation and education to foster long- term strategic resilience, enabling Europe to strongly reinforce its role as a global leader in this respect.

|2020-07-20|0|0|§213|EU Call for Expression of Interest on the Socio-economic and Behavioural Impacts of COVID-19|

On behalf of Harald Hartung, Head of Unit E4-Fair Societies and Cultural Heritage

We would like herewith to inform you on the launch of a new call for an Expression of Interest on the socio-economic and behavioural impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak response that might be of your interest.

 Under the EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020, Societal Challenge 1 (Health, demographic change and wellbeing), the European Commission has published a second call for an Expression of Interest on 19 May 2020. This Second Call for an Expression of Interest includes a topic on the ‘’ SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020-2C - Behavioural, social and economic impacts of the outbreak response’’, dealing with social and economic impacts of the outbreak response across Europe, non-intended consequences of epidemic-control decisions, mental health and health inequalities. Results and policy recommendations coming out of this topic are expected to speed up recovery, strengthen society’s resilience and improve preparedness for future emergencies.

The total budget for this topic amounts to EUR 20 million and proposals requesting an EU contribution of between EUR 4 and 10 million are considered addressing the topic appropriately.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is 11 June 2020.

We herewith count on your interest and strongly encourage you to submit your proposals for the aforementioned call. Please follow the link below to see the details of the call and submit your proposals:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/sc1-phe-coronavirus-2020-2c

Should you need further information, please follow the information session webinar organised tomorrow, Wednesday 20 May 2020, from 14.00 to 16.30. The webinar will be webcast and recorded. You can watch it via this link: https://webcast.ec.europa.eu/2nd-call-infosession-20may2020

14:00 Welcome – explanation of format*
14:05 key messages about the call Irene Norstedt (DG R&I), Jakub Boratynski (DG CNECT), & Peter Dröll (DG R&I)
14:15 Basic principles of call for EoI – Henriette Van Eijl (DG R&I)
14:30-16:30 Topic presentations:
14:30 Repurposing of manufacturing for vital medical supplies and equipment Carmine Marzano (DG R&I)
15:00 Medical technologies, Digital tools and Artificial Intelligence (AI) analytics to improve surveillance and care at high Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) Saila Rinne (DG CNECT)
15:30 Behavioural, social and economic impacts of the outbreak response Pilar González Pantaléon (DG R&I)
16:00 Pan-European COVID-19 cohort(s) united against the pandemic Networking of existing EU and international cohorts of relevance to COVID-19 (CSA) Christian Desaintes & Beatrice Lucaroni (DG R&I)
16:30 (end)

European Commission

DG Research & Innovation-People Directorate

Unit E4 – Fair Societies and Cultural Heritage

CDMA 02/066

1049 Brussels/Belgium

+32 229-80037

domna.paschalidou@ec.europa.eu

http://ec.europa.eu/research

|2020-05-21|0|0|§211|Journal of Gerontological Social Work - Call for editor-in-Chief|

Journal of Gerontological Social Work is currently seeking applications for its next Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief oversees all Editorial responsibilities for the journal.

The Journal aims to be the leading voice in thought development, research, educational training, and professional practice in the field of gerontological social work. The Journal publishes articles across a wide range of domains and settings of gerontological social work.

Find out more about the role and apply before May 31.

Why Apply to be a Journal Editor?

• Become a leading figure within your field;

• Get visibility for your research;

• Build and extend your professional network;

• Support the development and publication of high impact content;

• Keep up-to-date with research and developments in your field.

 

|2020-05-14|0|0|§209|World Pandemic Research Network (WPRN) |

EASSH has joined as a partner the World Pandemic Research Network (WPRN): assessing societal and human impact of Covid 19. This platform maintains a searchable global directory of research projects, surveys and initiatives about the societal and human impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

A Message from EASHH to members

This is an invitation for your organisation to participate in an international, interdisciplinary initiative to better understand the human and societal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and help prepare the aftermath.

The pandemic will have massive societal and human consequences. All around the world, researchers have set up projects to make sense of what happens and to generate knowledge to better cope with the impending challenges. These projects involve several fields of knowledge, including the social sciences and the humanities. There is a pressing need to get a global view of who does what and how, to facilitate sharing, collaboration, capitalization, transfer, and to limit errors, redundancies.

As a response, the World Pandemic Research Network (WPRN) has just been launched with the support of EASSH (with an unanimous decision of the Governing Board on 8 April 2020), as well as of several international scientific networks, scientific societies and institutions worldwide. It offers a searchable global directory of research projects, surveys and initiatives about the societal and human impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. This directory is accessible on a dedicated platform: www.wprn.org.

Registered projects get a time-stamped WPRN-ID number and a WPRN webpage which presents their project. It enables other researchers and stakeholders to get in touch and to follow and cite project updates or pre-publications. The directory of projects is searchable by area, discipline, type of project and content. WPRN also disseminates links to calls for research and/or for collaboration, questionnaires, conference/webinar announcements and more generally all publications and resources that are of use for research on Covid-19 societal and human impact. WPRN provides links to these resources.

WPRN is a non-profit academic resource, GDPR compliant and will not publish, give or sell e-mail addresses to third parties. Registration is free.

We would like to invite your organisation to play an influential role in the shaping of this global common for the social sciences and the humanities:

1)      by asking your community (members, staff, current and past associates, partnering scientific institutions) to register their projects on the human and societal impacts of Covid-19 on WPRN.

2)      by proposing up to ten names of senior scholars who could become WPRN referents for the disciplines, themes and type of projects they would choose (see form). The role of a referent is to screen projects (weed out irrelevant projects and flag those which they consider most interesting and innovative). A light and user-friendly automated procedure has been developed to help referents perform this task easily.

By supporting WPRN, your organisation will not only serve the international research community, it will also be aware of projects and resources initiated in its domain. The names/logos of contributing organisations as well as those of the referents will be listed on the WPRN website.

We hope we can count on your support to promote an open, collaborative and innovative advancement of SSH knowledge in this crucial period.

We remain at your disposition for any further information that you might require. Olivier Bouin                                                                Gabi Lombardo

EASSH President                               EASSH Director

|2020-04-20|1|0|§208|Congratulations!|

ESWRA is delighted to announce the winners of the Annual Awards for Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research 

Annual Award for outstanding publication in European Social Work Research

Kenneth Burns, University College Cork, Ireland
Kenneth Burns, Alastair Christie and Siobhan O’Sullivan (2019) ‘Findings from a longitudinal qualitative study of child protection social workers’ retention: job embeddedness, professional confidence and staying narratives, The British Journal of Social Work, advance internet edition https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcz083

Annual Award for outstanding publication in European Social Work Research based on a Doctoral Thesis

Martin Elliott, Cardiff University
Elliott. M. 2019. Child Welfare Inequalities in a Time of Rising Numbers of Children Entering Out-of-Home Care. British Journal of Social Work. pp.1-17 https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcz154    

|2020-04-11|1|0|§207|The Book Series workshop -  submitting book proposals|

Despite the unfortunate postponement of the Bucharest conference, we would still like to hold the workshop on submitting book proposals that had been planned to take place at the conference.  The workshop, which will take the form of a webinar, will be run by the ESWRA/ Policy Press Research in Social Work book series co-editors, Professors John Gal and Anna Gupta. The Research in Social Work series examines current, progressive and innovative research applications of familiar ideas and models in social work research. The series aims to become a leading research collection for social work academics, researchers and practitioners, and make a unique contribution to the academic and professional development of social work in Europe. 

The aim of the workshop is to encourage and support participants to develop proposals for series. The workshop will start with information about the series, books that have been published and ones that are being developed. The process for submitting and evaluating proposals will then be outlined, and there will be opportunities for questions. The remainder of the workshop will be interactive. We ask participants who have ideas for books to bring these to the workshop to discuss and get peer feedback. A member of staff from Policy Press will also attend and address any specific questions for the publisher. 

The workshop will take place on April 23rd between 14:30 - 16:00  (GMT+3).  For details and registration please contact Anna (Anna.Gupta@rhul.ac.uk) or John (johngal30@gmail.com). 

Despite the unfortunate postponement of the Bucharest conference, we would still like to hold the workshop on submitting book proposals that had been planned to take place at the conference.  The workshop, which will take the form of a webinar, will be run by the ESWRA/ Policy Press Research in Social Work book series co-editors, Professors John Gal and Anna Gupta. The Research in Social Work series examines current, progressive and innovative research applications of familiar ideas and models in social work research. The series aims to become a leading research collection for social work academics, researchers and practitioners, and make a unique contribution to the academic and professional development of social work in Europe.

The aim of the workshop is to encourage and support participants to develop proposals for series. The workshop will start with information about the series, books that have been published and ones that are being developed. The process for submitting and evaluating proposals will then be outlined, and there will be opportunities for questions. The remainder of the workshop will be interactive. We ask participants who have ideas for books to bring these to the workshop to discuss and get peer feedback. A member of staff from Policy Press will also attend and address any specific questions for the publisher.

The workshop will take place on April 23rd between 14:30 - 16:00  (GMT+3).  For details and registration please contact Anna (Anna.Gupta@rhul.ac.uk) or John (johngal30@gmail.com). 

|2020-04-11|6|0|§206|THE NORDIC BALTIC DOCTORAL NETWORK IN SOCIAL WORK (NBSW)|

THE NORDIC BALTIC DOCTORAL NETWORK IN SOCIAL WORK (NBSW)

12th Summer School 10th - 14th August 2020 Helsinki, Finland

Experiences, encounters and engagement in social work research to be hosted by the Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki (Finland), in cooperation with the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki and Sosnet – The Finnish National University Network for Social  ork. The Nordic-Baltic Doctoral Network in Social Work (NBSW) is a joint network of the doctoral schools, universities and other institutions in social work in seven countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. We invite PhD students from the Nordic,  altic and other countries to participate in the summer school. It aims to bring together PhD candidates in social work for five days of intensive lectures and discussions on experiences, encounters and engagements in social work research. Submission of a paper (optionally short or long, see  urther instructions below) connected with the theme of the summer school is a prerequisite for participation. 

Read more here.

|2020-03-05|5|0|§205|Update ECSWR 2020 official statement on the Coronavirus/COVID-19|

ECSWR 2020 Bucharest will not go ahead on April 22 -24 2020 in its current form.

Following the spread and trajectory of the coronavirus around the world, it has become increasingly clear that it is not possible to continue with the existing plans for the conference in Bucharest and today, the organising committee and the board have agreed that the conference in Bucharest will not go ahead in its current form.

We are extremely sad and disappointed to have reached this point, given all the hard work that the Bucharest team has put into the conference, and 560 participants having registered. However, we are sure you will agree that this decision is in the best interests of both the world health situation and the health and wellbeing of all delegates, colleagues, families and friends.

Three possible scenarios about how to proceed are explored: (1) Postponement either to July or Autumn; (2) Live online conference on the same dates; (3) Complete cancellation, so no ECSWR this year. We will be taking a final decision on this as soon as is possible, but at the very latest within ten days (Monday 23rd March).

On a personal note, we want to extend all our thoughts and best wishes to yourselves, your families and friends, and your communities, whether you are restricted by travel arrangements, in ‘lockdown’ situations, or, sadly, in ill health. We are acutely aware of the impact this is having on global society and wish to send our heartfelt wishes to you all.

On behalf of
The Bucharest Local Organising Team
Florin Lazar

On behalf of the ESWRA board
Judith Metz
Jon Symonds

|2020-03-13|1|0|§200|EU Funding opportunities|

The European Commission is providing a total of €178m for a newly announced call “addressing societal challenges”. There are 24 topic areas, spanning migration, disruptive technologies and public governance.
 
The list of topics can be accessed via the link below:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/over-eu170-million-available-projects-addressing-societal-challenges-2019-nov-04_en

|2019-12-20|1|0|§195|Sailing through the Troubled Water of Social Work Practice Research|

Call for your contribution – SIG Social Work Practice Research  ECSWR2020 – Bucharest, Romania

The Ethical and Methodological Challenges in Genuine Collaboration and Mutual Learning

 Introduction

Social work practice research aims to bridge the gap between research and practice while collaboration is at the heart of its undertaking. Although collaboration literally means ‘working together’, the reality is often more complicated and challenging. The power dynamics that shape the research agenda and processes, the ethical dilemmas arise from balancing the different stakes and the methodological compromise to make for transdisciplinary knowledge production are just a few of the many issues encountered in practising social work practice research.  How do we navigate and manage differences to work together? What are the enablers and barriers in fostering a genuine collaboration and mutual learning? While collaboration is an ethical choice, what are the ethical issues that collaboration may pose? 

Our SIG event will unpack the challenges, such as political, ethical, epistemological and methodological questions, arising from social work practice research collaboration. It also aims to create space for exchanging ideas that helps us sail through the troubled water of ‘working together’. 

The aims of these working groups are for gathering working knowledge and developing a supportive learning community among members to explore the complexity and possibilities in collaboration. In the workshop, the contributors can base on a concrete example of their work to either raise a question for discussion or facilitate participants to contribute their experiences around a topic. 

An invitation – submit your abstract

We invite all to submit abstracts for working groups which address these challenges. The abstract should include (1) a brief description of the topic or question you want to address in the workshop, (2) your experiences around the topic/question, (3) possible questions for exploration. 

Click here to submit your abstract.

Deadline for submitting abstracts: 30th of November 2019 |  Notification: 20th of December 2019

 We are looking forward to working together!

Organizing committee

Caterine Torbjørnsen Halås - Centre for Practical Knowledge, Nord University (Norway), Elke Plovie      - University of Applied Sciences UC Leuven-Limburg (Belgium), Sara Serbati    - University of Padova (Italy), Vera Taube     - Faculty of Social Work, University of Applied Science Würzburg (Germany), Sui Ting Kong - Department of Sociology, Durham University (UK)

Convenors

Lars Uggerhøj - Department of Sociology and Social Work, Aalborg University (Denmark)

Martine Ganzevles – HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (the Netherlands)

 

 

Draft Programme  

 

9:00 Arrival

9:30 Introduction 

9:50 Keynote 

10:20 Plenum discussion

10:40 Coffee break

11:00 Working groups I (parallel groups)

            12:00 Lunch break

13:00 Working groups II (parallel groups)

14:00 Summing up working knowledge

15:00 Conclusions- agenda setting for the next year’s event

15:30 End of the SIG-event

|2019-11-04|1|0|§194|ECSWR 2020 Abstract deadline extended|

In response to recent demand, we are happy to announce an extension for abstract submission to Sunday 27th October. Notification of decisions will be made to the authors’ email address  on 13 December 2019. 

You are invited to submit abstracts in one of four categories:

1. Oral Paper presentation
2. Poster presentation
3. Symposium
4. Workshop

For more information about about the conference, each of these categories, and submission guidelines please visit the ECSWR 2020 Website

|2019-10-23|1|0|§193|Do you think it would be a good idea for ESWRA to publish a Journal?|

The ESWRA Board is considering establishing a new European Journal in the field of Social Work Research. The first objective is to ascertain the level of support and involvement for this initiative by inviting you to participate in a short survey.

The survey will only take you 5-10 minutes and it is anonymous; the questions are about your background, your views and advice about a new journal for European Social Work Research. The survey also asks whether you would be interested in taking an active part in the development of the journal. Your opinions about founding an ESWRA Journal are important to us so please complete the survey by Friday 25th October.

Please click on the link below to go to the survey. Thank you for your time.

Judith Metz, Ph.D., Chair

https://eswrasurvey.typeform.com/to/pgiYNh

|2019-10-10|6|0|§187|Registration for ECSWR 2020 is OPEN!!|

The Conference will be hosted by The Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest.

Social work research encompasses a rich mix of methodologies and underpinning epistemologies. How does this diversity lead to innovation in social work practice, policy and social development? How does this variety prompt different approaches to the nature, possibilities, implementation and effectiveness of innovation? How can the different social work research contributions to innovations within Europe and across the globe be multiplied and disseminated across diverse cultures/regions? What are the distinctive contributions of social work research to these innovations, in context of wider contributions of social sciences and humanities?

This is an exciting time to talk about integrating social work research into daily practice. Therefore, ECSWR 2020 focuses on how the diversity of social work research methodologies, approaches, traditions and cultures contributes to innovations in social work practice and policy, and to social development more broadly, at local, regional, national, international levels.

Registration dates:

• 24 January 2020 | early bird deadline
• 3 April 2020 | registration closes

https://www.ecswr2020.org/en/REGISTRATION---ACCOMMODATION.html

|2019-10-07|1|0|§181|Austerity, social work and welfare policies: a global perspective |

Published in June 2019 year this book examines the impact of the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis on social work and welfare systems.

It outlines a new environment of austerity where reduced government commitment to tackling inequality and poverty is accompanied by increasingly punitive approaches to welfare. The authors present perspectives from ten different countries exploring the challenges that individual social workers and the profession more generally faces. The book argues that social work has to maintain and strengthen its commitment to key principles of social justice in the face of an extended period of welfare retrenchment and attacks on the social state.

Some of the chapters have been written by ESWRA Board members;  Francisco Branco, Emilio Jose Gomez Ciriano,  and Sofia Dedotsi.   

https://www.thomsonreuters.es/es/tienda/duo-papel-ebook/Austerity--social-work-and-welfare-policies:-a-global-perspectiveDuo/p/10014146

|2019-07-08|1|0|§179|ECSWR 2020 Bucharest abstract submission OPEN!|

ECSWR 2020 will be hosted by The Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest.

Social work research encompasses a rich mix of methodologies and underpinning epistemologies. How does this diversity lead to innovation in social work practice, policy and social development? How does this variety prompt different approaches to the nature, possibilities, implementation and effectiveness of innovation?  How can the different social work research contributions to innovations within Europe and across the globe be multiplied and disseminated across diverse cultures/regions? What are the distinctive contributions of social work research to these innovations, in context of wider contributions of social sciences and humanities?

This is an exciting time to talk about integrating social work research into daily practice. Therefore, ECSWR 2020 focuses on how the diversity of social work research methodologies, approaches, traditions and cultures contributes to innovations in social work practice and policy, and to social development more broadly, at local, regional, national, international levels. 

Themes
Main theme
Social work research: Contributing to innovation in practice, policy and social development.

Sub-themes

• Challenges and opportunities for social work research, practice, policy or education in contemporary contexts;
• Social work research, policy, practice or education across boundaries - including across national, social, cultural, disciplinary and professional boundaries;
•  Exploring the impact and effectiveness of social work practice;
• Social work history and identify as a profession and discipline;
• Theorizing social work and/or social work research;
•  Connecting social work research and practice, including co-creation of knowledge;
• Methodological development, innovation and capacity building in social work research.

Submission Instructions

All abstracts must be relevant to the central conference theme and/or sub-themes. Preference will be given to abstracts that are strongly linked to the conference theme and/or sub-themes, so we encourage authors to show this explicitly. Authors are also asked to mention one or two theoretical or empirical references that inform or inspire the abstract. In addition, we actively welcome proposals for symposia and/or workshops by the Special Interest Groups.

Submission information

|2019-06-14|1|0|§170|ESWRA Members Expertise Register|

As members, you may be the connection that others are looking for. The Resources Development Group has developed an online register where members can find colleagues who might share the same research interests and who has published in their field. We would like to invite you to add your details to the register so that you can be found by other colleagues who may want to make contact with you.  We know that there are many other platforms that people use, from Researchgate to LinkedIn (and maybe still even Facebook). We believe that the ESWRA page will have particular benefits, because it is focused on our own community that has built such strong collegiate connections in recent years.
 
What do I need to do to register:
 
Go to the www.eswra.org website
Log in to your account (top right corner)
Go to ‘MyESWRA’ (big blue button)
Go to the ‘Research interest database’ drop down menu (on the right hand side)
Select ‘edit your research preferences’
Tick some boxes!
 
You can also select boxes under the ‘search for researchers’ item to find other researchers in your field.
 
As more members sign up, you will find more there!

|2020-11-04|1|0|§169|Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition|

Developed by The University of Queensland, Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic competition that challenges doctoral researchers to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. The 3MT compettion was held by the Doctoral and Early Career Researchers SIG during ESCWR 2019 Leuven. We are delighted to announce that the winner of MT3 competition is Andrea Fleckinger.

|2019-05-14|0|0|§168|Best Poster Award at ECSWR 2019|

The best poster award was presented to Jeannette Hartman for her poster “Social work and political agency” 

Michel Tirions, Collin Den Braber, Sylvie Van Dam for their poster “The capability approach: from social work research to social work practice”

|2019-05-14|0|0|§167|ESWRA Award for an Outstanding Publication in European Social Work Research 2018|

Elina Virokannas is the winner of the ESWRA award for an Outstanding Publication in 2018 'The contested concept of vulnerability – a literature review’ 

Elina Virokannas, Suvi Liuski & Marjo Kuronen (2018) The contested concept of vulnerability – a literature review, European Journal of Social Work, DOI: 10.1080/13691457.2018.1508001

If you would like to make to nominate either for yourself or a colleague click on the Annual Awards tab above

|2019-05-14|0|0|§164|Kick off for the Social Work Research Conference|

590 delegates from more than 30 countries and  22 research groups gather in the most important conference of social work research in Europe

Leuven 11/04/2018.

The European Conference for Social Work Research, organized by ESWRA (European  Social Work Research Association), KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp and the University of Ghent kicked off yesterday  evening at the Auditory Pieter de Somer of KU Leuven.

More than 590 delegates from more than 30 countries will participate in this conference that will last till the 12th of April. As a prologue to the conference a meeting of 15 different research groups  took place

The conference focuses on the ways social work research and practice can operate in context of changing welfare state paradigms, and in particular how core values of human rights and social justice can be embodied and realised.

At the opening session  Elaine Sharland ,Chair of ESWRA, and Koen Hermans and Sofia Dedotsi, Co-Chairs of the conference  welcomed the participants.  Nino Zganec from the European Association of Schools of Social Work highlighted the relationship between education and social work and finally,  Gabi Lombardo, Director of the European Alliance of Social Sciences and Humanities highlighted the importance of social work research in contributing to civil society

The opening session was followed by a magnificent keynote speech on Human Rights, Social Justice and Social Work Research by Koen Hermans who gave an overview of how human rights approach is present in the daily work of social workers in Flanders and on the importance of a human rights framework for social work research.

After the keynote speech the General Assembly of ESWRA  was celebrated. The members thanked Elaine Sharland and Sofia Dedotsi who are stepping down from the Chair and Vice Chair of ESWRA  and  welcomed their successors Judith Metz and Jon Symonds ESWRA board also presented the 2018 Annual Report.

|2019-04-11|1|0|§160|Election Results|

Election Results:

We are delighted to announce that the following candidates have been elected to the ESWRA Board.

General members:

Prof. dr. Koen Hermans 
Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Belgium

Dr Liz Frost,
Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol UK

Doctoral Student

Florian Spensberger
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, Germany

|2019-03-12|1|0|§144|EU funding information|

As part of our information sharing commitment ESWRA has collated the main funding opportunities currently available for social work researchers. These programmes are implemented through the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2014 -2020.

An overview of the main funding opportunities for the Multiannual Financial Framework can be found through the link below. To help navigate the web site the we have a section that guides you through the more well-known funding opportunities.

Please visit: http://http://www.eswra.org/funding_op.html

|2018-10-03|1|0|§76|Human Rights on Trial|

Emilio Jose Gomez Ciriano, an ESWRA Board member, published this article in 2016 that may be of interest: ‘Human Rights on trial: a diachronic and comparative perspective on the situation of social rights in five European countries’ available to download free here: https://www.academia.edu/28913668/Human_Rights_on_Trial

If you are an ESWRA member and have articles or news that may be of interest to other members, you can email them to info@eswra.org

|2019-05-14|1|0|§69|ESWRA influencing policy making|

The existence of ESWRA is important because it says to the public, to the policy makers, that there are serious people thinking serious things...", says Phillippe Keraudren, Head of Unit in the European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation.  You can read more of his address about ESWRA's role here.

|2016-09-07|0|0|