Ph.D-course: Studying inequality, power and social justice in social work and child welfare research

Course content

Inequalities in the context of social work and child welfare policy and practice have attracted much attention in research over the last decade. Much of this research has drawn on the techniques used by health researchers to map the social determinants of life expectancy, illness, and other outcomes. However, the study of inequalities in social work and child welfare must take into account the normative and value-based nature of these fields. While evidence of inequalities in child welfare interventions is steadily accumulating, theoretical conceptualizations regarding the mechanisms that underlie it are still in the early stages of development. How then can we address normative, relational, systemic and scientific complexities in research activities? How is inequality, power and social justice understood and conceptualized? How do we incorporate an intersectional approach to our research and develop more nuanced understandings of the field?
This course will examine some of the theoretical and ethical challenges associated with researching inequality in the fields of social work and child welfare. The course will also introduce students to methodological approaches and empirical findings from international studies within the area of child welfare systems.

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