Previous research has shown that the role of the social worker is important for children’s wellbeing in care. However, changes in government policy over the last 15 years have led to children, social workers, the government, and other professionals conceptualising the role in different ways. While good relationships between children and social workers are an integral part of helping children achieve wellbeing in care, research suggests this is difficult to achieve in practice. This research aims to use an ecological framework to explore the contemporary role of the social worker with children in long-term care.
pathway: Social Work Alumni
-
Maike Klein
My PhD project seeks to investigate the lived experiences of young adults in the UK, who have suffered from multiple relapses during their recovery journey from substance misuse. By employing qualitative research methods, my project will investigate narratives of those who have relapsed two or more times during their recovery journey, and provide a better understanding of what constitutes relapse and recovery. In addition, my project will explore the similarities and differences between relapse narratives of service users and service providers, which will allow for recommendations within treatment practices and policy.
-
Beth Stone
My research focus is the lived experience of homeless adults with an autistic spectrum disorder.
My PhD research will build upon my MSc in which I piloted narrative methods to elicit life stories from autistic adults who had experienced homelessness.
I am particularly interested in the life trajectory of autism, the difficulties surrounding diagnosis in adulthood, and the socio-economic disadvantages associated with being ‘on the spectrum’.
-
Dr Rachel Wilder
The aim of my research is to explore how decision makers negotiate what ‘knowledge’ contributes to sex and relationships education (SRE) policy for a selection of primary schools in Bristol. ‘Decision makers’ refers to governors, head teachers, SRE teachers, external consultants and others who contribute to decision-making about SRE. This will involve looking at what criteria decision makers, as individuals and as a potential collective, use to assign value to different kinds of information (including technical information, historical pathways, community values, personal attitudes, etc.) and how decision makers use these knowledge(s) to create a case and to negotiate with other decision makers to advance their political persuasion and preferences with regards to SRE policy.
-
Mary Wakeham
My research explores in detail young LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of violence and abuse in intimate partner relationships and how best to respond to this problem. A mixed methods approach to data collection is deployed in the form of a national survey, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to examine:
- The nature and dynamics of violence and abuse in young LGBTQ+ intimate partner relationships and the wider cultural and social processes that underpin experiences of violence and abuse in these relationships
- Young LGBTQ+ people’s attitudes to violence and abuse, the impact intimate partner violence has in their own relationships and the support needs of victims/survivors and perpetrators.
- Young LGBTQ+ people’s views on effective intervention and prevention