If a parent marries someone who is not the other natural parent of his child the couple may wish to adopt the child. Adoption makes the child a full member of the new family and destroys the legal relationship with his family of birth. In 1974, the Departmental Committee on the Adoption of Children (the Houghton Committee) recommended that adoption was not an appropriate way to re-organize relationships within step-families. Subsection 10(3) of the Children Act 1975 which was implemented on 26 November 1976 restricts step-parent adoption in cases where the child's natural parents have been divorced. Courts hearing such applications are required to dismiss them if the matter would be better dealt with by a joint custody order in favour of the parent and step-parent. This thesis presents the findings of a research project monitoring subs. 10(3) of the Children Act 1975. Part I gives the legal and social background to the research and describes the research project. Part II presents the findings of a study of all applications for adoption by parent and step-parent in 3 local authority areas between 1975 and 1978. There were 1733 applications from 1255 families. Part III gives the conclusions and recommendations drawn from the study.

This study seeks to promote an improved understanding of the relationship between policy and practice in child care. It addresses the general question of the relationship between values, or Ideologies, and practice in social welfare, identifying a number of critical concerns about the way this relationship is theorised and understood. Emerging from this consideration, it is suggested that a clearer understanding of this relationship in the context of child welfare would be helpful. In order to achieve this objective, the study develops and applies a methodological framework utilising the notion of "value positions", developed previously by Fox Harding (1982, 1991a; 1991b; 1991c); and rooted in the notion of "ideal types" conceived originally by Weber. The study applies this framework to a number of substantive areas. It is progressively applied to recent child care history, policy developments and political debates, practice outcomes, and agencies' approaches to child welfare. Each of these substantive elements of the study provide further illumination of significant child care issues in its own right; but, in addition, taken together, they provide a stronger foundation for the conclusions ultimately drawn. On this basis, the study is able to derive a number of conclusions, both about the effectiveness of the methodological approach undertaken, and about the substantive question of change and development in welfare provision for children. It is concluded that there is some value in applying a methodological framework based on key "value positions" in child care, despite its potential limitations. In relation to the substantive Issue of child welfare, it is argued that the need to negotiate the conflicting demands of differing perspectives, allied to the continuing resilience of a broad commitment to the needs of children, provide some grounds for cautious optimism about future developments.

This purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of social workers in adult social services in the United Kingdom, as they use and apply knowledge in practice. This is situated within the wider debate as to what might comprise the knowledge base for practice, how practitioners use knowledge and the issues they face in its application to practice. In some ways, this relationship between knowledge and practice lies at the very core of social work itself and it can be argued that it is this which makes it distinctive. Many writers continue to acknowledge the 'theory/practice dichotomy', which can be considered as an unacceptable gap, a disjuncture between what is taught or learned and what is practiced. Knowledge is seen as the domain of the academic and practice of the social worker. Much of the work in this area highlights the views and opinions of academics with little attention given to the experiences of practitioners who remain a relatively under-researched professional group. This qualitative study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) presents an in-depth, idiographic analysis of the lived experiences of social workers in the adult field who discussed their experiences of the use and development of knowledge in their practice. Findings offer insights into what the social workers experienced as challenging, from both the increased complexity and pace of their workload with efforts to understand and intervene in the lives of their service users. The essence of the experience was condensed into three superordinate themes which emerged from the data; <ul> <li>A Complex Process.</li> <li>The Use of Knowledge/Functionality.</li> <li>'Putting it into Practice'.</li> </ul> Detailing different aspects of the social workers' experiences, the themes highlighted the complexity of impressions of the nature and type of knowledge used in practice, the various ways in which knowledge is used and the struggles to articulate and find a language to explain the issues faced in applying knowledge. As no previous study has considered the use and application of knowledge by practitioners in the adult sector in this way, the research findings provide new insights by hearing the voices of the participants enabling them to convey their understanding of what they perceive are the issues facing them in this important area of their practice.

This thesis presents the first detailed investigation to be carried out on the nature, extent, and effects of child physical abuse by parents and teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Child abuse in KSA, in general, received little or no attention by academics or other specialists until the early 1990s and it is only over the past decade or so that the scale and severity of the problem has been recognised. This research focuses on abuse by the two groups of adults who have most access to children and adolescents and who, traditionally in KSA, have dispensed physical discipline on a routine basis. A mixed methods approach was adopted in order to assess the prevalence of child physical abuse, the attitudes of present-day parents and teachers toward this form of abuse and the wider issue of physical punishment, and the longer-term psychological and behavioural effects it may have. A detailed questionnaire was administered to 768 high-school students, male and female, aged 12 to 18, in two cities, which, for the purposes of this research, will be referred to as city A and city B, and which differ significantly in their demographics and social and cultural character. In addition, twenty parents and twenty teachers of students attending the same schools were interviewed to provide data to triangulate with those collected from the students. Quantitative data from the questionnaire was analysed using SPSS and a variety of statistical methods, including weighted means, chi-square analysis, and correlation and regression. Qualitative data from the interviews was analysed using Nvivo and interpretative thematic analysis. The study found that 37% of adolescents questioned had been the subject of some form of physical violence by parents and 40% had experienced violent behaviour by teachers. Note, however, that the latter figure could result from a relatively small percentage of teachers who regularly apply physical disciplining. Just over half of the parents and a large majority of the teachers interviewed said they never used physical punishment and considered its effects to be harmful. A significant minority of parents and a small minority of teachers, however, were in favour of such punishment and believed it to be effective as a means of correcting behaviour. In their responses to the questionnaire, students frequently referred to negative psychological, emotional, and impacts due to experiences of violent behaviour by parents and teachers. A significant conclusion of the current study, therefore, is that a difference exists between what some adults who use violent behaviours against children believe the effects to be and what the effects actually are as reported by young people who experience those behaviours. Another important conclusion is that a small but significant number of adolescents experience physical abuse by their parents, including punching, whipping, and burning, which has the potential to put their health and safety at serious risk. Regarding implications for practice, there is a need for the KSA government to clarify for parents and teachers what is, and what is not abuse, and to provide information on the dangers of violent behaviours against children. The current study also highlights the need for greater protection to be provided for children at risk of abuse. The researcher recommends that future studies include other major population centres and regions of KSA and other types of abuse, such as sexual and emotional, and that interviews be conducted with adolescents to explore further the nature and effects of any physical abuse to which they have been subjected.

Abundant reunification research in Western contexts has accumulated a wealth of evidence on various groups of children in out-of-home care. Yet, such research takes a predominantly quantitative angle, looking at reunion odds rather than illuminating families’ in-depth qualitative experiences. Research on children in out-of-home care in Moldova remains an even more under-researched area. The present study aims to fill this gap. Based on retrospective accounts of 20 mothers, 20 children and 5 focus groups with child care professionals, it connects families’ separation and reunification experiences, creating a more holistic understanding of their journey. The study uses a rigorous Grounded Theory methodology to create theoretical models and frameworks deeply grounded in the data. Advanced participatory research methods were employed to engage children in the research process as co-constructors of knowledge. The findings demonstrated how families adapted to life in separation, preserving their sense of family membership and continuity. Being predominantly migrant workers, mothers continued ‘part-time’ parenting within restricted time frames and having scarce resources. In spite of a limited physical presence in their children’s lives, mothers kept their children psychologically present. Extended family played an important role in children’s lives, helping them retain a sense of family identity and membership. Most mothers and children highly praised residential care as providing children with safety, comfort and education they could not enjoy in their families and communities. Analysis of reunification processes revealed drastic differences between two groups of families — surviving and struggling — demonstrating how family continuity expressed by commitment to family membership, ongoing positive contact, willingness to reunite and determination to make reunion work cemented the stability of reunion. Where families lacked family continuity and coherence, they were struggling to adjust to life together. Finally, the study scrutinised mothers’ views on post-reunion support, revealing multiple gaps and barriers in accessing social services’ support. Most importantly, it revealed a disparity in views between mothers and professionals on family support needs. While mothers were increasingly speaking about their vulnerability and the need for ongoing and consistent support, professionals focussed on the need to cultivate families’ independence from the state. Multiple gaps in the work of the social assistance system were revealed, the most significant being a lack of community-based family services and systemic organisational deficits. The thesis concludes by discussing the study findings in the context of deinstitutionalisation reforms and previous reunification research in Moldova. Implications for practice and policy are made, highlighting the need for family involvement and family-focused work at all stages of planning and decision-making, the importance of supporting family continuity and the urgent need to reconsider the role of residential care in the child care system of Moldova.

This thesis reports a qualitative study undertaken to explore the experiences of adults who grew up with a parent with a severe and enduring mental ill health. It fills a significant gap in the research literature in that it examines an experience that has been previously underexplored. It also provides a lifespan perspective, which gives insight into the impact on the individual and their understanding of their experiences through childhood and into their adult life. The study uses a biographical method in order to elicit rich narratives from 20 individuals. When analysed through a combination of narrative and thematic methods, these narratives give insight into lived experiences and reveal how perceptions and needs shift throughout childhood and into adulthood. Participants spoke of a sense of vulnerability, which threaded through the course of their lives influencing, and at times, defining significant points such as going to school, leaving home and becoming a parent. This vulnerability affected their relationships both within their family and with the world around them. Constructing an identity for themselves, participants developed a projected self that appeared competent, compliant and resilient. However, at times, this was built upon a flawed model of understanding and emotion, which is developed here into a model of acquiescence, within which the individual’s needs are subjugated in response to others. Participants did not regret remaining with their ill parent, but were frustrated that while they had been very involved in their parent’s illness, their needs had not been considered nor had they been included in the care planning for their parent in a meaningful or genuine manner. Thus, support for children growing up with a parent with mental ill health needs to be readily accessible and responsive to their individual needs throughout not only childhood, but also continuing into adulthood.

This thesis is a qualitative enquiry of the role that interprofessional ethics plays in the decision-making between social workers and health visitors in child protection work. Through two in-depth discursive studies, the way that participants negotiate the complex ethical issues that run through practice is explored. The dynamics of interprofessional working and ways in which professionals construct identities within child protection work are examined. Focusing on language as a medium that both reflects and constructs social realities, the thesis provides an analysis of the professional positions that are adopted firstly in response to a case study and secondly within interviews. The first study, a preliminary investigation, considered the responses of five health visitors and nine social workers to an online case study. Building from this, the second study analysed talk within four semi-structured joint professional interviews with pairs of experienced professionals. The findings indicate that the fixed differences in perspective between the health visitors and the social workers within the study are minimal. As in previous studies, the influence of formal ethical frameworks is also difficult to detect, although there are some implicit frameworks for ethical decision-making that fit with those provided by moral philosophy. The contradictions and tensions within the professional accounts mirror tensions present within policy and guidance. The tendency for social workers and health visitors to emphasise their alignment during the interviews indicates that the performed identities of both groups might be more fluid and context sensitive than is often assumed within the literature about interprofessional practice. Instead professional identities are in flux, coalescing in relation to cases (at the individual level) and in relation to communities of practice (Wenger, 1998). The boundary work that delineates professional roles and identities can be seen as determined within less fixed and more situationally nuanced frameworks.

This thesis reports a qualitative study undertaken to explore the mothering experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee women in England, with a specific focus on how these experiences affect their maternal identity. Maternal identity is defined here as a woman’s perceived sense of competence in her role as a mother. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-two asylum-seeking and refugee mothers. The study fills a significant gap in the research literature. Firstly, it provides a comprehensive account of the experiences related to mothering of asylum-seeking and refugee women in England. Secondly, it relates these experiences to the women’s maternal identity. Thirdly, drawing on both sociology and psychology and different approaches to analysing data, the thesis employs two theoretical frameworks, resilience theory and impression management theory, to try to understand the ways in which maternal identity can be protected. The mothers in the sample spoke about a range of experiences that impacted on their mothering practices and abilities. Many of these experiences were spoken about as presenting challenges to mothering. These included negotiating an opaque and hostile asylum system, poverty, housing problems, separation from children, social isolation, negotiating a new culture, parenting alone and intimate partner violence (IPV). Some of these experiences threatened the expressed maternal identity of some women. These experiences were threatening because they created a barrier between mothering expectations and actions. However, some women seemed more able to maintain a sense of competence in their mothering abilities, despite encountering multiple challenges to mothering. This is explained using resilience theory. The study adopts an alternative approach to understanding how maternal identity can be protected. It employs impression management theory to explore the way in which participants used language to negotiate their identities as ‘good’ mothers in the face of threats. The implications of the findings are discussed with regards to both government policy and those professionals working with asylum-seeking and refugee mothers.

Status, well-being, and belonging can be key features influencing the morale and performance of paid workers. Is this less so for the unpaid volunteer worker? This ethnographic study explored the impact that job training had on unpaid volunteer workers in a sports environment. It sought a phenomenological understanding of how unpaid workers made meaning of their training and work experience. The research was conducted over 9 months at a large multi-sport complex in the Midwest USA. Data was collected using field observation, in-depth and informal interviews, and document review. Data was analysed using an inductive approach employing constant comparison to identify and categorize recurring concepts and themes. Findings and conclusions informed the development of a new, two-level typology of frustration for volunteer worker - ‘Social Frustration’ and ‘Task Frustration’. These findings have important implications for unpaid volunteer workers’ level of satisfaction and for organisations seeking to recruit, motivate, and retain volunteer workers. Data from the study also revealed that access to current and pertinent job related information was of greater importance to volunteers than formal systems of training when dealing with frustration. Volunteers in this study gave their time freely with expectation that their time will be used effectively and did not believe that formalized training programs were necessary, but recognized the importance of being informed. It is possible that organizations will need to rethink systems of training to engender feelings of self worth, accomplishment and belonging, and assist in improving performance and overcoming the frustrations of close identification with task completion and social relevance. Both volunteer and organisation can benefit.

Advocacy has been an increasingly important concept in the field of social and health care over the last two decades. The 1986 Disabled Person's Act and the NHS and Community Care Act (1990) have both made reference to the roles available for independent representatives of individuals and advocacy organisations have been developed throughout the UK. Despite this there has been remarkably little investigation into the topic. The majority of the research in this area has focused on self-advocacy and legal or professional advocacy. Citizen advocacy, the development of a one to one relationship between an unpaid private individual and someone at risk of isolation or exclusion, has not been a popular area for systematic investigation. Research in this area has tended to focus on evaluating the services provided by citizen advocacy organisations to allocate funding or is literature of a descriptive nature to promote citizen advocacy as a positive concept in a person' s life to carers and service providers. Of the studies of a more critical nature, only three have involved the partner's views in their evaluation. The aim of the present study is to focus on the the views and perceptions of users of advocacy services, and to explore their views through qualitative methods of analysis. Six partners and their advocates where interviewed about their advocacy partnership and the transcripts analysed using an inductive grounded theory approach (Henwood and Pidgeon (1995)) to generate themes emerging from the data. Further analysis of three partner's transcripts and two advocate transcripts using "thematic decomposition" techniques (Stenner 1993) was done to identify subject positions and dominant discourses used to describe the citizen advocacy partnership. Four main themes emerged: qualities of the advocate, concept of advocacy, relationships to others (in comparison to advocate) and the development of the advocacy relationship. Each of the three transcripts analysed using thematic decomposition showed a variety of subject positions relating to the roles that the advocate and partner took in a dynamic relationship. The results are discussed in the context of previous research and clinical relevance. Suggestions for future research in this area are also considered.