published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Recurrent themes identified in the narratives of the research participants revealed their perceptions and experiences of the diverse forms of power in this setting, their understanding and interpretation of the meaning of empowerment, and the building of foundations for effective empowering practices. The research findings show how practitioners enhance their own reflexivity as well as those of service partners and users to create a favorable learning environment. They challenged the dominant discourses and produced alternative ones, thus enriching the meaning of education. They also engaged in different dimensions of empowerment, namely (1) the personal dimension as how service users recaptured a sense of competence to meet life challenges and fight for their own benefits; (2) the interpersonal dimension as how practitioners collaborated with school personnel to safeguard student rights and secure social justice; (3) the school and community dimensions as how practitioners initiated positive changes to school policies and mobilized community resources for student development; and (4) the institutional dimension as how practitioners played the advocacy role in the education sector. / The findings provide a knowledge base for an understanding of the significant aspects of power and empowerment in school social work service. The recommendations induced are put into policy, practice, and research categories. They serve as useful information for policy makers to revisit the existing school social work policy to improve the working conditions of practitioners. They give valuable reference materials for youth workers to apply the empowerment approach in actual practice. They also stimulate other intellectuals to explore future directions of social work research in general, as well as youth and school social work studies in particular. / The research findings suggest that empowerment can be generated through a number of ways and understood in terms of dialogical process, reflexive practice, discourse construction, localized actions, collective actions and multiple interventions. The synthesis of these domains opens up the possibility for developing a framework of empowerment-oriented school social work practice. This framework provides a "map" to guide practitioners to work with power in diverse, dynamic, creative, and contextual ways. / This thesis examines the field experiences of Hong Kong school social workers in encountering different forms of power and carrying out empowering practices. A critical social work perspective is adopted to theorize a conceptual framework to explicate the narratives collected through in-depth interviews with 15 frontline school social workers. These research participants were chosen with regard to their service experience, the agencies they belonged to, and the types of schools they served. Using discourse analysis as the research strategy adds a power and political dimension in analyzing their narratives in the Hong Kong context. It gives a comprehensive and detailed description of their reactions to the power relations, performances of flexible roles, generation of new discourses, and use of various strategies to initiate empowering practices. / To Su Ming. / "August 2006." / Adviser: Steven Sek-yum Ngai. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-03, Section: A, page: 1163. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 416-452). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

by Wong Siu Yin. / Bibliography: leaves [i]-vi / Thesis (M.S.W.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

by Ming-fai Law. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 291-312). / Abstract and appendix in English and Chinese. / Title --- p.i / English extract --- p.ii / Chinese extract --- p.iv / Declaration --- p.v / Acknowledgement --- p.vi / Dedication --- p.viii / Table of contents --- p.ix / List of Exhibits --- p.xv / List of Appendices --- p.xvii / Desiderata --- p.xviii / Preface: The button --- p.xix / Chapter Section One: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background of the study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- The professional journey --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- The view to students in a prevocational school --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Focus and objectives of the study --- p.5 / Chapter 1.5 --- Potential contributions of the study --- p.6 / Chapter 1.6 --- Chapter organization --- p.7 / Chapter Section Two: --- Literature review and theoretical framework --- p.8 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Literature review (Part 1): School social work in Hong Kong --- p.8 / Chapter 2.0 --- Introduction --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1 --- Background and development of the school social work service --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- The school social work service delivery --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- The expertise of school social work knowledge --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Existing service models --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Policy requirement --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- "Preferred service delivery model and ""social work"" definition of school" --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3 --- The school casework service --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- The significance of studying the school casework service --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- The special features of the school casework service --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3.2.1 --- The statistics of casework problem natures --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.2.2 --- Clients' impression towards school casework service --- p.23 / Chapter 2.3.2.3 --- Cooperation with school personnel --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3.2.4 --- Working with other helping professionals in the community --- p.28 / Chapter 2.4 --- Conclusion --- p.29 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Literature review (Part 2): The direct work (clinical work) with clients of the school casework service --- p.30 / Chapter 3.0 --- Introduction --- p.30 / Chapter 3.1 --- The current working paradigms of school casework service --- p.31 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Review of the school social work case studies --- p.31 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Preliminary study of school social workers --- p.33 / Chapter 3.2 --- Theories influencing the intervention of school casework service --- p.36 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The biological theory --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- The developmental theory --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Learning and social learning theories --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Cognitive theories --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Delinquency studies --- p.40 / Chapter 3.2.6 --- Family system therapy --- p.41 / Chapter 3.3 --- The cultural dimension - The Chinese values --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Basic conception of Chinese ethics --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- The Chinese way of guiding young persons --- p.44 / Chapter 3.4 --- The epistemological position of the present study --- p.47 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Comments about the literature review --- p.47 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- The tasks for the present study --- p.52 / Chapter 3.5 --- Conclusion --- p.54 / Chapter Chapter Four --- "Theoretical framework and research objectives: ""Narrative informed practice"" of school casework service" --- p.55 / Chapter 4.0 --- Introduction --- p.55 / Chapter 4.1 --- "The theoretical doctrine of ""narrative""" --- p.56 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- "The scope of a ""narrative""" --- p.56 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Narrative reasoning and logico-scientific reasoning --- p.58 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- "The ""common"" features of a narrative" --- p.60 / Chapter 4.1.3.1 --- Time --- p.60 / Chapter 4.1.3.2 --- Intentionality --- p.61 / Chapter 4.1.3.3 --- Narrative form --- p.61 / Chapter 4.1.3.4 --- Meaning of a narrative --- p.63 / Chapter 4.1.3.5 --- Telling and retelling of a lived experience --- p.66 / Chapter 4.1.3.6 --- The dual landscape of a lived experience --- p.67 / Chapter 4.1.3.7 --- "The relationship between the ""part"" and the ""whole"" of a narrative" --- p.68 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- The narrative asymmetry --- p.69 / Chapter 4.1.5 --- Summing up for the theoretical doctrine --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2 --- Connecting the theoretical doctrine to the practice theory --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- """Meaning"" revisited in “narrative informed practice""" --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- "The meaning of a ""client""" --- p.74 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Reasons for seeking the school casework service --- p.75 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Theoretical linkage between narrative principles and the casework practice --- p.76 / Chapter 4.2.4.1 --- Time --- p.76 / Chapter 4.2.4.2 --- Intentionality --- p.76 / Chapter 4.2.4.3 --- Narrative form --- p.77 / Chapter 4.2.4.4 --- "Narrative activities within ""narrative informed practice""" --- p.78 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- "Differentiation of ""narrative informed practice"" with other related psychotherapies" --- p.80 / Chapter 4.3 --- """Narrative informed practice"" in action" --- p.83 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- """Narrative informed practice"" and social work values" --- p.83 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- "Goals and objectives of ""narrative informed practice""" --- p.83 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- The roles of the school social worker during the practice --- p.84 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- The worker-client relationship --- p.85 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- "A word about ""emotion"" during the practice" --- p.85 / Chapter 4.3.6 --- "Tasks of the school social worker during the ""narrative informed practice""" --- p.86 / Chapter 4.3.7 --- "The advantages of the ""narrative informed practice""" --- p.88 / Chapter 4.4 --- Conclusion and the research objectives --- p.91 / Chapter Section Three: --- Methodology --- p.93 / Chapter Chapter Five --- Research design and methodology --- p.93 / Chapter 5.0 --- Overview --- p.93 / Chapter 5.1 --- Rationale in adopting a qualitative research --- p.94 / Chapter 5.2 --- The inquiry root - social constuctionism --- p.96 / Chapter 5.3 --- Research design --- p.98 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Naturalistic casework research --- p.98 / Chapter 5.3.1.1 --- The research procedures of the naturalistic casework research --- p.100 / Chapter Step 1: --- Preparation for the research --- p.101 / Chapter Step 2: --- Personal experience method in reviewing the data --- p.104 / Chapter Step 3: --- Peer group meeting --- p.105 / Chapter Step 4: --- Interviewing the clients about the past casework experience --- p.107 / Chapter Step 5: --- Narrative analysis of the author cum researcher --- p.107 / Chapter Step 6: --- Writing the case study --- p.109 / Chapter Step 7: --- Member checking --- p.110 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Clients' evaluation of the school casework service --- p.111 / Chapter 5.3.2.1 --- Locating the scope of evaluation --- p.111 / Chapter 5.3.2.2 --- Areas of evaluation --- p.112 / Chapter 5.3.2.3 --- Steps of evaluation --- p.113 / Chapter 5.4 --- Time-line of the research --- p.114 / Chapter 5.5 --- Conclusion --- p.114 / Chapter Section Four: --- Case studies and evaluation --- p.115 / Chapter Chapter Six --- Background study and the school setting --- p.115 / Chapter 6.0 --- Intro duction --- p.115 / Chapter 6.1 --- Prevocational school as the site of intervention --- p.115 / Chapter 6.2 --- Specific description of the site --- p.117 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Structure of student affairs --- p.117 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Student management --- p.117 / Chapter 6.3 --- Summary --- p.121 / Chapter Chapter Seven --- A story of floating --- p.122 / The first interview --- p.122 / The second interview --- p.127 / The third interview --- p.133 / The fourth interview --- p.137 / Latter interviews --- p.139 / Conclusion --- p.141 / Chapter Chapter Eight --- "“I don't want to go to school!""" --- p.142 / The referral --- p.142 / I was really worried that Wai-hung would be bad --- p.144 / I don't want to go to school! --- p.150 / The family interviews --- p.160 / Post-intervention scenario --- p.167 / Conclusion --- p.167 / Chapter Chapter Nine --- "Violence, tears, crisis and hope" --- p.169 / The referral --- p.169 / The meaning of being a triad member --- p.170 / The history of conduct and the liaison with teachers --- p.171 / The progress --- p.174 / One false accusation leading to one real accusation --- p.175 / The letter exchange --- p.176 / Personal reflection from May 1999 to July 1999 --- p.180 / "The ""new"" start and another hitting" --- p.181 / From an individual story to a story with the family and the school --- p.183 / Kwong-lung´ةs runaway from the family --- p.185 / Turn over a new leaf and the first court hearing --- p.188 / The second court hearing and the remand --- p.191 / 21days of remand --- p.193 / The verdict --- p.197 / The division of labor between the school social worker and the probation officer --- p.197 / Struggle with schooling and life-wrestle --- p.200 / Conclusion --- p.206 / Chapter Chapter Ten --- Transforming body mutilation to family loyalty --- p.208 / Presenting problem of Kaki --- p.208 / Family background of Kaki --- p.209 / Session one: Exploring the stress --- p.210 / Session two: Friends and love --- p.214 / Session three: Teacher's view on Kaki --- p.217 / Session four: A brief encounter --- p.219 / Session five: Peeling off the onion skins again --- p.219 / Session six: Visiting the past --- p.221 / Session seven: Paving the avenue for family interviews --- p.224 / Session eight: The first family interview without Kaki --- p.227 / "Session nine: The sister,the sister's boyfriend and Kaki" --- p.231 / Preparing the end of the school term --- p.233 / Session ten: Support work --- p.234 / Session eleven: Preparing the closure --- p.234 / Session twelve: The termination --- p.236 / Three months' later --- p.238 / Conclusion --- p.239 / Chapter Chapter Eleven --- Clients' post-hoc evaluations --- p.240 / Chapter 11.0 --- Introduction --- p.240 / Chapter 11.1 --- Evaluation data by individual case --- p.241 / Chapter 11.2 --- Significant findings --- p.246 / Chapter 11.2.1 --- Significant events --- p.246 / Chapter 11.2.2 --- The clients' subjective helpfulness of the service --- p.248 / Chapter 11.2.3 --- Intervention strategy --- p.249 / Chapter 11.2.3.1 --- Overall intervention --- p.249 / Chapter 11.2.3.2 --- Office interviews --- p.250 / Chapter 11.2.3.3 --- Letters Versus interviews --- p.252 / Chapter 11.2.3.4 --- Suggestions for improvements --- p.253 / Chapter 11.2.4 --- The qualities of a school social worker during the casework service --- p.254 / Chapter 11.2.5 --- Worker-client relationship --- p.255 / Chapter 11.2.6 --- Subjective usefulness of the casework service --- p.256 / Chapter 11.2.7 --- Usefulness of the evaluation --- p.257 / Chapter 11.3 --- Summary and conclusion --- p.257 / Chapter Section Five: --- Discussion and conclusion --- p.260 / Chapter Chapter Twelve --- Discussion and implications --- p.260 / Chapter 12.0 --- Introduction --- p.260 / Chapter 12.1 --- Limitations of the study --- p.260 / Chapter 12.2 --- Implications for the study --- p.263 / Chapter 12.2.1 --- Implications for the practice theory --- p.263 / Chapter 12.2.1.1 --- "Revisiting the goals and objectives of the ""narrative informed practice""" --- p.263 / Chapter 12.2.1.2 --- Revisiting the roles of a school social worker --- p.264 / Chapter 12.2.1.3 --- A discussion of the intervention of a school social worker --- p.265 / Chapter a. --- Overall intervention --- p.265 / Chapter b. --- Office interviews --- p.266 / Chapter 1. --- The use of metaphors --- p.267 / Chapter 2. --- To maximize the usefulness of interviews more than two persons --- p.268 / Chapter 3. --- Inclusion of different change agents in the interviews --- p.268 / Chapter 4. --- Clients' responsibility --- p.269 / Chapter c. --- Letter exchange --- p.269 / Chapter d. --- Revisiting the qualities of a school social worker during the casework practice --- p.270 / Chapter e. --- Revisiting the worker-client relationship --- p.270 / Chapter f. --- Working with school system --- p.271 / Chapter g. --- Working with other professionals --- p.273 / Chapter h. --- "The discussion of the advantages of the ""narrative informed practice" --- p.273 / Chapter 12.2.2 --- Implications for evaluation --- p.275 / Chapter 12.2.3 --- Methodological implications --- p.275 / Chapter 12.2.4 --- Research implications --- p.278 / Chapter 12.2.5 --- Implications for school casework service --- p.278 / Chapter 12.2.6 --- Recommendations for further research direction and strategy --- p.279 / Chapter 12.3 --- Conclusion --- p.281 / Chapter Chapter Thirteen --- Summary and recommendations --- p.282 / Chapter 13.1 --- "Implications for the practice theory of ""narrative informed practice""" --- p.282 / Chapter 13.2 --- Implications for evaluation --- p.284 / Chapter 13.3 --- Methodological implications --- p.285 / Chapter 13.4 --- Research implications --- p.285 / Chapter 13.5 --- Implications for the school casework service --- p.286 / Chapter 13.6 --- Limitations of this study --- p.286 / Chapter 13.7 --- Future research direction --- p.287 / Chapter Chapter Fourteen --- Epilogue --- p.288 / Chapter 14.1 --- The theoretical struggle --- p.288 / Chapter 14.2 --- The practice struggle --- p.389 / Chapter 14.3 --- The professional journey to a new territory --- p.290 / Reference --- p.291 / Appendices --- p.313

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education