published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of violence exhibited by clients towards Youth Protection workers. The sample consisted of 59 Youth Protection employees of Batshaw Youth and Family Centres who were given a questionnaire related to their experience with client initiated violence. The study attempted to identify several factors such as whether violence was an important issue for workers; whether there was a relationship between gender, job status or work experience and violence; whether training and policy adequately meet the needs of workers. The thesis concludes with recommendations to the agency on how to better deal with the violence issue and suggestions for future exploration in research, policy development, training and education.

The phenomenon of street children is world-wide and on the increase despite numerous programs aiming at its eradication. The failure to adequately address this complex and very diverse phenomenon is the result of conceptual confusion with respect to defining who a street child is. The dominant discourse on street children defines them as victims or deviants to be rescued and rehabilitated. As such, the capacity of many of these children for human agency is occluded by excluding them from participation in the construction of solutions to their problems. I argue that, far from being mere victims and deviants, these kids, in running away from alienating structures and finding relative freedom in the street, often become autonomous and are capable of actively defining their situations in their own terms. They are able to challenge the roles assigned to children, make judgements and develop a network of niches in the heart of the metropolis in order to resist exclusion and chronic repression. I further argue that for research and action with street kids to be emancipatory, it is necessary to acknowledge and respect the human agency the kids display in changing their own lives and to capitalize on their voluntary participation in non-formal educational activities as well as in collective advocacy. / The thesis draws on a participatory action research (PAR) methodology spanning eight years of fieldwork with street kids in Cairo, which eclectically combined street ethnography, street work and action science. I critically review the historical development of these methodologies, and I argue for a conception of PAR as an open-ended process of action and reflective participatory research incorporated into everyday activities and work with excluded, marginalized and oppressed groups such as street kids. As such, I pay special attention to the ethical dilemmas that arise in day-to-day PAR practice.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Univ., Diss.--Lüneburg, 2001.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-110).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.