The Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools were published in December 2017, and, by March 2018, all schools in Ireland were comprehended by their statutory requirements. This paper analyses those Procedures using a hybrid analytical tool premised on Walt and Gilson’s (1994) Policy Analysis Triangle, with a selection of Riddell’s (2003) Models of Administrative Justice acting as lenses to aid interpretation. The Procedures ’ context, content, actors and processes are explored, and the influence of case law and regulatory theory is examined. The multi-agency approach to child protection in Ireland is also delineated. Difficulties related to differentiating the curricular component to child protection for learners with special educational needs, and the implications of having more non-mandated than mandated persons employed in special schools is considered. The article concludes with an overview of the possible implications of this policy review for pedagogy and practice.
The concept of recovery is well documented within mental health literature. Yet, it remains a contested notion since moving beyond a singular, biomedical focus in the late 20 century. Recovery is currently viewed as a unique, personalised journey for people living with mental illness. This article considers the significance of social constructionism and allied metatheoretical constructs in exploring personal recovery in mental health practice and service delivery. Based on a comprehensive literature review, and researcher reflexivity, it argues that adopting this theoretical position can result in new perspectives and learning for researchers and care professionals seeking to understand the existential meaning of personal recovery. Moreover, it provides a unique account of the value of social constructionism for deconstructing the notion and revealing new interpretations of what it might mean.
Developing consistent collaborative working relationships between foster carers and social workers are important as they impact fostering stability and thus, the outcomes of children in foster care. This paper suggests a new framework, Trauma-informed Foster Care that was developed to reflect the experience of the Irish foster care system, may be helpful to support more collaborative practices between foster carers and social workers in an Irish context. Firstly, the paper explores the relationships between foster carers and social workers drawing on relevant literature. Secondly, the Trauma-informed Foster Care framework is delineated emphasising the principle of collaborative practice. Thirdly, the paper discusses considerations in the implementation of this framework. These include the awareness of the limitations of using a single lens, the need for research-based practitioner training, policy, and practice guidance.
This article outlines approaches to self-care in a third level social care programme in Ireland with a view to establishing and maintaining a social care worker’s well-being in line with requirements by CORU, as part of the professionalisation of social care work. It explores the importance of self-care for social care work practice, the challenges which can impact a worker’s wellbeing, the CORU Standards of Proficiency for Social Care Workers (SCWRB 2017b) related to the self and self-care and the functions and theories associated with experiential group work. It then further considers how group work approaches can prepare a student for professional practice, especially in relation to common difficulties such as burnout, lack of support and workplace violence. Helpful educational supports for self-care and resilience are also outlined.
Studies on the benefits of volunteering in young people have received some attention, although important knowledge gaps still exist concerning this matter. The main aim of this study is to analyse the different profiles of those who choose to take part in voluntary activities and those who do not; another aim being to analyse the benefits of volunteering in young people. A total of 66 young people participating in training programmes in Spain completed a questionnaire and took part in a follow-up survey six months later. The study found that the young volunteers were more likely to volunteer in the future, perceiving a greater social support and attaching more importance to interpersonal values. After completing their volunteer experience, the young volunteers, as opposed to the nonvolunteers, had a positive image of volunteering and perceived themselves as more likely to find a job. The results obtained are discussed.
Major change is underway in Irish social care. Toward the professionalisation of social care workers in the Republic of Ireland, standards of proficiency were drafted and published in 2017 by the Social Care Workers Registration Board. These standards represent the threshold of what a worker must demonstrate at the point of entry to the register and as such, critical inquiry into their nature and merit is both indispensable and required, be it through stakeholders in the field, or from social care academia. Theoretically informed appraisal of standards of proficiency in this paper occurs through a composite social constructionist frame. Therein, four core conventions of social constructionism theory underpinning the framework, are critically applied in this paper, across five domains overarching the standards of proficiency. The four assumptions are as follows. Firstly, the historical and cultural specificity of standards should be considered. Here, it is imperative that the role of history and culture in developing, appraising and applying standards is scrutinized. Secondly, knowledge should be understood as sustained by social processes. Within this, knowledge surrounding social care and standards of proficiency is deemed to be socially constructed. Thirdly, knowledge and social action should be seen as occurring together, and in this way, mutually influential. Fourth and finally, one must adopt a critical stance towards taken for granted knowledge. The intention of analysis is modest. Namely, to provide fodder to fuel critical understanding of the implications of standards of proficiency, for students and practitioners, now confronted by a complex and evolving occupational milieu.
Irish men have received little critical attention as gendered subjects. Historically, masculinities were invisible in Irish society. Thus, this article will contribute to the visibility of Irish masculinities and the critical study of men, by sociologically examining Irish men’s conceptualisation of masculinity and their understanding of what it means to be a man in contemporary Irish society. Using masculinities as the primary theoretical and analytical lens, this article draws from 9 focus groups conducted with 44 Irish men, which explored their views about masculinities and about being a man in contemporary Ireland. The men in this study presented a complex conceptualisation of masculinity shaped by a traditional past and a fast changing present. This paper reveals complexities at play between men’s conceptualisation of how to be a man in contemporary Ireland and their lived experiences as men. The findings of this study suggest some Irish men are moving away from a rigid and stereotypical notion of masculinity to a more fluid and progressive construct. This paper argues the ambiguity, contradiction and fluidity of Irish masculinities gives some men greater flexibility in how they express their gender identity.
