“Isn't it funny the children that are further away we don't think about as much?”: using GPS to explore the mobilities and geographies of social work and child protection practice

Disney, Tom; Warwick, Lisa; Ferguson, Harry; Leigh, Jadwiga; Cooner, Tarsem Singh; Beddoe, Liz; Jones, Phil; Osborne, Tess

Abstract

Social work is an inherently mobile and spatial profession; child protection social workers travel to meet families in diverse contexts, such as families' homes, schools, court and many more. However, rising bureaucracy, managerialism and workloads are all combining to push social workers to complete increasing volumes of work outside their working hours. Such concerns lead to the perception that social workers are increasingly immobilised, finding themselves desk-bound and required to spend much of their working day navigating time-consuming computer systems. This immobilisation of social workers has considerable implications, restricting professionals' abilities to undertake the face-to-face work required to build relationships with families. However, until now, the actual movements of social workers, and how (lack of) movement affects ability to practice, remain unknown. In this paper we report on innovative research methods using GPS [Global Positioning System] devices that can trace social workers' mobilities and explore the use of office space, homeworking and visits to families in two English social work departments. This article presents unique findings that reveal how mobile working is shaping social care practitioner wellbeing and practice.

Citation

Disney, T., Warwick, L., Ferguson, H., Leigh, J., Cooner, T. S., Beddoe, L., …Osborne, T. (2019). “Isn't it funny the children that are further away we don't think about as much?”: using GPS to explore the mobilities and geographies of social work and child protection practice. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.02.029

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 16, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Feb 18, 2019
• Publication Date: May 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Mar 19, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 20, 2019
• Journal: Children and Youth Services Review
• Print ISSN: 0190-7409
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 100
• Pages: 39-49
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.02.029
• Keywords: Sociology and political science; Education; Developmental and educational psychology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1665976
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918310880?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: “Isn't it funny the children that are further away we don't think about as much?”: Using GPS to explore the mobilities and geographies of social work and child protection practice; Journal Title: Children and Youth Services Review; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.02.029; Content Type: article; Copyright: Crown Copyright © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.