Reconstructing Welfare Governance through Practice Research: A Qualitative Exploration of University-Agency Collaboration for Child Protection Service in China

Background and Purpose:

Social work practice research is a meeting point between research and practice that needs to be frequently negotiated in order to advance understanding of practical issues. In this regard, practice research is not only oriented to knowledge production but is also a social process involving interaction, collaboration and negotiation among multiple stakeholders. While the existed literature has elaborated much on the knowledge aspect of practice research, limited attention has been devoted to the impact of shifting research paradigm on welfare governance. Based on a one-year project, the University-Agency Collaborative for Child Protection (UACCP) in China, this study aims to investigate interconnection between practice research and local child welfare governance, and discuss its implications for the development of social work in China.

Methods:

This study is a qualitative case study guided by the methodology of ground theory. The research team deployed participant observation and in-depth interview method to collect data. The UACCP is a practical research project jointly initiated by Peking University and social work institutions in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. Its purpose is to improve risk assessment and case management services for local vulnerable children through collaboration of researchers and practitioners. The interviewees include project director, social workers, civil affair officials and families with vulnerable children. Participants were recruited and interviewed through home visit or telephone conversation. The qualitative data were systematically coded for subsequent analysis.

Results:

The UACCP project presents a collaborative practice research model to respond to key practice concerns regarding how to improve the delivery of child protection services, including particularly children’s risk assessment and the care management system development. The practice research went through three stages: consensus building, knowledge production, and reconstruction of local child protection governance structure. First, the selection of research strategies and methods is reflected in a process of discussion and negotiation in the practical context, including for instance how to define child abuse and neglect in local community. Second, the evaluation of research outcome is characterized by combination of theoretical and practical validity, taking into consideration of multiple stakeholder’s values, interest and opinions. Finally, practice research promotes the establishment of consensus and trust among stakeholders and creates a flexible organizational network structure on addressing vulnerable children’s issues. In the end, we could see the delivery of child protection services gradually moving from a bureaucratic model to a community-based and multi-level governance framework.

Conclusions and implications

This study shows that the implementation of the university-agency collaborative project can be seen as a coproduction process that takes place in the organizational context of reflection and action. The study has great implications for strengthening impact of collaborative social work research in child protection in China and other countries. Discussions of reform of the child protection system should place greater emphasis on the relevance of practice research. Well-designed social work practice research projects can help to break organizational boundaries, promote the integration of different subject concepts, rules and resources, and acts as an important driving force for good child welfare governance.