Group decision-making theories for child and family social work

ABSTRACT

There is increasing interest in decision making in social work. Much of the attention has been on individual professional judgement rather than on group decisions processes. This paper outlines key theoretical approaches from diverse fields of knowledge for conceptualising professional group decision processes in child and family social work, as a framework for future research and more focused theoretical developments. The main theoretical approaches considered include (1) group consensus processes; (2) exchange and the use of information; (3) naturalistic studies emphasising group complexity; and (4) incremental improvement processes. The analysis highlights the possible impact of individual, organisational and contextual factors, as well as their complex interconnections, on group decision making. The paper provides a valuable resource for reflecting on group decision processes in child and family social work, and how they complement individual professional judgements and the interactive processes with children and families. Next steps for the development of practice, policy, and research to improve group decision making are discussed. Using theoretical models to underpin empirical research will enable greater connection to be made between studies, and hence further the knowledge base for social work in this field.

תקציר

קיים עניין גובר בנושא קבלת החלטות בעבודה סוציאלית. עיקר תשומת הלב ניתנה לשיפוט של אנשי מקצוע יחידים ולא לתהליכי קבלת החלטות בקבוצה. המאמר הנוכחי מציג גישות תיאורטיות מרכזיות ממגוון תחומי ידע להמשגת תהליכי קבלת החלטות מקצועיים קבוצתיים בעבודה סוציאלית עם ילדים ומשפחות, כמסגרת למחקר עתידי ופיתוח תיאורטי ממוקד יותר. הגישות התאורטיות המרכזיות המוצגות כוללות (1) תהליכי השגת הסכמות; (2) שיתוף ושימוש במידע; (3) מחקרים נטורליסטים המדגישים מורכבות בקבוצה; (4) ותהליכי שיפור. הניתוח מדגיש את ההשפעה האפשרית של גורמים הקשורים בפרט, ארגון והקשר, וכן את הקשרים המורכבים בניהם, על קבלת החלטות בקבוצה. המאמר מהווה מקור בעל ערך לחשיבה חוזרת על תהליכי בקלת החלטות בקבוצה בעבודה סוציאלית עם ילדים ומשפחות, וכיצד אלו משלימים את השיפוט המקצועי של היחיד ואת התהלכים ההדדיים עם ילדים ומשפחות. המאמר דן בצעדים הבאים לפיתוח פרקטיקה, מדיניות ומחקר לשיפור קבלת החלטות בקבוצה. שימוש במודלים תיאורטיים לעיגון מחקר אמפירי יאפשר חיבורים רבים יותר בין מחקרים, ולפיכך יקדם את בסיס הידע של העבודה הסוציאלית בתחום זה.‏

KEYWORDS:

• Group
• decision-making
• social work
• children and families
• theory

מילות מפתח:

• קבוצה
• קבלת החלטות
• עבודה סוציאלית
• ילדים ומשפחות
• תאוריה

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our colleagues in the Decisions, Assessment and Risk Special Interest Group of the European Social Work Research Association for their inspiration and encouragement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ravit Alfandari

Ravit Alfandari is a post-doctoral researcher at the school of Management Administration at the University of Haifa. She is a qualified social worker with solid experience in direct service delivery, programmes development and conducting research related to vulnerable children and families. Her empirical investigation focuses on the fundamentals of social work practice and decision-making. It takes place at the triangulated relationships between the practitioner, client and organisation. A core principle of her scholarly work is to develop actions, as much as, knowledge. Her professional experience engaging with individuals who slipped through the net of the state’s welfare system, elicited deep commitment to generate evidence that can facilitate effective social programming and policymaking.

Brian J. Taylor

Brian J. Taylor is Professor of Social Work, Ulster University, Northern Ireland where he leads research on decisions, assessment and risk, and teaches these topics on qualifying and post-qualifying social work courses. He joined the University after 10 years’ experience in practice and management, and 15 years in training and organisation development in health and social care. Brian is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences; Honorary Associate Scientist of the Harding Centre for Risk Literacy at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin; and a founder member of the Board of the European Social Work Research Association.

Guy Enosh

Guy Enosh is professor of social work, at the School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, the University of Haifa. He is the chair of the University Institutional Committee for Ethical Research with Human Beings. His research focuses on the ways by which knowledge is constructed and decisions are made within interpersonal relationships. Where relationships may range from trust and cooperation to distrust, conflict, and aggression; and the populations in focus include families, workplace relationships (e.g. social workers and clients); and research relationships (researchers, participants, and other stakeholders). He recently published (with Adital Ben-Ari) a book regarding research relationships and knowledge construction: Ben-Ari, A. & Enosh, G. (2020). Dialectics, power, and knowledge construction in qualitative research: Beyond Dichotomy. Routledge.

Campbell Killick

Campbell Killick is a social work lecturer at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. His research interests include risk and decision making particularly in relation to abuse of children and adults. Campbell teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses relating to assessment and professional decision making. He is the course director for the MSc Professional Development in Social Work which supports practitioners and service users to undertake literature reviews, research projects and dissemination activities.

Paul McCafferty

Dr Paul McCafferty is lecturer in social work at Queen's University Belfast. Professionally qualified in social work, he spent 12 years as a practitioner and senior manager, and then 15 years in training and organisational development in health and social care as trainer and senior manager. Paul's research interests are in risk assessment, professional judgement, decision making, and the use of knowledge to inform practice. Paul also has an interest in children's rights, particularly the participation rights of children in statutory child protection fora, as well as in practice teaching and student learning.

Judith Mullineux

Judith Mullineux has been employed at Ulster University since 2004. She completed her primary degree in psychology before qualifying in social work in 1990 and was employed in the criminal justice sector. Judith is Course Director for the ‘PgDip Professional Development in Social Work’. Judith is a registered social worker and holds her professional Advanced Scholarship Award (NISCC). She is an active member of the ‘Strategic Advisory Group’ and ‘Professional in Practice’ (PiP) partnership committee in Northern Ireland, also a member of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA). Judith is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

Jarosław Przeperski

Jarosław Przeperski is Head of the Center for Family Research at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, assistant professor in the Social Work Department, and an expert on family matters in the Polish Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. He is the author of many expert opinions and publications in the field of public family and welfare policy. His research interests focus on social work, public policies, family research and social pedagogy.

Michael Rölver

Michael Rölver is a graduated social worker based in Münster/Germany. His major field of interest is discretion and decision-making in social work. Michael has working experience in services for disadvantaged youth and policy advising on the national level. He is holding a Master of Science in International Social Work and Human Rights of the University of Gothenburg/Sweden. Currently, Michael is working on his PhD thesis, a qualitative study on the use of discretion in case conferences of German services for disadvantaged youth. The PhD project is located at the Institute for Sociology at the University of Münster in cooperation with the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Münster.

Andrew Whittaker

Andrew Whittaker is Professor of Social Work Research and Head of the Risk and Expert Decision Making (RED) research group at London South Bank University, UK. His specialist field is the study of risk, professional judgement and decision making in child protection services. He is the principal investigator on a British Academy-funded RCT of a digital intervention to improve professional judgments, which builds upon a previous ethnographic study of decision making in front-line child protection teams. He is a Co-convenor of the Decisions, Assessment and Risk Special Interest Group (DARSIG) and the editor of the Journal of Social Work Practice.