SIG PROGRAMS

Making Visible the Invisible: Critical Realism and Social Work Research

Following the previous SIG events of critical realism and social work research from the last decade of ESWRA conferences (2013-2024), we wish to continue discussing the potential of critical realism to strengthen social work research and practice. The SIG is a “free space” for exchanges among social work researchers on the philosophy of science, theory and methods in general, and critical realism in particular. Welcoming those new and familiar with critical realism, our full-day gatherings combine introductory sessions with topical deepening, presentations from attendees and group discussions.

In Munich, our focus is on ‘making visible the invisible’. This theme will be approached from different angles. First, critical realism shifts the focus from empirical events to the – often unobservable – mechanisms that cause them. As such, we collectively discuss how those generative forces can be discovered, conceptualised, and included as an inherent part of the social work research agenda. Second, critical realism foresees an emancipatory role for the social sciences, similar to how the academic discipline of social work subscribes to social justice, human rights and the liberation of people. In that regard, ‘making visible the invisible’ also includes and amplifies the voices of those often excluded from the public, political and scientific debate. We, therefore, open the floor for conversation of participatory, democratic and action-oriented approaches to social work research.

Call for Abstracts

If you wish to present your research and/or initiate a particular discussion, you are welcome to submit an abstract (max. 300 words) or idea to Monica Kjørstad ([email protected]) by 15.1.25. We look forward to receiving your proposal.

Convenors

Monica Kjørstad, Oslo Metropolitan University. [email protected]
Didier Boost, University of Antwerpen. [email protected]
Anu-Riina Svenlin, University of Jyväskylä. [email protected]

Program
(minor changes can be made)

09:30 - 10:00	Welcome and introduction
10:00 - 10:45	Keynote 1: “Being on hold – citizenship and temporality for refugees in an introductory program in Norway. An intersectional analysis through a critical realist lens”. Ariana Guilherme Fernandes and Monica Kjørstad
11:00 – 12:00	Presentations/discussions
12:00 – 13:00	Lunch break
13:00 – 13:45	Keynote 2: “Social Work and Democracy: Insights from Realist Evaluation” Anna Rockhill
14:00 - 15:00	Presentations/discussions
15:00 – 15:30	Summing up and the way forward

Co-convenors: Tove Harnett and Sarah Lonbay

09:00 – 9:20	Welcome and introductions
9:20 – 10:10	Presentations from SIG members 9:20-9:30 Ageism and age-positive attitudes in health and social care: Examples from a study on hospital social work in the UK Carrie Phillips, PhD student, University of Sunderland, UK. 9:30 – 9:40 Ageism in social work and healthcare services in Tuscany and Lombardy. Serena Turco, PhD student, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy. 9:40 – 9:50 Hidden Harm: Utilising the Ethics of Care for Theory Development Alisoun Milne, University of Kent, UK, Kathryn Mackay, Stirling University, UK and Sarah Donnelly, University College Dublin, RoI 9:50 - 10:10 Q and A/ panel discussion Carrie, Serena, Alisoun, Kathryn, Sarah
10:10 – 10:30	Break
10:30 – 11:40	Social Work Education and Gerontological Social Work: Discussion
11:40 – 12:00	Visibility of GSW at ECSWR 2025 Tove Harnett, Lund University, Sweden and Sarah Lonbay, University of Sunderland, UK.
12:00 - 13:00	Lunch break
13:00 – 13:50	Presentations from SIG members 13:00 - 13:10 Discretion for whom? Local polices and the agency problem between politicians and care managers in Swedish Social Services. Sara Wittberg, PhD student, Linköping University, Sweden 13:10 - 13:20 Advance care planning in older person’s mental health: Implications for Social Work Practice. Jennifer Allen, Senior Social Worker, UK. 13:20 - 13:30 Day Centres: A site for relational practice? Catrin Noone, Durham University, UK. 13:30 - 13:50 Q and A/ panel discussion Sara, Jennifer, Catrin
13:50 - 14:10	Break
14:10 - 15:30	Updates on SIG activity, plans for the future, and supporting PhD and ECR network members. Tove Harnett, Sarah Lonbay, Catrin Noone

13:00 – 13:10	Introduction Welcome by SIG Convenors and a brief overview of the session objectives.
13:10 – 13:30	Speed Dating Participants engage in short, timed conversations to introduce themselves and their research interests, fostering quick connections and networking.
13:30 – 14:10	Networking & Collaboration Workshop Interactive session with breakout groups discussing strategies for collaboration, networking opportunities, and utilizing social media platforms effectively.
14:10 – 15:10	World PhD Research Café A roundtable-style session where participants share insights and challenges from their research.
15:10 – 15:30	Conclusion Reflection on the day’s activities, key takeaways, and closing remarks by the convenors.

We in the Post-Soviet Post-Socialist SiG do not have a programme to publish, but we plan to use our half day meeting at the Conference to get to know each other a little better, to welcome new members and renew friendships with previous participants and to reflect on how we can work together in the challenging but still hopeful times in which we find ourselves going in to 2025.

From 08:30	Registration
09:00 - 09:30	Coffee break
9:30 – 10:45	Session #1. Chair: Idit Weiss-Gal (Tel Aviv University) Social Workers in Political Office: A Comparative Perspective on Recruitment, Career Patterns and Social Advocacy Tobias Kindler (Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences), Sigrid Leitner (TH Köln University of Applied Sciences) Social Workers In Czechia, Poland and Slovakia As National-Level Politicians Agnieszka Zogata-Kusz (Palack? University, Olomouc) Exercise of Elected Office: Experiences of Social Workers in the Czech Local and Regional Politics Roman Balaz (Masaryk University), Anezka Kalandrova (Masaryk University) Digital Streetwork and Policy Practice (Contributed Paper) Christina Dinar (Katholische Hochschule für Sozialwesen Berlin) The Democratizing Community Worker (Contributed Paper) Collin den Braber (Avans University of Applied Sciences)
10:50 – 12:00	Session #2. Chair: Riccardo Guidi (University of Florence) The Policy Role of Social Worker Heads of Local Governmental Social Services Idit Weiss-Gal (Tel Aviv University), John Gal (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Beyond Barriers: Innovative Approaches to Healthcare Access in Tackling Health Inequality in Germany Ilker Ataç (University of Applied Sciences Fulda) Regional Knowledge Center (RNC): A Model for Academic-Based Collaborative Governance Ayala Cohen (Tel-Hai College) Carleton University Institute on the Ethics of Research with Indigenous Peoples, 2014-2018: From Apparent Success to Lessons Learned (Contributed Paper) Hugh Shewell (Carleton University)
12:00 - 12:45	Lunch break
12:45 - 14:10	Session #3. Chair: John Gal (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Reflections on Policy Practice Miriam Burzlaff (Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences), Laura Einhorn (TH Köln University of Applied Sciences) Social Work Professional Organizations: An International Comparative Perspective Riccardo Guidi (University of Florence) The Role of Social Work Professional Organizations in Professional Development Dieter Kulke (Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt) Bridging a Legitimacy Gap? Strategic Agency in Poverty Advocacy within a Deliberative Setting Aaron Brusseel (University of Antwerp), Bram Verschuere (University of Ghent), Peter Raeymaeckers (University of Antwerp) Social Counseling and Social Rights – Policy Engagement through Assertive Interaction with Local Authorities in Germany (Contributed Paper) Laura Grünert (Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences) Policy Practice in Social Work with Tolerated Individuals: Strategies for Addressing Structural Challenges in Casework (Contributed Paper) Gesa Langhoop (Fulda University of Applied Sciences)
14:15 – 15:30	Session #4. Chair: Dieter Kulke (Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt) Caught Between the "Professional" and the "Political"- Social Work at Times of Ongoing Conflict and War Noga Pitowsky-Nave (Bar-Ilan University), Ruth Soffer-Elnekave (Hadassa Academic College) Social Workers' and Social Work Students' Policy Engagement on Social Media Salonen Sanni (University of Turku); Johanna Kallio (University of Turku), Anne-Mari Jaakola (University of Turku) Does it Run in the Family? Life Trajectories Prior to Studying Social Work and Attitudes towards Policy Engagement among University Freshmen in Finland Christian Kroll (University of Helsinki), Helena Blomberg (University of Helsinki) and Johanna Kallio (University of Turku) Social Space-Oriented Fields of Social Work (Contributed Paper) Moritz Frietzsche (University of Hamburg)

Wednesday 12 March, 2025
13.00 - 15.30

Pre-conference SIG Workshop, European Conference for Social Work Research, Munich
Social Work Ethics Research Group (SWERG)

The aim of this workshop is to provide a forum for participants to share their current research in the field of social work ethics, stimulate new ideas and make links with others with similar interests. In particular, this year we will consider what messages we take from our own research, and research reported in the literature, about the state of social work ethics, both as a topic and as a practice.

In recent years SWERG workshops have focussed on ethical challenges in times of turbulence and fast-paced change: during the Covid-19 pandemic; in co-building a new eco-social world; and in the context of the digital revolution in social work. This year, we are also co-hosting an additional SIG workshop on Wednesday 12 March morning (9.30-12.00) in partnership with the More-than-Human SIG on the theme of 'More-than-human Ethics for Social Work'.

All these topics have raised questions about: do we need to rethink social work values and ethics in challenging times - in the context of pandemic conditions, the global ecological crisis, the digital revolution and the prospect of a post-anthropocene era? Is it enough to keep adding new clauses to codes of ethics and new modules to the teaching curriculum, or do we need to reconfigure and extend existing values and virtues or create new ones designed for new times and to re-embrace a democratic and participatory social work practice? What does it mean to rethink or invent social work values? Is it possible, desirable or necessary? What further research is called for?

Provisional programme

13.00	Introductions: Sharing interests, passions and the work of SWERG to date.
13.20	A series of short provocations from members linked to the topic of reimagining social work ethics. PLEASE CONTACT THE ORGANISERS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO OFFER A CONTRIBUTION.
13.50	World Café Dialogue groups exploring different questions/themes
15.15	Conclusions and next steps - What issues came up, new ideas for further research and collaborations, future activities of the group.
15.30	Close

For further information about SWERG, please contact: Sarah Banks, [email protected] or Ana Sobocan, [email protected]

This workshop is organised in conjunction with the journal Ethics and Social Welfare, https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/resw20 We anticipate that a report/article will be published in the journal based on the workshop contributions.

ECSWR 2025 München 12th March
Room: 13.E05

Introduction

• Popular culture such as films and TV-series has great power in our everyday lives and an impact on the official view of professional practitioners such as social workers (van Wormer & Juby, 2015, Vik & Tønseth, 2019). Social workers are assigned a social mandate and operates in the tension field between help and control. Research shows that social workers often are being portrayed stereotypically in films and TV-series (Freeman & Valentine, 2004). This reproduces prejudices and a reduction in trust and respect of social work amongst people.
• Trust is a major component of a democratic system. We face declining trust in societal institutions today, involving the professional staff. Lack of trust is a threat both for a democratic system as well as for social workers depending on a “social license to operate”. It may also have an impact on the motivation of future students to choose a social work education
• This SIG addresses the above-mentioned concerns regarding the role and recognition of Social Work and social workers, both within a democratic system as well as within the profession and those in need of help.
• In this SIG-meeting, we will gather researchers, professionals and interested parties on the topic in a broad sense, to identify, discuss, broaden our perspectives and investigate the possibilities of joint future projects.
• We welcome abstracts related to the topic until February 28th, 2025. Please send your contribution to [email protected].

Program for the half-day SIG-event:

09:30	Introduction on the background of the SIG
09:45	Presentation of the participants, getting to know each other
10:15	Selected moviecuts
10:45	Presentation of ongoing projects, ideas, contributions from participants
11:15	Presentation of the Scrapper-study
11:30	Planning ahead – what are the possibilities?
12:00	Goodbye for now!

ECSWR 2025 München 12th March
Convenors: Martine Ganzevles and Catrine Torbjørnsen Halås

Democratic knowledge production in social work research

The general aim of the Social Work Practice Research SIG is to strengthen possibilities for knowledge-based social work practice throughout Europe, and to respond to the contemporary emphasis on evidence-based practice with collaborative, research-led and innovative means. In line with the goals of ESWRA, we offer an opportunity to promote cross-national practice-based research projects as well as scholarly debates and knowledge exchange among the various research interested stakeholders related to social work practice. Our group considers itself as an open forum for the diverging approaches and different partners in social work and related research.

In the pre-conference for the SIG in Social work practice research we would like to elaborate on the main conference’s theme – embracing democracy in social work practice and research. How do we approach the concept “democracy” and how does this impact on our research and practice? Social work should reflect the values of democracy, but what role can the research on social work reflect these values?

The first half of the day (9.30-12) will be a joint meeting with the SIG Social Work Practice Research. There we will discuss the concept of democratization and how it is understood and utilized in different research and practice contexts. The joint meeting will be facilitated by the World Café method. We work with what the participants bring into the dialogue from their own experiences.

Program

09:30 - 09:45	Welcome by the Conveners of the Service User Involvement SIG and Social Work Practice research SIG, Check in.
09:45 - 10:15	Introduction to the theme: Democratic knowledge production in social work research
10:15 - 11:30	World cafe - elaborating over the concept of democratization and how it is understood and utilized in different research and practice contexts.
11:30 - 12:00	Summing up – take home messages

A critical view on democratisation of knowledge production

In the second part of the day (1300 – 1530), we will take a critical view on democratisation of knowledge production. We will use the dilemma café introduced by Sarah Banks (Centre for Social Justice and Community Action, Durham University) to elaborate over the theme.

A dilemmas café involves people coming together to discuss several dilemmas experienced by participants. A dilemma is a choice between alternative courses of action, when it is not clear which is the right one to choose. Aims are to raise participants’ awareness of ethical challenges in democratisation of social work practice-based research; encourage collaborative dialogue, including critical listening and questioning; stimulate learning through hearing about different ways of seeing and understanding issues; explore a variety of recommendations for action1.

After the café we will take a meta-perspective, evaluating the Dilemma-cafes capacity for elaborating on such critical questions.

Program

13:00 - 13:15	Check in and introduction Roles, perspectives and tensions in collaboratives
13:15 – 14:30	Dilemmacafe
14:40 - 15:00	Evaluating the Dilemma-cafes capacity for elaborating on such critical questions.
15:00 - 15:30	Talking about the SIG: Evaluating aims, discussing convenorship and organizing committee

Organizing commitee:

Elke Plovie - University of Applied Sciences UC Leuven-Limburg (Belgium)
Sui Ting Kong - Department of Sociology, Durham University (UK)
Simone Boogaarts – HAN University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands)
Vera Taube - Faculty of Social Work, University of Applied Science Würzburg (Germany)

Convenors:

Catrine Torbjørnsen Halås – Department of Social Science, Nord University (Norway)
Martine Ganzevles – HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (the Netherlands)

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¹ https://www.durham.ac.uk/media/durham-university/research-/research-centres/social-justice-amp-community-action-centre-for/documents/toolkits-guides-and-case-studies/Dilemmas-Cafe-Briefing.pdf

Over the last several years, the development of our SIG has enabled us to coalesce around a range of shared interests and concerns related to how adolescents experience interacting with social workers, and the role that practitioners (both social work and other related professionals) play in assessing, protecting, monitoring, and emancipating young people at risk of harm. In this session, we will work together to map our understanding in relation to the following:

1. how each of our political, geographic, and cultural contexts influences how adolescent risk-taking is understood
2. how adolescents are surveilled -by police and/or other professionals working alongside or on behalf of the criminal justice system
3. how the protection (or transgression) of rights is afforded to different groups of young people
4. how our research does, or could contribute to these related issues

We welcome anyone who is interested in research on social work with adolescents to join us for this session and to contribute, regardless of how these issues do (or do not) intersect with their research. We will also spend some time considering the plan for our SIG over the next year, including virtual meetings, planning for any shared publications, workshops, etc.

Another area of shared interest across the group is in youth participation, including the methods and processes by which we meaningfully and ethically engage adolescents in both decision-making and influencing the services that impact their lives.

With this shared interest in participation in mind, we have organised a visit for our SIG attendees to the Haus der Kunst museum in the afternoon to meet with Pia Linden, the museum’s Head of Engagement/Participation who is leading on the development of their new Youth Advisory Committee. Through this initiative, young people are being offered support and mentorship intended to enable them to contribute to the planning of a major summer exhibition. This visit will enable our SIG group to explore participatory approaches outside of our usual disciplinary boundaries and understand something about youth engagement in Munich, where the conference is located.

If you have questions about either the morning SIG workshop or the organised visit in the afternoon, please do contact Kristi ([email protected]) or Carlene ([email protected]).

Full day meeting of the Special Interest Group “Substance Use and Social Work” on Wednesday, March 12, 2025
SIG Convenors: Sari Lindeman & Ines Arendt

The SIG “Substance Use and Social Work” was founded in 2018. Since then, we have been able to publish a book (“Long-term Recovery from Substance Use: International Social Care Perspectives”, Editors: Sarah Galvani, Alastair Roy & Amanda Clayson) and engage in different international research activities.

During our annual full-day SIG event in the framework of the ECSWR conference, we will meet face-to-face and take time to discuss, exchange, and reflect on current topics regarding substance use and addiction in our different contexts, fields, and countries. The SIG is a self-organised group, and we are always open to new participants.

The aims of the group are simply to bring together like-minded people from the European and International social work community to share ideas and develop links from which we can further develop our research on this topic and its application to social work practice and education.

The SIG’s focus is on social work, social care, and substance use issues. While health discourse tends to dominate research around substance use, this special interest group recognises how substance use can often stem from and lead to social harms. Identifying and addressing these harms are part of the everyday practice of many social work and social care professionals.

On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, we will meet in a full day event in München.

Preliminary timetable (to be finalised):

9:30 - 12:00	Part I: Welcoming, group introduction and short input (presentations of work/ research from the group)
12:00 - 13:00	Lunch break
13:00 - 15:30	Part II: Working together: Data analyses and time for discussion (world café or similar)

There will also be coffee breaks and time for networking during the event.

12 March 2025
9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Katholische Stiftungshochschule Munich (KSH)/Germany
Room: 13.209

Context:
Pre-Conference 14th European Conference for Social Work Research (ECSWR)

Organising Organisation:
European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA)

Organizers:
Prof. Dr. Claudia Olivier Mensah, International University of Applied Sciences (IU), Mainz/Germany
Prof. Dr. Cornelia Schweppe, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz/Germany

More about SIG TRANSOW: https://www.eswra.org/sig_page_single.php?i=15

Contact SIG TRANSOW: Claudia Olivier Mensah claudia.olivier [email protected]

From 08:30	Registration
9:00 - 9:30	Coffee Break
9:30 - 10:00	Welcome Introduction of the SIG TRANSOW and the Participants of the event
10:00 - 10:15	Inputs of an IASSW Board Member Prof. Dr. Sabine Bährer Kohler, International University of Applied Sciences (IU), Karlsruhe/Germany
10:15 - 10:45	Transnational Social Work in Pratice and Research Prof. Dr. Claudia Olivier Mensah, International University of Applied Sciences (IU), Mainz/Germany Prof. Dr. Cornelia Schweppe, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz/Germany
10:45 - 11:15	Racism and Discrimination in Germany Prof. Dr. Astride Velho, Katholische Stiftungshochschule Munich (KSH)/Germany
11:15 - 11.45	Femicide in Argentina Prof. Dr. Matilde Heredia, International University of Applied Sciences (IU) Buenos Aires /Argentina
11:45 - 12:00	Open Discussion and Exchange
12:00 - 1:00	Lunch Break
1:00 - 1:30	The Relationship b etween Transnational and Green Social Work Two Complementary Approaches? Prof. Dr. Okka Zimmermann , International University of Applied Sciences (IU ), Braunschweig /Germany
1:30 - 2:00	Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe Asoc. Prof. Mieke Schrooten , University of Antwerp/Belgium
2:00 - 2:30	Social Work as Police Work in Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland Asoc. Prof. Dr. Lisa Marie Borrelli , University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES SO) Valais Wallis Switzerland
2:30 - 3:30	Final Discussion and Ways Ahead
3:30 - 4:00	Coffee Break

Special interest group (SIG) „Transnational Social Work“ (TRANSOW) in the context of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA)
If this research area is of interest to you, email [email protected] to join the Transnational Social Work Special Interest Group TRANSOW. SIGs enable networking, coordinate activities and discussion around particular research issues.

ECSWR 2025 München 12th March
Convenors: Kristel Driessens & Sidsel Natland

User Involvement and Democracy in Social Work

Introduction

In the pre-conference for this year’s SIG in Service User Involvement we would like to elaborate on the main conference’s theme – embracing democracy in social work practice and research. How do we approach the concept “democracy” and how does this impact on our research and practice? Social work should reflect the values of democracy, but what role can the research on social work take in this?

We live in a society marked by the democratization of sciences (Mattei 2023, Nowotny et al. 2001, Stenger 1999, Tonkens et al. 2013), and concepts as citizen science, user involvement, collaboration, co-production, participation, citizens as co-producers and public engagement mark a shift when it comes to the production and the utilization of knowledge. It is no longer self-evident that the academic researcher is the “expert” and the social workers and service users the passive recipients of knowledge. These approaches are promising in regard to secure research that aligns with democratic values and social work’s principles of social justice and human rights.

However, as social work is practiced in diverse local, organizational and political contexts, it is important to investigate the service users’ position. E.g. New Public Management is under critic for lacking democracy, and social work has been criticized for being disempowering, self-centred, paternalistic and unaccountable (Tonkens et al. 2013). What barriers are there and how are they solved? How can social work leadership be executed in democratic ways? Regarding research; What do we mean with the concept of democracy and how is it utilized in the research process? What experiences do we have with participation, involvement and collaboration in our research? Do we succeed in involving service users in the production of knowledge in a way that recognizes their experiental knowledge? How do we plan and carry out the research process in a way that secure their participation? What barriers and drivers are there for democratic knowledge production?

These and many other questions may emerge, and by this we invite you to share your research findings or theoretical/conceptual ideas about these topics in our SIG event.

Program and call for papers

The first half of the day (9.30-12) will be a joint meeting with the SIG in Social Work Practice Research. There we will discuss the concept of democratic knowledge production in social work research and how it is understood and utilized in different research contexts. The joint meeting will be facilitated by the World Café method. We work with what you bring into the dialogue from your own practice and research experiences.

In the afternoon (13-15.30) we will continue with paper presentations and discussions in our separate SIG, focusing on democratic values and how we approach and emphasize them in our research when users are involved. This part of the SIG depends on your contribution. If you are interested in presenting a paper, please send an abstract (deadline February 15th (details below)).

Pre-liminary program

09.30 – 09.45	Welcome: Conveners of the User Involvement SIG and Social Work Practice research SIG. Short presentation of participants
09.45 – 10.15	Introduction of the theme: “Democratic knowledge production in social work research”
10:15 - 11:30	World Café: Elaborating over the concept of democratization and how it is understood and utilized in different research and practice contexts.
11:30 - 12:00	Summing up: Summaries from each group and take home messages
12:00 - 13:00	Lunch Break
13:00 - 15:30	Separate meeting: Individual paper presentations and any other business regarding our SIG. Detailed program will come later.

We look forward to meeting with you in München!
Best wishes, Kristel Driessens (Be) and Sidsel Natland (N)

ECSWR 2025 München 12th March

Examining the intersectionality of workforce preparation, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities through the prism of social justice and the democratic rights of citizens to access safe and effective services from a sustainable social work workforce.

Program

9.00 - 9.15	Meeting of the Social Work Workforce Special Interest Group – social in person meeting of the workforce SIG with coffee.
Theme: Working conditions, well-being, staffing and turnover
9.15 – 9.35	Child welfare work in the Nordic countries: How do their working conditions compare? Pia Tham, University of Gävle, Sweden, Steinunn Hrafnsdottir, University of Iceland, Gunn-Astrid Baugerud, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway, Cecilie Kolonda Moesby Jensen, University College Absalon, Denmark, Maija Mänttäri van der Kuip, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
9.35 - 9.55	The conceptualisation and practice of social workers’ self-care as a form of workplace democracy. Sarah Rose, Edinburgh Napier University and Pearse McCusker, University of Edinburgh.
9.55 - 10.15	Safe and Effective Staffing in Social Work: Retention and Turnover – Workforce Supply and Service Demands Analysis - Conceptual Framework, Definition and Principles supporting a safer and effective workforce. Paula Mc Fadden and Justin MacLochlainn, Ulster University, Northern Ireland.
10.15 - 10.35	How do newly graduated social workers value skills training with Avatars? Åsa Vidman and Pia Tham, University of Gävle.
10:35 - 11:05	Coffee Break
Theme: Highlighting Social Work Challenges, Practice Issues and Research
11.05 – 11.25	Reclaiming the democratic profession in the United States: Social Workers involvement in Resistance. Jessica Toft, PhD. University of Minnesota School of Social Work, US.
11.25 – 11.45	The impact of austerity on the democratic rights of parents with learning disabilities and the consequences for social workers. Mary Baginsky, Kings College London
11.45 – 12.05	Understanding how child and family social workers stay in the profession – an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Lindsay Giddings, Open University, UK
12.05 – 12.25	Pursuing Justice and Equity: Workforce Health in Child Protection. Austin Griffiths, PhD, Western Kentucky University, US.
12.25 - 13:30	Lunch Break
Theme: Resilience, reducing stress and burnout
13.30 – 13.50	IFSW global working conditions study: Global social worker working conditions and wellbeing research from survey ending May 2024. Jermaine Ravalier, Buckinghamshire New University, Paula McFadden, Ulster University, David Jones, IFSW, Rory Truell, IFSW.
13.50 – 14.10	How has the move towards ‘agile’ and ‘remote’ working arrangements impacted upon friendships in children and families social work, and relatedly, the practitioners’ propensity to remain in the role? Ciaran Murphy, Edgehill University, UK.
14.10 – 14.30	"Should I stay, or should I go?" Romanian social workers' dilemmas when work-life balance is unstable: Results from the IFSW Global Working Conditions Survey from Romania. Florin Lazar, University of Bucharest & National College of Social Workers in Romania, Mihai-Bogdan Iovu, Babes-Bolyai University and National College of Social Workers in Romania, Elena-Loreni Baciu West University of Timisoara and National College of Social Workers, Romania and Mihaela Zanoschi, National College of Social Workers in Romania.
14.30 – 14.50	From South Africa to (Northern) England: When international Social Worker recruitment and retention ‘works’. Simon Cauvain, Nottingham Trent University, UK.
14.50 – 15.10	Legislative Advocacy to Support the Child Welfare Workforce in the United States. Hon, Judge Mica Pence, Western Kentucky, USA.
15.10	Close

Contact details and affiliation:
Paula McFadden, Ulster University, Northern Ireland [email protected]
Pia Tham, Uppsala University, Sweden [email protected]
Maija Mänttäri-van der Kuip, University of Jyväskylä, Finland [email protected]