Containment: Exploring the concept of agency in children’s statutory encounters with social workers

Fiona Morrison*, Viviene Cree, Gillian Ruch, Karen Michelle Winter, Mark Hadfield, Sophie Hallett

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

This article examines children’s agency in their interactions with social workers during statutory encounters in a child protection context. It draws from a UK wide ethnographic study. It finds that much of social workers’ responses to children’s agency in this context are best understood as a form of ‘containment’. In doing so, it offers an original and significant contribution to the theoretical understanding of children’s agency, as well as its application in social work practice.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)98-112
Number of pages15
JournalChildhood
Volume26
Issue number1
Early online date14 Nov 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2019

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • agency
  • social work
  • sociology of childhood
  • ethnography
  • containment

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