This international research project explores pandemic and post-pandemic social work in the glocal settings. The project explores the phenomena, practices, challenges and solutions caused by the coronavirus pandemic in social work and in the lives of its clients.
The aim of the project is to study the change of social work in the era of compressed modernity. Theoretically speaking, the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences represent an excellent illustration of the challenges that social work is facing in the era of compressed modernity. A viral pandemic is a global phenomenon and challenge, but its consequences and solutions are predominantly local, reminding of a slogan “Think globally, act locally!”. The epistemological and theoretical starting points of the research project are in critical realism, the complexity theory and the adaptive governance theory.
1) what challenges does social work face during and after a pandemic, and what types of solutions are developed and innovated, 2) what types of experiences and perceptions do social welfare professionals have over pandemic and post-pandemic phenomena that occur in the lives of social work clients; 3) What kinds of personal thoughts, feelings and emotions social work professional do face during and after a pandemic and 4) How social work is positioned in public debates and taken account in measures applied to a pandemic?
The project analyzes the challenges and solutions of social work during and after the pandemic by collecting four types of research data: 1) Diaries of social work professionals (March–May 2020) 2) Survey to social work professionals (June–July 2020) 3) Interviews with social work professionals (Autumn 2020–) 4) Debates on social work during the pandemic in social media (March–May 2020) 5) Newspaper data (1.1.2020–)
Parallel diary data is being collected with Estonian (University of Tallinn), Japanese (Tokyo Metropolitan University), Latvian (University of Latvia), Slovenian (University of Ljubjana) and Spanish (University of Alicante) colleagues (1st of May, 2020). Parallel survey data is being collected with several countries. Parallel newspaper data is being collected with the University of Tallinn, Estonia. In May of 2020, multilateral international collaborative research designs will be negotiated between several COVID-19 SWRF members.
In collecting, analyzing, preserving and publishing research data the project is committed to the ethical guidelines and responsible science manifested by The Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity (2012)
Dr. Timo Harrikari, Professor of Social work. PI and project leader. Dr. Sanna Ovaskainen, University Lecturer in Social Work. Researcher. Dr., Adjunct Professor Marjo Romakkaniemi, University Lecturer in Social Work. Researcher. Dr. Laura Tiitinen, University Lecturer in Social Work. Researcher.
Funding will be applied to the project from several sources in 2020.
· University of Tallinn, Estonia · University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia · University of Ljubjana, Slovenia · University of Alicante, Spain · Metropolitan University Tokyo, Japan
COVID-19 Social Work Research Forum has more than 40 social work researchers from 30 different countries. Read more and join to the research forum.
Professor University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences, Social Work Rovaniemi, Finland Tel: +358 (0)44 474 4340 forename.surname@ulapland.fi
PhD, University lecturer University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences, Social Work Rovaniemi, Finland Tel: +358 (0)44 4744305 forename.surname@ulapland.fi
PhD, University lecturer University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences, Social Work Rovaniemi, Finland Tel: +358 (0) 40 484 4184 forename.surname@ulapland.fi
PhD, University lecturer University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences, Social Work Rovaniemi, Finland Tel: +358 (0) 40 659 8003 forename.surname@ulapland.fi