BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The Categorisation of Clients by Social Work Professionals in Chil d and Youth Welfare Services - Nina Thieme\, Leibniz University of Hannove r\, Germany. DTSTART:20111110T130000Z DTEND:20111110T140000Z UID:TALK34426@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:Moritz Sowada DESCRIPTION:In Germany\, in the 1980s a new period of debate on profession and professionalisation in Social Work started (cf. Kraul\, Marotzki & Sc hweppe 2002\, 7). In contrast to a former period the debates of this new p eriod focus on the internal structures of professional action\, especially on antinomies and paradoxical aspects. \nThe antinomy of subsumtion and r econstruction (cf. Oevermann 1996\, 126\; Helsper 2000\, 145\; Schütze 19 92\, 147) is one of the antinomies being discussed. It deals with the dile mma using categories to classify the Social Work case on the one hand and coping with the singularity of the case on the other hand. \nHence\, besid es the reconstruction of each single case\, the other activity constitutin g this dilemma is categorisation which\, analytically regarded\, needs a p oint of reference\, i.e. something you can categorise. To draw on the argu mentation of Juhila\, Pösö\, Hall and Parton (cf. 2003\, 11) the client has been chosen as such a point of reference in the presented study becaus e he or she “is at the core of social work” (11) or rather at the core of the Social Work case. That means that the basis of Social Work and oth er human service professions “lies in the actors who use and need them ” (11). Even more\, the client justifies the existence of these professi ons.\n\nAlthough these considerations underline the relevance of the pheno menon\, at least in the German context\, hardly any empirical research can be found concerning the categorisation of clients by Social Work professi onals.\nTo reduce this gap\, the presented study analyses the phenomenon o f categorising work with regard to the client. The empirical basis consist s of six Repertory Grid Interviews (cf. Kelly 1955) of Social Work profess ionals working in different institutions of child and youth welfare servic es. One of these interviews was extensively reconstructed with a sequentia l analysis that originates from a hermeneutic sociology of knowledge (cf. Hitzler\, Reichertz & Schröer 1999\; Soeffner 1999\, 2004). \nIn brief\, the main results of the study are the following: Firstly\, categorisation\ , which is inseparably connected with particularisation\, takes place as n aming or attribution. While\, in principle\, naming and attribution can be connected to positively as well as to negatively connoted categories\, th e study shows that the professional social workers who were interviewed pr efer negatively connoted categories while talking about their clients. \nS econdly – in contrast to the explanation of Fritz Schütze (cf. 1996\, 2 30)\, a famous German theorist in professions theory – categorisation wa s reconstructed as not being unitarily ‘bad’ but as encompassing two m odes\, a reflexive and a non-reflexive one. While the reflexive mode to pr ofessional action assumes “[that] there is nothing natural about categor ies” (Yanow 2003\, 21) the non-reflexive mode of categorisation presuppo ses “[that] there is a reality independent of the […] practitioner [ …] whose nature can be known” (Taylor & White 2009\, 19). \nAlthough c ategorisation can take place by some means or other as the reconstruction of different modes implies\, basically the phenomenon of categorisation is inevitable for professional action\, is a third main conclusion of the st udy.\n\n*References*\n* Helsper\, Werner 2000\, Antinomien des Lehrerhande lns und die Bedeutung der Fallrekonstruktion – Überlegungen zu einer Pr ofessionalisierung im Rahmen universitärer Lehrerausbildung\, in: Cloer\, Ernst\; Klika\, Dorle & Kunert\, Hubertus [eds.]\, Welche Lehrer braucht das Land? Notwendige und mögliche Reformen der Lehrerbildung\, Weinheim & München: Juventa Verlag\, pp. 142 – 177.\n* Hitzler\, Ronald\; Reicher tz\; Jo & Schröer\, Norbert [eds.] 1999\, Hermeneutische Wissenssoziologi e. Standpunkte zur Theorie der Interpretation [Hermeneutic Sociology of Kn owledge. Aspects of a Theory of Interpretation]\, Konstanz: Universitätsv erlag Konstanz.\n* Kelly\, George A. 1955\, The Psychology of Personal Con structs. Volume One. A Theory of Personality\, New York: Norton & Company. \n* Kraul\, Margret\; Marotzki\, Winfried & Schweppe\, Cornelia 2002\, Bio graphie und Profession. Eine Einleitung\, in: Kraul\, Margret\; Marotzki\, Winfried & Schweppe\, Cornelia [eds.]\, Biographie und Profession\, Bad H eilbrunn: Klinkhardt\, pp. 7 – 16.\n* Oevermann\, Ulrich 1996\, Theoreti sche Skizze einer revidierten Theorie professionalisierten Handelns\, in: Combe\, Arno & Helsper\, Werner [eds.]\, Pädagogische Professionalität. Untersuchungen zum Typus pädagogischen Handelns\, Frankfurt am Main: Suhr kamp Verlag\, pp. 70 – 182.\n* Schütze\, Fritz 1992\, Sozialarbeit als „bescheidene“ Profession\, in: Dewe\, Bernd\; Ferchhoff\, Winfried & R adtke\, Frank-Olaf [eds.]\, Erziehen als Profession. Zur Logik professione llen Handelns in pädagogischen Feldern\, Opladen: Leske + Budrich\, pp. 1 32 – 170.\n* Schütze\, Fritz 1996\, Organisationszwänge und hoheitssta atliche Rahmenbedingungen im So-zialwesen. Ihre Auswirkungen auf die Parad oxien des professionellen Handelns\, in: Combe\, Arno & Helsper\, Werner [ eds.]\, Pädagogische Professionalität. Untersuchungen zum Typus pädagog ischen Handelns. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag\, pp. 183 – 275.\n* Soeffner\, Hans-Georg 1999\, Verstehende Soziologie und sozialwissenschaft liche Hermeneutik. Die Rekonstruktion der gesellschaftlichen Konstruktion der Wirklichkeit\, in: Hitzler\, Ronald\; Reichertz\, Jo & Schröer\, Norb ert [eds.]\, Hermeneutische Wissenssoziologie. Standpunkte zur Theorie der Interpretation [Hermeneutic Sociology of Knowledge. Aspects of a Theory o f Interpretation]\, Konstanz: Universitätsverlag Konstanz\, pp. 39 – 49 .\n* Soeffner\, Hans-Georg 20042\, Auslegung des Alltags – Der Alltag de r Auslegung\, Konstanz: UVK Verlagsgesellschaft.\n* Taylor\, Carolyn & Whi te\, Susan 2009\, Practising reflexivity in health and welfare. Making kno wledge\, 2nd edition\, Maidenhead & New York: Open University Press.\n* Ya now\, Dvora 2003\, Constructing »race« and »ethnicity« in America. Cat egory-making in public policy and administration\, Armonk: M. E. Sharpe.\n LOCATION:Room GS3\, Donald McIntyre Building\, Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road\, Cambridge\, CB2 8PQ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR