@article{01HRC4QCSWHQ7BTF3G73PYK2J0,
  abstract     = {{The existing international research on the prevalence of poverty in Child Welfare and Protection (CWP) services points to a persistent discourse of 'pedagogicalisation', meaning that CWP interventions often construct social problems, such as poverty, as emerging from a failing education of families, and leave the social circumstances of the families unchallenged. Although front line practitioners in CWP can exercise professional discretion in dealing with poverty, policy and organisational cultures have a crucial impact on whether their efforts to engage with the lack of adequate societal resources of families remain informal and hidden or are being supported to transform CWP's dominant approach to poverty. This study applies a Gramscian framework to examine instances of hegemony, common sense and good sense in policymakers' discourses on CWP and poverty. Based on a qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with n = 16 policymakers of the governmental organisation on CWP in Flanders, we provide insight into the hegemonic discourses of pedagogicalisation in Flemish CWP policy. Nevertheless, our results also provide evidence of counter-narratives. Although embryonic, instances of good sense hold seeds of change based on a recognition of the impact of poverty on families and of CWP's role to strive for social justice.

In this article, we explore the prevailing discourse of 'pedagogicalisation' in Child Welfare and Protection (CWP) services, illuminating how CWP interventions often cast poverty as a byproduct of familial educational shortcomings, sidelining the broader socio-economic context. Employing a Gramscian framework, we scrutinise the hegemonic discourses prevalent in policymakers' discussions on CWP and poverty. Through qualitative content analysis of interviews with sixteen key policymakers in Flanders, we unveil the dominant pedagogicalisation narratives in Flemish CWP policy. Amidst these narratives, we also discover embryonic counter-narratives that hold transformative potential by acknowledging poverty's profound impact on families and recognizing CWP's role in championing social justice.}},
  author       = {{Decoene, John and Van Beveren, Laura and Roets, Griet and Roose, Rudi}},
  issn         = {{0045-3102}},
  journal      = {{BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK}},
  keywords     = {{child welfare and protection,Gramsci,hegemony,policy,poverty,THINKING,RISK}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{1053--1070}},
  title        = {{Hegemony, common sense and good sense : a gramscian study of policymakers' perspectives on dealing with poverty in child welfare and protection}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae005}},
  volume       = {{54}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}

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