Effective engagement in an age of austerity. Scottish and Finnish perspectives

Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Social Work, grade: 90/100, University of Stirling (Faculty of Social Sciences), language: English, abstract: This dissertation examines the extent to which Scottish and Finnish child protection practitioners perceive austerity measures to affect their ability to engage effectively service users. The data was gathered from practitioners in Scotland (n=4) and in Finland (n=4) through semi-structured interviews. A cross-national comparative thematic analysis was used to identify barriers to effective engagement and to explore the relationship between these barriers and austerity. Both Scottish and Finnish practitioners viewed limited resources and service users' negative preconceptions as being the most significant factors that undermine effective engagement. Other factors regarded as challenges related to proceduralism, time restrictions, the power imbalance between practitioners and service users, and practitioners' ineffective use of their core skills.
Overall, participants viewed the relationship between barriers to engagement and spending cuts as intertwined with other socio-political developments and public perceptions. Scarce resources, high workloads, and increased financial scrutiny in particular were attributed to austerity, although more often by Scottish than Finnish practitioners. However, most asserted that their abilities to engage with families remain unaffected by austerity, which highlights their professional resilience. However, Scottish and Finnish practitioners shared a concern that their ability to engage effectively with families may be undermined in the future should austerity persist.