Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1624-1640 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | British Journal of Social Work |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Oct 2017 |
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Keywords
- professional practice, decision making, child protection
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Revisiting the rule of optimism. / Kettle, Martin; Jackson, Sharon.
In: British Journal of Social Work, Vol. 47, No. 6, 14.10.2017, p. 1624-1640.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Revisiting the rule of optimism
AU - Kettle, Martin
AU - Jackson, Sharon
N1 - Acceptance date: used last date of month from VoR. VoR is free to read but not OA. AAM: requested 24-10-17 and 19-7-18; further request 24/1/19 ET. Applied 'no exception' as no file available. ET 6/11/19
PY - 2017/10/14
Y1 - 2017/10/14
N2 - The ‘rule of optimism’ has been a key feature of child protection discourse in the UK since being introduced as a theoretical construct over thirty years ago. It has continuously been drawn upon to explain professional action and has been most notably utilised as a powerful explanatory device within Serious Case Reviews (SCRs). Yet, despite its longevity, the deployment of the construct has been subject to very little critique. This paper seeks to redress that balance and will explore how ‘the rule’ as an explanatory device has become rearticulated and repositioned as an individualising psychological construct which has almost invariably focused attention on the practices of individual social workers at the expense of an analysis of the structural conditions which frame these practices. In doing so, this paper traces the origins of the rule and explores the integrity and thrust of contemporary applications. Evidence from recent SCRs will be drawn upon to suggest that ‘the rule’, albeit in its psychologically distilled form, retains currency. Drawing on the work of Berlant, ‘the rule of optimism’ will be reconsidered alongside an exploration of the ‘role of optimism’.
AB - The ‘rule of optimism’ has been a key feature of child protection discourse in the UK since being introduced as a theoretical construct over thirty years ago. It has continuously been drawn upon to explain professional action and has been most notably utilised as a powerful explanatory device within Serious Case Reviews (SCRs). Yet, despite its longevity, the deployment of the construct has been subject to very little critique. This paper seeks to redress that balance and will explore how ‘the rule’ as an explanatory device has become rearticulated and repositioned as an individualising psychological construct which has almost invariably focused attention on the practices of individual social workers at the expense of an analysis of the structural conditions which frame these practices. In doing so, this paper traces the origins of the rule and explores the integrity and thrust of contemporary applications. Evidence from recent SCRs will be drawn upon to suggest that ‘the rule’, albeit in its psychologically distilled form, retains currency. Drawing on the work of Berlant, ‘the rule of optimism’ will be reconsidered alongside an exploration of the ‘role of optimism’.
KW - professional practice, decision making, child protection
U2 - 10.1093/bjsw/bcx090
DO - 10.1093/bjsw/bcx090
M3 - Article
VL - 47
SP - 1624
EP - 1640
JO - British Journal of Social Work
JF - British Journal of Social Work
SN - 0045-3102
IS - 6
ER -