Relational Poverty Perspectives as a Pedagogical Research Lens for Child Welfare and Protection Services
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This talk examines how relational poverty perspectives can provide a compelling foundation for pedagogically informed research on family poverty and child welfare and protection services, by highlighting the relational determinants of poverty and the ways in which poverty, in turn, shapes relationships within families, across communities, and between families and child welfare services.
We argue that integrating these perspectives with pedagogical frameworks enables a detailed analysis of micro-relational dynamics in contexts of poverty. Such analyses can generate insights that inform the development of relational, critical, and poverty-aware social work models, offering guidance for more responsive and equitable child welfare practice. Our research agenda is exemplified through two ongoing studies that foreground micro-relational analysis: one examining parenting as a form of resistance to poverty, and the other exploring everyday relational dynamics between families experiencing poverty and residential care teams.
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Bio
Caroline Spaas is an assistant professor, clinical psychologist, and family therapist at the Parenting and Special Education Research Unit of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven. Her scholarly and clinical work focuses on family poverty and on child welfare and protection services for families experiencing poverty and social vulnerability. Her work emphasizes relational, family-centered, and community-based approaches to examine and strengthen the responsiveness, inclusivity, and equity of support and care systems for children, young people, and their families.
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