Navigating Wartime Realities: Adaptation and Resilience in Ukrainian Social Work Education

This paper explores how Ukraine’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in social work have demonstrated resilience amidst the ongoing armed conflict. The war has significantly impacted the educational landscape, posing challenges to institutional operations, teaching methodologies, and the preparation of future social workers. The objective of this study is to explore the key factors contributing to both organizational and academic adaptability, thus ensuring that social work education remains relevant and effective in addressing the evolving needs of a wartime society. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a desk review with 12 semi-structured interviews with academic staff from departments and institutes offering programs in ‘Social Work’ and ‘Social Pedagogy’. The study examines how universities have adapted their curricula, teaching strategies, and assessment methods, while also highlighting the role of international cooperation and community-based initiatives. The results reveal that Ukrainian HEIs have demonstrated significant resilience, utilizing cognitive and behavioral strategies to adapt to the war’s challenges. This includes the shift to online and hybrid learning, the use of makeshift classrooms, and the integration of new community-focused missions. Despite these adaptive efforts, the findings also highlight concerns about the long-term sustainability of these changes, particularly in maintaining educational quality and meeting the needs of vulnerable populations. International partnerships have been crucial in supporting these efforts, although disparities between institutions in accessing such resources remain. This study underscores the importance of resilience in educational systems during crises and offers valuable insights for other higher education institutions facing similar challenges. It calls for a holistic approach to education, one that balances immediate adaptations with long-term strategic planning so that to ensure the continued relevance and quality of social work education in times of conflict

Socialinis atsparumas per žaidimų terapiją: transformuojančios socialinės praktikos link

In social work, play therapy is applied as a sociocultural service for organizing children’s employment, but also as a social action that transforms social reality. Play therapy is aimed at getting to know the child, identifying children’s problems, and enabling the child to develop social skills and resistance to negative social influence through participation in the construction of social reality. According to research data, children feel happier, more relaxed, and surrounded by better emotions while playing, but, at the same time, a reality is constructed that allows us to move from a ‘culture of silence’ to a ‘culture of voice’. Therefore, play therapy is applied in order to raise children’s emotional well-being, to recognize the lack of social skills, contributing to children’s better self-esteem, self-confidence and more successful critical involvement of children in the social reality around them. After studying the context of application of the play therapy method as a sociocultural service, while recognizing the lack of social skills of clients, it became clear that play therapy helps to recognize the lack of social skills. The results of the study showed that day center visitors often lack communication and conflict resolution skills. The lack of these abilities robs individuals of the tools they can use critically to develop resilience against the dominant or surrounding social environment. The application of game therapy promotes the reflection of the participants about their social situation and promotes the reflection of social reality through the processes of participation in it.Socialiniame darbe žaidimų terapija taikoma kaip sociokultūrinė paslauga vaikų užimtumui organizuoti, tačiau ir kaip socialinę realybę transformuojantis socialinis veiksmas. Žaidimų terapija skirta vaiko pažinimui, identifikuojant vaikų problemas, įgalinant vaiką per dalyvavimą socialinės realybės konstravime, ugdytis socialinius įgūdžius bei socialinį atsparumą neigiamai socialinei įtakai. Remiantis tyrimų duomenimis, žaisdami vaikai jaučiasi laimingesni, labiau atsipalaidavę, juos supa geresnės emocijos, tačiau tuo pačiu konstruojama realybė, leidžianti pereiti nuo „tylos kultūros“ prie „balso kultūros“. Todėl žaidimų terapija yra taikoma siekiant kelti vaikų emocinę savijautą, atpažinti socialinių įgūdžių stoką, prisidedant prie vaikų geresnio savęs vertinimo, pasitikėjimo savimi bei sėkmingesnio vaikų kritinio įsitraukimo į juos supančią socialinę realybę

Expression of Resilience of Social Service Organizations in Lithuanian Regions

The article examines how to strengthen the resilience of social service organizations in the regions of Lithuania when faced with extreme situations and unexpected events in the country. The research has established that, in order to overcome challenges and difficulties, social service organizations need to plan their actions in advance, quickly adapt to changes and strengthen resilience, which depends on factors that strengthen the resilience of social service organizations, such as: standardized risk management procedures, continuous strengthening of competencies, strategic planning, enabling leadership and management of business continuity processes. The research has identified measures to overcome difficulties: targeted staff involvement, inspiring organizational culture, effective risk and challenge management and the ability to adapt and maintain balance, while ensuring the continuity of activities. It has been revealed that the development of social services in the region is important for the resilience of social service organizations

Navigating Intensive Motherhood: Inventiveness and Agency Among Low-Income Single Mothers

This article explores how the ideology of intensive motherhood is reflected in, and shapes, the experiences of low-income single mothers in Czechia. By focusing on this group, the study advances understanding of the diffusion of the intensive motherhood ideology and the intersectional aspects of social reproduction. We demonstrate that, while intensive motherhood norms influence maternal practices in Czechia, low-income single mothers respond with inventive adaptations and reframing that reflect their specific circumstances. These forms of agency of low-income single mothers are often overlooked when their mothering is viewed solely through the lens of resource deficits relative to the dominant norms. Despite precarious conditions, these mothers maintain a positive maternal identity and dignity by adapting, reframing, or, at times, challenging the prevailing norms of intensive mothering. Our findings show that, in striving to meet the dominant norms, low-income single mothers undertake a range of additional, highly emotion-, labour- and time-intensive activities on a daily basis, yet these activities remain unrecognised in traditional conceptualisations of intensive motherhood, which are largely based on white middle-class women. In the neoliberal context, however, these unacknowledged efforts contribute to their further marginalisation

‘They are not a very Good Social Element even in the Workhouse’: The Vice-Regal Commission on Poor Law Reform in Ireland (1906) and the Workhouse Mother

This article examines the representation of mothers, particularly unmarried mothers, within the Irish workhouse system during the nineteenth century as framed by the poor law reform efforts of the Vice-Regal Commission (1906). Established under the Irish Poor Law (1838), the workhouse was designed as a site of relief for the destitute, but proved ill-suited to the needs of women and children, whose presence conflicted with the law’s principles. The Commission’s report is analysed to show how the official discourse shaped societal perceptions of poverty and motherhood, despite little legislative change resulting from the report. Class and gender biases are explored through the role of women guardians within the workhouse system. The analysis of the Commission’s findings reveals the deep-rooted social stigmas that marginalised unmarried mothers faced under the Irish Poor Law at the turn of the twentieth century. Ultimately, this article highlights the disparities between those administering relief and those reliant on it, exposing the limitations of the poor law reform in addressing women’s lived experiences

Socialinės meno praktikos: žinojimai socialinio darbo lauke ir tarp laukų

The production of knowledge in the realm of social arts practices involves various disciplines. The discourse of these practice is polyphonic and multi-layered. Notably, research on social arts within the scope of social work has been expanding. Yet, the field of social work remains differently defined, with divergent definitions provided by researchers and practitioners. As a result, the discourse regarding the intersection of social arts and social work research is scattered and encompasses a range of knowledge, often loosely interconnected. Some researchers are concentrated on delineate the field of social work, while others – in between fields. However, existing research lacks a profound sociological analysis. Such an analysis could provide insights into how the knowledge of social arts practices is shaped within the context of social work. This raises questions about the role of social arts practices in social work research, how they are conceptualised and the significance of this knowledge in enhancing our comprehension of these practices. Consequently, this study aims is to bridge these knowledge gaps and reflect further constructive path for future research into social arts practices. In this literature analysis of social work research related to social arts we will adopt P. Bourdieu field theory approach.Žinojimo apie socialinio meno praktikas kūrimas yra tapęs įvairių skirtingų disciplinų dalyvių diskusijos objektu. Taip kuriamas daugiabalsis ir daugiareikšmis diskursas apie šias praktikas. Diskusija apie socialinį meną vyksta ir socialiniame darbe, atsiranda vis daugiau šios krypties studijų. Vis dėlto socialinis darbas nėra vientisas, tyrėjai ir profesionalai savaip įkūnija socialinio darbo apibrėžtis. Taigi diskursas apie socialinį meną socialinio darbo tyrimuose yra išsibarstęs, aprėpia skirtingą, vietomis sutampantį ar prasilenkiantį žinojimą. Dalis šių socialinio darbo tyrimų telkiasi apibrėžtose socialinio darbo ribose, kiti – šias ribas peržengia. Vis dėlto galima pastebėti, kad šiuose įvairialypiuose tyrimuose trūksta gilesnės sociologinės analizės, kuri leistų reflektuoti žinojimo apie socialinį meną socialinio darbo tyrimų erdvėje kūrimą. Galima kelti klausimus, kokią reikšmę socialinio meno praktikos įgyja socialiniame darbe, kaip apibrėžiama ši praktika, kuo tai reikšminga gilesniam supratimui apie specifines socialines meno praktikas. Šio straipsnio siekis ir yra užpildyti šį žinių plyšį bei apmąstyti galimą tolesnę konstruktyvią socialinio meno praktikų tyrimo kryptį. Šioje literatūros analizėje, fokusuotoje į socialinio darbo tyrimus, sietinus su socialinio meno praktikomis, pasitelksime P. Bourdieu lauko perspektyvą

“What Now?” vs. “Now It’s My Turn!” – Reflecting on Motherhood after the Children Have Left

Interested in being a mother and mothering across time, I compare two types of data: (a) interviews with middle-class mothers of grown-ups reflecting upon their prior (maternal) life in Germany, and (b) self-help books addressing parents in this life-phase, called the ‘empty nest’. My analysis reveals differing understandings and constructions of motherhood. The books homogenise being a mother and naturalise what a mother is, does and feels. Accordingly, women complete themselves and find self-fulfilment primarily as mothers, and thus, they struggle when children have moved out as this provides problems for mothering or even signifies the end of motherhood. Contrary to this, the interviews display much greater diversity: despite retrospectively construing images of comprehensive motherly care, gender differentiated life-courses and intensive mothering prior to children’s move out, the interviewees narratively present varying ways of being a mother and a dynamic balancing of motherhood with other sources of identity. Thus, their self-descriptions clash with the self-help depiction of static motherhood in books and uniform experiences of the nest emptiness. Rather than discussing a void and asking, “What now?”, the interviewees make sense of the lived temporality of motherhood and pragmatically deal with the changing needs for mothering. None of them suffers when they launch their children into independent life as they develop coping strategies in former life-course stages, continue to mother after the children have left home, and claim “Now it’s my turn!

The Metis Effect: The Subjective Career Crafting of Working Mothers

By using the metaphor of Metis, this paper explores – through a feminist standpoint theory lens – how women’s work identity may be overshadowed by their motherhood identity in the ubiquitous patriarchal neoliberal context, and how women seek to overcome the constraints imposed on them in their paradoxical roles as mother-workers by career crafting. Drawing on the whole-life conceptualization of careers where a career includes the work and nonwork domains within which jobs and paid work experiences unfold, this paper explores the subjective career crafting of mothers (supported via the Metis metaphor) in their lived performance of the societally conflicting roles of a good employee and a good mother, moving within and between work and nonwork social spaces. Career crafting considers the cognitive, task, and relational activities that can be agentially tailored to best fit one’s career within the demands of one’s different roles. Mothers’ complex, paradoxical, and boundary-crossing positions in the work–nonwork domain are considered in light of career crafting literature and the Metis metaphor

Changing Perceived Life Control: Intergenerational Insights from Lithuania

A substantial body of research underscores that greater perceived control over one’s life not only enhances the individual quality of life but also, at an aggregate level, fosters economic efficiency, social inclusion, and civic participation. Perceived control also plays a crucial role in enhancing resilience during crises. At the individual level, it helps to develop more effective coping mechanisms and mitigate psychological distress, engage in more proactive problem-solving strategies and maintain better health outcomes. At the societal level, it strengthens community cohesion that enhances mutual support, collaborative problem-solving and more coordinated crisis responses. Thus, effective strategies to maintain or increase perceived control can significantly buffer against the adverse effects of crises. However, social preconditions for the formation of perceived control and its broader societal implications remain insufficiently explored. This study examines the dynamics of perceived control in Lithuanian society through the lens of generational replacement, by utilizing the data from the European Values Survey which has been conducted in the country for almost three decades. The findings reveal notable differences in this attitude across social generations. Yet, a multilevel Age-Period-Cohort (APC) analysis indicates that, while generational shifts contribute to an overall societal increase in perceived control, the primary driver is a profound cultural transformation that cuts across all generations

Motinystė intymaus partnerio smurto kontekste vaiko gerovės tyrimuose: motinocentrinė perspektyvos link

Intimate partner violence against women continues to be a major problem worldwide. The problem is exacerbated when women are subjected to violence as mothers, whose experiences are marginalised because of attention dedicated to their children. This article explores how the concepts of mothers and motherhood are constructed in the child welfare literature, which traditionally views mothers as solely responsible for children’s well-being, even in the case of violence against them. The first part of the paper discusses the features of child welfare research in the context of intimate partner violence against mothers, whereas the second part of the paper discusses the aspects that underpin the construction of images of mothers and motherhood in this literature, while the third part of the paper highlights the importance of the matricentic perspective in research on mothers’ experiences of violence.Intymaus partnerio smurtas prieš moteris ir toliau išlieka didele problema visame pasaulyje. Tačiau ši problema tampa dar aštresnė, kai smurtą patiria moterys kaip motinos, kurių patirtys dėl dėmesio vaikams nustumiamos į paraštes. Šiuo straipsniu tiriama, kaip motinos ir motinystė konstruojama vaiko gerovės mokslinėje literatūroje, kurioje į motinas žvelgiama tradiciškai, kaip į vieninteles atsakingas už vaikų gerovę, net ir smurto prieš jas atveju. Pirmoje straipsnio dalyje aptariami nagrinėjamų vaiko gerovės tyrimų, susijusių su motinyste intymaus partnerio smurto kontekste, bruožai, antroje – aspektai, kuriais remiantis šioje literatūroje konstruojami motinų ir motinystės vaizdiniai, trečioje – išryškinta motinocentrinės perspektyvos svarba tyrimuose, kai smurtą patiria motinos