An!ecological!model!has!served!as!the!conceptual!and!methodological!framework!
for! this! research.! Elements! of! this! ecological! approach! can! be! understood! as!
foundational! to! thinking! in! the! fields/disciplines! of! Sociology! and! Urban! and!
Regional! Planning! which! have! most! influenced! this! research,! notably! an!
examination! of! phenomena! in! context,! and! an! increased! recognition! of! the!
reflexive! relationship! between! agency! and! structure! (Beck! &! Willms,! 1994;!
Giddens,!1991).!!
The! ecological! framework! for! this! research! has! been! adapted! from! Human!
Ecological! Systems! Theory,! as! developed! by! Urie! Bronfrenbrenner!
(Bronfrenbrenner,! 1979;! 1994),! an! illustration! for! which! is! shown! as! Figure! 2.1.!
The! adaptation! of! Bronfrenbrenner’s! ecological! model! emerged! from! my!
experience! of! its! application! in! the! Australian! Government’s! early! intervention!
program!Communities!for!Children!(C4C).!Based!on!the!US!Headstart!model,!which!
is! founded! on! Bronfrenbrenner’s! model! and! theory! of! human! development,! the!
C4C!Program!seeks!to!deliver!targeted!programs!to!atarisk!children!and!families!in!
‘locales!of!disadvantage’,!hence!accounting!for!its!framing!as!a!‘childacentred’!and!
‘placeabased’!approach.!!
The!main!point!of!distinction!between!Bronfrenbrenner’s!theory!and!this!adapted!
model! is! its! focus! and! topic! of! investigation.! While! Bronfrenbrenner’s! model! is!
concerned! with! human! or! child! development,! this! research! is! concerned! with!
workforce!
development,!
specifically!
attraction!
and!
retention.!
The!
conceptualisation!of!this!research!as!placeabased!and!practitionerafocused!derives!
from! two! points.! First,! the! identification! of! the! Murchison! District! as! ‘hard! to!
recruit’!and!the!‘place’!for!which!solutions!to!attract!and!retain!are!sought!by!the!
Department! under! the! Linkage! Project! identifies! the! Department’s! search! for!
interventions!as!being!placeabased.!Secondly,!the!target!of!prospective!and!current!
Workers!by!the!Department’s!in!attraction!and!retention!strategies!means!that!as!
workers!engaged!in!child!protection!practices,!interventions!to!attract!and!retain!
can! also! be! understood! as! practitionerafocused.! The! reported! significance! of! the!
‘client–worker’!relationship!in!child!protection!work!(examined!in!Chapter!6)!and!
the!use!of!Bronfrenbrenner’s!theory!suggested!an!attractive!proposition:!to!mirror!
a!framework!currently!used!in!interventions!targeting!the!‘client’!of!statutory!child!
protection!work!to!interventions!aimed!at!the!practitioner!or!‘worker’!with!whom!
they!are!engaged.!The!framework’s!application!to!other!settings!of!central!interest,!
notably!organisations!(Collins!1998;!Grint!1994;!Maton!2000),!place!(Maton!2000),!
social! work! (Ferguson! 2013)! and! social! work! in! remote! localities! and! with!
Indigenous! people! (Briskman,! 2007;! Delaney,! 1999)! more! specifically,! further!
supports!the!potential!of!an!ecological!model!for!this!research.!Thus,!drawing!on!
Beyer,! Higgins! and! Bromfield! (2005,! 14)! and! their! proposition! that! in! the!
Australian!context!a!‘developmentalaecological’!theory!provides!a!useful!model!in!
which!to!conduct!research!in!child!protection,!this!research!poses!the!question:!is!
the! ecological! model! adapted! for! this! research! appropriate! for! practitionera
focused,! placeabased! interventions?! In! this! context! understood! as! interventions!
that!seek!to!attract!and!retain!child!protection!workers/’practitioners’.!
The! ecological! model! for! this! research! adopts! many! of! the! key! elements! of!
Bronfrenbrenner’s! Human! Ecological! Systems! Theory! (Bronfrenbrenner! 1979;!
1992).!The!individual!worker,!understood!to!represent!both!current!(‘actual’)!and!
future!District!Workers,!is!conceptualised!as!embedded!in!a!system!of!influences!
all! of! which! act! to! shape! individual! outcomes.! These! influences! extend! from! the!
Microsystems! in! which! the! individual! Worker! is! present! to! those! of! the!
Macrosystem,!or!broader!culture.!As!with!Bronfrenbrenner’s!model,!influences!are!
biadirectional!in!nature,!occurring!both!within!and!across!settings.!The!effects!on!
individuals! are! different,! and! depend! on! personal! attributes! such! as! gender,!
racial/ethnic!identity,!lifestyle!and!belief!systems.!It!is!the!reflexive!nature!of!the!
interaction!in!Bronfrenbrenner’s!model!that!locates!its!philosophical!foundations!
in!key!concepts!in!contemporary!Sociology!on!the!reflexive!relationship!between!
agency!and!structure!(Giddens!1994).!
Figure$2.1:$Bronfenbrenner’s$Human$Ecological$Systems$Theory$
!
Source:!Google!Images!This!research,!reflecting!the!fundamental!characteristic!of!the!Microsystem!as!one!
in!which!the!individual!person!is!both!present!and!actively!constructs,!has!sought!
to!examine!characteristics!of!three!microsystems!in!which!the!Murchison!District!
workers!are!embedded:!the!places!in!which!they!live;!the!organisational!setting!in!
which!they!work;!and!their!personal!or!family!life.!These!three!settings!have!been!
framed!for!this!research!as!‘Place’,!‘Work’!and!‘Life’.!In!view!of!the!origins!of!this!
research,! an!examination!of!the!Work!microsystem! has!been!explored!in!greater!
depth! than! the! nonaWork! settings! in! the! interviews! and! survey! of! the! District!
Workforce.!Illustrations!of!the!adaption!of!this!model!to!the!research!context!are!
presented!in!Figure!2.2.!
Consistent! with! Bronfrenbrenner’s! emphasis! on! the! importance! of! the! building!
blocks!within!the!Microsystem!to!shape!individual!outcomes,!this!research!has!also!
explored!the!influence!of!the!roles,!activities!and!interpersonal!structures!of!these!
settings! in! providing! support! and/or! barriers! to! attraction! and! retention.! As!
examined!in!subsequent!chapters,!the!indicative!roles,!relationships!and!activities!
that!constitute!the!Microsystem!of!Work!and!Life!for!District!Workers!relate!to!the!
complex! web! of! relationships! in! which! individuals! are! embedded! and!
consequently,!the!potential!range!of!variables!acting!on!attraction!and!retention.!
The!setting!of!the!Mesosystem!(the!intersection!of!Microsystems)!is!an!important!
one! for! this! research! given! its! conceptualisation! as! being! at! the! intersection! of!
Place,! Work! and! Life.! As! discussed! further! in! Chapters! 6! and! 9,! the! push/pull!
influences! on! attraction! and! retention! at! the! level! of! the! individual! are! largely! a!
result!of!the!intersection!of!the!microasettings!of!Work!and!Life,!with!the!additional!
opportunities!and!challenges!presented!by!the!Place!setting.!
The! interpretation! of! the! Exosystem! and! Macrosystem! is! consistent! with!
Bronfrenbrenner’s! original! exposition.! The! organisational! setting! identified! the!
research!as!occurring!within!a!distinct!political!and!institutional!environment,!in!
addition! to! the! broader! social! and! economic! contexts.! At! the! level! of! the!
Exosystem,!the!research!has!paid!particular!attention!to!developments!within!the!
broader!organisational!and!institutional!environment.!These!include!the!reform!of!
the! Department! following! the! Ford! Review! (Ford,! 2007),! the! reform! of! the! West!
Australian!Government’s!public!sector,!and!developments!within!the!economy!and!
labour!market.!
Figure'2.2:'An'ecological'model'as'a'methodological'framework''
The#analysis#of#secondary#data,#notably#organisational#data#and#policy#and#public#
discourses#through#the#review#of#news#media,#has#constituted#an#important#source#
of#evidence#relating#to#the#Exosystem.#
Reflecting# the# influence# of# the# Macrosystem# and# broader# cultural# influences# on#
development,# this# research# is# fundamentally# concerned# with# prevailing# and#
changing# social# and# cultural# norms# with# regards# to# Place,# Work# and# Life,# with#
particular#emphasis#on#the#effects#of#social#change#in#lateDmodernity#within#each#
domain.##
In#later#work#Bronfrenbrenner#refined#and#reformulated#the#original#exposition#of#
his#theory#(Bronfrenbrenner#1979,#26),#adding#a#fifth#and#final#layer#or#system:#the#
Chronosystem.# With# the# introduction# of# the# Chronosystem,# Bronfrenbrenner’s#
theory#explicitly#took#into#account#the#changes#that#occur#across#the#lifespan.#He#
conceived#time#not#only#in#relation#to#the#person#and#their#chronological#age,#but#
also# to# the# environment.# In# the# context# of# this# research,# the# Chronosystem# has#
been# interpreted# as# encompassing# both# the# historical# time# across# the# career#
lifecycle#and#socioDhistorical#time.##
The# adapted# model# maintains# two# additional# elements# of# Bronfrenbrenner’s#
model:# the# concepts# of# ecological# transition# and# ecological# validity.#
Bronfrenbrenner# defined# an# ecological# transition# as# being# ‘whenever# a# person’s#
position# in# the# ecological# environment# is# altered# as# a# result# of# change# in# role,#
setting,# or# both’# (1979,# 26).# He# identified# such# transitions# as# including# ‘finding,#
changing# or# losing# a# job’# (1979,# 27).# The# concept# of# ecological# transition# is#
therefore#of#particular#significance#for#this#research#in#view#of#transitions#involved#
in# employment# and# location# choices# that# are# central# to# attraction# and# retention.#
The#problem#of#attraction#and#retention#can#therefore#be#interpreted#as#a#problem#
of# ecological# transitions.# Bronfrenbrenner’s# concept# of# ecological# validity# shares#
the#fundamental#characteristics#of#naturalistic#stances#in#qualitative#research,#such#
as#ethnographic#approaches#and#the#notion#that#any#investigation#must#be#carried#
out# in# ‘a# natural# setting’# and# involve(s)# objects# and# activities# from# everyday# life#
(Bronfrenbrenner# 1979,# 1992;# Bryman# 2004).# He# argued# that# while# ecological#
approaches#in#research#acknowledged#the#importance#of#this#in#theory,#it#is#rarely#
reflected#in#practice,#with#the#tendency#to#favour#traditional#laboratory#models.#As#
explored#later#in#this#chapter,#fieldwork#(embedded#within#the#‘natural#setting’#for#
this#research)#has#been#a#critical#component#in#the#collection#of#evidence,#including#
observations# of# the# physical# environment# and# interactions# in# which# District#
Workers#are#active#in#everyday#practice.#
The# biDdirectional# nature# of# influences# across# the# ecological# model# means# it# is#
interpreted# as# an# inherently# reflexive# methodological# framework.# Therefore# this#
research#can#be#understood#as#reflexive#not#only#in#the#sense#of#the#position#of#the#
‘self#as#researcher’#but#also#reflexive#in#the#methodological#approach#as#explained#
below#in#relation#to#the#collection#and#analysis#of#data#during#the#research#process.#
It# is# the# complexity# of# the# interaction# between# individual# and# institutional#
elements,# often# taken# for# granted# and# central# to# the# rhetoric# of# child# protection#
and#attraction#and#retention#discourses,#that#this#research#seeks#to#underscore.#In#
doing#so,#it#reveals#the#limits#of#this#and#other#research#to#offer#neat#‘solutions’#to#
the#‘problem’.#
In document
Fisica Clasica y Moderna 6
(página 35-41)