Child Language BrokeringChild Language Brokering

Children, Young People and Adults: Extending the Conversation

5 September 2012

Siân E Lucas 1

voice power

representation

The research projectThe research project• To explore aspects of brokering in social welfare

contexts from two view points:1. Young people2. Social Workers

• To explore the nature of languages used to construct brokering by various actors.

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What is child language

brokering?

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The three ‘circles’ of English Crystal, D (2009)

Expanding Circle

(China, Russia)

Outer circle

(India, Singapore)

Inner circle

(USA, UK, Australia)

Crystal (2009)

The three ‘circles’ of English

 

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BilingualismBilingualism

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Key social work legislation

• Children Act (1989)• Working together to

safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (1999)

• Every Child Matters (2003)• The Victoria Climbié

Inquiry Laming (2003)

• Children Act (2004)• The Munro Review

(2011)

• Welfare of the child to be paramount

• Ascertaining child’s wishes and feelings

• Avoidance of delay• Parental responsibility• Due consideration to

religion, ‘race’, culture and language

• Local authorities’ duties to ‘children in need’

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• London Child Protection

Procedures

• Local Safeguarding

Boards

• Race Relations

(Amendment) Act

(2000)

• Human Right Act (1998)

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LegislationLegislation

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Emails

SW1

Obviously, I would never do this as my strong view is that it is not the child's role.

SW2

I have never had a young person translating for me with parents because we are not allowed to use young people.

SW3

…don't think that I have much experience on child interpreters (avoid using kiddies if poss)

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Young PeopleYoung PeopleWho for: parents, friends, strangers, family members, extended family, teachers, professionals.Where: home, GP, hospital, school, jobcentre, benefit office, shops, bank

education welfare officer, receptionists. How: letters, phone calls, in person.Initiation: planned, spontaneous.Experience: variety, significance, effect.Purpose: emotional, linguistic support, empathy.Benefit: long term, duty, integration, economic. •Advanced knowledge: to advocate for parents and to navigate social welfare system & wider society. •Suggest that CLB promotes familial integration.•Children have more autonomy than assumed - challenges the assumption that children are ‘passive’ brokers.

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My mum needs

papers.

Are the paper

alright?

At the…

What you need?

IqraIqra

Researcher: … and do you ever get anything for it;

so do they say oh thank you and give you something

or-

Iqra: yeah, er one day I went to, I told you about

town, that shop and she said do you

need Researcher: [yeah

Iqra: anything, I say yeah, ice cream heh, heh, she

say Researcher: [HEH HEHIqra: ok and she buy.

Mirium

Hanna

Initial Findings: Social Initial Findings: Social WorkersWorkers

• Social workers’ reluctance to talk about CLB.

• Argue CLB shouldn’t happen BUT….exceptions.

• Knowledge: institutional & instinctive threshold.

• Frustration.• Complexities of the social

work task.

18The resolution

cycle

Social work• Service deficiency (make do, no other option).

• Challenges ideas about normalised childhood –

responsibilities, burden.

• In the ‘real world’ and in an ‘ideal world’.

• The ‘bad social worker’.

• Shifted onus - parents inability.

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Final thoughts:Final thoughts:

• CLB does occur – hidden area of practice.

• Pressure on non-English speakers to learn

English to receive services.

• Likely to continue.

• Difficult to measure impact.

• Small tragedy in larger social work space.

Siân E Lucas

s. .lu s@ u.s l or .. . .u.e ca ed a f dac

www.salford.academia/sianlucas

“…questioning the ostensibly unquestionable premises of

our way of life is arguably the most urgent of services we owe our fellow humans and

ourselves.”Bauman (1998)

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