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Social Sciences
Special Issues
Child Poverty and Social Work
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Child Poverty and Social Work

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Childhood and Youth Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 2495

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Gottfried Schweiger

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Interests: child poverty

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue explores the complex and interwoven realities of child poverty and social work, emphasizing the profound impact of poverty on children's development and well-being. It will critically examine how social work and social welfare systems address, mitigate, or sometimes inadvertently reinforce the issues of poverty and marginalization. With a strong focus on social justice, this Special Issue will analyze how power imbalances within institutions, structural inequalities, and systemic barriers affect vulnerable families and deepen cycles of poverty.

Contributors are invited to investigate the economic and social as well as the mental and emotional burdens that child and family poverty inflict, particularly the experiences of shame, social exclusion, and stigmatization, which compound poverty's effects. By addressing the social, economic, and mental dimensions of poverty, this Special Issue aims to uncover the nuanced role that social work can play in promoting resilience, empowerment, and inclusion.

The Special Issue welcomes both theoretical explorations and empirical studies, highlighting innovative practises, policies, and interventions in social work aimed at alleviating poverty and its repercussions. By centering the voices of marginalized children and families, it seeks to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive understanding of social welfare, aiming ultimately to foster more just and compassionate responses to poverty.

Dr. Gottfried Schweiger
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • child poverty
  • social work
  • child welfare
  • ethics
  • inequality
  • family poverty
  • shame
  • social exclusion
  • child social work
  • social welfare
  • child well-being

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 256 KiB  
Article
Supporting Children and Their Families in Gauteng Public Schools: The Roles of School Social Workers
by Gift Khumalo, Nolwazi Ngcobo and Mbongeni Shadrack Sithole
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(7), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14070407 - 26 Jun 2025
Viewed by 156
Abstract
School social work practice in the South African context is a growing field; however, there is limited research regarding the roles and responsibilities of school social workers, particularly in the Gauteng province. This province is unique in that school social workers are employed [...] Read more.
School social work practice in the South African context is a growing field; however, there is limited research regarding the roles and responsibilities of school social workers, particularly in the Gauteng province. This province is unique in that school social workers are employed by multiple institutions, including individual schools and the education and social development departments. This study aimed to explore and describe the roles and responsibilities of school social workers in the Gauteng province, recognizing them as critical specialists in addressing learners’ psychosocial needs within school settings. An explorative qualitative design was used in this study. Data were collected from 22 purposively selected participants, comprising school social workers, supervisors, and provincial managers of school social work programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data, and thematic analysis was employed to identify themes. The findings revealed context-specific roles of school social workers, including the creation of conducive teaching and learning environments, advocacy for social justice and child protection, conducting interviews and psychosocial assessments, providing counseling and trauma debriefing, conducting home visits and offering family services, removing abused learners from harmful environments, including their respective homes, and providing parental skills training and support. As a conclusion, this study highlights the need for standardized national and provincial guidelines to formalize and support school social work practice. It is recommended that the identified roles be incorporated into future practice frameworks. Furthermore, it is suggested that a uniform assessment tool be developed to promote consistency and guide school social workers in the initial evaluation processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Poverty and Social Work)
20 pages, 299 KiB  
Article
The Capability Approach as a Normative Foundation for Social Work with Socially Disadvantaged Children and Youth
by Gottfried Schweiger
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(6), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14060326 - 24 May 2025
Viewed by 549
Abstract
The capability approach, shaped by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, offers an innovative normative framework for social work with disadvantaged children and adolescents. Unlike purely resource- or income-oriented approaches, it asks what real opportunities young people have to lead the lives that they [...] Read more.
The capability approach, shaped by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, offers an innovative normative framework for social work with disadvantaged children and adolescents. Unlike purely resource- or income-oriented approaches, it asks what real opportunities young people have to lead the lives that they value. At its core is the question of how these young individuals can develop their talents, build relationships, and participate in community and culture. The potential of the capability approach becomes particularly evident in social problem contexts often characterized by poverty, educational disadvantages, or discrimination. It emphasizes the importance of freedoms, self-determination, and agency, viewing children not merely as in need of assistance but as active agents in shaping their own lives. For social work practice, this opens up new possibilities for designing interventions in a participatory manner, ensuring that children’s needs and values are taken into account. Instead of standardized solutions, individualized and context-sensitive strategies are promoted. This approach also calls for a multilateral perspective: beyond individual casework, societal and institutional structures must be addressed. Only by removing barriers in areas such as education, health, and housing can real opportunities be created. At the same time, the concept aligns well with children’s rights work, trauma-sensitive approaches, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Although operationalizing the approach is complex, a capability-oriented perspective allows for a comprehensive assessment of children’s living conditions. In this way, social work can increasingly focus on strengthening agency and recognizing young people as subjects of their own becoming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Poverty and Social Work)
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