Education Problems with Urban Migratory Children in China
Fei Yan
In China, due to the Residence Registration System and Segmented Governmental Management of Education, the educational problems with urban
migratory children have been overlooked for a long time. The results are, on
one hand, these children have no access to Public-Funded School because
they are not categorized as local residents; on the other hand the illegal
Schools for Migrant Workers’ Children exist in many cities. The satisfactory
solution to the problem will be a win-win process: the promotion of
migratory children’s education will not only benefit this minority group
and the communities in which they live, but also contribute to the healthy
development of the society and country.
Culture as Deficit: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the
Concept of Culture in Contemporary Social Work Discourse
Yoosun Park
This paper is a critical discourse analysis of the usage of the concept of“culture” in social work discourse. The paper argues that “culture” is
inscribed as a marker for difference which has largely replaced the categories
of race and ethnicity as the preferred trope of minority status. “Culture” is
conceived as an objectifiable body of knowledge constituting the legitimate
foundation for the building of interventions. But such interventions cannot
be considered other than an instrument which reinforces the subjugating
paradigm from which it is fashioned. The concept of culture, constructed
from within an orthodoxic, hegemonic discursive paradigm, is deployed as
a marker of deficit.
Applying Rawlsian Social Justice to Welfare Reform: An Unexpected Finding for Social Work
Mahasweta M. Banerjee
This paper sketches social workers’ understanding of social justice and
reliance on Rawls (1971), highlights findings about “hard to employ”
welfare recipients facing welfare reform, and articulates the parameters of
Rawlsian justice (Rawls, 1999a; 2001) with particular emphasis on people
who have been on welfare for long. The paper shows that social workers do
not have any space to maneuver in Rawlsian justice to uphold justice for
long-term welfare recipients, and welfare reform’s “work first” stipulation
does not violate Rawlsian justice. The paper raises some questions about
social workers’ continued reliance on Rawls. It suggests social workers
update the literature to reflect Rawls’s revised and clarified vision of justice
and apply it appropriately.
English Non-fluency and Income Penalty for Hispanic Workers
Song Yang
Using the 2001–2002 California Workforce Survey, this paper examines
the income gap between Hispanic and Caucasian workers. I attribute the
income gap between Hispanic and Caucasian workers to differentials in
their human capital. However, data analyses indicate that classical human
capital indicators such as education, job training, and work experiences are
not sufficient to account for the observed income gap between Hispanics
and Caucasians. Instead, English fluency is a highly valuable aspect of
human capital for Hispanic workers. English non-fluency, along with
less education, job training, and work experiences explain why Hispanic
workers earn less than Caucasian workers. However, variations in English
fluency do not affect the incomes of Asian workers. Those findings suggest
that English non-fluency is a unique source of income penalty for Hispanic
workers. It may be attributed to stereotyping by employers.
Reforming Welfare Reform Postsecondary Education Policy: Two State Case Studies in Political Culture, Organizing and Advocacy
Charles Price
Welfare reform had the unforeseen effect of causing large numbers of public
assistance recipients to drop out of college, discouraging their pursuit
and acquisition of postsecondary education (PSE) credentials. There is a
growing body of research that shows the value of postsecondary education
in getting public assistance recipients onto a path toward occupational and
social mobility. The restrictions of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
PSE policy, coupled with the recognition that college participation should
be an option for qualified welfare recipients, influenced the emergence of
many successful state and county-level movements focused on reforming
welfare reform PSE policy. Their work provides the few contemporary
examples of civil society groups shaping welfare policy through advocacy
and organizing. This article summarizes some of the issues and research
on welfare and PSE, and chronicles the activities of TANF PSE reform
movements in Maine and Kentucky. The case study conceptual framework
draws upon Daniel Elazar’s (1972; 1994) conception of political culture
to provide historical, institutional, political and social context. Through
documentation of how reform occurred in different states, the account
provided may be useful to people interested in welfare reform and PSE,
especially in regard to the lingering uncertainty of what will be the final
provisions that constitute the reauthorization of welfare reform.
Implications of Media Scrutiny for a Child Protection Agency
Lindsay D. Cooper
This study examines media impact on job efficacy in a child protection
agency. The research uses inductive, holistic research methods to examine
the effect of media scrutiny on changes in management dictates, worker
duties and responsibilities, and agency services. Data were collected from
media sources, interviews, archival materials, and participant observation,
then analyzed via qualitative content analysis, providing a basis for rich
ethnographic description of perceptions and behavior of diverse groups of
people involved in child protection. The study reveals how contradictions in
American national culture generate a need for increased communication,
understanding, agreement, and support, between various groups of people
who influence child protection.
Is Inter-Organizational Collaboration Always a Good Thing?
Richard A. Longoria
The human service literature suggests that the concept and outcomes of
inter-organizational collaboration are not well understood. Nonetheless,
inter-organizational collaboration has emerged as a statement of direction
for social welfare policy and professional practice. In light of an unclear
understanding of collaboration, this analysis suggests the concept has
powerful symbolic qualities, which perpetuates its continued use. While the
general notion of collaboration is promising, human service administrators
and stakeholders must couple critical thinking and action to clarify the
meaning, intent, application, and outcomes of inter-organizational collaboration.
This article raises the question as to whether the popularity
of inter-organization collaboration is grounded in its proven efficacy as a
means of achieving specific human service recipient outcomes or symbolism
and ideology.
Saving for Post-Secondary Education in Individual Development Accounts
Min Zhan and Mark Schreiner
Low-income people have less access to opportunities for post-secondary
education, and the welfare reform in 1996 further limited access for welfare
recipients. Since welfare reform, there has been an increasing interest
in strategies meant to enhance the well-being of low-income people
through education and the development of human capital. In this study,
we examine how low-income people saved for post-secondary education in
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) in a nationwide demonstration.
IDAs provide matches for savings used primarily for home purchase,
microenterprise, and post-secondary education. We examine how savings
outcomes differed between participants who intended to use their savings
for post-secondary education and other participants. We also look at how
these differences in savings outcomes were associated with difference in
participant characteristics and in IDA design across different programs in
the demonstration.
Results indicate that the savings outcomes of “education savers” were
different from other participants. Furthermore, savings for post-secondary
education moderated some relationships between savings outcomes and
other characteristics of participants and of IDA programs. Implications are
discussed for policy and social-work practice for using IDAs to promote
human-capital development by low-income people.
Welfare Recipients Attending College: The Interplay of Oppression and Resistance
Karen Christopher
This qualitative study uses Patricia Hill Collins’ “both/and” conceptual
framework to explore experiences of both oppression and resistance among
welfare recipients attending college. It examines how children, social networks,
integration into campus life, and interactions with caseworkers
affect welfare recipients’ college attendance and college persistence. As is
well established in the sociological literature, having children complicates
college attendance and persistence. But this research shows that children
also provide the predominant incentive for poor mothers to attain higher
education. Moreover, this study reveals complexities in welfare recipients’
experiences with their social networks, work-study jobs, and caseworkers
that are often overlooked by current research on higher education and
welfare reform.
BOOK REVIEWS
Social Work: Theory and Practice for a Changing Profession.
Lena Dominelli.
Reviewed by Mel Gray.
Voices from the Edge: Narratives about the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
Ruth O’Brien.
Reviewed by Juliet C. Rothman.
The Decline of Life: Old Age in Eighteenth-Century England.
Susannah R. Ottaway.
Reviewed by John M. Herrick.
Technology and the African American Experience: Needs and
Opportunities for Study.
Bruce Sinclair (Ed.).
Reviewed by John McNutt.
An American Travesty: Legal Responsibility to Adolescent Sexual
Offending.
Franklin Zimring.
Reviewed by Matthew T. Theriot.
Lessons from Abroad: Adapting International Social Welfare
Innovations.
M. C. Hokenstad and James Midgley (Eds.).
Reviewed by Doreen Elliott.
BOOK NOTES
Migration and Immigration.
Maura I. Toro-Morn.
A Handbook of Comparative Social Policy.
Patricia Kennett (Ed.).
Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classical Readings.
Charles Lemert.
Shut Out: Low Income Mothers and Higher Education in
Post-Welfare America.
Valerie Polakow, Sandra Butler, Luisa Stormer Deprez and
Peggy Kahn (Eds.).
Inheritance Law and the Evolving Family.
Ralph C. Brashier.
Social Policy Analysis and Practice.
Thomas M. Meenaghan, Keith M. Kilty, and John G. McNutt.
