As a result of my practicum project, I am looking forward to next steps whereby I will assume a new role with my practicum supervisor for the purpose of developing a program framework for a family preservation program and prevention services more broadly for the NTHSSA. As part of this, I would like to explore how to incorporate anti-colonial, AOP, and culturally relevant practice within a family preservation program.
Because of the exposure that I had to the research process in my practicum, I saw how effective it was to impact organizational change and decision making by framing the debate and the parameters of discussion through research (Lakoff, 2004), as well as ensuring the development of accountable and responsive programming. Because of this experience, I have become extremely interested in integrating more formalized research projects into my work in this capacity, and for exploring preventative programming for the NWT. |
In my exposure to the research process, I became more aware of ways in which certain perspectives, voices, and types of knowledge can be included or excluded, and as a result, can recreate existing power relations in the production of further knowledge. In the future I would like to explore the use of different methodologies that esteem different ways of knowing, and different conceptions of truth, and create space for them to be included in the dominant discourse - either organizationally, or more broadly. I would like to explore research that can include the voices of people that we often talk about, but not with. Future research questions that I have include how certain theoretical social work practice approaches are related to outcomes for Indigenous families working with CFS, and what are effective practice approaches for family preservation programs working with Indigenous families in CFS. |
"Although research itself is not always thought of as a liberatory practice, community research can politicize social problems by naming, exploring, and exposing the realities of racialized and marginalized communities" (Massaquoi 2007, p. 193.)