Research for Action: Cross-National Perspective on Connecting Knowledge Policy and Practice for Children

Across the social welfare and human services fields, interest is growing in how to ensure that research findings have an impact on policy and practice. Simultaneously, with the advance of globalization, it is clearer than ever that an international perspective furthers the understanding on how social, political, and institutional contexts affect research and dissemination practices. This volume, with contributions from an array of eminent researchers and practitioners, provides valuable insight into what are effective research practices and what are the modes that ensure putting research findings to use.

The book includes narratives of six child welfare case studies from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel, South Africa, Northern Ireland and the United States and frames those cases in the context of relevant literatures to build up a cross-case analysis that distills lessons, throws enduring questions into relief, and lays a foundation for informing future practice. It mines the cross-national experience to develop perspective for a better understanding of the importance of different policy and cultural environments, while emphasizing issues that are applicable across borders. The ground prepared by the case studies allows the volume to tease out themes and lessons, including placing the empirical findings in the context of relevant theoretical frameworks and developing guidelines for improving research practice in this arena.

The chapter on Israel was written by Dr. Tami Zemach-Marom, director of the Unit for Quality Assurance of the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. It discusses the RAF method which was developed by the Institute.

Researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and others concerned with promoting effective policy and practice will find this book a vital aid in understanding how to apply knowledge to the real world and how to deploy effective modes of disseminating research findings that can contribute to social change.

About the Editors

Robert Chaskin is Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago and Chapin Hall Center for Children.

Jona Rosenfeld is Senior Advisor to the Unit for Learning from Success and Ongoing Learning in Human Services, Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute and Gordon Brown Professor (Emeritus), Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A copy of the book is available for viewing at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale library.