BA MCApSc PGDipSocSc PhD (Otago)
Associate Professor in Social Work
Contact details
Room 6C18, Richardson Building
Tel +64 3 479 5867
Email emily.keddell@otago.ac.nz
My research focusses on child welfare inequalities, child protection decision-making, the politics of child protection and the use of algorithmic decision tools in child protection. I pursue a critical perspective on child protection; one that examines the intersections between structural conditions, policy contexts, systems, power and micro practice.
My practice background is in child protection social work, residential work with children, and family support social work. I have taught at the University of Otago since 2005, covering child and family social work, micro theories and skills, child protection decision-making and generalist courses.
I am a Registered Social Worker, an associate member of Child Poverty Action Group, and a founding member of the Re-Imagining Social Work blog collective. I am a member of the editorial collective of the Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work Journal, an associate editor of Qualitative Social Work, and on the editorial board of the BJSW sister journal: Practice.
Google Scholar: Emily Keddell
Teaching
I co-ordinate and teach:
SOWK 201 Fields of Practice
SOWK 302 Social Work for Children and Families – Analysis and Theory
SOWK 402 / SOWK 562 Micro Intervention: Theories and Skills
SOWK 490 Dissertation
SOWK 552 Child and Family Social Work
Postgraduate supervision
I welcome approaches for supervision in the following areas:
- Many areas of child and family social work including: policy and systems design in the child welfare context, inequalities and the child welfare system, poverty reduction policies in the tax/benefit system, the use of predictive data analytics, decision-making and judgement, critical approaches to risk and safety, reunification and family maintenance, multiple child removal, and ethics.
- How people construct ethnic identities from multiple options and negotiate these in their family and social contexts.
Current and recent students
Gina Tompkins MA Human Services
Legislative changes to the Children Young persons and their Families Act
Nathan Jaquiery PhD
Stabilising factors in permanent placements for children or young people in the caresystem
Sue Whyte MSW
Self-Efficacy in Parents of Adolescents: Does attendance and completion of ‘Tweens & Teens’ alter parental self-efficacy?
Adele Parkinson PhD
Adult and Child Clients’ Views of a COPMI* Family Support Service: A Mixed Methods Study
Monique Harvey MSW
“Baby Mama” The daily life of being a teenage parent
Monica Hannan MSW
The Impact of Notification to CYF on the NGO Client-Worker Relationship
Karlene Lee MSW
New Zealand Non Government Organisation Social Service Manager’s job satisfaction, job dissatisfaction and the implications for retention
Karen Service MSW
Women’s views of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
Jan Young MSW
The Role of Mothers in Shared Care arrangements for children following relationship separation
Jude Buckingham MSP
Pre practicum service learning to enhance counsellor education
Publications
Keddell, E. (2021). Towards a critical decision-making ecology approach for child protection research. Qualitative Social Work. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/14733250211039064
Keddell, E., Cleaver, K., & Fitzmaurice, L. (2021). The perspectives of community-based practitioners on baby removal prevention: Addressing legitimate and illegitimate factors. Children & Youth Services Review. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106126
Keddell, E., & Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA). (2020). Moving practice online: Knowledge exchange for social service practitioners adapting to the Covid-19 context. Wellington, New Zealand: Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA). 10p. Retrieved from https://www.sspa.org.nz/information/336-moving-practice-online
Keddell, E., & Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA). (2020). Great adaptations: Enduring social and community work practice changes post lockdown. Wellington, New Zealand: Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA). 10p. Retrieved from https://www.sspa.org.nz/information/344-great-adaptations-enduring-social-and-community-work-practice-changes-post-lockdown
Keddell, E., & Cleaver, K. (2020). Joint brief of evidence of Emily Keddell and Kerri Cleaver in the matter of The Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and in the matter of The Urgent Oranga Tamariki Inquiry (Wai 2915). Waitangi Tribunal, Wellington, New Zealand, File Wai 2915 A090. [Government Submission].
Keddell, E., & Stanley, T. (2019). Critical debates in child protection: The production of risk in changing times. In S. A. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of critical social work. (pp. 412-423). New York, NY: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781351264402-36
Chapter in Book - Research
Keddell, E. (2018). Lives at the intersections: Multiple ethnicities and child protection. In Z. L. Rocha & M. Webber (Eds.), Mana Tangatarua: Mixed heritages, ethnic identity and biculturalism in Aotearoa/New Zealand. (pp. 76-94). Abington, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Keddell, E., & Katz, I. (2017). Working in child and family welfare. In M. Connolly, L. Harms & J. Maidment (Eds.), Social work: Contexts and practice. (4th ed.) (pp. 221-234). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Keddell, E., & Stanley, T. (2017). Risk work in the formation of the 'professional' in child protection social work. In S. A. Webb (Ed.), Professional identity and social work. (pp. 94-107). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Keddell, E. (2016). Child protection reform and welfare reform in Aotearoa New Zealand: Two sides of the same coin? In J. Maidment & L. Beddoe (Eds.), Social policy for social work and human services in Aotearoa New Zealand: Diverse perspectives. (pp. 237-251). Christchurch, New Zealand: Canterbury University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Keddell, E., & Stanley, T. (2015). Moving from risk to safety: Work with children and families in child welfare contexts. In K. van Heugten & A. Gibbs (Eds.), Social work for sociologists: Theory and practice. (pp. 67-84). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Chapter in Book - Research
Keddell, E., & Pukepuke, T. (2014). Children witnessing parental violence: A social worker from Aotearoa/New Zealand responds [Case studies and analyses for the web: Invited response]. In J. E. Bettmann, G. Jacques & C. J. Frost (Eds.), International social work practice: Case studies from a global context. (pp. 5-7). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Keddell, E. (2019). Comparing risk-averse and risk-friendly practitioners in child welfare decision-making: A mixed methods study [Reprint from Journal of Social Work Practice, 31(4), 411-429. doi: 10.1080/02650533.2017.1394822]. In A. Whittaker & B. Taylor (Eds.), Risk in social work practice: Current issues. (pp. 37-58). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Other
Keddell, E. (2015). Current debates on variability in child welfare decision-making: A selected literature review. [Reprint of Keddell, E. (2014). Current debates on variability in child welfare decision-making: A selected literature review. Social Sciences, 3(4), 916-940. doi: 10.3390/socsci3040916]. In N. Parton (Ed.), Contemporary developments in child protection: Volume 2: Issues in child welfare. (pp. 141-166). MDPI.
Chapter in Book - Other
Keddell, E. (2021). Towards a critical decision-making ecology approach for child protection research. Qualitative Social Work. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/14733250211039064
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E., Cleaver, K., & Fitzmaurice, L. (2021). The perspectives of community-based practitioners on baby removal prevention: Addressing legitimate and illegitimate factors. Children & Youth Services Review. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106126
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2020). The case for an inequalities perspective in child protection. Policy Quarterly, 16(1), 36-38.
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E., & Hyslop, I. (2020). Networked decisions: Decision-making thresholds in child protection. British Journal of Social Work, 50, 1961-1980. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcz131
Journal - Research Article
Leigh, J., Beddoe, L., & Keddell, E. (2020). Disguised compliance or undisguised nonsense? A critical discourse analysis of compliance and resistance in social work practice. Families, Relationships & Societies, 9(2), 269-285. doi: 10.1332/204674319x15536730156921
Journal - Research Article
Parkinson, A., Keddell, E., & Walker, P. (2020). Exploring peer support as a strategy to reduce self-stigma for marginalised children of parents with mental illness (COPMI). British Journal of Social Work. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcaa161
Journal - Research Article
Hyslop, I., & Keddell, E. (2019). Child protection under National: Reorientating towards genuine social investment or continuing social neglect? New Zealand Sociology, 34(2), 93-122.
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2019). Algorithmic justice in child protection: Statistical fairness, social justice and the implications for practice. Social Sciences, 8(10), 281. doi: 10.3390/socsci8100281
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2019). Harm, care and babies: An inequalities and policy discourse perspective on recent child protection trends in Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 31(4), 18-34. doi: 10.11157/anzswj-vol31iss4id668
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E., & Hyslop, I. (2019). Ethnic inequalities in child welfare: The role of practitioner risk perceptions. Child & Family Social Work, 24, 409-420. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12620
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E., Davie, G., & Barson, D. (2019). Child protection inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand: Social gradient and the ‘inverse intervention law’. Children & Youth Services Review, 104, 104383. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.06.018
Journal - Research Article
Hyslop, I., & Keddell, E. (2018). Outing the elephants: Exploring a new paradigm for child protection social work. Social Sciences, 7(7), 105. doi: 10.3390/socsci7070105
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2018). The vulnerable child in neoliberal contexts: The construction of children in the Aotearoa New Zealand child protection reforms. Childhood, 25(1), 93-108. doi: 10.1177/0907568217727591
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E., & Davie, G. (2018). Inequalities and child protection system contact in Aotearoa New Zealand: Developing a conceptual framework and research agenda. Social Sciences, 7, 89. doi: 10.3390/socsci7060089
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E., & Hyslop, I. (2018). Role type, risk perceptions and judgements in child welfare: A mixed methods vignette study. Children & Youth Services Review, 87, 130-139. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.017
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2017). Comparing risk-averse and risk-friendly practitioners in child welfare decision making. Journal of Social Work Practice, 31(4), 411-429. doi: 10.1080/02650533.2017.1394822
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2017). Interpreting children’s best interests: Needs, attachment and decision-making. Journal of Social Work, 17(3), 324-342. doi: 10.1177/1468017316644694
Journal - Research Article
Beddoe, L., & Keddell, E. (2016). Informed outrage: Tackling shame and stigma in poverty education in social work. Ethics & Social Welfare, 10(2), 149-162. doi: 10.1080/17496535.2016.1159775
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2016). Constructing parental problems: The function of mental illness discourses in a child welfare context. British Journal of Social Work, 46(7), 2088-2103. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcv096
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2016). Substantiation decision-making and risk prediction in child protection systems. Policy Quarterly, 12(2), 46-56.
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2016). Weighing it up: Family maintenance discourses in NGO child protection decision-making in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Child & Family Social Work, 21(6), 512-520. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12168
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2015). The ethics of predictive risk modelling in the Aotearoa/New Zealand child welfare context: Child abuse prevention or neo-liberal tool? Critical Social Policy, 35(1), 69-88. doi: 10.1177/0261018314543224
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2014). Current debates on variability in child welfare decision-making: A selected literature review. Social Sciences, 3(4), 916-940. doi: 10.3390/socsci3040916
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2014). Theorising the signs of safety approach to child protection social work: Positioning, codes and power. Children & Youth Services Review, 47(1), 70-77. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.03.011
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2012). Going home: Managing ‘risk’ through relationship in returning children from foster care to their families of origin. Qualitative Social Work, 11(6), 604-620. doi: 10.1177/1473325011411010
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2011). A constructionist approach to the use of arts-based materials in social work education: Making connections between art and life. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 31(4), 400-414. doi: 10.1080/08841233.2011.597678
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2011). Reasoning processes in child protection decision making: Negotiating moral minefields and risky relationships. British Journal of Social Work, 41(7), 1251-1270. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr012
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2009). Narrative as identity: Postmodernism, multiple ethnicities, and narrative practice approaches in social work. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 18, 221-241.
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2007). Cultural identity and the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989: Ideology, policy and practice. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 32, 49-71.
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2006). Pavlova and pineapple pie: Selected identity influences on Samoan-Pakeha people in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Kōtuitui, 1(1), 45-63. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2006.9522410
Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E. (2020). Editorial. Qualitative Social Work, 18(1), 139-140. doi: 10.1177/1473325018807496
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E. (2020). [Review of the book Taming childhood: A critical perspective on policy, practice and parenting]. Critical Social Policy, 40(1), 166-169. doi: 10.1177/0261018319885906b
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E., & Beddoe, L. (2020). The tyranny of distance: The social effects and practice adaptations resulting from Covid-19 lockdown rules. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 32(2), 41-45. doi: 10.11157/anzswj-vol32iss2id741
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E. (2018). [Review of the book Narrative in social work practice: The power and possibility of story]. Affilia, 33(3), 421-422. doi: 10.1177/0886109918762480
Journal - Research Other
Beddoe, L., & Keddell, E. (2017). Many faces, many fields: Social work in changing times. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(3), 1-4. [Editorial].
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E. (2017). [Review of the book "Mixed race" identities in Asia and the Pacific: Experiences from Singapore and New Zealand]. Asian Journal of Social Science, 45(3), 372-373. doi: 10.1163/15685314-04503009
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E. (2017). [Review of the book Doing critical social work: Transformative practices for social justice]. Advances in Social Work & Welfare Education, 19(2), 182-183. [Book Review].
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E. (2017). [Review of the book Children in society: Politics, policies and interventions]. Critical Social Policy, 37(1), 157-159. doi: 10.1177/0261018316668067e
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E., Stanfield, D., & Hyslop, I. (2016). The social work voice: Doxa and dissent in neoliberal times. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 28(2), 1-6. [Editorial].
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E. (2014). [Review of the book How to be a social worker: A critical guide for students]. Advances in Social Work & Welfare Education, 16(1), 103-105. [Book Review].
Journal - Research Other
Keddell, E. (2013). Why do Pacific people with multiple ethnic affiliations have poorer subjective wellbeing? Negative ingroup affect mediates the identity tension effect, Manuela & Sibley, 2012. Social Indicators Research, (December). doi: 10.1007/s11205-013-0548-8
Journal - Research Other
