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Associate Professor Emily Keddell

keddellBA 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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

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Publications

Keddell, E. (2022). On decision-variability in child protection: Respect, interactive universalism and ethics of care. Ethics & Social Welfare. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17496535.2022.2073381

Keddell, E., Cleaver, K., & Fitzmaurice, L. (2022). Experiences of baby removal prevention: A collective case study of mothers and community-based workers. Qualitative Social Work. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/14733250211058178

Keddell, E., Fitzmaurice, L., Cleaver, K., & Exeter, D. (2022). A fight for legitimacy: Reflections on child protection reform, the reduction of baby removals, and child protection decision-making in Aotearoa New Zealand. Kōtuitui, 17(3), 378-404. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2021.2012490

Jørgensen, A. M., Webb, C., Keddell, E., & Ballantyne, N. (2021). Three roads to Rome? Comparative policy analysis of predictive tools in child protection services in Aotearoa New Zealand, England, & Denmark. Nordic Social Work Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/2156857X.2021.1999846

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., & 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. (2022). On decision-variability in child protection: Respect, interactive universalism and ethics of care. Ethics & Social Welfare. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17496535.2022.2073381

Journal - Research Article

Keddell, E., Cleaver, K., & Fitzmaurice, L. (2022). Experiences of baby removal prevention: A collective case study of mothers and community-based workers. Qualitative Social Work. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/14733250211058178

Journal - Research Article

Keddell, E., Fitzmaurice, L., Cleaver, K., & Exeter, D. (2022). A fight for legitimacy: Reflections on child protection reform, the reduction of baby removals, and child protection decision-making in Aotearoa New Zealand. Kōtuitui, 17(3), 378-404. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2021.2012490

Journal - Research Article

Jørgensen, A. M., Webb, C., Keddell, E., & Ballantyne, N. (2021). Three roads to Rome? Comparative policy analysis of predictive tools in child protection services in Aotearoa New Zealand, England, & Denmark. Nordic Social Work Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/2156857X.2021.1999846

Journal - Research Article

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, 127, 106126. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106126

Journal - Research Article

Parkinson, A., Keddell, E., & Walker, P. (2021). Exploring peer support as a strategy to reduce self-stigma for marginalised children of parents with mental illness (COPMI). British Journal of Social Work, 51, 849-868. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcaa161

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

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. (2021). "Make them dance”: Shoshana Zuboff’s surveillance capitalism, behavior modification and Fraser’s “abnormal justice” [Review of the book The age of surveillance capitalism]. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 39(4), 426-431. doi: 10.1080/15228835.2021.1942396

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. (2020). Editorial. Qualitative Social Work, 18(1), 139-140. doi: 10.1177/1473325018807496

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

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