Florence Wieder-Kinne (Heidelberg University) in conversation with Laura Herges (HGGS)

In child protection, "Us and Them“ manifests itself in different ways: Social workers and families often encounter each other with different expectations, shaped by institutional structures, biographical experiences, societal narratives and cultural influences. One of the greatest challenges in this context is the encounter with the cultural other. Social workers often interact with families whose cultural backgrounds, norms and value systems are very different from their own. How can cultural expectations be overcome? In this interview, social anthropologist Florence Wieder-Kinne talks to us about her life as a social worker, her PhD project and how lived experience and theoretical research go hand in hand.

Timeline

00:00 Intro

00:19 Introducing Florence Wieder-Kinne and Her Research Focus

03:03 Exploring Mannheim's Social Challenges

05:05 The Impact of Cultural Expectations in Social Work

08:33 Academic Literature and Research Methods on Social Work

10:21 Navigating Dual Roles: Social Worker and Researcher

14:23 Cultural and Institutional Expectations in Child Protection

19:22 The Role of Children’s Preferences in Child Protection

21:04 Intergenerational Trauma and Its Effects

22:52 Overcoming Expectations in Social Work

27:15 Success Stories in Social Work

29:25 Objectivity and Subjectivity in Social and Academic Work

33:33 Future Aspirations Beyond Academia

35:22 Outro

Keywords

social work, cultural expectations, cultural difference, child protection, Mannheim, ethnology, qualitative research, dual roles, intergenerational trauma, academia, social workers, migration, family education, qualitative research methods, transparency, success stories, empathy