A Summary of District-Level Downsizing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Summary of District-Level Downsizing - Essay Example Schachter goes on to add that, the state legislators or the democratic and republican governors are on a process to balance their budgets and the bad economic times have forced them to implement a huge cut in the public services arena, where the education sector is the target. The director of the AASA (American Association of School Administrators) confirmed this by saying that addition of the cuts to the end of the stimulus year would see the districts come to a cliff. While reacting to the survey that was conducted by the AASA concerning the school superintendents, the director Domenech indicated that the budget cut value of 5%, which was targeting the administrators, was bound to accelerate. The whole district school administrator spectrum has become the target and vulnerable. The cuts in the education sector that are happening currently in the United States cities are a unique event that has never happened. As the number of the students rises, other educational leaders are guttin g departments such as operations and assessments at the district level to turn the assistant principal position into a species that is endangered. The executive director of the IASA (Illinois Association of School Administrators) attributed the current events to the administrators being a microcosm of the recess in America. According to Schachter, different states have reacted to these events in different ways in as much as the cuts or the layoffs are common in all the involved districts. In California for example the layoffs or down sizing have considerably narrowed down the administrative corridor. Approximately 3,000 administrative posts an equivalent of 17% reduction has been implemented in California. This hardest part of this is that the state of California over the same period managed to loose a total of 20,000 teacher’s equivalent of 6%. Despite of all these downsizing attempts a $4billion cut in California state education aid is looming and if the Gov.Brown’s plan of temporarily raising the taxes of some states is not approved, and then as many as 2000 administrators are going out of their jobs next year. The administrators were targeted first to try and salvage the classroom since the instruction of the students was a priority hence the teachers were spared in California. The Charleston (S.C.) to mention as one of the schools froze the salaries of 3400 teachers and lay off a few. The board of this school is planning to cut between 70 and 60 positions in non-classrooms in the following year. This is according to Bobby Michael, who is the chief operations and financial officer for the county school Charleston. (Schachter, 1) In the state of Texas, the idea of raising the property taxes is not being considered despite the amount accounting for 37% of Texas school budget. The superintendent of Irving (Texas) Independent School District Bedden Dana managed to tap $6.5 million, and another $7million to $10 million of the district’s res erve fund will be taken in the following year to cover the deficit. The Irving district is facing a huge deficit of between $21 million to $31 million and, therefore, the reserves will not be enough to offset the deficits. Schachter is of the opinion that, the district has adopted another method of increasing the size of the class by adding three students at the elementary averaging

Fashion journalism and Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Fashion journalism and Internet - Essay Example It is not clear when this great disparity in the presentation of media began, but it is evident that there has been a great change in the presentation of fashion journalism by the media (Hall-Duncan 1979 pp.23). Among the contrivances that led to the development of fashion journalism before the introduction of internet include use of print media like magazines, televisions that aroused the curiosity of many people towards journalism. Breward (2003 pp.18) indicates that with the invention of internet, the mass had already devised an idea about fashion and its benefits. It is as a result of internet that people who had already invested or rather had an interest in the field of fashion journalism ended up presenting their ideas in a better and easier way. These personalities not only ventured in their localities but in a global context. The advent of the internet, however, seemed unwelcome by many individuals, not aware of the fact that it was bound to benefit various aspects of the eco nomy, fashion journalism being one of them. ... Deuze (2007 pp.19) on the other hand indicates that the numbers of people who purchase fashion magazines as a source of information related to culture have resulted into a shift in the use of internet as a source of information. Magazines and articles related to fashion have recorded a tremendous decrease in sales per annum, due to the fact that a majority of the people prefers the use of the internet. Majority of the households in the UK have access to the internet and find it cheaper to use the internet to update themselves on fashion unlike the print media, which majority of the people toady refer to it as stressful ‘paper work’. Freedman (2006 pp.61) traces the advent of the internet on the promotion of fashion journalism in the early twentieth century. Majority of the journalists had an easier time covering stories on fashion with the use of the internet unlike in the era of ‘darkness’ (Fuery 2009 pp.56). This essay will endeavor to highlight and critic ally analyze the impacts of the advent and use of the internet in fashion journalism according to the views of various analysts that have contributed to this topic. The essay will also attempt to highlight specific examples of the use of the internet in various circumstances to improve on fashion journalism. 1.1. Body 1.1.1. Access to material The internet has influenced fashion journalism in various ways. Thanks to the internet, many journalists in the field of journalism are in a good position to view as many images as they can form the internet. This is unlike before when the journalists only relied on information that was presented by specific print media. In short, the journalists were not presented with a

Values of American political thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Values of American political thought - Essay Example The American government derives its power from the people in form of a constitution which ensures checks and balances. America was a British colony and therefore subjected to the English law and constitution and is a monarchy form of a government ruled by hereditary kings. In such form of government, the will of the king is the law of the land hence the people are subject to oppression (Paine). The pilgrims from Britain thus found a colony in America and settled in the northern parts of Virginia and signed the mayflower compact on 11 November, 1620 to â€Å"preserve order and further their aims† (Mount). They thus created laws and constitutions and all individuals were to be bound by these laws. The laws ensured equality and fairness and determined the authority of the governors and were the foundation of the U.S constitution. According to Paine, men are born free and equal and live together as a society but as the population increases, the resources become scarce thus the nee d for designing regulations to govern the sharing which eventually become laws. The societies also enlarge and it becomes difficult to address all of their concerns hence the need to elect representatives who have the same interests as the majority thus forming a government. The American government is based on this idea of equality and fairness; it is a republican government which derives its power from the people through their representatives in the House of Representatives.The declaration of independence in 1776 also indicates that the government derives its power or authority from the governed.... The congress is made up of House of Representatives and the senate whereby the members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people. Madison James asserts that people have diverse interests hence the society is divided into parties consisting people of common interests. The federal government is able to break and control the violence brought about by factions through the use of the constitution. According to him, state governments are not able to do this as they have majority people with same interests hence fewer parties and may not represent the interest of all people. However, federal government is vast and few people represent the interests of the majority thus it is difficult to have biased interests. The constitution thus checks and balances the authority and power of government by controlling the effects of factions (Federalist, 10). The democratic form of government is a major competitor of the republican form of government. This type of government derives power and authority from the people the only difference from the republican government being that in the former, the people exercise their power directly whereas in the latter people exercise their power through representation in the government. The people in the democratic government meet often since they are situated at short distances but the number of individuals is limited to a certain number. The states that form the federal government are sovereign and have been against control by the federal government. The federal government makes and administers laws which are limited and the state governments make laws that concern only the state (Federalist, 14). They are smaller in size

A Summary of District-Level Downsizing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Summary of District-Level Downsizing - Essay Example Schachter goes on to add that, the state legislators or the democratic and republican governors are on a process to balance their budgets and the bad economic times have forced them to implement a huge cut in the public services arena, where the education sector is the target. The director of the AASA (American Association of School Administrators) confirmed this by saying that addition of the cuts to the end of the stimulus year would see the districts come to a cliff. While reacting to the survey that was conducted by the AASA concerning the school superintendents, the director Domenech indicated that the budget cut value of 5%, which was targeting the administrators, was bound to accelerate. The whole district school administrator spectrum has become the target and vulnerable. The cuts in the education sector that are happening currently in the United States cities are a unique event that has never happened. As the number of the students rises, other educational leaders are guttin g departments such as operations and assessments at the district level to turn the assistant principal position into a species that is endangered. The executive director of the IASA (Illinois Association of School Administrators) attributed the current events to the administrators being a microcosm of the recess in America. According to Schachter, different states have reacted to these events in different ways in as much as the cuts or the layoffs are common in all the involved districts. In California for example the layoffs or down sizing have considerably narrowed down the administrative corridor. Approximately 3,000 administrative posts an equivalent of 17% reduction has been implemented in California. This hardest part of this is that the state of California over the same period managed to loose a total of 20,000 teacher’s equivalent of 6%. Despite of all these downsizing attempts a $4billion cut in California state education aid is looming and if the Gov.Brown’s plan of temporarily raising the taxes of some states is not approved, and then as many as 2000 administrators are going out of their jobs next year. The administrators were targeted first to try and salvage the classroom since the instruction of the students was a priority hence the teachers were spared in California. The Charleston (S.C.) to mention as one of the schools froze the salaries of 3400 teachers and lay off a few. The board of this school is planning to cut between 70 and 60 positions in non-classrooms in the following year. This is according to Bobby Michael, who is the chief operations and financial officer for the county school Charleston. (Schachter, 1) In the state of Texas, the idea of raising the property taxes is not being considered despite the amount accounting for 37% of Texas school budget. The superintendent of Irving (Texas) Independent School District Bedden Dana managed to tap $6.5 million, and another $7million to $10 million of the district’s res erve fund will be taken in the following year to cover the deficit. The Irving district is facing a huge deficit of between $21 million to $31 million and, therefore, the reserves will not be enough to offset the deficits. Schachter is of the opinion that, the district has adopted another method of increasing the size of the class by adding three students at the elementary averaging

Values of American political thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Values of American political thought - Essay Example The American government derives its power from the people in form of a constitution which ensures checks and balances. America was a British colony and therefore subjected to the English law and constitution and is a monarchy form of a government ruled by hereditary kings. In such form of government, the will of the king is the law of the land hence the people are subject to oppression (Paine). The pilgrims from Britain thus found a colony in America and settled in the northern parts of Virginia and signed the mayflower compact on 11 November, 1620 to â€Å"preserve order and further their aims† (Mount). They thus created laws and constitutions and all individuals were to be bound by these laws. The laws ensured equality and fairness and determined the authority of the governors and were the foundation of the U.S constitution. According to Paine, men are born free and equal and live together as a society but as the population increases, the resources become scarce thus the nee d for designing regulations to govern the sharing which eventually become laws. The societies also enlarge and it becomes difficult to address all of their concerns hence the need to elect representatives who have the same interests as the majority thus forming a government. The American government is based on this idea of equality and fairness; it is a republican government which derives its power from the people through their representatives in the House of Representatives.The declaration of independence in 1776 also indicates that the government derives its power or authority from the governed.... The congress is made up of House of Representatives and the senate whereby the members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people. Madison James asserts that people have diverse interests hence the society is divided into parties consisting people of common interests. The federal government is able to break and control the violence brought about by factions through the use of the constitution. According to him, state governments are not able to do this as they have majority people with same interests hence fewer parties and may not represent the interest of all people. However, federal government is vast and few people represent the interests of the majority thus it is difficult to have biased interests. The constitution thus checks and balances the authority and power of government by controlling the effects of factions (Federalist, 10). The democratic form of government is a major competitor of the republican form of government. This type of government derives power and authority from the people the only difference from the republican government being that in the former, the people exercise their power directly whereas in the latter people exercise their power through representation in the government. The people in the democratic government meet often since they are situated at short distances but the number of individuals is limited to a certain number. The states that form the federal government are sovereign and have been against control by the federal government. The federal government makes and administers laws which are limited and the state governments make laws that concern only the state (Federalist, 14). They are smaller in size

Business, a Practical Introduction Essay Example for Free

Business, a Practical Introduction Essay 1. Scarcity increases the demand for a product, and increases the price that consumers are willing to pay for it. Scarcity of an item allows a seller to raise prices, while a surplus of an item means prices will decrease. 2. Macroeconomists would be concerned with issues such as job growth and unemployment, growth in industrial production, and the consumer price index. 3. Under a socialist economic system, businesses and industries can be state-owned or privately owned, depending on the country. 4. A downside to capitalism is the issue of income inequality. There is a considerable difference between the highest and lowest incomes, as indicated by the 2010 income information reported in the textbook for this course. Median pay for a chief executive of a company whose stock was listed on Standard and Poor’s index was $9 million. Median pay for private sector workers was $40,500. 5. The model of perfect competition was created by Adam Smith. According to Smith, in perfect competition, the market has many small sellers who sell interchangeable products to many informed buyers, and no seller is large enough to dictate the price of the product. 6. The term consumer sovereignty is the idea that consumers influence the marketplace through the decisions of which products they choose to buy or not to buy. 7. The business cycle runs through a pattern of expansion, peak, contraction, and trough. Expansion, when economic activity speeds up, is triggered by a rise in investment spending, government spending, or exports. 8. Deflation is defined as a general decline in the prices of most goods and services. 9. An economic bubble is a situation in which prices for securities, especially stocks, rise far above their actual value. 10. TARP is the Troubled Assets Relief Program, signed into law in October 2008. This $700 billion program was created to purchase bank assets in order to strengthen the financial sector. This was outgoing President Bush’s last â€Å"screw you† to the people of America. It might have worked to stabilize the banks if the amount was double, and if it offered relief to businesses as well.

How Effective Is The Child Protection System?

How Effective Is The Child Protection System? Literature highlights some of the challenges for social workers assessing and making decisions about African children and families whose cultures differ from the majority of the white population in United Kingdom. The critical evaluation of knowledge and research in child protection and prevention of child abuse in black African children is important to the forming of social work policy, services and appropriate intervention. This is because there is need to provide appropriate intervention services which are culturally sensitive but at the same time preventing child abuse. It is important that black African children perspectives form part of policies and legislation. Several authors have critically analysed the evidence on service provision for black families in general. A pathologising approach to black families may lead to unnecessary coercive intervention and on the other hand a cultural relativist approach may lead to a non-intervention when services are required (Dominelli 1997 , Chand 2000). The purpose of the review is to explore if the child protection system is effective in preventing child abuse in black African children and their families. By child protection, the review will be referring to all the agencies and services involved in protecting and preventing child abuse. By relating to theory and research, there is hope to uncover gaps, themes and debates and also, raise questions which can be useful for future research. The literature review starts by setting the parameters that is, defining the terms that will be used, such as, child protection and child abuse. The literature review goes to set the historical and theoretical context because it is important to know how long literature and research has existed on the topic and what has been happening including research on culture differences, poverty, power issues and child protection. The review goes on to address the theoretical perspectives on the topic to analyse the theories that form the knowledge base in rese arch. The review goes on to look at the major findings in research and literature by exploring the key themes such as factors that impact African children that can result them in being involved in the child protection system for example, child rearing practices, poverty and limited knowledge in cultural practices by social work professionals. Finally the review will look at the anti-discriminatory practice and user-involvement to show how professionals can work sensitively and provide culture appropriate services. The literature search Child protection system aims to prevent situations that can result in a child or young person aged sixteen and under experience abuse that puts them in danger of not developing appropriately or losing their life (Save the Children UK, 2008). The abuse can fall under the category of child abuse which could be in form of neglect, emotional, physicals and sexual, (Woolfson et al 2009). The search involved these terms. After establishing the specific area to be reviewed; the focus was on black African children and the child protection system. The area of child protection and black African children is a controversial area that has been neglected in literature and research and there is need to analyse themes and identify gaps in literature. The sources selected were journals, books, government records and articles. Electronic search engines were used because they provided a readily available wide range of literature and research articles which have been accepted for publishing. These sourc es were used as evidence and source of information because they had been accepted for publishing hence they would not provide with false information. Review of the literature Historical Context In setting the historical context, the most important development in child protection is the formulation of the Children Act 1989 which was influenced by the public inquiries of the 1970s and 1980s child deaths, for example, the Maria Cowell. The Act stressed that the Local Authoritys duty is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. However, research into how the Children Act was being put into action found that the child protection system was still focusing on single incidents of child abuse rather than planning to meet the wider requirements of children in need (DoH, 1995a). The studies also noted that many children and families received little or no support, the assessment of risk was low (Stevenson, 1998) and ignored the influences of poverty, unemployment and poor housing. This meant that a new way in thinking was needed about working with families. The result was publication of the Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DoH et al, 2000) and Wo rking Together to Safeguard Children (DoH et al, 1999). A Common Assessment framework was also developed to promote more effective earlier identification of childrens additional needs and improve inter-agency working. A review into previous deaths of children indicates failures to listen to children, sharing of information, follow procedures and recognising indicators of abuse. The main response to the deaths of children due to local authorities failures has been to seek bureaucratic solutions such as introducing new guidelines, laws and procedures (Ferguson, 2005). However, the Laming 2003 enquiry into the tragic death of Victoria Climbie in 2000 is particularly significant because it pointed out the inter-agency approach established after Maria Cowells death in 1973 was not followed and it considered implications for the whole of the child protection system (Batty, 2003). Laming (2003) highlights the misjudgements made on the Climbies case based on cultural assumptions that led to a tragedy. However, Garret (2006) argues that the Laming report (2003) appears to detach a childs race from core assessments and this was echoed in the Every Child Matters which appears to mention very little about the needs of children from other races. After the Victoria Climbie enquiry there has been recent death of children known to social services such as, baby P (2007) and Khyra Ishaq (2008). This begs the question, where is the child protection system going wrong? There are debates on how to provide social work interventions and family support that are culturally sensitive and competent to African children and their families who are at risk of significant harm (Stobart, 2006; Holland 2004, Robinson 2007; Mama 2004). This was highlighted in the Laming Progress Report (2009) which set out challenges faced in safeguarding children such as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ there is still need to improve knowledge and skills to understand children and their family circumstances. Also the laming report noted that despite the progress in inter-agency wor king there are still problems of day to day reality of working across organisational boundaries and cultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ , Laming Progress Report (2009). When reviewing literature it is important to note that there is a sparse of research on black African children and the child protection system in the Britain hence it is difficult to set out the historical and theoretical context. Where research and literature exists, the data is still not plausible because it is mixed with other research data from minority ethnic populations and their experience differs widely. Theoretical and research perspectives that shape knowledge Different theories and perspectives inform knowledge base in literatures surrounding African children and the child protection system. When researching this area there is need to look at experiences of African people and their involvement with child protection hence researchers can use the black perspective which is based on the notion of common experiences that black people share. The black perspective criticises repressive research and theories that are likely to oppress black people, (Robinson 2007). African families will always refer to their culture as frame of reference to their parenting capacities (Bernard and Gupta, 2008) and understanding and acknowledgement of the black frame of reference will enable social workers to come up with accurate and comprehensive assessments of African black children involved with the child protection system, (Robinson 2007). Other literature is based on the ecological perspective and highlights the importance to analyse the impacts of social ex clusion, poverty and immigration on black African children and their families, (Gibbs and Huang 2003). However, Robinson 1998 argues that there is a danger of over-generalising and stereotyping because individual members from the same culture can behave differently from the pattern that is typical of that culture. However, other researchers argue that postmodern theories have gained popularity in social work, (Pease and Fook 1999; Leonard 1997). Researchers have argued against postmodern theories who want a better understanding of identity, combining personal with structural elements of living (Dominelli 2002; Graham 2002), drawing on the idea of what holds people together, (Badiou 2001). The lack of appropriate preventative support services which are culture sensitive often result in social work operating against the interests of black children involved in child protection, (Barn 1993, Graham 2002). Social work has operated within a problem oriented framework which is characterised by deficit and dysfunctional theories of black families (Robinson 2008). Major finding in literature and research Research agrees that black African children and their families are disproportionately represented in child protection (Graham, 2006; Barn et al 1997; Bernard and Gupta 2008). When looking at experiences of black African children and their families and how best to offer them appropriate intervention it is important to acknowledge background in terms of religion, culture, language and beliefs (Bernard and Gupta 2008; Gibbs and Huang 2003; Robinson 2007). Research shows that black African families may experience oppression and discrimination within the child protection system (Chand, 2008). A lot of literature appears to draw attention to the parenting in African families and how their culture is neglected in a lot researches and there is little empirical evidence especially about African parenting in Britain (Bernard, 2002; Graham 2006). Parenting by African families is entwined into an already debate of what constitutes child abuse (Francis, 1993; Chand 2000). Barn, 2002 argues that c hild abuse is a socially constructed phenomenon and most of literature surrounding child abuse is based on western societys views and middle-class. This can lead to discrimination and stereotypes towards African families rearing practices and lead to unwanted intervention and social care involvement. There is well documented literature focused on how culture influence parenting of African families involved with child protection system, (Brophy et al 2003, Bernard, 2002; Graham 2006). However, the empirical research is limited but the little data that exists poses the notion that cultural practices appear to play some part in African children being involved in the child protection system, (Mama, 2004). Literature suggests that African families practice harsh punishment for children, however, Barn et al 2006; Thoburn et al 2005; Nobes and Smith 1997, challenge such stereotypes and in their study, they found no significant differences between ethnic groups with regard to physical punis hment. However, these studies cannot be generalised to African families easily because the majority of the participants where white parents. There is gap in research on the parenting by black African families and a recurrent theme in literature is the need to acknowledge cultural and social contexts of parenting and experience of African black families to make sense of child abuse and provide appropriate intervention for children and families involved in the child protection system, (Holland 2004, Robinson 2007, Stobart 2006). A focus on ethnicity or identity, preclude issues of power and oppression operating in the everyday experiences of childrens lives to be appreciated, (Graham, 2007). Research found that most black African families live in poverty and social exclusion and how this impacts on parenting, (Bernard and Gupta 2008; Gibbs and Huang 2003; Robinson 2007; Platt, 2007). A study of more than 7,000 children looked after by 13 Local Authorities found that children who were not of the white origin where more likely to be put into care due to poverty (Sinclair et al, 2007). Sinclair et als study is very important b ecause it is a comprehensive qualitative study which focuses on the needs of children in care systems involving their perspectives and investigates the outcomes for children. The study also suggests how the care system should function and managed which is important to social work professionals and policy makers. However, data produced cannot be easily generalised to the entire population of African children because their experiences varies. There has been research critically examining the treatment of asylum seeking children and the child protection system and there is argument between the Children Act 1989 and immigration legislation and policy and Jones (2001) argues that social work profession singularly failed to provide critical scrutiny on the status and relationship of immigration and child care law and the erosion of childrens rights. Other researchers agree with Jones, that vulnerability of asylum seeking children has emotional and legal aspects, (Woodcock, 2003; Chase, 2009). Kohli 2006, argues that legislation obstruct the provision of preventative services to vulnerable children and their families. Research has highlighted the fragility of African children who claim asylum such as having suffering trauma due to their circumstances that led them to claim asylum such as war and torture, (Hodes, 2000, 2002; Ehntholt and Yule, 2006; Dyregrov and Yule, 2006). Research shows that there is a gap in research on asyl um seeking children and social work to inform practice, (Kohli and Mather 2003; Okitikpi and Aymer 2003). Rustin 2005, states that there is a complicated interaction between social workers knowledge in asylum seeking children and the existing stereotypes regarding these groups of service-users, (Bernard and Gupta 2008; Robinson 2007; Barn 1993; Owen and Statham 2009). Bernard and Gupta (2008) go on to cite other factors that affect African children such as asylum seeking, AIDS, loss and separation and this is important because when providing intervention to African children there is need to comprehend their background to offer appropriate services which do not discriminate them any further. Young (1990) states that black children often experience multiple-oppression for example, they suffer from stereotypes from society and also they are invisible to the child protection system. Graham (1999) goes on to argue that intervention with African families is at the centre of wider debates and conflict; and evidence from research continues to show over-representation of African children and their families in child protection. The debates seem to focus on power imbalances and how to involve African families to gain control over their lives, (Graham, 1999; Young, 1990). Other researchers highlight the issues of language in child protection and the provision of appropriate intervention services, (Chand 2000, Ahmed et al, 1982). The use of children as translators in sensitive child protection issues is unethical and inappropriate, and also the use of an interpreter can distort the assessment process, (Chand, 2000). Bernard and Gupta (2008) go further to look at other factors that affect black African children that other literature seems to neglect such as how gender norms place women in an inferior position within African cultures and this can limit mothers to protect their children in the environment of domestic violence, however Owen and Statham (2009) argues that the is limited evidence to maintain or challenge this notion. Nevertheless, in Masson et al (2008) study, domestic violence was evidenced as a cause of concern in the court files of half the children of Black African mothers implicated in their study of care proceedings. Research and evidence from Climbie enquiry propose that social work professionals involved with black and minority ethnic families might not act in child abuse cases because of fear of being regarded as a racist (Scorer, 2005; Bernard and Gupta, 2006). Nevertheless, literature and research fail to provide a large amount of evidence to support this notion for example, Gordon and Gibbons (1998) in their study found no differences between ethnicity in terms of children being placed on the child protection register and factors such as parents mental health problems, criminal activities or the child not fitting in a reconstituted family were the reasons for involvement than ethnicity (Williams and Soydan, 2005). However, Selwyn et al 2008 found that social work professionals were more uncertain and occasionally puzzled regarding how best to promote the needs of ethnic children and they felt further self-doubting in their assessment. Recurring themes in literature is the significance of so cial work professionals to build up on culturally sensitive work with black and ethnic families (Gray et al., 2008; Sue, 2006; Laird, 2008; Stirling et al., 2009; Hodge, 2001). Anti-discriminatory perspectives and the incorporation of knowledge from service users Thompson, (2008) states that anti-discriminatory practice has been used in Britain to account for good practice in social work to counter structural disadvantages however, Graham 1999, argues that anti-discriminatory practice fails to provide a knowledge base for social work that is engaged in the collective development of the black community. Professionals can indirectly oppress African children and their families through practice for example, by imposing their personal values or power, (Dominelli 2007). Research and literature talks about the child protection providing cultural sensitive services and training social work professionals have the knowledge and skills in working with different cultures. However this can actually create further oppression and social divisions. The majority of the workers will have dominant Eurocentric views which encourage further social divisions for example, excepting the view that African families live in poverty and not fight and challenge this view by providing services that help families to counter these structural inequalities in society. Dominelli (2007) argues that there is need to address the systems that reaffirm racist dynamics rather than challenging them. Dominelli (1992) argues that black children and families are over-represented in the controlling aspects of social work and under-represented in the welfare aspects of social work. Problems with communication and working in partnership have been highlighted in literature. Chases (2009) study found that young people described complex relationships with social workers and other social care professionals and were also more mistrustful of the interplay between social care and immigration services. There is limited research that incorporates service user involvement (Buchanan 2007; Bernard 2002) taking in their lived experiences however, an important study by Chase 2009 found that young people often described complex relationships with social workers and other social care professionals and were also more mistrustful of the interplay between social care and immigration services. Recent policy has tried to enforce advocacy as a way of promoting social justice and incorporate disadvantaged groups views on the services that are appropriate for them. In Bowes and Sims (2006) empirical study, they found that black and minority ethnic communities gave support to advocacy s ervices, however, they were still marginalised by the services they were already using. There appears to be a need of qualitative research and literature that includes an extensive study of black African childrens perspectives and experiences, (Graham 2007) which forms a value base to inform practice in social work. Relevance to policy and practice Using the ecological approach the Framework For Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DoH, 2000), places a requirement on social work professionals to take account of cultural background and socio-economic positions of families paying attention to power imbalances in relationships, (Dalrymple and Burke, 1995). Dalrymple and Burke (1995) argue that an understanding is needed of the association between personal experience and structural realism of inequality. Therefore service users perspectives should form part of policies and legislation respecting and literature highlights that childrens rights may still lack from policy and legislation, therefore, these notions challenge professionals to take childrens views seriously and appreciate their contribution to research, (Aubrey and Dahl 2006). Lots of research appears to focus on empowerment through cultural knowledge inviting new thinking about the challenges faced by black communities, (Aubrey and Dahl 2006). The complex s ocial circumstances experienced by many African families pose challenges for social work professionals working to safeguard and promote childrens welfare. In order to safeguard and promote welfare of African children acknowledgement of sources of discrimination and oppression, a commitment to human rights and social justice must be met. Several authors have critically analysed the evidence on service provision for black families in general. A pathologising approach to black families may lead to unnecessary coercive intervention and on the other hand a cultural relativist approach may lead to a non-intervention when services are required (Dominelli 1997, Chand 2000). Either way appropriate intervention is not provided for black and ethnic minority children. The quality of services in black communities is a focus for debate and raises important issues about the lack of policy initiatives based upon needs and aspirations of local communities (Graham, 2002). By drawing on strengths perspective professionals can illuminate how parents draw on cultures as a resource to parents in circumstance of adversity whilst not excusing behaviour that is harmful to children. Conclusions There is gaps in research on child protection and black African families and a recurrent theme in literature is the need to acknowledge cultural and social contexts of parenting and experience of African black families to make sense of child abuse and provide appropriate intervention for children and families involved in the child protection system, (Holland 2004, Robinson 2007, Stobart 2006). Research shows that there is a gap in research on asylum seeking children and social work to inform practice, (Kohli and Mather 2003; Okitikpi and Aymer 2003). There is need for research centred on black African children and there is also need to involve them in forming of policies, challenging the notion that only ethnicity causes the experiences faced by African children. This is because by having cultural sensitive intervention, there can be reinforcement of stereotypical services and discrimination ignoring other things such as gender, age and class.