Socio-Developmental Network Analysis: Establishing a Research Method to Examine Socio-Contextual Dynamics of Children in the Mockingbird Family TM

Emi Patmisari, Helen McLaren () and Michelle Jones
Additional contact information
Emi Patmisari: College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park 5042, Australia
Helen McLaren: College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park 5042, Australia
Michelle Jones: College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park 5042, Australia

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: In recent years, social network analysis has had its own distinctive theoretical and methodological underpinnings. This article proposes a novel method for the application of a fused mixed-methods approach and social network analyses that incorporates the critical aspects of numerous characteristics of children’s social development in a statutory care setting. We collected data from children involved in the Mockingbird Family out-of-home care model, following its implementation in Australia. Our approach involves three steps: social-developmental network indicators, relational dynamics, and social-developmental network narrative. We contend that this approach has the potential to provide powerful data representation that facilitates the understanding of the complexities of children’s social development, the links between different positions and roles of children, and their social network in the Mockingbird family. Using exemplars, we show the potential of the research method to unearth rich data for seeking to understand the system change important for strengthening children’s safe and protective environments.

Keywords: Australia; Mockingbird Family; social network analysis; children; foster care; kinship care; out-of-home care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/129/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/129/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:3:p:129-:d:1081605

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().