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Multiculturalism and Social Work | San Francisco State University

The entrepreneurial children s home: Approaches to the study of the Japanese Child Welfare System

Author: Goodman, R.
Author Background:
Date 1/1/99
Type Journal
Journal Title: IDS-Bulletin
Volume/Pages 30(4): 71-81
Publisher
Subject Matter Asian Pacific Islander
Population
Pedagogies
Abstract This article is an exploration of how assumptions about how welfare should be provided can affect the conclusions one draws from studying the welfare system of another society, and how immersion in a welfare system of another country can lead to different conclusions about how welfare might best be provided. It is based on an analysis of Japan s child welfare system, in particular homes (yogoshisetsu) for children whose parents cannot care for them, and seeks to compare a critique of them based largely on assumptions culled from social work practice in north Europe with a more sympathetic analysis in terms of Japanese practice. It concludes that, while neither analysis should be termed correct , it is incumbent on any researcher to provide both types of account (what might be termed an etic and an emic picture) when describing the welfare system of another society.
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