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Section: Social Work
Gary Clapton
- Name
- Dr Gary Clapton
- Title
- Senior Lecturer; Programme Director, BSc Social Work
- Organisation
- Social Work, School of Social and Political Science
University of Edinburgh - Address
- 2.28 Chrystal Macmillan Building 15a George Square Edinburgh UK EH8 9LD
- Telephone
- +44 (0)131 650 3903
- Gary.Clapton@ed.ac.uk
- URL
- http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/social_work/clapton_gary
Current research, teaching and practice interests
My interests and specialities are Children and Family work, Adoption and Fostering, Fathers and Fatherhood and how students best learn. My doctoral research was published as 'Birth fathers and their adoption experiences' (2003).
I am Programme Director for the four year undergraduate programme here and my current teaching spans all four years plus lectures on the two year Masters in Social Work programme.
I am a Committee member of the Fathers Network Scotland www.fathersnetwork.org.uk/ and contribute to their blog, I am advisor to Birthlink www.birthlink.org.uk/ and edit their bi-annual Bulletin and I am Scottish contact for the Natural Parents Network www.n-p-n.co.uk/
Career History
I have been a qualified social worker since 1977 and worked in Edinburgh and London in the children and families, community care and criminal justice fields. My most recent social work practice was in after-adoption counselling with adopted adults and birth parents. I am also an accredited practice teacher.
Funded Research Experience
Co-researcher on evaluation of ‘Men Care Too’, three training programme run by Kibble Education Care Centre; funded by European Social Fund, 2009–11
Co-researcher on evaluation of ‘Dad’s Work’, Edinburgh-based father’s support group; funded by Big Lottery Fund, 2008
Co-researcher on ‘Learning for Ethical and Effective Practice’ research programme; funded by the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (SIESWE), 2003-2006
Principal researcher on, ‘Evaluation of Learning for Practice’ (BSc/Masters Social Work Programme); also funded by SWSIE, 2005
Principal researcher on evaluation of Adoption Contact Register for Scotland; funded by Scottish Executive, 2003
Recent Publications
Books, Book Chapters and Other Articles
- 2011 'Skilling Up: Educating & Training for Residential Child Care, Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh
- 2010 'Is it OK to send Christmas cards to service users?', Community Care, 12 December
- 2009 Relatively Clear: Search Guide for Adopted Adults, Edinburgh: Birthlink
- 2008 'The right to information in practice: adoption records, confidentiality and secrecy' in Clark, C. and McGhee, J. (eds.) Private and confidential? Handling personal information in the social and health services, Bristol: Policy Press
- 2007 "Don't airbrush fathers out of the lives of children", Community Care, 27 September
- 2005 "Leep over the Learning Gap", Community Care, 3 February
- 2004 Integration of Learning for Practice: A Literature Review, Dundee: Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education
- 2003 (ed.) Relatively Unknown: a year in the life of the Adoption Contact Register, Edinburgh: Family Care
- 2003 Birth fathers and their adoption experiences, London: Jessica Kingsley
- 2003 (ed.) How Do You Remember Your Father? How Will Your Children Remember You?, Stirling: Aberlour Trust
- 2000 'I can still smell my baby's scent. It's always with me.' The Guardian 9 August
- 2000 'In Praise of Process Recordings' in Cree, V. and Macaulay, K. (eds.) The Transfer of Learning in Professional and Vocational Education, London: Routledge
Research journal articles
- Clapton, G. (2009), 'How and Why Social Work Fails Fathers: Redressing an Imbalance, Social Work's Role and Responsibility', Practice: Social Work In Action, 21 (1): 17-34.
- Clapton, G. (2009), ''Yesterday's Men': The Inspectors of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 1888-1968', British Journal of Social Work, 39(6): 1043 -1062.
- Clapton, G., Forbes, R. (2009), 'Barefoot Tutors? Navigating the barriers between student, university and field in social work education', The Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 9(1): 5-19.
- Clapton, G. (2008), 'Donor assisted conception and after: parallels and differences in the development of thinking, policy and practice in adoption', Journal of Fertility Counselling, 15 (3): 33-39.
- Clapton, G., Cree, V.E., Allan, M., Edwards, R., Forbes, R., Irwin, M., MacGregor, C., Paterson, P., Brodie, I., Perry, R. (2008), 'Thinking 'Outside the Box': A New Approach to Integration of Learning for Practice', Social Work Education: The International Journal, 27 (3): 334-40.
- Clapton, G. (2007), 'The Experiences and Needs of Birth Fathers in Adoption: What We Know Now and Some Practice Implications', Practice, 19 (1): 61-71.
- Clapton, G., Daly, M. (2007), 'Bridging the Theory - Practice Gap: Student Placement Groups Co-Facilitated by Lecturers and Practice Teachers', Groupwork, 17 (3): 60-75.
- Clapton, G, Cree, V.E, Allan, M., Edwards, R., Forbes, R., Irwin, M., Paterson, W., Perry, R. (2006), 'Grasping the Nettle: Integrating Learning and Practice revisited and re-imagined', Social Work Education, 25 (6): 645-56.
- Clapton, G. (2006), 'Mediated Contact: Reflections on a Piece of After-adoption Intermediary Practice', Adoption and Fostering, 30 (4): 53-63.
- Clapton, G. (2001), 'Birth fathers' lives after adoption', Adoption & Fostering, 25 (4): 50-59.
- Clapton, G. (2000), 'Perceptions of fatherhood: birth fathers and their adoption experiences', Adoption & Fostering, 24 (3): 69-70.
Topics interested in supervising
Anything on fathers, or adoption (especially after-adoption issues). I am currently supervising two PhD students, the first of whom is looking at the experiences and needs of unaccompanied minors in Greece and the other is looking at the experiences and needs of young parents who are in public care.
If you are interested in being supervised by Gary Clapton, please see the links below for more information:
PhD in Social Work
This page was published on 25 April 2011