Decolonising social work practice

Kish is known for her work on social work, race and racism. This includes research on the importance of border controls and information technology in the countries of the European Union, globalisation in relation to social work values and inter-professional working in a culturally appropriate way. Kish has a particular interest in research methodologies sensitive to the needs of black and minority ethnic (BME) populations. Kish has worked on a number of research projects evaluating practice in social work and health settings and used methods such as medical audits and theories such as modern racism to test attitudes and behaviours. In relation to children and young people Kish has researched case data from the USA and the UK which has led to publications on the challenges of placing children in care. Kish has reported on projects evaluating initiatives on troubled families and analysed case data on BME children in care. This has led to a number of reports which have questioned professional understanding of cultural imperatives and beliefs, responses to child abuse by minority ethnic communities, cultural racism, anti-muslim racism and Islamophobia. Current research projects include: child exploitation and race and the impact of sleep deprivation on professional practice. Kish’s book projects include: Anti-Racist Practice in Social Work (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) which examines attitudes and behaviours in relation to law, policy and practice on race equality and Diversity, Difference and Dilemmas (OUP/McGraw Hill, 2017) which examines the disproportionate attention paid to immigrants and terrorists in populist policy and media reporting.