Sensemaking strategies of social workers: Insights from ethnographic studies of child and family and adult social work services in England and Scotland

Abstract Social workers across different contexts are tasked with making judgements in complex and uncertain conditions. There has been comparatively little research exploring how social workers make sense of information to inform their decision-making across contrasting spheres of social work practice. This article draws on data from two ethnographic studies; one study examined different forms of supervisory support in child and family social work teams in England, while the other study explored personalization in adult social care in Scotland. Drawing on interview data (n = 32) and over 350 hours of observations, this article presents findings from a reanalysis of the two studies using the notion of sensemaking as a conceptual lens. There are significant similarities in aspects of social workers’ sensemaking across national and practice contexts; these are case categorization, triangulation of information, collegial challenge, and threshold decision-making and professional discretion. Practitioners move between intuitive and analytical modes of reasoning as they make sense of information, with colleagues offering opportunities for slower, more deliberate sensemaking. Organizations and teams should actively create and seek spaces and interactions that promote better sensemaking and encourage the creation of more robust narratives with and about the individuals and families that social workers support.