| Author: | Zhou, Tian |
| Title: | Community resilience and social work intervention in disaster recovery stage : an ethnographic study of an earthquake-affected community in Sichuan, China |
| Advisors: | Nie, Lin (APSS) |
| Degree: | DSW |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Department: | Department of Applied Social Sciences |
| Pages: | 304 pages : color illustrations, maps |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake involved unprecedented governmental and civil society resources, marking a cornerstone in the development of disaster social work in mainland China. Yet little is known about the long-term effects of the social work interventions launched in its aftermath, and few credible programme evaluations could be found. This thesis revisits a four-year community development programme run by the Social Workers Across Borders (Hong Kong) in Leigu Town, Sichuan Province, to examine whether the social work practices foster lasting recovery and community resilience. Guided by critical realist philosophy and a Theory of Change (ToC) evaluation lens, the study employs a multi-method ethnographic approach, including participant observation, in-depth interviews with community residents and social work practitioners, focus group discussions, and an archival analysis of project documents. Fieldwork conducted in 2023–2024, fifteen years after the disaster, enables a longitudinal perspective on the community resilience in the disaster recovery stage. By tracing the social work intervention process, the research investigates the mechanisms that generate sustainable outcomes and discusses what lessons can be distilled from both successful and failed experiences. ToC mapping reveals four interlocking change pathways—immediate psychosocial intervention, livelihood support project, elders' mutual aid, and young social workers' capacity building—each activated by the dialectic of social work intervention and residents' agency with the surrounding time and space context. Additionally, it describes the context-specific characteristics of resilience that have emerged during the recovery process. Findings show that government-led housing reconstruction created essential material stability, while social work intervention in the community facilitates the reconnection of social cohesion. The thesis contributes theoretically by refining a context-based framework of community resilience in the post-disaster recovery stage. Methodologically, it demonstrates how critical-realist ToC analysis can bridge programme evaluation and ethnographic study in disaster contexts. Practically, it offers policymakers and social work practitioners design principles for post-disaster interventions. Overall, Leigu's case illustrates both the possibilities and constraints of social-work-led recovery intervention in rural China, underscoring the need for integrated, long-term approaches to building resilient communities in an era of escalating environmental risk. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8674.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.99 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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