معرفی
Tarja Pösö is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Research. With over 210 research outputs spanning from 1995 to 2025, she has established herself as a leading authority in child welfare systems, particularly within Nordic contexts. Her academic profile reflects continuous scholarly productivity and active engagement in PhD supervision and examination processes across international institutions.
Her research centers on critical intersections of child protection policy and practice, with emphasis on decision-making processes, institutional boundaries in family social work, and children's rights. She employs robust comparative methodologies across Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, while increasingly incorporating transnational perspectives from Ireland and the USA. Her work consistently prioritizes professional practices in welfare assessment and examines systemic responses to vulnerable children and families.
Analysis of her recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a pronounced focus on empirical investigations of child participation mechanisms, residential care regulation, and adoption policy implementation. These works demonstrate methodological diversity spanning large-scale surveys, policy analysis, and qualitative examinations of professional judgment, all contributing to evidence-based reforms in child welfare systems.
Scientific Awards:
- David Morgan Prize (2023) for exceptional contribution to Families, Relationships and Societies journal
Professor Pösö maintains substantial academic service commitments including doctoral supervision, thesis examination (serving as opponent for 16+ PhD defenses), research grant evaluation, and editorial board membership. Her 110 documented academic activities since 2001 demonstrate sustained leadership through conference presentations, invited lectures, and public engagement in child welfare discourse. She actively shapes scholarly conversations through pre-examination of doctoral dissertations and assessment of academic positions within social work disciplines.
