IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v14y2025i9p553-d1750807.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolving Capabilities and Multiple Dimensions of Poverty Identified by Children and Young People: Towards Transformative Innovation in Social Work

Author

Listed:
  • Sylvia Garcia Delahaye

    (Haute École de Travail Social HES SO, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland)

  • Caroline Dubath

    (Haute École de Travail Social HES SO, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland)

Abstract

This article aims to critically engage with the capability approach by exploring its potential contributions to social work practice, specifically social work focusing on reducing child poverty. In high-income countries, an estimated 69 million children are either living in poverty or at risk of poverty. Despite its comprehensive social welfare system, Switzerland is no exception. This contribution is based on empirical research conducted between 2021 and 2025 in Switzerland with children and young people (CYP). The results of this participatory and artistic research not only demonstrate the value of considering the experiential knowledge of CYP affected by poverty in the context of social intervention, but also the importance of the participation of this social work audience in fostering professional and institutional practices along with promoting fairer, more inclusive and transformative public policies. This research precisely identifies how social work practice could support CYP’s evolving capabilities by applying the capability approach within social services. Specifically, it focuses on capabilities for voice and to aspire, as well as their progression vis-à-vis the transformation of social practice, which could be observed through the participation implemented as a foundational principle of action in social work practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Sylvia Garcia Delahaye & Caroline Dubath, 2025. "Evolving Capabilities and Multiple Dimensions of Poverty Identified by Children and Young People: Towards Transformative Innovation in Social Work," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-27, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:9:p:553-:d:1750807
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/9/553/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/9/553/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jakob Dirksen & Sabina Alkire, 2022. "Correction: Dirksen, J.; Alkire, S. Children and Multidimensional Poverty: Four Measurement Strategies. Sustainability 2021, 13 , 9108," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-2, August.
    2. Alkire, Sabina & Foster, James, 2011. "Counting and multidimensional poverty measurement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 476-487.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Decerf,Benoit Marie A, 2024. "Multidimensional Well-Being Measurement Practices : A Review Focused on Improving Global Multidimensional Poverty Indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10800, The World Bank.
    2. Yuliya Kazakova & Marion Leturcq & Lidia Panico, 2024. "Multidimensional Child Deprivation: Constructing Longitudinal Indicators for the Early Childhood Period," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(6), pages 2629-2669, December.
    3. Sánchez, Angeles & D'Agostino, Antonella & Giusti, Caterina & Potsi, Antoanneta, 2024. "Measuring child vulnerability to poverty: Material and psychosocial deprivation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Rao, Nitya, 2017. "Assets, Agency and Legitimacy: Towards a Relational Understanding of Gender Equality Policy and Practice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 43-54.
    5. Xuming He & Heng Xi & Xianbo Li, 2024. "Multi-Dimensional Decomposition, Measurement, and Governance Mechanism of Relative Poverty in Chinese Households under the Goal of Common Prosperity: Empirical Analysis Based on CFPS2020 Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-24, June.
    6. Melissa SIEGEL & Jennifer WAIDLER, 2012. "Migration and multi-dimensional poverty in Moldovan communities," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 3, pages 105-119, December.
    7. Koen Decancq, 2020. "Measuring cumulative deprivation and affluence based on the diagonal dependence diagram," METRON, Springer;Sapienza Università di Roma, vol. 78(2), pages 103-117, August.
    8. Joachim Merz & Tim Rathjen, 2011. "Intensity of Time and Income Interdependent Multidimensional Poverty: Well-Being and Minimum 2DGAP – German Evidence," FFB-Discussionpaper 92, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)), LEUPHANA University Lüneburg.
    9. Channing Arndt & Azhar M. Hussain & Vincenzo Salvucci & Finn Tarp & Lars Peter Østerdal, 2016. "Poverty Mapping Based on First‐Order Dominance with an Example from Mozambique," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 3-21, January.
    10. Abre-Rehmat Qurat-ul-Ann & Faisal Mehmood Mirza, 2021. "Multidimensional Energy Poverty in Pakistan: Empirical Evidence from Household Level Micro Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 211-258, May.
    11. Schimanski,Caroline & Azad,Mohammad Abul Kalam-1228442, 2023. "Poorer than Adults and Deprived in Almost All Counts : Welfare Status of Children in Nigeria," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10334, The World Bank.
    12. Aristondo, Oihana & Onaindia, Eneritz, 2018. "Inequality of energy poverty between groups in Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 431-442.
    13. Alkire, Sabina & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Seymour, Greg & Vaz, Ana, 2013. "The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-91.
    14. Janina Isabel Steinert & Lucie Dale Cluver & G. J. Melendez-Torres & Sebastian Vollmer, 2018. "One Size Fits All? The Validity of a Composite Poverty Index Across Urban and Rural Households in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 51-72, February.
    15. Romel Ramón González-Díaz & Ángel Acevedo-Duque & Guido Salazar-Sepúlveda & Dante Castillo, 2021. "Contributions of Subjective Well-Being and Good Living to the Contemporary Development of the Notion of Sustainable Human Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.
    16. Tavares, Fernando Flores & Betti, Gianni, 2021. "The pandemic of poverty, vulnerability, and COVID-19: Evidence from a fuzzy multidimensional analysis of deprivations in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    17. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Serajuddin, Umar, 2020. "Tracking the sustainable development goals: Emerging measurement challenges and further reflections," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    18. Sugata Bag & Suman Seth, 2016. "Understanding Standard of Living and Correlates in Slums - An Analysis Using Monetary Versus Multidimensional Approaches in Three Indian Cities," Working papers 263, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    19. Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D'Ambrosio, 2017. "Living conditions and well-being: Evidence from African countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-209, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Gaurav Datt, 2019. "Multidimensional poverty in the Philippines, 2004–2013: How much do choices for weighting, identification and aggregation matter?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1103-1128, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:9:p:553-:d:1750807. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.