Dr Ebenezer Cudjoe
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Email
e.cudjoe@essex.ac.uk -
Location
5A.129, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
Mondays (16.00 to 17.00) Fridays (15.00 to 16.00)
Profile
Biography
I joined the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies as a Lecturer in Childhood Studies in 2022. My PhD research focused on what it is like for children to live with a parent with mental illness, examining various themes that reflect the children's daily life experiences. The research I do broadly covers investigations that aim to improve outcomes for children and their families. I have been doing research in the areas of child protection, kinship care, children whose parents have mental illness and inclusive education among children with disabilities. I have collaborated with a number international colleagues from countries like Hong Kong, Ghana, Denmark, Australia and the United Kingdom. My research programme in the next few years is to develop a novel approach, with an emphasis on inter-agency collaboration, to meet the needs of children who have parents with mental illness in Ghana. I have worked on projects funded by UNICEF-Ghana prior to joining Essex. One was to examine residential childcare institutions in Ghana to offer practical recommendations for deinstitutionalisation in line policies and legislation. Another project was to explore the problems encountered by families with child maintenance cases with the aim to inform social workers' assessment of these cases. I am willing to supervise potential PhD candidates in areas that cuts across child welfare and family wellbeing with particular emphasis on child protection, kinship care, children's rights to participation, children whose parents have mental illness, parental mental illness and alternative care for children. I am also open to work with PhD students who are passionate about methodology and willing to go beyond the "traditional" use of methodology, particularly for qualitative methodologies.
Qualifications
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PhD City University of Hong Kong,
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Nordic Master in Social Work and Welfare (Msc ) Aalborg University,
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BA (Hons) Social Work Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,
Appointments
University of Essex
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Lecturer in Childhood Studies, Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex (3/10/2022 - present)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Child protection
Children whose parents have mental illness
Research methodologies
Children's rights
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Therapeutic Practice and Responsibility: Statutory Frameworks (PA126)
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Professional Practice in Careers with Children (PA230)
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Safeguarding and Ethical Practice (PA235)
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Childhood Wellbeing: Play, Socialisation and Resilience (PA331)
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Teaching and Learning with Children: A Psychosocial Approach (PA332)
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Critical Debates in Childhood and Childhood Studies (PA943)
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Research with Children and Young People (PA944)
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Dissertation � Childhood Studies (PA945)
Publications
Journal articles (45)
Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A., Frimpong-Manso, K., Agbadi, P. and Deliege, A., (2024). Assessing Child Maintenance Cases in Ghana: What Do Social Workers Consider?. Journal of Social Service Research, 1-14
Abekah-Carter, K., Ayim, M., Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A. and Chiu, MYL., (2024). Perspectives of mental health professionals on kinship care for persons with mental illness in Ghana. International Journal of Mental Health, 1-18
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E., Bastian, C. and Jordan, LP., (2024). Passing the torch or breaking a cycle of intergenerational transmission of child labour: Reflections from the lived experiences of children. Children and Youth Services Review. 157, 107430-107430
Abdullah, A., Frimpong-Manso, K., Cudjoe, E. and Agbadi, P., (2024). When Social Workers Are Given Dual Mandates: Child Maintenance and the Complexities of Family Situations in the Ghanaian Child Protection System. The British Journal of Social Work. 54 (6), 2415-2434
Cudjoe, E. and Awortwe, V., (2024). A phenomenological investigation of kinship involvement in the lives of children whose parents have mental illness.. International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being. 19 (1), 2414481-
Ayim, M., Abdullah, A., Bentum, H., Amponsah, EB., Cudjoe, E. and Manful, E., (2023). Contributing to indigenous social work practice in Africa: A look at the cultural conceptualisations of social problems in Ghana. Qualitative Social Work. 22 (1), 30-46
Owusu, AFS., Abdullah, A., Pinto, GH., Bentum, H., Moo, JTN., Ayim, M., Mbamba, CR. and Cudjoe, E., (2023). Where Do We Go After Surviving the Virus? Cross-Country Documentary Analysis of the Social Consequences Faced by COVID-19 Survivors. Community Health Equity Research & Policy. 43 (3), 329-338
Asamoah, E., Tam, CH-L. and Cudjoe, E., (2023). A systematic review of the roles of social workers in inclusive education for children with disabilities. International Social Work. 66 (1), 36-51
Cudjoe, E., Chiu, MYL. and Tam, CHL., (2023). Navigating peer relationships: What do friendships look like for children whose parents have mental illnesses?. Child Abuse Review. 32 (3)
Cudjoe, E., Tam, CHL. and Chiu, MYL., (2023). Constructing the the school paradox in the lives of children living with parental mental illness. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 28 (4), 1480-1494
Abdullah, A., Mbamba, CR., Amponsah, EB., Frederico, M., Cudjoe, E., Bentum, H. and Emery, CR., (2023). Safeguarding the welfare of refugee children in Ghana: Perspectives of practitioners in refugee camps. Children and Youth Services Review. 145, 106803-106803
Cudjoe, E., (2023). Making Sense of Husserlian Phenomenological Philosophy in Empirical Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 22, 160940692311710-160940692311710
Cudjoe, E., Agwu, P. and Chiu, MYL., (2023). Editorial: Supporting children with child welfare concerns in Africa: Involving formal and informal systems. Social Work and Social Sciences Review. 24 (1), 3-6
Frimpong‐Manso, K., Cudjoe, E., Agbadi, P., Abdullah, A., Deliege, A. and Bansal, A., (2023). Deinstitutionalization of children in residential care facilities: Experiences and perceptions of professionals in Ghana. Child and Family Social Work. 29 (2), 306-315
Cudjoe, E., Tam, CHL., Effah, D., Amegashie, EF. and Tweneboah, AO., (2023). Living with parental mental illness is like a roller coaster: Reflections on children's lifeworld in the family setting.. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 32 (13-14), 3516-3527
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E., Frederico, M., Jordan, LP., Chiu, MYL., Asamoah, E. and Emery, CR., (2022). Filicide as a cultural practice in Ghana: The qualitative understanding of a family tragedy and its implications for child protection practice. Child Abuse & Neglect. 127, 105580-105580
Cudjoe, E., Amoateng, I., Nti‐Gyeabour, J. and Wisti, P., (2022). Exploring the support services of foster care leavers: An institutional ethnographic study. Health & Social Care in the Community. 30 (2), 685-694
Cudjoe, E., (2022). Using Diaries With Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Guidelines From a Study of Children Whose Parents Have Mental Illness. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 21, 1-9
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E., Ryu, W. and Emery, CR., (2021). During and beyond the frequent lockdowns: Addressing the pandemic (COVID-19)–related family violence through informal social control. Developmental Child Welfare. 3 (3), 225-234
Frimpong-Manso, K., Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A., Deliege, A. and Eshun, EK-T., (2021). Keeping families afloat: Foster carer’s parenting experiences during COVID-19 in Ghana and implications for practice. Developmental Child Welfare. 3 (2), 85-99
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E., Jordan, LP. and Emery, CR., (2021). Child polyvictimization in Zongo communities in Ghana: Young people’s reflections on systemic resilience enablers. Child Abuse & Neglect. 119 (Pt 2), 105075-105075
Abdullah, A., Manful, E., Cudjoe, E. and Boateng, LK., (2021). How Did I Know When to Report Physical Neglect? Ghanaian Mothers’ Views on Delinquent Child Maintenance. Practice. 33 (3), 233-249
Cudjoe, E., Kwabia, DD., Chiu, MYL. and Abdullah, A., (2021). “Adding salt to wounds”: Parentification among children living with parents with mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of social workers. Developmental Child Welfare. 3 (1), 58-67
Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A. and Manful, E., (2021). Parents’ Perceptions on the Outcomes of Children’s Participation in Child Protection Meetings in Ghana. Journal of Child and Family Studies. 30 (4), 1071-1081
Cudjoe, E., Nti-Gyeabour, J., Amoateng, I. and Tetteh, AA., (2021). Gender-equal Norway, a reality for all? The views and experiences of immigrants. Journal of Gender Studies. 30 (4), 465-477
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E., Young, S., Choi, AWM., Jordan, LP., Chiu, MYL. and Emery, CR., (2021). Regulating the traditional kinship care practice in Ghana: Reflections from young people with kinship care experience. Child: Care, Health and Development. 47 (3), 329-335
Manful, E., Abdullah, A. and Cudjoe, E., (2021). When Parents Fail: Addressing Delinquent Child Maintenance Through Informal Resources. Research on Social Work Practice. 31 (3), 278-284
Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A. and Chiu, MYL., (2021). Experiences of Children in Kinship Care (CKC) in Ghana. Journal of Family Issues. 42 (4), 741-761
Cudjoe, E. and Chiu, MYL., (2020). What do children know about their parent’s mental illness? A systematic review of international literature on children in families with mental illness. Children and Youth Services Review. 119, 105638-105638
Manful, E., Cudjoe, E. and Abdullah, A., (2020). Towards child-inclusive practices in child protection in Ghana: Perspectives from parents. Children and Youth Services Review. 119, 105594-105594
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E., Emery, CR. and Frederico, M., (2020). Moving towards independent living in Ghana: Narratives from young adults about their kinship care experience. Journal of Adolescence. 79 (1), 148-156
Abdullah, A., Frederico, M., Cudjoe, E. and Emery, CR., (2020). Towards Culturally Specific Solutions: Evidence from Ghanaian Kinship Caregivers on Child Neglect Intervention. Child Abuse Review. 29 (5), 402-415
Awortwe, V., Bentum, H., Cudjoe, E. and Abdullah, A., (2020). A reason for the unmet needs of children in contact with social services? Non-resident fathers’ perspectives on delinquent child maintenance claims. Children and Youth Services Review. 117, 105298-105298
Cudjoe, E. and Abdullah, A., (2020). Drawing on Kinship Care Support for Older People during a Pandemic (COVID-19): Practice Considerations for Social Workers in Ghana. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 63 (4), 254-256
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E. and Manful, E., (2020). Creating a better kinship environment for children in Ghana: Lessons from young people with informal kinship care experience. Child & Family Social Work. 25 (S1), 207-214
Bentum, H., Abdullah, A., Amponsah, EB. and Cudjoe, E., (2020). Becoming Professionals in Inclusive Education Settings: Perspectives from Ghanaian Social Work Students on Their Motivations. Practice. 32 (2), 129-143
Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A. and Chua, AA., (2020). Children’s Participation in Child Protection Practice in Ghana: Practitioners’ Recommendations for Practice. Journal of Social Service Research. 46 (4), 462-474
Manful, E., Abdullah, A. and Cudjoe, E., (2020). Decision-Making on Child Neglect: Ghanaian Social Workers’ Views and Experiences. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice. 3 (2), 271-285
Cudjoe, E., Uggerhøj, L. and Abdullah, A., (2020). “We are consultants, not collaborators”: Young people’s experiences with child protection meetings in Ghana. Children and Youth Services Review. 109, 104748-104748
Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A. and Chiu, MYL., (2019). What makes kinship caregivers unprepared for children in their care? Perspectives and experiences from kinship care alumni in Ghana. Children and Youth Services Review. 101, 270-276
Cudjoe, E. and Abdullah, A., (2019). Parental participation in child protection practice: The experiences of parents and workers in Ghana. Qualitative Social Work. 18 (4), 693-709
Asamoah, E., Ofori-Dua, K., Cudjoe, E., Abdullah, A. and Nyarko, JA., (2018). Inclusive Education: Perception of Visually Impaired Students, Students Without Disability, and Teachers in Ghana. Sage Open. 8 (4)
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E. and Manful, E., (2018). Barriers to childcare in Children's Homes in Ghana: Caregivers' solutions. Children and Youth Services Review. 88, 450-456
Abdullah, A., Cudjoe, E. and Frederico, M., (2018). Barriers to Children's Participation in Child Protection Practice: The Views and Experiences of Practitioners in Ghana. Children Australia. 43 (4), 267-275
Manful, E. and Cudjoe, E., (2018). Is kinship failing? Views on informal support by families in contact with social services in Ghana. Child & Family Social Work. 23 (4), 617-624
Book chapters (1)
Cudjoe, E. and Chiu, MYL., (2021). Kinship Care Support for Children Whose Parents Have Mental Illness in Ghana. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Springer International Publishing. 1- 17. 9783030681272
Grants and funding
2023
Co-producing a child maintenance assessment tool for the Departments of Social Welfare in Ghana
University of Essex (QR Impact Fund)
Contact
Academic support hours:
Mondays (16.00 to 17.00) Fridays (15.00 to 16.00)
