Sociological perspectives and their application to social work are an inherent part of the QAA benchmark statements in the social work degree. In addition, graduates must understand how sociological perspectives can be used to dissect societal and structural influences on human behaviour at individual, group and community levels. This fully-revised second edition includes a new chapter on social class and welfare and is mapped to the new Professional Capabilities Framework for Social Work.
Sociology can help students understand why and how so many of the problems their service users face occur in the first place, helping them choose effective ways to communicate and make informed decisions on how their needs can be fully met. This book offers students a framework to explore how their professional responsibility to understanding sociology can be realised in every aspect of their work with a diverse range of service user groups including children and families, adults, older people, people with learning disabilities and people suffering from mental distress. The book takes students step-by-step through the theoretical grounding, what sociology is, how it is relevant to everyday social work practice, and what are the key aspects of sociological theory that need to be understood.
This excellent textbook introduces the social work student to the field of sociology, illustrating how sociology is connected to and fundamental to effective social work practice. Each chapter applies theory to practice and is uniquely co-written by a sociologist, social worker and service user. A wide range of topics and subjects relevant to social work are covered, including: -Gender -Class -Ethnicity and race -Ageing -Health -Intimacies -Social exclusion -Crime and deviance -Communities -Disability The book comes with access to an exciting companion website offering the reader downloads, web links, powerpoint slides and case studies. Every chapter of the book further includes further case studies, along with lots of clear definitions of terms, and reflection points, making this book the essential introductory text for all social work students.
How can sociology contribute to positive social work practice? This introductory textbook uses pedagogical features such as chapter summaries, numerous examples, a glossary, activities and annotated further reading.
All social work activity is influenced by the society in which it takes place. It is therefore inescapable that understanding sociology should help social workers to make a more effective contribution to people's welfare. The different perspectives which constitute sociology are examined and the book analyses the ways peoples' lives are powerfully influenced by social forces and 'social problems'. It is argued that sociology should help social workers to examine their assumptions and value judgements and develop their capacity to be questioning and discriminating about their methods and the policies which affect them and their clients.
Sociology for Social Work addresses the relevance of sociological concepts to social work practice, arguing that a lack of understanding of the ways in which social work fits into society can lead to impoverished social work practice
Social construction addresses the cultural factors and social dynamics that give rise to and maintain values and beliefs. Drawing on postmodern philosophies and critical, social, and literary theories, social construction has become an important and influential framework for practice and research within social work and related fields. Embracing inclusivity and multiplicity, social construction provides a framework for knowledge and practice that is particularly congruent with social work values and aims. In this accessible collection, Stanley L Witkin showcases the innovative ways in which social construction may be understood and expressed in practice. He calls on experienced practitioner-scholars to share their personal accounts of interpreting and applying social constructionist ideas in different settings (such as child welfare agencies, schools, and the courts) and with diverse clientele (such as "resistant" adolescents, disadvantaged families, indigenous populations, teachers, children in protective custody, refugee youth, and adult perpetrators of sexual crimes against children). Eschewing the prescriptive stance of most theoretical frameworks, social construction can seem challenging for students and practitioners. This book responds with rich, illustrative descriptions of how social constructionist thinking has inspired practice approaches, illuminating the diversity and creative potential of practices that draw on social constructionist ideas. Writing in a direct, accessible style, contributors translate complex concepts into the language of daily encounter and care, and through a committed transnational focus they demonstrate the global reach and utility of their work. Chapters are provocative and thoughtful, reveal great suffering and courage, share inspiring stories of strength and renewal, and acknowledge the challenges of an approach that complicates evidence-based evaluations and requirements.
Principles of Social Work Practice is the first textbook to deal exclusively and thoroughly with the significant principles of social work practice and methods that integrate these principles into the common base of practice. You will learn from case examples how to apply crucial ethical, personal, and methodological principles to different practice areas. As you increase your understanding of the nature of professional social work and the essence of its value base and Code of Ethics, you also learn to develop approaches to social work practice that are sensitive to a multicultural clientele. You will leave this book with useful skills and a flexibility that allow you to work not only with individuals but also with families, couples, groups, organizations, and communities. As you read Principles of Social Work Practice, you will heighten your sensitivity to the professional worker-client relationship and its role as a primary instrument of positive change. Using this book as a guide, you can develop your own strategies for facilitating change and growth that will result in the satisfaction of long-term personal and social goals. Simultaneously, you will build a framework for social work practice that has at its foundation a strong sense of individual worth and dignity. A unique combination of theory and practice, readers gain insight into: confidentiality the nonjudgmental attitude controlled emotional involvement self-determination respect for the individual empowerment Principles of Social Work Practice illustrates for advanced undergraduates and graduate students how to effectively intervene in the conflicts that evolve between clients’ needs for well-being and development and the demands or restrictions of public attitudes or social policy. You will sharpen your skills and construct indispensable methods for helping individuals establish vital links with their communities.
Social Work for Sociologists introduces important frameworks, concepts, models, and skills from social work that will help sociologists as they plan their human service careers and will prepare them to tackle social problems with practical solutions.
Pardeck demonstrates that the ecological approach to social work practice stresses effective intervention, and that effective intervention occurs through not only working with individuals, but also with the familial, social, and cultural factors that impact their social functioning. The power of the ecological approach, through focusing on multiple factors for assessment and intervention, is that it integrates empirically based theories from various fields including social work, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Pardeck provides an orientation to the role of social work practitioners within the human services. He differentiates the unique contributions of social work and explains them in terms of the needs and goals of an ecological approach to practice. An ecological approach to practice stresses that effective social work intervention occurs through not only working with individuals, but also with the familial, social, and cultural factors that impact their social functioning. The power of the ecological approach, through focusing on multiple factors for assessment and intervention, is that it integrates empirically based theories from various fields including social work, psychology, and anthropology. The book represents an effort to define the goals, commitments, and approaches that have emerged out of the history of social work and to relate them to similar concepts and values that are central to an ecological approach to practice. Three pervasive and unifying themes run through the book. One is the constant commitment to goals of facilitating human development. Pardeck suggests this is a central ethic that defines and distinguishes an ecological approach to social work practice. The second theme is an affirmation of the basic utility of a systems approach in conceptualizing and intervening in human needs, concerns, and problems. The ecological perspective views human beings as social organisms engaged in patterns of relationships that nurture or inhibit this basic humanity. The third theme is an interactionist view of the importance of person-environment fit as a central dynamic in human functioning. The traditional intra-psychic aspects of human behavior have tended to obscure the immense importance of both nurturing and potentially damaging forces at work in the social environment. This volume will be of considerable interest to social work educators and practitioners as well as their research libraries.
