Social Change and Social Work discusses and examines how social work is challenged by social, political and economic tendencies going on in current societies. The authors ask how social work as a discipline and practice is encountering global and local transformations. Divided into three parts, topics covered include the changing social work mandate throughout history; social work paradigms and theoretical considerations; phenomenological social work; practice research; and gender and generational research. Taken together, the chapters in this anthology provide an authoritative and up-to-date overview of current discussions within the European social work research community.
This informative and incisively written edited collection brings together experts from around the world to discuss issues which the social work and social welfare sectors face every day and to ensure a closer link between evidence-based practice, policy objectives and social development goals. Furthermore, this book reveals how these may affect the conditions of people and demonstrate how the social work and social development community can contribute to sustainable development.
This social work book is the first of its kind, describing practical steps that social workers can take to shape and influence both policy and politics. It prepares social workers and social work students to impact political action and subsequent policy, with a detailed real-world framework for turning ideas into concrete goals and strategies for effecting change. Tracing the roots of social work in response to systemic social inequality, it clearly relates the tenets of social work to the challenges and opportunities of modern social change. The book identifies the core domains of political social work, including engaging individuals and communities in voting, influencing policy agendas, and seeking and holding elected office. Chapters elaborate on the necessary skills for political social work, featuring discussion, examples, and critical thinking exercises in such vital areas as: Power, empowerment, and conflict: engaging effectively with power in political settings. Getting on the agenda: assessing the political context and developing political strategy. Planning the political intervention: advocacy and electoral campaigns. Empowering voters Persuasive political communication. Budgeting and allocating resources. Evaluating political social work efforts. Making ethical decisions in political social work. Political Social Work is a potent reference for social work professionals, practitioners, and students seeking core political knowledge and skills to practically advance their work. For specialists and generalists alike, it solidifies political action as vital for the evolution of the field.
The profession of social work is grounded on a set of core values and principles that guide the profession in its pursuit of social justice and social welfare. Although certain core values are being promoted by the various national associations of social workers all over the world, there is no known reference in the form of books/texts that contains a detailed description of these values which guide this profession. The twelve core values of social work discussed in the book are: service to humanity; social justice; respect for dignity and worth of the person; importance of human relationships; integrity; competence; loyalty to profession; patriotism; cultural sensitivity; teachership; hard work; and responsibility and commitment. The book is an outcome of the effort made by some of the promising social work academics under the guidance and support of the editor. This book will be of immense use to social work teachers, students, practitioners, NGO functionaries and policy framers.
Originally published in 1964, this book studies social work in relation to the evolving role of social workers in the social services and to their training at the time. Dr Younghusband considers past discoveries and setbacks insofar as they bear upon the present position, and she studies the present for the light it casts on the future. Her emphasis is upon the new situation created as knowledge advances and the social services become increasingly aware of personal problems and social disabilities. The contribution of social work to mental health is indeed a continuing theme throughout this book. There are chapters on the juvenile courts; and a section on international aspects in which the philosophy of social work and its contribution to social change are discussed. At the time of publication the author was Adviser on Social Work Training at the National Institute for Social Work Training, and President of the International Association of Schools for Social Work. She had also been for some twenty-five years chairman of a London Juvenile Court and was chairman of the Working Party on Social Workers in the Local Authority Health and Welfare Services (Ministry of Health). She had been from time to time a Social Affairs Consultant to the United Nations and was a lecturer at the London School of Economics. To social workers, whether active at the time, or in training, she would have needed no introduction and they will have welcomed a book incorporating her immense experience and all the originality and clarity of thought they had learned to expect from her.
Bringing together international case studies, this book offers theoretical and empirical insights into the interaction between social work and social policy. Moving beyond existing studies on policy practice, the book employs the policy cycle as a core analytical frame and focuses on the influence of social work(ers) in the problem definition, agenda setting, policy formulation and implementation of social policy. Twenty-three contributors offer examples of policy making from seven different countries and demonstrate how social work practitioners can become political actors, while also encouraging policy makers to become aware of the potential of social work for the social policy-making process.
Updated to reflect the changes in social welfare policy and the advances in technology, this revision continues to provide new ideas and strategies to help readers become better advocates for future clients. Focusing on advocacy as the central mission of social work practice, Affecting Change, Fourth Edition is a practical, step-by-step guide to developing political action skills and integrating them with traditional social work skills. The book stresses the growing need for social workers to affect social policy through political action. Praised for its conversational style and its ability to translate complex political terms into accessible language, this book does not intimidate readers with the political process. Instead, lively and pithy vignettes from practicing professionals enhance the practicality and currency of this book. For anyone interested in social work skills as they relate to the political process.
Social Workers Affecting Social Policy is the first book to undertake a cross-national study of social worker engagement in social-policy formulation processes. At its core, it asks how social workers influence social policy in various national settings. It offers insights into social worker involvement in policy change, the social work discourse, and education in different countries. It will be of interest to social work practitioners, students, educators, and researchers, as well as to social-policy scholars.
This new practice text provides a series of readings focusing on case management in a number of fields and in a variety of settings with different client populations. Each chapter examines a major component of case management practice by presenting information about an innovative program from a different location around the country. In conjunction, these readings provide a road map to social work case management.In addition to offering up-to-date practice approaches and examining the functions and skills of case management in depth, the authors provide the policy information needed for putting this traditional form of social work practice into today's service delivery context.
