Social work is under unprecedented pressure as a result of funding cuts, political interventions, marketisation and welfare transformations which, combined, are dramatically reshaping the relationship between individuals and the welfare state. A wide range of distinguished academics provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolving challenges facing contemporary social work, reflecting on both the existential and ideological threats to the profession. As well as the chief practice areas of child protection, adult care and mental health, contributors also examine practice issues surrounding older people, neoliberalism, neo-eugenics and the refugee crisis. This book offers concrete policy proposals for the future of the profession alongside valuable solutions which students and practitioners can action on the ground.
This book aims to provide a brief and selective history of the development of social work following the publication of the Seebohm Report. It identifies emerging trends in practice and organization, looks at the pattern of Government thinking and attempts to construct a view of its future.
This collection charts the key developments in the social work field from 1970 to the present day and shows how by fully understanding social work’s past, we can make better progress for practitioners and service users in the future. It brings together a broad collection of experts from across social work who trace how thinking and approaches to practice have changed over time, examine key legislative developments in the field, look at the impacts of major inquiries and consider the re-emergence of certain specialisms. Providing students and practitioners of social work and social policy with a full picture of the evolution of social work, it also shares important insights for its future directions.
This is the third and final volume in the trilogy begun by Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates and Critical Practice in Social Work. Edited by the same highly regarded team and bringing together a mix of established scholars and newer voices, the book follows a similar three-part structure to its companions but is carefully designed to complement rather than overlap with these. Its distinctive focus is on the development of practice through deepened understanding of social work processes, organizational settings and the evidence base for practice and multiprofessional working.
Global social work: crossing borders, blurring boundaries is a collection of ideas, debates and reflections on key issues concerning social work as a global profession, such as its theory, its curricula, its practice, its professional identity; its concern with human rights and social activism, and its future directions. Apart from emphasising the complexities of working and talking about social work across borders and cultures, the volume focuses on the curricula of social work programs from as many regions as possible to showcase what is being taught in various cultural, sociopolitical and regional contexts. Exploring the similarities and differences in social work education across many countries of the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Pacific, the book provides a reference point for moving the current social work discourse towards understanding the local and global context in its broader significance.
This book, from one of international social work’s leading radical educators, provides a richly compelling argument for the profession to become more critical and dissenting. Addressing the troubled times in which we find ourselves, Garrett’s book examines a broad range of theoretical frameworks and draws on diverse writers, such as Marx, Foucault, Brown, Zuboff, Rancière, Wacquant, Arendt, Levinas, Fanon and Gramsci. The author’s panoramic vision encompasses Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Algeria, Israel/Palestine and China. Timely, lively and accessible, this book speaks directly to some of the main preoccupations of our era. Readers will be encouraged to relate developments in social work to key themes circulating around migration, the threat of neo-fascism, surveillance culture, colonialism, the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Imbued with a sense of hope for a brighter future, this book encourages a new generation of social work students to recognise and examine the importance of critical theory for understanding the structural forces shaping their lives and the lives of those with whom they work and provide services. This book is vital, indispensable and essential reading for social work students and other readers, throughout the world, seeking to make the connection between social work, social theory and sociology. Paul Michael Garrett—probably the most important critical social work theorist in the English-speaking world—is a remarkable and very productive critical thinker. In this book he deals with issues of migration, the threat of neo-fascism, surveillance culture, colonialism, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the COVID-19 pandemic... Insightful and inspiring, thought-provoking and comprehensive in addressing timely critical issues for social work globally. (Filipe Duarte, International Journal of Social Welfare, 2021)
In a digitally powered society, social workers are frequently challenged to embrace new interventions and enhance existing strategies in order to effectively promote social justice. The cases in this volume present engaging examples of technology tools in use across micro, mezzo, and macro practice, thereby illuminating the knowledge, skills, and values required of those who practice social work 2.0.
Social work is under unprecedented pressure as a result of funding cuts, political interventions, marketisation and welfare transformations which, combined, are dramatically reshaping the relationship between individuals and the welfare state. A wide range of distinguished academics provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolving challenges facing contemporary social work, reflecting on both the existential and ideological threats to the profession. As well as the chief practice areas of child protection, adult care and mental health, contributors also examine practice issues surrounding older people, neoliberalism, neo-eugenics and the refugee crisis. This book offers concrete policy proposals for the future of the profession alongside valuable solutions which students and practitioners can action on the ground.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed fresh light on the ways that social media and digital technologies can be effectively harnessed to support relationship-based social work practice. However, it has also highlighted the complex risks, ethics and practical challenges that such technologies pose. This book helps practitioners and students navigate this complex terrain and explore and build upon its multiple opportunities. It uses real-life examples to examine how practitioners can assess the impact of new technologies on their professional conduct and use them in a way that enhance public confidence and relationship-based practice. The authors explore how digital technologies can support multiple areas of service including social work with children, families and adults, mental health social work, youth justice and working with online communities. They also consider regulatory questions and provide a roadmap for good practice.
Social media and the digital revolution have fundamentally changed the meaning of "social" and "work." Social work, like all other professions, will undergo dramatic changes as apps and algorithms overtake human operations. The failure of social sciences in general and social work in particular warrants thoughtful innovations that ensure sustainable services. The author believes altruism is professionally unattainable until social work is completely re-founded. The Future of Social Work discusses seven new algorithms of social practice that challenge the existing model of social work education and offers a new perspective for radical transformation of the entire system. The book warns against academic complacence and shows how this radical transformation is necessary in order to prevent inevitable alienation, avarice, and anger in a techno-scientific world.
