The Struggle for the Soul of Social Work in England
Abstract
There is a debate or struggle for the nature and future of social work in England. This tension is between a narrow or limited type of practice and a broader and emancipatory social work, grounded in the International Federation of Social Work and the wider conception of the profession in other European states. The limited model of social work seems to provide a dominant paradigm, which may result in the loss of a more visionary and humane social work. This is a qualitative study of an undergraduate social work programme in England. There were 48 participants, comprised of academics, students, service users and practice educators. Interviews and focus groups were used and a thematic analysis was undertaken. The key finding of this study is that the paradigm of state or statutory social work in England threatens to replace a broad conception of social work as understood in such definitions as the International Federation of Social Work and social work in other European states.
... Another area of generative mechanisms, which was identified as affecting how HR and SJ are understood and realized through teaching practices by mediating the effects of the above two ideologies, was cultural in nature: the prevailing norms, beliefs and values in the social work education systems in the two countries, along with broader national cultural patterns. Thus, the study argues for the idea that neoliberal and social work ethics ideology are contradictory (Higgins, 2015); as one gains acceptance in the profession, the other becomes less influential. The study provides explanations for the fact that neoliberal ideology has had a strong influence on social work training in England and a more moderate influence in Spain, while the influence of international social work ethic ideology has been and remains stronger in Spain than in England. ...
Este artículo aborda las implicaciones de adoptar la aproximación filosófica del realismo crítico en la investigación social, concretamente en un estudio sobre los derechos humanos y la justicia social en la formación en trabajo social en Inglaterra y España. El realismo crítico, enfoque vinculado a la teoría crítica y a la filosofía realista de las ciencias sociales, ofrece, se defiende, un gran potencial para dotar de coherencia, profundidad, rigor y valores críticos a la investigación en trabajo social. No obstante, el realismo crítico carece de desarrollo en este campo. Buscando contribuir a su desarrollo, el artículo ofrece una introducción a sus bases fundamentales y detalla las principales implicaciones metodológicas y prácticas de su uso en el estudio de referencia.
... Over the decades since the 1960s and 1970s, when the foundations for a government social work service were laid down, one could see this process as one filled with tension and often a struggle between models of social work both as idea and practice. Firstly, there is a model of an outward looking profession with an eye towards the establishment of a global social work identity and solidarity aligned with the international agenda for human rights (Higgins 2015;Dominelli 2007). This is a politically independent and confident voice engaging service users' knowledge and linking domestic agendas to global ones of social rights from housing, poverty and anti-racism to standpoint identity social movements, community politics and sustainable futures. ...
This chapter examines the Finnish model of social work education from the perspective of the European system of higher education. The analysis is framed by the fast development of the social-democratic welfare state. Formalised social worker education started in 1942 as a two-year bachelor’s degree that was vocationally oriented with the purpose of providing municipalities a sufficient labour force. From the 1970s onwards, social work education started its process of academisation, and in 1994 social work became its own scientific discipline. Currently, Finnish social work education places strong emphasis on research and research-based understanding of social work. Social work education is organised at the university level only. The qualification requirement for a social worker’s position is the completion of bachelor’s and master’s degrees (total of 300 European Credit Transfer System points), with the main subject being social work.
... The concerns and criticisms that have been levelled against social work fast-tracks are too extensive to go into significant detail here, especially as these have been dealt with comprehensively elsewhere. Issues raised have included unnecessarily early specialisation (Jones, 2019), grade inflation (Domakin, 2019), elitist language ), narrow curricula (Higgins, 2015), high costs and disproportionate financial support (Moriarty and Manthorpe, 2018), the undermining of the research and theory base of the profession (Thoburn, 2017), a narrow focus on statutory settings (Dickens, 2018), the de-prioritising of service user views and experiences (Beresford, 2019), and that graduates are unlikely to stay in practice (Duggan, 2017). Serious concerns have also been raised about the opaque policy networks, private financial interests and powerful players that maintain and promote these organisations despite all these deficits (Jones, 2019;Tunstill, 2019). ...
Prospective social workers in England are increasingly being segregated into different qualification routes. While the justification for this segregation relates to either academic achievement or the vocational nature of the course, students also end up segregated based on prior advantage, personal circumstances, context and experience. This article examines the three main routes into contemporary social work in England: fast-track training programmes, apprenticeships and mainstream programmes. It is shown that each of these approaches arguably have advantages and disadvantages, but that ultimately it is the segregation itself is doing the most damage to the profession. An alternative approach is suggested, based on comprehensive and social justice values, where the focus is on bringing students together, rather than splitting them apart.
This chapter, by the editors, summarises the common issues emerging from the three themes of the book: stigma, environment and community, and two that are evident throughout the chapters: stories as data and the pros and cons of the digital revolution. The innovative as well as well-versed ways of seeing the world and its issues that the contributors have outlined are highlighted, offering as the book reaches a conclusion further amplification of the notion of community as fundamental to rural social work practice.
This chapter by the editors introduces the reader to the concept of the book: the rediscovery of rural social work and its place in a social work practice fit for the future. Describing rurality and definitions of rural social work practice from the literature, it moves onto an outline of the book’s content and the reasons for breaking the contributions into three themes: stigma, environment and community. The last is premised as an overarching principle of the book—a suggestion that conscious rural social work is different from the use of models and practices that are offered elsewhere as universal because of their focus on the individual regardless of their place.
Since 2000 social work has been a regulated profession throughout the United Kingdom with a requirement for individual social worker registration, regulatory bodies overseeing standards of practice, a disciplinary framework allowing suspension and removal of social workers from the register, and inspection and validation of educational programmes set at degree level throughout the UK. In this account of social work education in the United Kingdom we begin with a brief historical introduction to the development of these national arrangements for social work and social work education in the UK before discussing some contemporary challenges. Whilst a general structure for social work regulation was established across the UK, there are regional divergences. Accordingly, in this chapter we also give an overview of arrangements throughout the regions of the UK. This regional view is necessary as the devolved government in the regions of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales accounts for increasing local control and divergence in the arrangements for social work throughout the UK. After accounting for developments in the UK regions we consider contemporary issues in England and the UK more generally with respect to the national government and professional regulation and discuss their implications for the professional social work curriculum in a closely regulated environment.
Background: Qualitative research methods are recognized increasingly as valuable tools for primary care research, and add an extra dimension to quantitative work. Objective. The aim of this study was to illustrate the benefits and problems attending the dual role of clinician/qualitative researcher. Methods: As part of two studies employing semi-structured interviews of GPs in a North-West conurbation, about the topics of consultations on chronic low back pain and drug misuse in primary care, respondents' views on their interaction with a GP researcher were explored. Results: Access to the GP by the interviewing GP was easier when the GP researcher was known to the respondent. Such prior knowledge, however, may then influence the content of the data and the manner in which the GP researcher is perceived. During the interview itself, where respondents recognized the researcher as a clinician, interviews were broader in scope and provided richer and more personal accounts of attitudes and behaviour in clinical practice. The GP was also identified as an expert and judge, not just of clinical decision making but also about moral judgements made by GPs in their work. This will impact on the data obtained at interview and must be taken into consideration when the data are interpreted and analysed. Conclusion: Qualitative research techniques increasingly are advocated as appropriate for research on and in general practice. The professional identity of the researcher plays an important part in constructing the kind of data obtained in such studies, and this must be made apparent in reporting and discussions of such qualitative work.
Debates exist about the separation of the academy and the practicum. The purpose of this study is to explore how its findings may contribute to this discussion. The unique pedagogies of the university and practice are explored and consideration is given to whether practice educators hold an intermediary role. A qualitative study of an undergraduate programme in England using thematic analysis was undertaken once ethical approval was given. Individual interviews and focus groups were used. A total of 48 participants were interviewed at two different points in time (2008 and 2011-2012). Although this is a limited small scale study not susceptible to generalisation it may be able to provide an analytic generalisation, which may be replicable with further studies.The findings indicated practice educators struggled to act as a bridge because the academy and the practicum have conflicting and competing signature pedagogies. The contribution of this study is to the contemporary discussion on the SWRB changes and models such as Frontline.
This paper attempts to locate contemporary developments and tensions in social work within current debates in social theory concerning the problematics of government and (post) modernity. It argues that modern social work emerged in a period of 'welfarism' which has now passed and that as a consequence social work has not simply been restructured in the era of neo-liberalism but is exposed as an activity particularly concerned with managing family life via the exercising of moral judgements and negotiating responsibilities. As a consequence the essential ambiguities of social work are more self evident than previously, and rather than constituting problems to be overcome, articulate the central elements of what it is to do social work. The article concludes by, tentatively, outlining the implications of such an analysis and how it may help us to understand what is going on and how we might proceed.
Social exclusion is a subject of major importance in contemporary social work and has been a core feature of social policy developments in the UK and Europe in the past decade. Michael Sheppard argues that the issue of social exclusion lies at the very heart of social work and he examines the implications of this position for both theory and practice. He goes on to examine a range of key topics in social work including: • Social work values and knowledge • Empowerment • Need • The exercise of authority • Authority and Choice • Evidence-based practice • Reflection and reflective learning • Judgement and decision making • Social work and ’art’ • Social work as 'science’ He discusses how each of these topics reflect an underlying concern with social exclusion, making it clear that even though the term 'social exclusion’ is of recent origin, it provides a framework for understanding the enduring themes of social work. The book offers an original contribution to the understanding and practice of social work and includes a reappraisal of some fundamental aspects of the profession and its practice. In its focus on issues of wide concern it will be essential reading for practitioners and students in social work. It will also be of interest within social policy generally, offering an example of the way in which social exclusion becomes an issue of professional concern in welfare, and the form this takes in practice.
This chapter critically outlines the development of child protection policies and procedures in England from 1995-2010. It pays particular attention to the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme and how this was related to the wider social policy aims of the New Labour Government at the time. The chapter looks more specifically at the emphasis placed upon the concept of safeguarding and attempts to emphasise a more family service orientation to the work and the challenges to this. The chapter also provides a critical appraisal of the nature and role of "out of home care" during the period and the changing make-up of the types of cases subject to a "child protection plan". The chapter concludes with a consideration of the impact of the case of Baby Peter Connelly in 2008 and the possible implications of the election of the Conservative/Liberal Democratic Government in 2010.
This paper explores the concept of safeguarding children being 'everybody's business' as it is experienced in one neighbourhood in south Wales, UK. Safeguarding is defined here as the protection of children and the enhancement of their well-being. A qualitative case study design engaged residents of all ages, community sector workers and statutory sector workers in discussions about children's safeguarding in their neighbourhood. The analysis focuses on three overlapping spheres of safeguarding: the informal sphere, the community sphere and the formal sphere. Enablers and barriers to relationships between these spheres are identified. The findings explore attributes associated with proximity, time, biographies, style and scope. It is noted that, while these relationships are enacted within the specific social and geographical space of this neighbourhood, this case study provides a potential insight into broader relationships between the statutory services, community groups and neighbourhood residents. It is concluded that the community sector's vital role should be recognised and enhanced and the formal sector encouraged to adopt some of its attributes. Above all, it is recommended that statutory children's social workers be closely located within their local communities, socially and physically, to better understand children's experiences and to work with interventions that recognise community strengths.
In medical education, where law and ethics are often taught simultaneously, a hidden or silent curriculum emerges strongly from research-based and descriptive reviews of practice experienced by students and qualified practitioners. In social work education, where law and ethics are more commonly taught separately, specific reference to such a curriculum does not emerge from the literature. However, evidence from reviews of social work practice points to instances of ethical and legal erosion in the context of a profession which asserts its location as a moral activity and its commitment to human rights and social justice. The purpose of this article is not to systematically compare what students may be learning in and about medicine and social work. Rather, prompted by concerns expressed in medical education research, it reviews the social work evidence and why it achieves a lower profile than parallel experiences in medicine. It explores the problems encountered in practice by students and qualified social workers when drawing on their legal and ethical knowledge. It reviews the impacts of legal and values education on social work programmes. It concludes by questioning whether the initiatives to improve social work, in England specifically, by the Social Work Task Force and Social Work Reform Board are appropriately configured to address the tensions that divide recommended from actual practice.
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Teaching and learning in the neoliberal academy means that educators in non-market-oriented departments, such as social work, face several constraints and challenges when trying to implement an anti-oppressive, social justice focused curriculum. This article considers challenges that can arise with an introductory social work course in the current context of neoliberalism, especially when open to both social work and non-social work students. With a particular focus on larger class sizes, the use of precarious labour and the depoliticization of the classroom, the authors use an inductive, reflective approach to analyse observations made about shifts in the behaviour and engagement of students in the course. The authors surmise possible explanations for these shifts, considering changes made to the substantive content and pedagogical practices of the course. Through this process the authors propose that these changes represent an ‘activist pedagogy’ which may offer potential for anti-oppressive education with students both inside and outside social work. As such, the authors propose ‘activist pedagogy’ as a possible way to resist and subvert the neoliberal educational paradigm and to better integrate the principles and practices of social justice and anti-oppressive social work into the classroom.