scholarly journals The Caged Bird Sings: The Voice of the Workfare Generation

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 2022-2039
Author(s):  
Steven Brandt ◽  
Rudi Roose ◽  
Griet Verschelden
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Generational Theory ◽  
Institutional Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Voice

Abstract Social work literature suggests that three depoliticisation tendencies characterise the youngest generation of social workers. First, they exhibit less interest in the structural level of social problems. Secondly, they are supposed to incline towards the idea of welfare conditionality. And thirdly, they are evolving towards increasingly shallow technical, box-ticking professionals. As such, this generation of social workers seems to conform with a policy climate in which social justice is increasingly under pressure. It is our contention that this debate is one-sided and negative. It dismisses the perspective of the social workers themselves. For organisations in social work, it might appear paradoxical that the youngest generation of social workers—although submersed in the context of workfare—hold the key to revising institutional processes and guidelines. Based on generational theory, however, we argue that social work needs to consider the ability of the newest generation to signal procedural and institutional barriers that hinder the pursuit of social justice.

Social workers, critical theory and the political sphere: addressing political misrecognition and marginalisation in the Republic of Ireland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Critical Commentary ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Electoral Representation ◽  
Irish Politics

Despite the traditional social justice mandate of social work, and critical and radical theoretical traditions that pursue egalitarian and just societies, the engagement of the social work academy with Irish politics has been underwhelming at best. While there are abstract analyses that address sociopolitical theory and ideological wrongdoings related to neoliberalist rationality, attention in social work academia to the nuts and bolts of everyday political life in Ireland, such as democratic party politics and electoral representation, leaves much to the imagination. This article therefore pursues a more grounded reading of social justice in Irish politics for social workers. The supporting proposition is that to effectively interject in political misrecognition and marginalisation, social workers must understand the present political state of play. Towards achieving this, Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition aids thematic critical commentary on the literature.

Facilitating CSWE's Social Justice Competency in Baccalaureate Social Work Courses

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-73
Author(s):  
Simon Funge ◽  
Nancy Meyer-Adams ◽  
Chris Flaherty ◽  
Gretchen Ely ◽  
Jeffrey Baer
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Educational Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Practice Behaviors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Education

The Council on Social Work Education identifies social justice as one of 10 core competencies in its 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Educators can find it daunting to address this particular competency. The National Association of Social Workers' Social Work Speaks can provide a practical guide for educating students in the policy positions of social work's primary professional association. This article offers uses of these materials that can infuse social justice concepts into foundation coursework, mitigating not only some of the challenges associated with teaching this content but also fostering the expected practice behaviors associated with the social justice competency. This model can apply to teaching strategies pertaining to the other nine competencies. Examples of assignments and methods for assessment are provided.

Treger, Harvey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
George T. Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Specialty Area ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
The Social

Harvey Treger (1924–2016) was a pioneer in the social work profession, breaking new ground for social work practice in law enforcement agencies. Under Treger’s leadership, police social work was started as a new specialty area of social work practice. His groundbreaking vision for police social work practice continues to evolve to the present (2021), as progressively more law enforcement agencies either hire or establish collaborations with social workers, and community stakeholders recognize the need for a social work response to community social problems instead of law enforcement.

Educating Australian social workers in the post-Apology era: The potential offered by a ‘Whiteness’ lens

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Young ◽  
Joanna Zubrzycki
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Whiteness ◽  
Whiteness Theory ◽  
Critical Whiteness Theory ◽  
Research Studies

• Summary: The Australian Prime Minister’s 2008 historic Apology to the Stolen Generations gives Australian social work an opportunity to confront its past complicity in Australian Indigenous disadvantage and embrace the development of Indigenous social work as central for practice. Critical Whiteness1 theory in social work curricula could assist the development of Indigenous social work as a core approach by challenging the ongoing and largely un-reflexive practices emanating from social work’s Euro-centric heritage with its often taken-for-granted knowledges and principles which negatively affect Indigenous peoples. • Findings: Recent professional and theoretical attention on critical Whiteness highlights race privilege, questions the invisibility and continuing invisibilization of race, critiques previously taken-for-granted Western knowledges and practices, and facilitates the development of countering practice approaches. Research studies reveal some practitioners to be aware of the need for different practices as well as some who practice differently without realizing they are using critical Whiteness principles. • Application: Critical Whiteness theory in the social work curriculum offers a strong conceptual and practical opportunity for students and practitioners to become more racially cognizant in their work with Indigenous people, allowing this work to be more effective in the profession’s social justice mission as well as decreasing some of the extant colonizing practices.

scholarly journals Will someone knock on my door? COVID-19 and social work education

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 116-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharati Sethi
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Community Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Community Belonging ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Work Education

Guided by a person-in-environment framework and aspirations to advance social justice, the social work profession is concerned with intervening at the individual and society level. In this essay, the author reflects on individualism-collectivism, loneliness, and community belonging in the context of her lived experiences and the COVID-19 outbreak. She maintains that the micro-macro fragmentation is problematic to social work's quest for social justice. Social work must examine the place of ‘community practice' in its professional curriculum to equip students with tools to fully comprehend the changing and increasingly complex social workers' role.

scholarly journals Social Workers’ Attitudes on Social Justice in Taiwan

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402098828
Author(s):  
Hsin-Yi Chen ◽  
I-Chen Tang
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Concept ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

As social justice is an essential social work concept, this study examined the factors that influenced the attitudes of social workers in Taiwan toward social justice through an analysis of Social Justice Scale-TW (SJS-TW) questionnaires conducted on a sample of 276 social workers. It was found that years of work experience, human rights training, and past participation in social protests were important moderating factors of supporting social justice. It was concluded that including a human rights–based approach in social work education has the potential to increase the social workers’ knowledge of and actions in support of social justice.

scholarly journals Where is the voice of social work in the multi disciplinary palliative care team?

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary James
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Palliative Care Team ◽  
Care Team ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hospice Patients ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Multi Disciplinary Team

In the medical world, audits are frequently conducted to assess performance ideals and generate better outcomes for staff and patients. Audits are not such a common measure in social work. In order to begin to find a place to articulate the value of social work within the work of Hospice, a snapshot survey was taken of referrals within Hospice programmes within a specified three month period. The results of the audit revealed some striking commonalities as well as variations which may reflect the communities the Hospices operate within. The results of four other audits taken within the social work literature are presented. Snapshot ‘quotes’ taken from international researchers set a foundation for social workers to articulate the value of their role within palliative care. It is argued that unless social workers begin to articulate the value of their skills, they are in danger of becoming a forgotten voice in the multi disciplinary team caring for the needs of Hospice patients and families. 

scholarly journals Social work and social justice: The relationship between fitness to practise and criminal convictions for non-violent activism

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan J. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Criminal Convictions ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Sense

INTRODUCTION: Social work as a profession is underpinned by ideas of social justice and human rights, and that social workers have an ethical obligation to uphold these ideas. Social workers have a history of engagement in non-violent social justice activism (NVSJA), and a proud record of achieving social change in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, having a criminal conviction for engaging in NVSJA can be a barrier to social work registration in Aotearoa New Zealand.APPROACH: An exploration of current research around NVSJA and social work registration was conducted. Along with an examination of the Social Workers Registration Board’s (SWRB’s) Fit and Proper Person Policy Statement, with a consideration on the reporting of acts of NVSJA and social workers by the media.CONCLUSION: Those who engage in NVSJA are often likely to gain criminal convictions. This creates a potential barrier for social workers who go beyond the rhetoric and fight for social justice, in a macro and practical sense, from gaining registration. This has become additionally important since the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act (2019) passed and with registration becoming mandatory two years after the Act gained royal assent. There is a need for a change to the Fit and Proper Person Policy Statement so that the SWRB is better able to support social workers who are standing for what social work is all about, or at least, what social work is stated to be all about.

scholarly journals Solving the social problems of a modern young family through social work

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (Extra-A) ◽  
pp. 287-292
Author(s):  
Yanina V. Shimanovskaya ◽  
Alexander S. Sarychev ◽  
Mihail V. Firsov ◽  
Galina P. Medvedeva ◽  
Natalia P. Konstantinova
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Social Technologies ◽  
Young Family ◽  
Social Difficulties

The article explores the problem of training future social workers to study the social difficulties arising in young families, as well as to use the social technologies for resolving said difficulties under the current conditions of the development of Russian society. A wide range of technologies implemented by a social worker in working with a young family to improve the effectiveness of the realization of its potential is provided.

scholarly journals Socio-political work during the election race

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
Svitlana Bondar ◽  
Rostyslav Tsimokha
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Social

The article offers an analysis of political parties: their essence, functions, image formation, the role of the party as a mediator between the government and society, the activities of parties in elections. The features of the social work of political parties are shown, on the example of the political party «Team of Sergei Rudyk. A time of change!». Mechanisms, basic approaches, the most common methods and techniques of social work with people are analyzed. The main theoretical strategies and ideas of social work are presented. Position of the political party «Team of Sergei Rudyk. A time of change!» is that first, the solution of social problems is discussed before it will be accepted and even after it has been adopted. On the party’s website https://www.rudyk.org/news/page/4/, the main projects of social work are illustrated. The publication gives the main recommendations for improving the efficiency of social work: the creation of a mechanism to help youth in self-determination in choosing the profession of social worker, to extend forms and directions of professional training of social workers, to increase expansion in the number of periodicals covering the work of social services, centres, social workers. The formation of social policy occurs based on information received from the collection of statistical data and the conduct of sociological studies. Understanding this information allows you to identify the social tasks. The realization of socially significant goals and social problems solution have been organized through social projects and social programs, which form a significant part of social policy.

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