scholarly journals Language is never neutral: a critical analysis of the language surrounding adoption in the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Clapton
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Critical Scrutiny ◽  
The Uk

In the light of increased attention to the role of social work in UK adoption practices, this article takes a ‘turn to language’ and examines the neglected field of the words and phrases commonly used in the adoption process. It subjects these to a critical scrutiny and suggests that the vocabulary employed contains inaccuracies, euphemisms, misnomers and aspirational promises and carries implications that limit options and determine outcomes. The article provides other examples from social work practice with children and families and concludes that a critical approach to a profession’s everyday language use can uncover how power is exercised.

‘I Never Felt like an Illegal Immigrant Until Social Work Turned up at the Hospital’: No Recourse to Public Funds as Necropolitical Exception

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Farmer
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Giorgio Agamben ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Critical Scrutiny ◽  
The Uk

Abstract This article argues that the notion of ‘illegality’ has become a dominant aspect in social work practice for those who are subject to immigration control and have no recourse to public funds (NRPFs). Drawing together conceptual tools from the theoretical work of Giorgio Agamben and Achille Mbembé, necropolitical exception in social work will be explored to analyse how this has impacted upon racialised bodies within the UK immigration system. The findings presented in this article are based upon Ph.D. research conducted between July 2017 and October 2018 in Glasgow, Scotland, and includes ethnographic qualitative data from case studies with the Asylum Seeker Housing Project. It focuses on interviews that explore the lived experiences of those categorised as ‘illegalised’ migrants to examine the implications of necropolitical exception for those with NRPF, third sector caseworkers and statutory social workers. In framing those with NRPF as ‘illegal’, this article demonstrates that social workers have become drawn into agents of necropolitical exception that demands critical scrutiny.

Pride and shame in the creation of child and family social work

2019 ◽  
pp. 49-76
Author(s):  
Matthew Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Social Policing ◽  
Conflicting Messages

This chapter considers the role of pride and shame in creating, maintaining and disrupting practices that have resulted in child and family social work. As people sought to develop ways of addressing social issues related to children and families, different discourses on children, families and social issues provided competing and conflicting messages about what was praiseworthy and shameful behaviour. Different representations of social work practice can, therefore, be seen to have been constructed within these competing discourses. This chapter outlines these representations as social administration, social policing, activism, therapy and practical help, demonstrating how pride and shame were central components in how these practices were institutionalised. This chapter then analyses how a discourse of neoliberalism has sought to change the boundaries for praiseworthy and shameful behaviour to reconfigure professional practice.

Older people, pensions and poverty: An issue for social workers?

2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam Foster
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Poverty is encountered by the majority of users of social services but is often overlooked in social work practice. This article explores the relationship between poverty in older age, pension receipt and the role of social policy formulation in the UK with particular reference to New Labour governance. It also briefly explores the EU context before considering the implications for social work.

Shaping practice: prescribing assessment

2019 ◽  
pp. 45-62
Author(s):  
Sue White ◽  
Matthew Gibson ◽  
David Wastell ◽  
Patricia Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Inconsistent Parenting ◽  
The Uk

This chapter reviews the use of attachment theory in practice guidance and child welfare policy, focusing on social work in England. In refashioning the role of social workers, the increasing social acceptance of attachment theory, and its concomitant discourse, influenced and guided the UK government's attempt to define and restructure what social work practice was. The attachment story in use offered explanations for how children become harmed by insensitive, unresponsive, and inconsistent parenting. Such ideas fed into the government's agenda for social work practice: namely to assess (needs) and refer (to services) or remove (to prevent harm). Social workers were, therefore, directed to assess parents' capacity to meet the needs of their children from the perspective of attachment theory. Ultimately, attachment theory has become institutionalised into the profession.

scholarly journals Pruned, policed and privatised: the knowledge base for children and families social work in England and Wales in 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Tunstill
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
Social Work Policy

The focus of this chapter is on the knowledge base for social work practice with children and families and its relationship to current social work policy development in England and Wales for the foreseeable future. It is argued that over the last ten years, the nature of the knowledge base for children and family social work, including the way it is generated, accessed and applied, has been increasingly subject to politically initiated change. This article argues that over the previous ten years of ‘austerity’, knowledge for social work has been purposely, and increasingly, ‘weaponised’ as a component of the same political system which introduced and now sustains neo-liberalism and austerity.  Deliberate decisions have been taken by government in order to initiate- through a variety of inter-linked and mutually reinforcing strategies- the reframing and repackaging of the role of knowledge in social work practice with children and families. Following a review of current approaches to understanding social work knowledge, the article identifies five key inter-linked projects , which have been established by the Conservative government . It argues that these are intended to deliver a far-reaching political colonisation of the existing knowledge base for social work, which should be resisted by all social work stakeholders.

Poverty, Inequality and Social Work

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Domino Effect ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

This book offers a critical, sociological analysis of the domino effect of neoliberalism and austerity politics on the role of social work and wider welfare provision. It argues that social work should move away from the resultant emphasis on risk management and bureaucracy and return to a focus on relational and community approaches as the cornerstone of practice. Applying theoretical frameworks to practice, including those of Pierre Bourdieu and the recent work of Loïc Wacquant, the book examines the development of neoliberal ideas and their impact on social welfare. It explores the implications of this across a range of areas of social work practice, including work with children and families, working with asylum seekers and refugees and mental health social work.

scholarly journals Emotional intelligence as a part of critical reflection in social work practice and research

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502110247
Author(s):  
Mari D Herland
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Emotional Aspects

Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout compared with other healthcare professionals. The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions efficiently, frequently in complex care settings, is central to the role of social workers. This article highlights the complexity of emotions in social work research and practice by exploring the perspective of emotional intelligence. The article is both theoretical and empirical, based on reflections from a qualitative longitudinal study interviewing fathers with behavioural and criminal backgrounds, all in their 40 s. The analysis contains an exploration of the researcher position that illuminates the reflective, emotional aspects that took place within this interview process. Three overall themes emerged – first: Recognising emotional complexity; second: Reflecting on emotional themes; and third: Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions. The findings apply to both theoretical and practical social work, addressing the need to understand emotions as a central part of critical reflection and reflexivity. The argument is that emotions have the potential to expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions, related to normative societal views. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and paying attention to one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers.

scholarly journals Opportunities to “Make Macro Matter” through the Grand Challenges for Social Work

2021 ◽  
pp. 104438942097248
Author(s):  
Samantha Teixeira ◽  
Astraea Augsberger ◽  
Katie Richards-Schuster ◽  
Linda Sprague Martinez ◽  
Kerri Evans
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Grand Challenges ◽  
Macro Practice ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Macro Social Work ◽  
Instrumental Role

The Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative, led by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW), aims to organize the social work profession around 12 entrenched societal challenges. Addressing the root causes of the Grand Challenges will take a coordinated effort across all of social work practice, but given their scale, macro social work will be essential. We use Santiago and colleagues’ Frameworks for Advancing Macro Practice to showcase how macro practices have contributed to local progress on two Grand Challenges. We offer recommendations and a call for the profession to invest in and heed the instrumental role of macro social work practice to address the Grand Challenges.

scholarly journals Social work with offenders

Social Work ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 173-190
Author(s):  
Terry Bamford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Monitoring And Surveillance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Preparatory Work

It is often assumed that child care legislation is a response to scandals and inquiries from the 1948 Children Act to the Children Act 2004. This chapter looks in detail at the preparatory work preceding legislation and demonstrates that the impact of scandals has been greater on securing parliamentary time than it has in shaping legislation. The impact has been greatest on social work practice. Attention and activity have been skewed away from direct work to provide assistance and help towards risk assessment and risk management. There has been a consequent emphasis on the monitoring and surveillance of families and individuals. This shift is true in mental health as well as child care. It is timely to consider whether this shift in practice has made children and families safer.

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