Representations of Women Subjected to Violence: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Study Guides in Social Work

Affilia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-104
Author(s):  
Helena Hoppstadius
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Study Guides ◽  
Victims Of Violence ◽  
Definition Of

The Swedish government’s efforts to meet the needs of women subjected to violence have intensified since 2007 when it adopted an Action Plan for combating men’s violence against women. The aim of this study was to analyze how women are discursively framed from an intersectional perspective in five of the Action Plan’s study guides. A critical discourse analysis revealed three overall discourses. First, women are divided into various categories, which is likely to lead to an understanding that it is specific groups of women that become victims of violence. Second, women are framed in a heteronormative and a gender-equal context. This neglects nonheterosexual violence and underlines the otherness of ethnically categorized women. Third, the definition of women as agents stresses both their responsibility and their lack of agency. The absence of an intersectional analysis risks an interpretation in social work practice that some social division have a greater impact on violence in some specific groups of women. When women’s individual situation and needs are not taken into account, women risk being given inadequate help and support, which might put victims of violence in danger.

scholarly journals Disguised compliance or undisguised nonsense? A critical discourse analysis of compliance and resistance in social work practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jadwiga Leigh ◽  
Liz Beddoe ◽  
Emily Keddell
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Parental Resistance

This article examines how the term ‘disguised compliance’ first emerged and developed into the popular catchphrase that is used in practice today. Using critical discourse analysis, we explore how language affects practice and how social workers draw on a predetermined concept to rationalise concerns relating to parental resistance. We contend that concepts such as disguised compliance are misleading as they do not improve social workers’ abilities in detecting resistance or compliance. Instead, we argue that social workers should be cautious when using popular mantras which, on the surface, appear effective in describing parents’ behaviours but, in reality, conceal concerns relating to risk, accountability and blame. This study differs from the current literature that advocates social workers should be aware of disguised compliance by shifting the emphasis away from the behaviours of parents and towards acknowledging the power such discursive activities can have on practice.

scholarly journals Progressive change-makers or agents of Colonialism? Taking another look at the CASWE’s Standards for curriculum accreditation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ameena Ashley Ali
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Progressive Change ◽  
Canadian Association ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Schools Of Social Work

This major research paper (MRP) examines how Schools of Social Work (SSW) in Canada reproduce social workers who participate in and perpetuate existing systems of oppression. Social workers either end up continuing to contribute to existing oppressive structures in society or working towards breaking down those structures; and an integral part in making that distinction is the education that they receive. This MRP focuses on critically analyzing the Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE) standards for Masters of Social Work (MSW) curriculum accreditation through an anti-colonial and post colonialism framework with an understanding of the effects of neoliberalism. This critical analysis was conducted through critical discourse analysis to reveal how colonialism and neoliberalism permeate curriculum standards which ultimately shape social work practice today. Main findings indicate that the curriculum accreditation standards have underlying discourses related to professionalism, social justice, surveillance, institutionalization and the absence of race.

scholarly journals Progressive change-makers or agents of Colonialism? Taking another look at the CASWE’s Standards for curriculum accreditation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ameena Ashley Ali
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Progressive Change ◽  
Canadian Association ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Schools Of Social Work

This major research paper (MRP) examines how Schools of Social Work (SSW) in Canada reproduce social workers who participate in and perpetuate existing systems of oppression. Social workers either end up continuing to contribute to existing oppressive structures in society or working towards breaking down those structures; and an integral part in making that distinction is the education that they receive. This MRP focuses on critically analyzing the Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE) standards for Masters of Social Work (MSW) curriculum accreditation through an anti-colonial and post colonialism framework with an understanding of the effects of neoliberalism. This critical analysis was conducted through critical discourse analysis to reveal how colonialism and neoliberalism permeate curriculum standards which ultimately shape social work practice today. Main findings indicate that the curriculum accreditation standards have underlying discourses related to professionalism, social justice, surveillance, institutionalization and the absence of race.

Financial capabilities development: essential discourse in social work

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1234-1246
Author(s):  
Lambert K. Engelbrecht ◽  
Abigail Ornellas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vulnerable Households ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose Within a neoliberal environment, financial vulnerability of households has become an increasing challenge and there is a requirement of financial literacy education, a necessary activity to facilitate sustainable development and well-being. However, this is seldom a mainstream discourse in social work deliberations. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach First, introducing the neoliberal impact on financial well-being and capability for vulnerable households, the authors’ postulation is substantiated on a seven-point argument. The contexts of financially vulnerable households are sketched. Second, a conceptualisation of financial literacy is offered, and third, perspectives on and approaches to financial literacy as a fundamental capability are presented. This is followed by a theoretical foundation of community education as a practice model in social work to develop financial capabilities. In the fifth place, prevailing practices of Financial Capabilities Development (FCD) programmes are offered. Subsequently, the implications of a neoliberal environment for social work practice are examined. Findings The revised global definition of social work encourages the profession to understand and address the structural causes of social problems through collective interventions. As a response, it is argued that community education towards FCD of vulnerable households within a neoliberal environment should be an essential discourse in social development. Originality/value The authors reflect on the significance of FCD, highlighting its contribution towards human security and sustainable development. Although this paper draws on Southern African contexts, the discourse finds resonance in other contexts across the world.

scholarly journals A critical discourse analysis of health in Swedish integration policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Svanholm ◽  
E Viitasara ◽  
H Carlerby
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
Integration Policies ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Background Previous research has indicated that migrants risk facing inequities both internationally and in Sweden; integration policies are therefore important to study. How health is described in policies affects how health interventions are approached. A discourse analysis offers a way of understanding how health is framed within the integration policies of the Establishment Program. The aim was to critically analyse the health discourses used in Swedish and European Union (EU) integration policies. Methods A critical discourse analysis, inspired by Fairclough, was performed on integration policies related to Sweden, on local, regional, national and the EU level. The policies of the Establishment Program, which focuses on newly arrived migrants (refugees, persons of subsidiary protection and their relatives who arrived through family reunification), were chosen for the analysis, and 17 documents were analysed in total. Results The analysis of the documents showed that although no definition of health was presented, health discourses were expressed in the form of the medicalization of health and the individualization of health. This not only by the terminology used, but also in how the healthcare sector was considered responsible for any health related issue and how individual health behaviours were of focus in interventions to promote health. Conclusions A pathogenic approach to health was visible in the policies and individual disease prevention was the main health focus. The results showed similarities to previous research highlighting how a particular understanding of health in a neoliberal context is formed. Key messages Health as a resource is missing in the integration policy documents. Viewing health as an individual quality puts the responsibility of promoting health on the individual.

Social Work With Criminalized Women: Governance or Resistance in the Carceral State?

Affilia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088610992110147
Author(s):  
Sandra M. Leotti
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Carceral State ◽  
Neoliberal Governance ◽  
Spaces Of Resistance ◽  
And Control ◽  
Criminalized Women

Drawing on findings from a Foucauldian-inspired critical discourse analysis, this article examines the hegemonic ways in which social work engages with criminalized women. Utilizing the analytic of governmentality, I explore the construction of criminalized women in contemporary social work discourse and ask how those constructions support and shape practice with criminalized women. Results show that knowledge production in social work serves as a significant site through which the profession draws on, but also resists, carceral logics. I begin by discussing contemporary social work as a form of neoliberal governance. Specifically, I illuminate the ways in which social work is implicated in surveillance and control and how this involvement is obscured under the framework of helping. I then describe how bold counter discourses, such as those offered by abolitionist and anti-carceral thought foster spaces of resistance within the profession. I argue that social work should claim a stance of radical imagination in which we take seriously the calls to abolish the varying manifestations of the carceral state.

scholarly journals Pakiwaitara - social work sense for supervision

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn Elkington
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Social Service Delivery ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Definition Of

Pakiwaitara (Elkington, 2001) came about as a gap identified in social service delivery between western, middle class, dominant culture and the healing of Māori whānau in crisis. While education has responded to this gap by offering bicultural training, ensuring more Māori components within degree programmes, etc, social services statistics are still high for Māori and indigenous peoples. It has helped to shift the definition of cultural supervision to inside the definition of specialised professional supervision (Elkington, 2014), but now continued invisibility of values and beliefs, particularly that of Tauiwi, exacerbate the problem. The challenge must still be asserted so that same-culture practitioners are strengthened in same-culture social work practice (eg, by Māori, for Māori), and to avoid when possible, or otherwise by choice, white dominant-culture practice, for all-and-every-culture social work practice (eg, by Pākehā, for everyone).

Psychoeducation

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Coping Skills ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Professional Values ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Education Support ◽  
And Coping

Psychoeducation, which describes a range of direct interventions that are focused on participants' education, support, and coping skills development, has become extremely popular in social work practice since the 1970s. Such programs are delivered in many service settings and with many types of client populations. This article includes a definition of the term, a review of its origins in social work practice, its range of applications, the practice theories, and professional values from which it draws, and a review of the research evidence for its utility.

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