Reconfiguring professional autonomy? The case of social work in the UK

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chandler ◽  
Elisabeth Berg ◽  
Marion Ellison ◽  
Jim Barry
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
The Third ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk

This chapter discusses the contemporary position of social work in the United Kingdom, and in particular the challenges to what is seen as a managerial-technicist version of social work. The chapter begins with focus on the situation from the 1990s to the present day in which this version of social work takes root and flourishes. The discussion then concentrates on three different routes away from a managerial-technicist social work: the first, reconfiguring professional practice in the direction of evaluation in practice, the second ‘reclaiming social work’ on the Hackney relationship-based model and the third ‘reclaiming social work’ in a more radical, highly politicised way. Special attention is devoted to a discussion about how much autonomy the social workers have in different models, but also what kind of autonomy and for what purpose.

scholarly journals PREVENT, safeguarding and the common-sensing of social work in the United Kingdom

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-28
Author(s):  
David McKendrick ◽  
Jo Finch
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk

INTRODUCTION: The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act (2015) passed in the United Kingdom (UK) made it mandatory for social workers, as well as a wide range of caring professionals, to work within the PREVENT policy, originally introduced in 2002, as one strand of the UK’s overall counter-terrorism policy.METHOD: The paper offers a theoretical account of how complex issues, like terrorism, that understandably impact on the safety and security of countries, are reduced to a series of assertions, claims and panics that centre on the notion of common sense.IMPLICATIONS: We theorise the concept of common sense and argue that such rhetorical devices have become part of the narrative that surrounds the PREVENT agenda in the UK, which co-opts social workers (and other public servants) into an increasingly securitised environment within the state. In other words, the appeal to common sense stifles critical debate, makes it hard to raise concerns and positions debates in a binary manner. We use the example of how there has been a decisive linking of traditional safeguarding social work practice with counter-terrorism activity.CONCLUSIONS: We posit that linkages such as this serve to advance a more closed society, resulting in a “chilling” of free speech, an increase in surveillance and the unchecked advancement of a neoliberal political agenda which promotes economic considerations over issues of social justice. This we argue, has implications for not only the UK, but for other countries where social workers are increasingly being tasked with counter-terrorism activities.

State regulation of the social work profession: an example from Poland

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimiera Wódz ◽  
Krystyna Faliszek
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
New Members ◽  
The Social ◽  
Polish Government ◽  
And Control

This chapter examines how regulation from the state can shape conditions and practices for welfare professions. New members of the European Union, such as Poland, often lack a tradition of social work as an integral part of the welfare state. Challenges for these countries are both to educate social workers and to create legislative solutions stipulating the responsibilities and professional jurisdiction of the social work profession. In the chapter, it is argued that strong regulation and control from the Polish government has resulted in the standardisation of social work. This has curtailed professional autonomy in a manner that is unfavourable to social workers as well as to clients.

Women, Migration and Social Work

Affilia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
International Labor ◽  
The Social ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
International Labor Mobility ◽  
The Eu

Recent events in the United Kingdom have implications for the migration of women. Migrant women feature significantly in the staffing of the National Health Service and the social care sector, both currently under economic and political pressure. International labor mobility is also evident in the social work profession, though transnational social workers constitute only a very small proportion of the workforce. The recent vote to leave the European Union (EU) raises questions about the trend from recruitment of social workers from English-speaking countries to those from the EU. The role of social workers in relation to migrants is considered.

Social Pedagogy: What Questions Can We Ask About Its Value and Effectiveness?

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Public Care ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Social Pedagogy ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Cross National

Social pedagogy is a field of professional practice associated with the care and education of young children, support of young people, and with family support that has an established place in many continental European countries. It has attracted attention in the United Kingdom (UK) for its potential relevance to the policy ambition of improving the generally poor educational and social outcomes for young people in public care. In this article, I discuss some issues arising from the task of establishing the value, or effectiveness, of the social pedagogic approach. Using findings from cross-national studies, I argue that there are various problems with measuring the ‘effectiveness’ of social pedagogy, but that in countries where social pedagogy is well established and supported by a policy and cultural context, its role in supporting children and families is highly valued. I conclude by considering some implications for the introduction of social pedagogy into the UK.

scholarly journals Exploring the experiences of practice teachers who are not social workers

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-56
Author(s):  
Chris Laycock ◽  
Laura Walker ◽  
Laura Heath
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practice Teaching ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Work Student ◽  
And Training

Professionals without a social work qualification have been involved in the practice teaching of social work students since the days of CCETSW (the former education and training body for social work in the UK). Historically this has always happened more in the voluntary sector. With the advent of the Social Work Degree in England, the 50% increase in demand for placements in a variety of settings has seen reliance on practice teachers who are not social workers.This raises some interesting questions about how professionals who are not social workers should be trained and supported in the role of practice teacher.We will attempt to explore these questions, drawing on responses to a questionnaire sent to a range of practice teachers in a county in northern England as well as feedback obtained from a focus group drawn from respondents to the questionnaire. The participants in the research came from a range of work backgrounds in the voluntary and statutory sectors. The experiences discussed in the research, in the main, relate to the Diploma in Social Work (the former UK qualification) as the degree only started in 2003- 2004. We will refer to research participants as Practice Teachers. The key criterion for involvement was that all participants in the study had had sole responsibility for at least one social work student.

Challenges to Professional Autonomy in the United Kingdom? The Perceptions of General Practitioners

1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Calnan ◽  
Simon Williams
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
New Managerialism ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government

Theoretical analysis has suggested that so-called threats to professional autonomy in the United States might also be manifesting themselves in the United Kingdom through the introduction of market principles and the new “managerialism” into the National Health Service by the government and through the emergence of complementary medicine and the role of the “articulate” consumer. The authors explore these issues by focusing on how a sample of the “rank and file” of general practitioners perceive these potential challenges from “above and below.” The evidence suggests that the social, economic, and clinical freedoms of general practitioners remain intact although these external influences appear to have changed the style of clinical practice, which is a source of concern and dissatisfaction to some general practitioners.

Adult Safeguarding

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Hall
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Work Activity ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Partnership Approach ◽  
Vulnerable Adults

Safeguarding is an area of social work activity concerned with the care and protection of children or adults who have care and support needs and who may be at risk of abuse or neglect. This is a major concern for social workers who usually have prime responsibility for ensuring as far as possible that the vulnerable clients they work with are protected. People’s ability to keep themselves safe is partly determined by their individual circumstances, and this may change at different stages in their life, so it is important that safeguarding is always considered in relation to the wishes of the person concerned. Effective safeguarding depends on a careful consideration of the factors involved and will almost always involve a multi-agency partnership approach. This article will primarily examine the situation regarding safeguarding vulnerable adults in the United Kingdom.

Organising: influences of the state, organisations and wider social policies

2020 ◽  
pp. 139-156
Author(s):  
Linda Bell
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Professional Organisation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Training Research ◽  
Care Training ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Government Initiative

This chapter focuses on organisation. Organising social work falls into many different areas, and because social workers are employed in so many different kinds of organisation (statutory local authorities being only one kind) and different sectors (including health and education, as well as the social-care field), the chapter concentrates only on a few areas. It looks backwards and forwards across the 1990s to the present day, as well as on into the future, and also considers social work both internationally and in the UK. It considers some important areas of social work: the development of professional organisation(s), research conferences, and the further exploration of developments in social work/social care education. Finally, the chapter gives two specific English examples: the first links up social work/social care training, research, and related workshops and conferences in the 1990s; and the second explores how recent social work education has been organised via the UK government initiative of funded ‘teaching partnerships’.

Getting involved: an anthropological and auto-ethnographic journey

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-20
Author(s):  
Linda Bell
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Anthropology ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Critical Reflections

This chapter explains the author's positioning and how anthropologists try to work from an outsider perspective. It includes some ideas about different theoretical perspectives about social work. The chapter's reflexive positioning from the perspective of an anthropologist is fundamental to this book. Hence, it argues the approach is in keeping with recent methodological and theoretical approaches to social anthropology. It provides some auto-ethnographic background relating to longitudinal work with social workers and social work educators in the United Kingdom (UK). This, in turn, opens up room for some critical reflections. Finally, this chapter addresses the issue of social work ‘voice’ and representation.

scholarly journals Socio-Legal Studies in Germany and the UK: Theory and Methods

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1309-1317
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hendry ◽  
Naomi Creutzfeldt ◽  
Christian Boulanger
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Law And Society ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
The Third ◽  
Academic Cultures ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
The Uk

AbstractThis Special Issue considers the situated and contextualized development of socio-legal, or law and society, scholarship within two materially different legal and academic cultures, namely Germany and the United Kingdom, with a view to achieving a better understanding of why and how such differences in understanding and practice have arisen. The contributions are grouped into three themes. The first reflects upon the influence of institutional contexts and scholarly traditions in terms of the development of those approaches that come under the banner of socio-legal studies. The second features contributions that adopt a comparative perspective in terms of selected areas of law, pointing to notably different approaches taken in Germany and the UK, and considering the development of these respective situations. The third looks at the key contemporary trends, theoretical applications, and methodological approaches taken within both countries’ socio-legal academic contexts.

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