Advocacy in Social Work or Advocacy versus Social Work?:An attitudinal survey of practicing social workers in Ireland.
*Abstract*This paper discusses and presents findings drawn from a quantitativeattitudinal survey of practising social workers conducted in the republicof Ireland. Sampling was conducted across Ireland within a population of3900 practising social workers approximately and resulted in 128 responses,111 of which were complete. The purpose of the study was to explore therole of advocacy approaches in social work practice and to examine therelationship of professional social work to independent advocacy groups.The study found that social workers frequently engage in advocacy tasks.However, despite this, it also found that a majority of social workers feelthat the tasks associated with advocacy are best placed with other groupsin Irish society. The study found that a majority of social workersacknowledge sharing a similar value-base to independent advocacy groups.However, it also suggests that the relationship between social workers andadvocacy groups is complex and conflictual. In this respect, it wassuggested that while social workers recognise the importance of advocacygroups, they also acknowledge that advocacy groups do not always complementthe social work role. Ultimately this study shows that manypractitioners acknowledgethat the necessity for advocacy groups in Ireland can be ascribed to thecausal effects of contemporary social work practice.*Keywords:* *Social Work; Advocacy; Independent advocacy groups.*