Equalising Opportunities Minimising Oppression

Anti-Racist Practice (ARP), Anti-Discriminatory Practice (ADP) and Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP) form a trinity of concepts, nested into one another, which have evolved in welfare services over the last fifteen years. They tend to have developed as forms of practice panaceas and as a result have been subject to both unrealistic expectations and, at times, to political ridicule. This book clarifies the distinctions between three key concepts - ARP, ADP and AOP. Critically and constructively analysing these three approaches to practice it reappraises their potential in the light of emerging equality issues in the health service With contributions from leading teachers and practitioners in the field, Equalising Opportunities provides students and practitioners in health and social care with a clear overview of an area where there is much confusion and imperfect understanding.

The authors draw on their own experiences and those of practitioners, service users and carers to understand issues of power and oppression, demonstrating how the law can be used to inform the development of critical anti-oppressive practice. The book therefore points the way to practice that is both empowering to service users and ultimately liberating for practitioners.

Kenneth McLaughlin highlights the need for a new approach to social work that has a more optimistic view of both individuals and society, and of their capacity to overcome problems.

This book brings together several valuable papers from different parts of the world, addressing social work with minorities in the areas of disability, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. Collectively, these make an important contribution to developing theory, and practice awareness of how social work education with minority groups is framed, evidenced, and experienced. The perspectives and different strands of work presented within this book offer new insights and a better understanding of how a diverse set of social justice issues confronting social work education have led to the development of different types of interventions both in the classroom and in practice contexts. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Social Work Education.

This book, by one of the leading theorists of social work, tackles a subject of crucial importance to students and practitioners alike: how social workers can enable their clients to challenge and transcend the manifold oppressions that disempower them (whether through poverty, disability, mental illness, etc.). It moves from a discussion of social work's purpose and ambitions to an exposition of theory and, from there, to the practice arenas of working with individuals, in groups, within organisations, and within a wider social and political context.

Social work in modern society requires practitioners to be culturally and spiritually sensitive. This book explores the often challenging relationships between spirituality, religion and social work. It considers the skills, knowledge and values that are required to incorporate a spiritual awareness into social work practice and in doing so explores in greater depth the social worker/service user relationship. By using case studies, reflective exercises and other learning features, students will begin to appreciate and understand the importance of a spiritually sensitive approach to their social work practice.

This is a book about social workers and social work. It tells the story of the journey into and through social work of thirteen social workers living and working in the UK today. We hear what has brought them into social work and what has kept them in it since. Their lively accounts demonstrate that commitment and passion remain at the heart of social work today. Becoming a Social Worker describes what it is like to be a social worker in different practice settings, what it is like to be a social work manager and what is happening in social work education. Some of the contributors will be recognised as those who have played a key part in shaping social work over the years and they provide valuable insights into how the profession of social work has developed in that time. Other contributors, less well known but no less interesting, give us a vivid idea of what social work practice and social work education is like 'on the ground'. Social work is a demanding and difficult job which goes largely unseen within society. We only ever hear about social work and social workers when something goes wrong and a vulnerable adult or child is hurt. Becoming a Social Worker sets out to change that - to make social work visible, so that those considering a career in the caring professions can make an informed choice about whether social work is the career for them.

What are the key ideas that underpin social work practice? This inspiring Reader brings together some of the most significant ideas which have informed social work practice over the last forty years. Exploring these fundamental ideas, the book includes commentaries that allow the reader to understand the texts on their own terms as well as to be aware of their relations to each other and to the wider social work context. An accessible introduction contextualises the reader, summarising the main themes and highlighting key issues. The book is then divided into three main sections, each presenting key texts which have contributed to the development of: the profession of social work social work knowledge and values social work skills and practice. There is no settled view or easy consensus about what social work is and should be, and the ideas reflected in this volume are themselves diverse and complex. The contributions are drawn from a wide range of perspectives: psychological, sociological, philosophical, educational and political, as well as perspectives which are grounded in the experiences of practitioners and those who use services. This important resource is essential reading for all social work students.