Social Work The Social Organisation Of An Invisible Trade

First published in 1998, this book sets out to shed sociological light upon the much under-researched realm of day-to-day child care practice. The text broke new ground when first published in 1987 and there have been few, if any, similar books that adopt an ethnographic approach to statutory child care practice. A second edition would still 'speak' to this rarely analysed occupational world. However, it would enjoy greater resonance when up-dated with practitioner viewpoints on the extent to which the findings remain pertinent today - which is likely to be the case. The book offers no conclusions other than it demonstrates that the 'invisible' world of practice cannot be readily understood or changed unless grasped through an interactionist sociology. The book is aimed at a social work/social welfare market as well as a sociology of profession/organization readership.

It has been widely noted in the social work literature that the practice of child protection is highly gendered. When it comes to child abuse, women come under more scrutiny and men, who are more likely to present a risk of harm to children, are not engaged with. This important text takes stock of this controversial topic, examining the state of policy and theory on the subject and exploring the organisational culture and the professional knowledge and values that influence contemporary social work in the field of child welfare. Skilfully combining theory with illustrative example, it concludes by focusing on the lessons for practice.

The second edition of Organisations and Management in Social Work examines the complex organisational settings in which social workers practice and identifies opportunities for taking action for positive change. A robust critique of organisational practices is encouraged throughout the book with an emphasis on active participation in the everyday life of organisations. The new edition covers: - Leadership and supervision - Inter-agency and inter-disciplinary working - Ethical practice and decision-making - Communication and the emotional life of organisations Each chapter includes updated practice examples and reflective questions so readers can apply the knowledge learned to real life practice. It will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of social work. The book will also be a valuable text for front-line practitioners and managers wishing to understand the organisational context of social work.

Performance review has become a major topic in social work. As an all-embracing term, it encompasses broad concepts such as 'quality' and 'accountability' and the specific techniques for measuring and managing performance. This volume is divided into four parts to survey the subject in different areas and to examine its implications from the perspectives of the voluntary sector, management, professional practice, the client, and those implementing performance review. The importance of supervision and the need for proper consultation with carers when making policy decisions are also discussed, as well as such areas as quality assurance schemes and the proper implementation of complaints procedures. Also included is an analysis of performance review and quality in General Practice. The final Part provides a general overview of performance and quality review and examines how effective the Citizen's Charter and other quality assurance schemes are and what they mean when put into practice.

This is a book about what it is to work in social work today. This new edition tells new stories about social workers from both the UK and around the world, describing what brought them into social work and what has kept them in it since.

Building on the successful 1st edition, this reader brings together some of the most significant ideas that have informed social work practice over the last fifty years. At the same time as presenting these foundational extracts, the book includes commentaries that allow the reader to understand the selected extracts on their own terms as well as to be aware of their relations to each other and to the wider social work context. 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 world of social work has changed greatly over the last ten years, and this new edition reflects that change with new material on the decolonisation of social work knowledges, the greater emphasis on inter-disciplinarity and co-production and the new concern for identities. With an accessible introduction to contextualise the selections, the book is divided into three main sections, each presenting key texts drawn from a wide range of perspectives: psychological, sociological, philosophical, educational and political, as well as perspectives that are grounded in the experiences of practitioners and those who use services, which have contributed to the development of: the profession of social work knowledge and values for social work and practice in social work. By providing students and practitioners with an easy way into reading first-hand some of the most interesting, foundational texts of the subject, it will be required reading for all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and professionals undertaking post-qualifying training.

The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work brings together the world’s leading scholars in the field to provide a cutting-edge overview of classic and current research and future trends in the subject. Comprised of 48 chapters divided into six parts: Historical, social, and political influences Mapping the theoretical and conceptual terrain Methods of engagement and modes of analysis Critical contexts for practice and policy Professional education and socialisation Future challenges, directions, and transformations it provides an authoritative guide to theory and method, and the primary debates of today in social work from a critical perspective. This handbook is a major reference work and the first book to comprehensively map the wide-ranging territory of critical social work. It does so by addressing its conceptual developments, its methodological advances, its value-based front-line practice and as an influence on the policy field. By offering a definitive survey of current academic knowledge as it relates to professional practice, it provides the first comprehensive, up-to-date, definitive work of reference while at the same time identifying emerging, innovative and cutting-edge areas.