Social Work A Reader

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.

Viviene E. Cree is Professor of Social Work Studies at the University of Edinburgh. She is the author of Sociology for Social Workers and Probation Officers, editor of Becoming a Social Worker and co-author of Social Work: Voices from the Inside, all published by Routledge. She is also co-author of Social Work: Making a Difference and co-editor of the series, Social Work in Practice, published jointly by BASW and the Policy Press.

Introduction: Reading Social Work, Part 1: The Profession of Social Work 1. What is Professional Social Work? Malcolm Payne, 2. Making a Difference: Lessons from History, Viviene E. Cree and Steve Myers, 3. Issues in International Social Work, James Midgley, 4. Uncertainty. The Defining Characteristic of Social Work? Jan Fook, 5. Social Work, Risk and ‘the Blaming System’ Nigel Parton, 6. Scandal, Welfare and Public Policy, Ian Butler and Mark Drakeford, 7. Research as an Element in Social Work’s Ongoing Search for Identity, Walter Lorenz, 8. Social Work and the Changing Face of the Digital Divide, Jan Steyaert and Nick Gould, 9. Addressing Barriers to Participation, Gina Tyler, Part 2: Knowledge and Values for Social Work, 10. Attachment Theory and Social Relationships, David Howe, 11. On Death and Dying, Elizabeth Kubler Ross, 12. Parent, Adult and Child, Thomas A. Harris, 13. The Promise, C. Wright Mills, 14. Developing Anti-Discriminatory Practice, Neil Thompson, 15. Black Feminist Epistemology and Toward a Politics of Empowerment, Patricia Hill Collins, 16. Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire, 17. The Role of the Law in Welfare Reform, Suzy Braye and Michael Preston-Shoot, 18. What are Values? Chris Beckett and Andrew Maynard, 19. An Ethical Perspective on Social Work, Richard Hugman, 20. Expanding the Philosophical Base of Social Work, Mekada Graham, Part 3: Skills and Practice in Social Work, 21. The Communication Skills of Therapeutic Dialogue, Gerard Egan, 22. Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation, Brian Sheldon and Geraldine Macdonald, 23. The Ecological Systems Metaphor in Australasia, Keiran O’Donogue and Jane Maidment, 24. Bridging the Past and Present to the Future of Crisis Intervention and Crisis Management, Albert R. Roberts, 25. Introduction: Power in the People, Dennis Saleebey, 26. Disabled People and Self-Directed Support Schemes, Simon Prideaux, Alan Roulstone, Jennifer Harris and Colin Barnes, 27. Models for Interprofessional Collaboration, Audrey Leathard, 28. Theorising Feminist Social Work Practice, Lena Dominelli, 29. Contributions to a Radical Practice in Social Work, Roy Bailey and Mike Brake, 30. Post-Modernism, Barbara Fawcett