‘Globalisation’, Governance and social work: Some implications for theory and practice

Abstract

This article focuses cautiously on the implications of ‘globalisation’ for social work theory and practice. In drawing on recent debates it is argued that, despite its contested meaning, ‘globalisation’ points to a range of rapid and fundamental socioeconomic and political transformations that have impacted upon entire regions of the work. Some of these transformations are identified and analysed in terms of their consequences for transnational, national and local populations. It is proposed that the prevailing consequences of globalisation in terms of social inequality and allied modalities of governance are negative, and that this has important implications for the profession of social work. Effective strategies for confronting the challenges posed by ‘turbo capitalism’ may be found in alliances across global social movements and professional groups, including social workers. The challenges are profound.     

Changing Lives: what is really changing for Scottish social work?

In 2004 the then Scottish Executive launched the 21st Century Social Work Review. The review report, Changing Lives, addressed perceived shortcomings in statutory social work services, claiming to offer a fundamental review of the profession. This paper argues that, rather than offering any significantly new principles or policies, the drift of the Changing Lives process was chiefly to refurnish the discourse in which statutory social work is conducted. Specifically it shifts that discourse away from a long-standing Scottish concern to promote social welfare on a community basis towards an individualised conception of well-being. Central to that process is the Review's advocacy of personalisation of services. It is argued therefore that Changing Lives is best understood as an exercise in the ‘problematics of government’—a reassertion of control by reshaping expectations, rather than a substantive reform of services.     

The hospital accident and emergency department: what is its role?

The problem over the use of accident and emergency departments is portrayed in terms of a typical conflict between professional and lay needs. However, in contrast with the more common image of the professional hospital doctor successfully developing both structural and interactional strategies for maintaining professional dominance over the patient, it is argued that the structural characteristics of the accident and emergency department pose control problems for the profession. These control problems have been exacerbated by developments in other areas of the health service and have led to the development of policies which emphasize both clinical and social elements of patient need. Although there is apparent recognition by providers of the importance of taking into account patient need, the proposed policies are based on professional images of how patients 'ought' to use the service. What is clearly lacking is comprehensive data on how the public and the community wishes to use the service and how they actually use the service. Data from national and local studies on patient felt needs and patient demand for the hospital accident and emergency departments are presented and the implications for policy are discussed.     

Putting practice at the heart of social work education: can practice skills be reliably graded by different markers in child and family social work contexts?

The Frontline programme is a social work qualification route, in England, which began in 2014. Students are based in statutory child and family contexts supported by an academic staff member and practice educator. The assessment strategy on the programme includes seven graded observations of students engaging in social work, marked by both staff. This paper investigates reliability of grading of direct practice between different markers on the programme. It reports findings for 30 recordings of direct observations of practice that were graded during the first cohort. These included observations graded by an academic and by a practice educator. Each was independently then graded by an academic, blind to the original score or who marked it. An acceptable level of reliability was found between the independent grader and the first mark (r = .621). In general the level of agreement was higher between the independent grader (a social work academic) and academics. In comparison, practice educators tended to give higher grades to students. Nonetheless, overall the reliability of marking suggests it is possible to agree on marks for students, which points to the potential for grading of practice to be more widely used in social work education.     

To die destitute today: What are the implications for social work?

The link between the public hospital and the destitute funeral has a long historical background with hospitals today continuing to retain their delegation over the fates of those who die destitute within them. This qualitative study evaluates the roles and skills of social workers when assessing the need for a destitute funeral in the public hospital system. Social workers located in two public hospitals within the same Area Health Service participated in interviews to evaluate the roles and responsibilities of social workers when working with destitute funeral recipients and their significant others. Emergent from these interviews are the social workers' candid perception of the importance of the destitute death. The analysis is structured according to the priority that the social workers themselves accorded: the importance of the destitute death to the organisation, the family and friends of the destitute person, the social workers themselves and to society as a whole. The implication for social work practice is that this study informs policy locally within the hospital social work department, and public health policy within the hospital system. In addition, it is a springboard for practice reflection and advanced clinical practice by social workers in the field of destitute funerals.     

The Australian model of immigration and multiculturalism: is it applicable to Europe?

"The aim of this article is to examine the experience of Australia with regard to immigration and ethnic diversity since 1945, and to discuss the relevance of this experience for Western Europe." The author finds that "since 1945, over 5 million settlers have come from many different countries, leading to a situation of great cultural diversity.... Over the last twenty years, a policy of multiculturalism has emerged, giving rise to several special institutions. This has had profound effects both on social policy and on concepts of national identity. The relevance of the Australian model for Western Europe is discussed."     

The reconstruction of childhood–implications for theory and practice

First, the article deals with selected aspects of change that have framed the lives of contemporary families and children in Scandinavia: urbanization; secularization and norm-pluralism; changes in work-conditions; ideologies about the role of mothers; structural changes in family patterns; and the modern professionalization of care. Second, how change induces a crisis in the grand developmental approach within child psychology is investigated. It is argued that any a priori universal and non-contextual derived type of knowledge about development fails to grasp what is going on within families and in care and socialization in rapidly changing cultures such as Scandinavia and other Western European countries. An alternative paradigm is presented that should make us better able to understand development as embedded in culture and time. Third, some new challenges for educating the skilled practitioner are focused upon. Here reflective competence will be addressed: expertise as an ‘eternal process of inquiry; the ability to use multi-based and often conflicting knowledge about families and children in order to solve problems in everyday situations; the strengthened emphasis on the practitioner-as-person and the ability to use practical and reflected knowledge in different contexts. Finally, new bases of scientific knowledge are suggested for use in the future education of practitioners.     

Putting ‘glamour’ back into practice thinking: Implications for social and community development work

Abstract

There have been many calls for social work to renew its commitment to practice. This article argues for an old-fashioned, yet curiously postmodern social work practice, based on integrative thinking. Integrative thinking and inquiry are defined and grounded on the premises of reflexive thinking, practice wisdom and humanistic thinking. Characteristics of integrative thinking are discussed. Principles for its application to rural practice and community development work are offered.     

Mental health practitioners’ strategies in equine-assisted psychotherapy: implications for social work

Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP), in this study, which included a mental health practitioner, an equine specialist, at least one horse, and a client in therapy sessions, is emerging in social work practice, education, and research. The purpose of this paper was to explore experienced EAP mental health practitioners’ cognitive activities and strategies to inform the social work profession.

Utilizing a constructive narrative approach, eight experienced EAP mental health practitioners participated. Two semi-structured, face-to face, individual interviews were used to gain their perspectives. Qualitative software assisted thematic analysis. The findings included a main theme identified as participants’ concrete strategies used in EAP with two subthemes. The second main theme identified abstract strategies with six subthemes.

EAP provides a holistic framework as social workers incorporate horses and natural environments in practice, which is consistent with systems theory. The findings inform experienced mental health practitioners to be effective therapists and educators, as well as to instill confidence in novices. Recommendations for the application of the findings in social work practice, education, and research are explained.     

Otherness and empathy—implications of Lévinas ethics for social work education

This paper examines the concept of otherness in Lévinas’ ethics and raises related issues regarding the limits of empathy on philosophical grounds. This study also identifies and discusses a number of linguistic, social and cultural barriers that can establish such limits on practical grounds. This paper raises various considerations for social work educators teaching empathy. Such considerations suggest that social work educators could adopt a stance of ‘understanding and not understanding’ and a dialectical approach in using knowledge and skills. Furthermore, this study challenges the common assumption that empathy leads to compassionate action. Apart from empathy, moral commitment is necessary to engage in such action. This article discusses such moral commitment in relation to Lévinas’ notions of face and responsibility that place ethics before knowledge. Hence, the present study brings the attention of social work educators back to the importance of nourishing virtue and the moral character of students.     

Social capital: A useful concept for social work?

Abstract

In recent years, Australian governments at all levels have adopted social capital and related concepts to frame social policy. Hence, these ideas provide the backdrop within which much contemporary social work practice and social policy development occurs. Despite extensive coverage of social capital concepts in the social science literature there has been limited discussion of their application to social work practice. In this paper we review the origins and meaning of social capital. We then turn to a discussion of its application to progressive social work as well as a consideration of the criticisms of social capital concepts. We introduce a synergy model of social capital formation that incorporates a dual focus on local community networks and the role of the institutions of government, non-government agencies and business in the creation of social capital. The paper concludes with consideration of how a synergy approach can be applied in, and developed through, social work practice.

Karen Healy and Anne Hampshire lead a three year research project entitled: ‘Creating Better Communities: A Study of Social Capital Creation in Four Communities’. The study examines processes of social capital creation in urban, regional and rural contexts. The study is jointly funded by The Australian Research Council and The Benevolent Society     

‘Politics is social work with power’: training social workers for elected office

Training social workers for leadership roles in electoral campaigns and political offices increases the profession’s effectiveness in promoting public policy that reflects our professional values and commitment to social justice. This research describes and evaluates an educational experience in the US that prepares social work practitioners and students to run for elected office; to work in leadership positions at the local, state, and federal levels; and serve as effective advocates for social change. Participants’ plans for future political engagement before and after the training were compared. Following the training, participants are more likely to plan to be politically active in general. Their intentions to work on campaigns, run for office, and engage with elected officials increased. These results can inform education in other social work settings.     

The Freshman 15: is it real?

OBJECTIVE: The belief that college students gain 15 lbs during freshman year is widespread, yet the evidence for this is limited. The authors aimed to determine whether college students gain weight during freshman year. PARTICIPANTS: The authors studied unmarried freshmen living on-campus at a private university in the northeastern United States. METHODS: The authors used an online survey to collect information about social behaviors and weight. RESULTS: The authors observed an average weight gain of 2.7 lbs. About half of the students gained weight, and 15% lost weight. Men gained more weight than did women. CONCLUSIONS: Freshman weight gain was 5.5 times greater than that experienced by the general population.     

The professionalization of Spanish social work: moving closer to Europe or away from its roots?

This article will review the processes of professionalization of social work in Spain. With the advent of democratic Spain, many professions began a process of transformation. Those rooted in the relationship between the citizens, their rights and obligations, and the state, were among the first to be challenged. Social work was one of them. Soon thereafter, the European Union (EU), which Spain joined in 1986, brought forth greater challenges and incentives to change. In 1999, Spain and 29 other countries signed the Bologna Declaration, which committed the country to the development of a shared domain (often referred to as ‘espacio común’) with European higher education. This article reviews the historical process of insertion of social work, heavily influenced by the Catholic tradition of caring, into the universities. The paper examines the model of social work education in Spain, before and during Franco's era, and the professionalization (sometimes referred to as ‘tecnificación’) of care-giving and training-paradigms that followed the advent of democracy. Current models and efforts to bring Spanish social work into EU compliance have narrowed the gap with the Anglo-Saxon world; but have they distanced social work in Spain from its roots?     

Taking a stand or playing it safe?: resisting the moral conservatism of risk in social work practice

An emergent critical social work risk literature positions risk as a morally conservative construct that has repressive effects in direct social work practice. In this literature it is argued that how risk is defined and operationalised in social work reflects the political dominance of neo-liberalism as an ethos of government within the context of the social and cultural conditions of the risk society. This narrative is fast becoming a dominant perspective in the social work literature. However, this perspective in effect creates a ‘catastrophe story’ where there is little room to envisage an alternative social work practice that is able to resist the conservative effects of risk. In addition there is little empirical evidence to support the relevance of this pessimistic view to the embodied aspects of social work interventions. This paper presents initial findings of a study undertaken in Australia that has explored whether risk is necessarily as totalising of our professional identities, and in turn our practices, as is suggested by this literature. The findings indicate that whilst practitioners were interpellated within conservative contexts in their front-line practice, ethical, moral and value standpoints assisted practitioners to resolve the moral dilemmas posed by risk.