Home of the Brave,Frantz Fanon and cultural pluralism

Abstract

This article examines Mark Robson's Home of the Brave (1949, USA), a Hollywood social problem drama about anti-black racism, and the brief but vivid response to the film presented in Frantz Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks (1952). Fanon enables a rethinking of some of the film's most central assumptions and the discourses upon which the story relies. At the same time, Fanon's response conveys information about his own biography and his perspectives on cultural representation generally. The article examines the film as a document that reveals competing claims about anti-black racism and, through Fanon's commentary, revisits the relationship between cultural pluralism and racial ideologies in the mid-20th century USA. The article explores the nature of Fanon's anti-racist commentary on the film as a form of 'cultural studies' that offers transnational historical insight and simultaneously provides ways of re-examining the national specificity of race thinking.     

The social worker-client relationship -- a Sartrean approach

Several theorists argue that a close and mutual relationship between social worker and client is the 'core' of social work practice. However, this relationship is not examined in a profound way. In the article, the assumption of the essential relationship between social worker and client is scrutinized, using Jean-Paul Sartre's phenomenological, existential philosophy. The aim is to see what Sartre's theory can bring to the discourse about this relationship as a central aspect of social work as a field of knowledge. Ultimately this is of importance for intervention as well as evaluation.     

Home Visitor Relationship Security: Association With Perceptions of Work,Satisfaction, and Turnover

Home visiting is widely used to improve outcomes in families at risk for poor parenting. Impact is modest and variable, owing in part to poor fidelity. Attachment theory suggests that home visitors' relationship security influences fidelity because establishing a trusting relationship with parents is central to service delivery. This study describes paraprofessional home visitors' relationship security and relates it to demographics, psychological attributes, and work perceptions and intentions. Home visitors (n = 62) varied widely on the two major domains of relationship security: anxiety and avoidance. Relationship security was stable over time. Relationship anxiety and avoidance were associated with psychological and work constructs in theoretically predicted ways. Relationship anxiety was negatively associated with self-efficacy and positively associated with negative affect and indicators of burnout. Relationship avoidance was negatively associated with self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and tenure as a home visitor. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Books Received

Abstract

The generic nature of social work assists social workers to fulfill, variety of tasks and roles, in a range of settings. Social work train in provides workers with a broad range of knowledge and skills, as well as an ability to be both flexible and adaptable across a given range of situations. Such a ‘launching base’ is essential for all social workers, particularly those who work in the resource-starved remote area sector.

Through the author's own insights and experiences on the remote setting of Saipan, a small island located in the western Pacific Ocean this article examines some of the unique personal and professional challenges that confronted him during his stay on Saipan. These accounts are later transposed generally to an exploration of their implications for practitioners who work, or are contemplating working in a remote area.     

An integrated and experience-based approach to social work education: The Newcastle model

This paper describes a unique social work education model developed by a group of social work practitioners, all but one of whom were new to academia. The University of Newcastle, in New South Wales, pioneered problem-based learning (PBL) in Australia. The social work programme adopted PBL and gave it a strengths focus, making experience and experiential learning central to its approach. Newcastle's model is based on the belief that learning to be good social workers is best achieved through learning by doing, working with students' experiences, integrating theory and practice, using a collaborative or small group approach, and locating these elements in a strong social justice context. The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree is relatively new. Introduced in 1991, its first graduates entered the workforce in 1995. The Newcastle model provides a unique example of experience-based learning and an integrated approach to social work education.     

Effective relationship-based practice: A theoretical exploration

This paper looks at the importance of a relationship-based approach within social work. It explores past writings on the social worker-client relationship, why the relationship was seen to be central to effectiveness and good practice, and why this perspective fell out of favour. It revisits the importance of a relationship-based approach, within a psychosocial perspective, in relation to eight areas of practice. These include the assessment task and process; relationship difficulties; people who are vulnerable or reliant on others for their well-being; situations that require practitioners to be able to hold and contain anxiety; the relationship as a foundation for capacity building, empowerment and developing people's potential; and in relation to disadvantaged and marginalised sectors of the population, how social workers can use the 'front-line' knowledge they have gained through the relationships they have created in political ways--to bear witness and report on 'social ills' as they impact on the lives of service users. A final section looks briefly at how the service user-social worker relationship is perceived and described in the Benchmarking Statement, National Occupational Standards and the General Social Care Council's Rules and Requirements and their implications in terms of the new social work degree.     

Social Work,Spirituality, and Diasporic Communities

Abstract

The discourse surrounding the role of spirituality in social work practice has been expanding exponentially in recent years. Similarly, the discourse surrounding the role of spirituality among diasporic communities has expanded in recent times as well. In this paper, we will consider the linkages between social work, spirituality, and diaspora. We will focus our discussion on a particular diasporic spiritual community, the Sathya Sai Baba movement and its social service activities. We will then consider the implications of such spiritual movements for the social work profession. Among the key issues explored in this paper are the change in the social construction of populations that have moved between two countries as 'immigrant communities' to 'diasporic communities' and the implications of these changes for social work. Another critical issue we discuss is how working with spiritual movements may help address the 'spiritual deficit' concern that some social work academics have referred to, and indirectly at least, we begin to address 'the social work crisis' issue that has negatively affected the social work profession over the last few years.     

The Apparent Conflict between Commitment to the Development of the Profession and the Imperatives of the Academy

It has been argued in a number of publications in the social work field that the current preoccupation with evidence-based practice is problematic, in that it offers a restricted and sometimes inappropriate understanding of the fundamentals of research in the social sciences. As a result social work and social care are at risk of deprivation of appropriate knowledge to inform practice. This article takes up this critique, in particular pointing out that the tendency for the debate to be reduced to one of competing (qualitative and quantitative) research methods is unhelpful. The issue is an epistemological one about the nature of knowledge and the authority of 'knowers'. The article gives examples of participatory approaches to research that start from a valuing of a range of kinds of knowledge. This opens the way for both quantitative and qualitative methods to have a place in social work research and social work education.     

Frank O'Hara in New York Race relations,poetic situations,postcolonial space

Abstract

Frank O'Hara's 1958 poem 'Ode: Salute to the French Negro Poets' cites 'race' as 'the poetic ground on which we rear our smiles', a phrase that points to both domestic and international contexts for reading this New York poet. At the same time, 'race' has a history of specific valences in O'Hara's work – as a focus of exoticized images of desire, aesthetic fulfillment, and social energy. Further, race, inflected through various colonial screens, becomes the central avenue leading toward O'Hara's project of rewriting the parameters of social space in poetry, a radical aestheticization not just of landscape but of social relations, with a consequent socialization of the act of writing. This article explores O'Hara's spatial poetics through the terms of Situationist theory, in which the techniques of dérive and détournement are applied to a reading of the poet's active suspension of the 'rules' of a gridded and hierarchical social order.     

Centrelink: how social workers make a difference for young persons. A model of intervention

It is mandatory for social workers at Centrelink to interview and assess under 18-year-old youth who are applying for the ‘Unreasonable to Live at Home’ (UTLAH) rate of Youth Allowance. The aims of this research project were to identify and describe social work models of intervention when interviewing young persons who applied for UTLAH payments and to examine the way in which social workers developed a response to organisational and legislative changes. The qualitative research consisted of two components: field observations of social work interviews with claimants and an open-ended questionnaire completed by social workers after the observed interaction. The research confirmed the hypothesis that parts of a number of social work interventions could be combined and used to effectively assess and assist clients within the prescribed short-term approach. In addition, it supported the researchers' belief that social work models of intervention could be adapted to organisational and environmental changes. A potential challenge for social workers at Centrelink is to produce a brief social work model of intervention that is flexible enought to be used by professionals across sectors.     

Social Work Educators' Views and Experiences of Grow Your Own Qualifying Programmes in England

Little is known about the impact on social work educators and social work programmes of employer sponsorship of social work students through secondment or traineeship schemes, often referred to as Grow Your Own (GYO) schemes. This article reports on social work educators' views of sponsorship, the effects on their activities and the dynamics of mixed student cohorts. The study took place in England during 2007–2009 and comprised a review of the literature, interviews with a range of social work educators (n = 23), GYO students (n = 35), and employers (n = 27), and the production of a good practice guide based on stakeholder contributions. Social work educators reported that GYO activity may enhance and enrich social work programmes. They valued secured and guaranteed practice placements, considered that employer-sponsored students enriched the total student cohort, facilitated an expansion of student numbers, and strengthened partnerships with local employers. A further advantage was that GYO benefited the teaching programme overall with more robust employer/university relationships. Social work educators reported that such schemes required careful management and investment of time and might lead to some tensions about the balance between education and training. These findings are placed in the context of developments in social work education in England.     

Parent-provider relationship in home visiting interventions

Home visiting, while a very popular method of early childhood intervention, is not effective for all eligible at-risk families. The relationship between the home visitor and the family is central to the success of this type of intervention. This study aims to investigate, through 1024 home visit case notes from a French home visiting program, the ways in which the home visitor-family relationship develops, and identify the obstacles to and facilitators of a good quality relationship from the provider's point of vue. Results from a qualitative analysis suggest that the factors associated to the quality of relationship are present within the very first moments of the intervention. Poor relationship quality was found to be significantly associated with the family's mistrust towards the home visitor and with poor social conditions that make the supporting relationship difficult to develop. Good relationship quality was found to be facilitated by the parents' high involvement in the intervention and associated with a feeling of isolation and an ability to form social bonds. The necessitation for home visitor training is discussed, together with a reflection on the risk of home visiting programs to increase social inequalities, when they are not flexible enough to meet families' needs.     

Social Work Training or Social Work Education? An Approach to Curriculum Design

Population ageing, economic circumstances and human behaviour are placing social welfare systems under great strain. In England, extensive reform of the social work profession is taking place. Training curricula are being redesigned in the context of new standards of competence for social workers—the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF). Students must be equipped on qualifying to address an extensive range of human problems, presenting major challenges to educators. Critical theory suggests an approach to tackle one such challenge—selecting the essential content required for areas of particular practice. Teaching on social work with older people is used to illustrate this. Habermas' theory of cognitive interests highlights the different professional roles served by the social work knowledge base—instrumental, interpretive and emancipatory. Howe's application of sociological theory distinguished four social work roles corresponding to these. It is suggested that curriculum design decisions must enable practitioners to operate in each. When preparing students to work with older people, educators therefore need to include interpretive and emancipatory perspectives, and not construct social work purely as an instrumental response to problems older people present. This approach provides one useful rationale for curriculum design decisions, which is applicable to other areas of practice, and to contexts outside England.     

'Gemeinschaft' skills versus 'Gesellschaft' skills in social work education and practice. Applying To¨nnies' dichotomy for a model of intercultural communication

F. Tönnies's 'Gemeinschaft'/'Gesellschaft' dichotomy is discussed as an analytical and explanatory framework for identifying individual social work education modules' relevance to immigrant- and migration-related problems in social work practice. It is claimed that 'Gemeinschaft' (community) skills are especially needed in these practice contexts, as opposed to the more scientific, legal or administrative 'Gesellschaft' (state, society) skills. Two empirical studies from Germany dealing with the necessary competencies for social workers advising immigrants are drawn upon. A variety of other case study material is included to make the point that social workers need 'Gemeinschaft' skills more than has traditionally been assumed.     

Community Work:

This article presents a typology of models of community work currently extant in the United Kingdom. It focuses on clarifying theoretical points through analysis of the currently most widely accepted contemporary models in use throughout the UK: community care; community organization; community development; social/community planning; community education; and community action, and developing models of feminist community work, and black and anti-racist community work. The typology presented is organized on a continuum from models focused on ''care'' to those focusing on ''action.'' Each model is analyzed in relation to the following characteristics: strategy; workers' main roles; and typical agencies and examples of work. Selected critical key texts treating each model are documented. Discussion highlights similarities and differences among the models particularly with regard to techniques and skills and ideological traditions to provide a framework to understand community work practice.     

Afrocentricity as an Alternative World View for Equality

An official goal of the social work profession is that of equality for all. However, social work's ability to achieve this goal is hampered by the Eurocentric world view, wherein reality is structured to emphasize fragmentation, conflict, and domination, which foster inequality. A better philosophical ''fit'' for social work is the Afrocentric world view. Its view of reality that underscores interdependency, collectivity, and spirituality places it in an excellent position to promote equality. Social workers are encouraged to apply the Afrocentric paradigm to transform social work from a profession primarily concerned with direct practice to a social movement of equality and justice.     

Using portfolios to stimulate critical thinking in social work education

Each generation of social work educators has grappled with the best way to teach students to become competent social workers. Critical thinking has become one goal in social work education. This paper is premised on the assumption that social work students can develop critical thinking abilities through portfolios. The theory behind the use of portfolios in social work education is a 'hand-in-glove fit' with critical thinking. In addition, portfolios are consonant with social work values of self-determination and individualisation. Portfolios are compendiums of purposefully selected student work to show that the objectives of a programme have been met. They are also useful as an alternative method of student evaluation. Portfolios and critical thinking are partners in educating students to become competent social workers.     

Thinking the unthinkable: 'white liberal' defences against understanding in anti-racist training

Abstract

This article describes and analyses a range of group processes which occurred during anti-racist training workshops with qualifying social work students. The principal focus is to understand white students' defences against authentic learning about their own anxieties with respect to their black colleagues, and how unless these are surmounted they will constitute a continuing block to the possibility of a 'depth' engagement with racism.     

Running hard to stand still: Communication and information technology within social work training

Recent years have seen rapid technological changes and these have impacted on social work and social work education. Social work educators struggle to keep pace with these changes. Drawing on the author's own experience, this article outlines some key resources that are available to social work educators and students, reflects on the role of 'Communication and Information Technology' within the social work curriculum, and looks towards future developments in relation to online learning.     

Inequality and the Self: Exploring Connections from an Interactionist Perspective

Symbolic interactionism provides a major contribution to understanding inequality by illuminating the various manifestations and contexts of inequality at the micro, everyday level of social life. Drawing on a spectrum of symbolic interactionist theory and research, we examine the range of symbolic and interactional manifestations of social inequality, the consequences of being the object of patterned interactional affronts, and the strategies people use to negotiate interactional stigmatization in everyday life. We argue that symbolic interaction's unique contribution to understanding inequality results from two of the perspective's central features. First, symbolic interactionism emphasizes the necessity of investigating social life in situated social interaction. Second, it highlights social actors' capacities to interpret and construct lines of action rather than respond directly to the stimuli they encounter. Symbolic interactionist research and theory thus contribute to a more complex understanding of social stratification than that provided by perspectives focused exclusively on macroscopic structural factors.