Social Work and the Sociology of Knowledge

John Paley. Department of Social Policy, School of Policy Studies, Cranfield Institute of Technology, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL. Summary The research literature on social workers' use of theory suggeststhat social work, conceived as a form of knowledge in action,is amenable to a sociology of knowledge approach. This papertries to illustrate the relevant parallels, and uses both empiricaland philosophical themes in the recent sociology of scienceto identify a strategy for social work research.     

Social Inquiry Reports in One Juvenile Court: An Examination

Summary The paper begins by briefly outlining the current debate overthe usage of social inquiry reports in the juvenile court, particularlywith regard to the effect that their recommendations can haveupon the lives of young people appearing in that court. It thendiscusses the findings of research carried out by the authorinto the social inquiry reports presented to one juvenile court.In particular it examines the contents and format of these reports,the effect that concepts of ‘welfare’ and ‘justice’have upon the recommendations of these reports, and the differencesthat exist in the reports presented by the probation and socialservices. It concludes that there is a pressing need for a revisionin the presentation of these reports to the court as no consistentstandard of information is being offered. It also argues thatit is time to reassess the role of treatment in the juvenilejustice system, in the light of this and other recent research,and to separate more clearly the components of welfare and justicewithin this system.     

Some Questions About the Reverse Tariff

Summary The modified version of the reverse tariff theory, developedby Pauline Hardiker, claims that a matrix combining risk andneed is implicit in the recommendations made to courts by probationofficers. This version of the theory is criticized on threecounts. (i) A number of counter-examples are examined: someof them imply factors other than risk and need which probationofficers take into account; others illustrate types of recommendationwhich, relative to the theory, have an anomalous form; (ii)it is suggested that, in any event, Hardiker does not have anadequate theory of how ‘need’ and ‘risk’are combined; (iii) it is argued that, given the evidence onwhich it is based, the reverse tariff model cannot have thestatus which Hardiker appears to claim for it.     

Social Work Influence on Juvenile Court Disposals

Summary A study was made of the contents of 120 social enquiry reportswritten by social workers in relation to a sample of 50 juvenileoffenders. The criterion for inclusion in the sample was thatthe offender was subject to a supervision order made during1977, in one social services department. The analysis of the contents of the reports indicated that thesocial workers, with their own individual differences of emphasis,adhered closely to the intended welfare values of the 1969 Act;they worked for, with and on behalf of the offenders and theirfamilies; their recommendations, particularly when argued withconviction, were listened to and acted upon by the magistrates. It appeared that there might be significant decision pointsin the career of a juvenile offender: the first court appearance,when either a welfare measure or deterrent measure might beused; and the later stage where a boy of 14+ years faced thecourt following a number of convictions and the failure of previousmeasures. At both points it seemed to be the social worker recommendationwhich was influential, and which could therefore have a significanteffect on the direction of a child's future.     

Satanist abuse and alien abduction: A comparative analysis theorizing temporal lobe activity as a possible connection between anomalous memories

Correspondence to John Paley, Principal Research Fellow, University of Luton, Institute for Health Services Research, The Spires, Adelaide Street, Luton LU1 5DU, UK Summary This paper compares two sets of scarcely believable reports:those of satanist abuse survivors and those of people with apparentmemories of alien abduction. There are striking parallels betweenthe two phenomena, which are explored in some detail. Whilstthe comparison may be unexpected, and will no doubt provokescepticism in some readers, the similarities are difficult toignore; and I suggest that they give rise to unavoidable questionsabout the nature of both kinds of experience. The paper thereforeconcludes with a sketch of some neurophysiological and psychologicalresearch which may help to account for them.     

Organizational Research and Social Work: Issues in Application Illustrated from the Case of Organic and Mechanistic Systems of Management

Summary An increasing number of social workers are concerning themselveswith the organizational context of social work and with theapplication of organizational research material to their sphere.This article focuses upon a particular industrial study andcritically examines the recommendations by three writers, ofthe introduction in social services departments of an organizationalform identified in the study. As well as suggesting some implicationsof the study for social work, the discussion illustrates thekinds of issues and complexities which can arise in the applicationof such material     

Institutionalization, Management Structure and Therapy in Residential Work with Emotionally Disturbed Children

Summary The author discusses the term institutionalization and attemptsto define it. From this point he examines residential socialwork from the premise that it must be treatment orientated ifit is to avoid the pitfalls of institutionalization. The needfor treatment to be contained within a flexible management structureis explored in detail and, following from this, five criteriafor the running of a therapeutic residential unit are outlined.The latter half of the article concentrates on how these theoreticalpoints have been developed in practice in the unit in whichhe works, amplifying their relevance by describing a typicalday of work for the author     

The Davies Quartet: A Comment on 'Skills, Knowledge and Qualities in Probation Practice'

Summary The publication of the ‘Davies Quartet’—fourlinked studies of probation training and practice directed byMartin Davies—has created considerable interest. In thispaper the main findings are outlined and the discussion thenbroadened to raise certain epistemological questions which arisefrom the studies. It is argued that to take some of the studies'conclusions and recommendations at face value would be premature:firstly it is necessary to interrogate the theoretical and assumptiveframeworks from which these conclusions and recommendationsderive.     

What Lies Underneath? An Inter-organizational Analysis of Collaboration between Education and Social Work

Correspondence to Nadia Farmakopoulou, Neoxoriou 32, 162 31 Byronas, Athens, Greece. Summary This paper draws upon qualitative data from a study that examinesinter-professional and inter-agency collaboration in specialeducational needs assessments. It is shown that, despite theattempts of a number of government policies to intensify andenhance such interactions, collaborative activities in thisfield continue to be limited in extent and poor in quality.A number of possible explanations for these findings are exploredand analysed within an inter-organizational theoretical framework.Although effective and frequent inter-agency collaboration hasproven to be difficult, it is argued that this is not an unattainablegoal, and recommendations are offered in the last section.     

Sentencing and Recidivism: an Analysis by Personality Tyoe

Summary This article describes some personality and other characteristicsof a sample of 230 male offenders in London, and relates thesevariables to recommendations made by probation officers, sentencespassed by the courts, and the outcome of penal treatment interms of further convictions. The probation officers in thestudy were more likely to recommend probation for introvertedneurotics than any other personality type, and once on probationthis group was the least likely to be reconvicted. Offenderswho were extravert attracted the largest proportion of recommendationsfor custodial sentences, and on probation the extraverts whoscored low on neuroticism were most likely to be reconvicted.A tentative explanation of the findings is offered in termsof a probation 'treatment success hierarchy'     

Joint Reviews: Judgement Day and Beyond

Correspondence to Jill Humphrey, Adoption and Family Finding Unit, 3 Unthank Road, Norwich NR2 2PA, UK. E-mail: jill.humphrey.socs{at}norfolk.gov.uk Summary Joint Reviewers are the central regulators of social servicesauthorities in England and Wales. This article explores howreviewers arrive at their judgements about the performance ofsocial services authorities and how these authorities respondto Joint Review reports and recommendations. It also offersa framework for evaluating the costs and benefits of Joint Reviewswhich enables us to appreciate the ambivalence which local authoritystaff harbour towards their central regulators.     

The Balance between Care and Control in Probation: A Research Note

Summary The study explores the probation experience of thirty male probationersand their probation officers and their perceptions of it Traditionallyprobation work is often analysed in terms of a polarity or continuumbetween care and control or treatment and punishment. The relevanceof these and other ideological constructs is challenged by empiricaldata which suggests that the probation service is mainly concernedwith providing relief and service to clients who face difficultenvironmental and social pressures. It is need, rather thantreatment or control, which dominates the probation process.     

The Use of TGroups in Training Social Workers

Summary It is suggested that T groups might be of value in Social Worktraining as a means of encouraging Social Workers to make greateruse of group techniques. T groups have been criticized on ethicalgrounds and for their tendency to produce psychological disturbancein predisposed individuals. In he context of Social Work trainingT groups have a dual function, promoting self awareness in theparticipants and increasing their knowledge of group dynamics.A procedure is described which emphasizes the necessity of focusingon group behaviour as opposed to individual psychopathology.It is believed that by doing so the psychological hazards arereduced. A brief outline is given of the manner in which materialproduced in the group sessions may illustrate theoretical materialintroduced elsewhere on the course     

Examining the Causes of Stress in Families with Severely Mentally Handicapped Children

Summary Though it is recognized that the presence of a mentally handicappedchild may be a source of stress for a family, less is knownabout precisely which impairments are particularly stressful.This question was investigated in a study of 200 families withseverely mentally handicapped children living in two healthdistricts in South East England. Interviews were carried outwith the people responsible for the day-to-day care of the childrenand stress was measured by means of the Malaise Inventory. Theresults suggested that the highest levels of stress were associatedwith the presence of a child with behaviour disorders or withmultiple impairments; the stressfulness of these conditionswas exacerbated by adversity. A regression analysis showed thatthe factors causing most stress in carers were, in order ofimportance: behaviour problems in the child, night-time disturbance,social isolation, adversity in the family, multiplicity of impairments,difficulty in settling the child at night, problems with thechild's health, problems with the child's appearance, and moneyworries. The article ends with recommendations for the developmentof services aimed at reducing stress in families with mentallyhandicapped children.     

A Task Based Approach to the Assessment of Social Work Students' Practice

Summary An assessment framework based on nine course objectives is described.Each course objective has related placement objectives whichbecome increasingly demanding as the course progresses. Studentson placement are required to produce written tasks to show howthey have applied their understanding of each placement objectivein their practical work. It is suggested that this framework improves the comparabilityof placements and the availability of evidence for pass/faildecisions. The framework provides a syllabus for learning oneach placement.     

The Manifest and Latent Lessons of Child Abuse Inquiries

Correspondence to University of Glasgow, Department of Social Administration and Social Work, Lilybank House, Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RT. Summary This article examines some of the key implications of publicchild abuse inquiries for social work services and practice.It recognizes the positive value of certain of their findingsand recommendations. However, equally important are the unintendedconsequences and latent social functions of inquiries. Thesehave meant that the general public has been able to distanceitself from responsibility for protecting children. Attentionhas been diverted from wider social processes, including adult-childand male-female power relationships. At the same time, the dominantrole of child protection procedures in the statutory sectorhas inhibited the development of preventive practice strategies.     

Avoidable and Unavoidable Mistakes in Child Protection Work

Summary This article argues that social workers and the general publicneed a clear understanding of the distinction between avoidableand unavoidable mistakes in child protection work. The publicis understandably distressed when a child dies and is rightto demand an inquiry to check the quality of help provided.But a child's death is not proof that any professional was incompetent.Our limited knowledge and the complexity of assessing risk meanthat professionals can only make the best judgement on the availableevidence. Analysis of forty-five inquiry reports shows thatinquiries appreciate this; in 42 per cent of them social workerswere not criticized. The analysis however also reveals one persistenterror: social workers are slow to revise their judgements. Psychologyresearch indicates that this error is widespread and by no meanspeculiar to social workers but it means that misjudgements aboutclients that may have been unavoidable on the limited knowledgeavailable when they were made continue to be accepted despitea growing body of evidence against them. Social workers needa greater acceptance of their fallibility and a willingnessto consider that their judgements and decisions are wrong. Tochange your mind in the light of new information is a sign ofgood practice, a sign of strength not weakness.     

Improving the Interpersonal Skills of Social Work Students: The Problem of Transfer of Training and What to do About it

Correspondence to Dr David Dickson, Head, SST Centre, Dept of Communication, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Co Antrim, N Ireland, BT37 0QB. Summary Interpersonal skills which enable the worker to engage meaningfullywith the client, lie at the heart of effective social work practice(Cournoyer, 1991). The acceptance of this proposition has importantand obvious implications for the preparation of would-be socialworkers. While the increasing popularity of structured approachesto training in this domain has been commented upon (Sowers-Hoagand Thyer, 1985), it is, perhaps, surprising that relativelylittle has been published by way of a systematic explorationof current social work education/training provision in promotingskilled professional interaction. This paper critically reviews some of the research investigatingthe effects of structured training on interviewing performance.While reported outcomes have been largely positive, methodologicalweaknesses are identified and discussed. The issue of trainingeffects persisting and being applied outwith the training environmentis dwelt upon. Contrasting paradigmatic perspectives on theprocess, reflected in such labels as ‘transfer of training’and ‘generalization of outcome’, are considered.These differing conceptualizations are synthesized in the illuminationof factors that seem to be pivotal in the transfer process.Finally, recommendations are made for improving interpersonalskill training procedures for social work students.     

Informal Welfare, Social Work and the Sociology of Welfare

Summary This article seeks to inject some important but neglected considerationsinto discussions about the nature of informal welfare and thenotice social workers should take of it. Following a sketchof how both sociology and social policy have regarded informalwelfare, it is argued that a sociology of welfare which is sensitiveto the definitions held by participants indicates that socialworkers would be wise to seek to ‘tap’ informalwelfare very cautiously. It is also argued that such sociologyneeds to be accorded a more prominent place in social work trainingcourses.     

Defensive Social Work

Correspondence to Nigel Harris, Department of Philosophy, The University, Dundee DD1 4HN. Summary Social workers with child clients face the possibility thatsome mistake or oversight of theirs could lead to a child abusetragedy, for which they may suffer opprobrium and blighted careers.How can they guard against such risks? This paper shows howsocial workers might use different types of ‘defensive’measure to protect themselves. These parallel the types of measureused by some doctors, particularly in the United States, facedwith risks of litigation on grounds of malpractice. Becausedefensive practices have undesirable consequences, it is importantto find ways to eliminate their use by protecting social workersby other means.