Social work students and social change: on the link between views on poverty, social work goals and policy practice

This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that are associated with social work students' willingness to engage in policy practice. It examines a model according to which the willingness to engage in policy practice is linked to the importance that students attribute to the goals of social work and to their views on poverty. The sample consisted of 138 social work students in one of Israel's leading universities. The measures consisted of four questionnaires developed specifically for this study. The findings revealed strong relationships between students' views regarding the causes of poverty and their attitudes towards the preferred ways to deal with poverty. In addition, strong relationships were found between the importance that students attributed to the goals of social work and their willingness to engage in policy practice. However, no significant relationships were found between students' views on poverty and their willingness to engage in policy practice. Different explanations for these findings are advanced in the article.     

Social development and the status quo: professionalisation and Third Way co‐optation

Gray M. Social development and the status quo: professionalisation and Third Way co‐optation Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 463–470 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. Social development is a massive undertaking that has spawned a multitude of organisational forms. It nevertheless remains an ambiguous term and ill‐defined area of work, though some social development practitioners have succeeded in making small‐scale local differences in particular situations. While largely a tool of the status quo, some believe that social development has transformative potential and provides valuable space to confront inequalities and deprivation. In this article, I argue that in contemporary neoliberal environments social development is being co‐opted by Third Way politics and professionalisation processes. As it professionalises through the creation of professional structures and educational systems, it is becoming increasingly like social work, despite arguments that it is as an alternative approach to poverty and social exclusion. In the process, it is losing its transformative, critical edge, and morphing into a neoliberal, social investment approach that absolves government of its responsibility for the welfare of citizens.     

Making social policy work for economic development: the Nordic experience

The Nordic welfare states offer some lessons in a development context. A main achievement has been sustainable poverty reduction. Another important lesson is that, while democratization often leads to greater pressures for social policy expansion, social policy can also contribute to democratization. The Nordic countries further demonstrate that is possible to unify social protection with a competitive and growth-oriented economy. In a number of policy areas, particularly in relation to social services and labor market policy, the Nordic countries have also become leading modernizers. The women-friendly dual-earner model not only combats poverty among families with children, but also enables women to participate in the labor market. The future sustainability of the Nordic model of social policy hinges on the number of taxpayers that can be mobilized. In order to be successful in this, governments need to take a combined, or holistic, approach, and consider both micro motives and macro considerations.     

Making social policy work for economic development: the Nordic experience

The Nordic welfare states offer some lessons in a development context. A main achievement has been sustainable poverty reduction. Another important lesson is that, while democratization often leads to greater pressures for social policy expansion, social policy can also contribute to democratization. The Nordic countries further demonstrate that is possible to unify social protection with a competitive and growth‐oriented economy. In a number of policy areas, particularly in relation to social services and labor market policy, the Nordic countries have also become leading modernizers. The women‐friendly dual‐earner model not only combats poverty among families with children, but also enables women to participate in the labor market. The future sustainability of the Nordic model of social policy hinges on the number of taxpayers that can be mobilized. In order to be successful in this, governments need to take a combined, or holistic, approach, and consider both micro motives and macro considerations.     

The place of social work in sustainable development: Towards ecosocial practice

Peeters J. The place of social work in sustainable development: Towards ecosocial practice Ecological questions are seldom seen to concern the social dimension and, accordingly, to be of direct concern to mainstream social work practice. However, the current ‘social‐ecological crisis’ demands a major social transition to a sustainable society that touches all dimensions of our lives. So, social work cannot escape this process. This article argues that social work can engage in this transition starting from its social mission and tradition, provided it includes the ecological environment as an important element of practice and develops an ecosocial practice centred on empowerment, social capital formation and resilience building as both a contribution to and part of a process of social‐political change.     

Social work in the making: The state and social work development in China

The instrumental role of government in the development of social work in China has led to questions about its political function. So far, little has been reported on how the government has “made” social work in China. To fill this gap, we first provide a brief chronological review of major policies and activities of the Chinese government in its making of social work in China. The state's intervention has indeed been massive and crucial although, politically, it may limit the mandate of social work in China. Yet, we argue that the development of the social work profession in China is generating institutional space for the emerging civil society to take a more active role in welfare service delivery. Situated and mediating between the state and the emerging civil society, the social work profession in China will need to constantly negotiate its mandate to meet the needs of both sides.     

Globalisation of consciousness and new challenges for international social work

Although the notion of international social work is not new, it is only in recent times that its central premises have been in focus. Considering diverse ongoing globalisation processes and in regard to the weakening of the national welfare state, social work must tackle the challenge of redefining its role and mission if it is to remain true to its professional commitments. The emergence of new global regions and the globalisation of local social problems make the consolidation of democracy and human rights, the prevention of conflicts and the promotion of solidarity and peace through global cultural integration some of the main concerns of international social work. In this article, international social work is discussed as a project of partnership between diverse social actors such as practitioners, universities and local governments cooperating beyond the boundaries of the nation-state.     

Poverty‐aware social work practice: service users' perspectives

In recent years, there has been an increase in scholarly writing on the theory and practice of critical social work with people living in poverty. Yet there is a lack of research on the experiences and perspectives of service users regarding this kind of practice. This paper presents a qualitative study that explored the practice of a special poverty‐aware social work programme in Israel, through the experiences of women who took part in it. Using an interpretative interactionist approach, in‐depth interviews with nine women were held three times over a 2‐year period. Findings reveal a high degree of satisfaction with the programme on the part of the women. The satisfaction was derived from four main experiences: the experience of visibility, the experience of the active partnership in the fight against poverty, the experience of close, hierarchy‐challenging relationships, and the experience of responsiveness to material and emotional needs. The findings are discussed in terms of three principles of practice: intervention in a real‐life context, relationship‐based intervention and the focus on both the material and emotional needs and their fulfilment.     

Change for children? The challenges and opportunities for the children’s social work workforce

Children’s services are currently undergoing their biggest changes in a generation. The government is seeking to create a more coherent, seamless configuration of services, with a view to securing improved outcomes for all children. However, there is a current crisis in the recruitment and retention of a range of child welfare professionals, including children’s social workers, which must be addressed in order for this ambitious agenda to be achieved. This paper discusses the findings of a series of focus group discussions with social workers undertaking the London Post Qualifying Child Care Award in response to the Children’s Workforce Strategyconsultation process. These findings are then analysed within the context of the wider literature on social work practice and workforce development. It is argued that central to the debate on how to sustain a competent and stable social work workforce should be consideration of the consequences of initiatives to audit and assess performance; the promotion of relationship‐based social work; and the wider role of social work in preventative and protective services for children.     

Social work and sustainable rural development: The practice of social economy in China

The impact of globalisation on local agriculture and food systems has brought issues such as food security and rural sustainability to the forefront of policy‐making in developing countries. In China, the restructuring of domestic agriculture and liberalisation of trade following accession to the World Trade Organization have led to the growing reliance on imported food and raised concerns for food self‐sufficiency and safety. Inspired by the concept of social economy, social workers in China have explored alternative pathways towards sustainable food production and consumption through local initiatives. Based on participatory action research in a Chinese village, this study examines the potential contribution of social work intervention in responding to China’s agrarian challenges. It is shown that by linking rural cooperatives with the local food system and allowing farmers to sell directly to urban consumers at fairer prices, social economy initiatives provide a viable pathway for sustainable transformation by empowering rural producers while giving urban consumers access to sustainably produced food.     

Discourses of community: challenges for social work

The ambiguity of community allows it to be a space for a vast range of imposed and 'organic' social reproduction functions, and an accessible site for meaningful collective action, but it also has the potential for disempowerment. The breadth of the concept of 'community' allows for it to be critiqued as ephemeral or as romantic fiction, but also used and exploited by government. It is because it retains such power to evoke reaction and contest that we need to understand the power that drives it, and the ideological purpose for which it may be used or misused. The notion of discourse immediately becomes useful. We can recognise competing discourses of community, and examine how they are used politically. We can recognise ways in which social work can engage with community discourses of empowerment rather than control. The article will explore a number of discourses and examine their usefulness for practice.     

Reconstruction of post‐war social work: Experience from former Yugoslavia as an inspiration

Immediately after the civil war among the nations of former Yugoslavia that took place 1992–1995, Swedish members of the social work faculty were recruited by UNICEF to support the organising of foster homes for war‐orphaned children. Around 20 projects, some initiated by UNICEF and others by SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) were also organised with Sarajevo University as the main location of the administration. At the request of the Parliament of Republika Srpska, a new school of social work was established at the University of Banja Luka. This was a successful project thanks to network collaboration among the faculties of social work in the former Yugoslavian nations and with academic contributions from universities from Sweden and Berlin. In this article, the two social welfare projects based in Sarajevo and Banja Luka are presented. Together with an accompanying group of experts, I found that an explorative mindset and an abductive approach were helpful tools in dialogues with our partners in the developing world.     

Welfare‐to‐work and the emerging third sector in South Korea: Korea's third way?

This article redefines the political concept of the 'third way' from a 'third (or voluntary) sector' perspective. It is argued that this differs from both the state-led 'first way' social democratic ideologies and the market-led 'second way' of neo-liberalism and conservatism. The focus is on the distinctive approach taken by the third sector in South Korea, and compares this with recent developments in the UK. Although President Kim's ideology of 'productive welfare' resembles neo-liberal trends, the third sector in South Korea (rather than, as in Western democracies, the state or private enterprise) has played a pivotal role in the application of the 'third way'. Moreover, since the economic crisis of 1997, many third sector organisations in Korea have initiated social job-creation projects. These form a key part of the Korean welfare-to-work system. In examining the future direction of Korea's 'third way', this article suggests the need for the revitalisation of voluntary action in civil society generally and, more specifically, the further development of those organisations led by the 'unemployed poor' themselves.     

Social enterprise and sustainable development in Bangladesh and Korea: Opportunities and challenges

The aim of this paper was to understand the similarities and differences between social enterprise (SE) systems in Korea and Bangladesh in terms of the emergence, background, development, and current status of the SE's policies and support systems in these two countries. This study employs a conceptual qualitative analysis, and the data used in this study were obtained from multiple reliable literature reviews. The data were analyzed based on a text‐by‐text comparison of social enterprises in the two countries, and the results were revealed through written explanation. In Korea, the SE system emerged as social employment creation plan after the currency crisis in 1997. Later, in 2007, this movement turned into the “Social Enterprise Promotion Act.” Conversely, in Bangladesh, the SE system emerged as a result of NGOs’ activities to “alleviate poverty” and “facilitate job creation” after the War of Independence in 1971 in an informal socioeconomic conditions. There is no explicit legal form of SEs in Bangladesh. This study also suggests the nature and scope of SEs and the barriers to sustainability of SEs in both countries. The study also emphasized the foundations to develop relevant policies as well as clear regulations for the future sustainability of the SEs of these two countries.     

Poverty‐aware social work in the child protection system: A critical reflection on two single‐case studies

In recent years, scholarly writing that calls for the development of a new child protection framework that contextualizes risk and links it to poverty and social marginalization has increased. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research on the challenges of implementing such a framework in frontline practice. Based on the ongoing, rigorous documentation of the author's experience, as a social work practitioner in a community child protection centre, this article presents two single‐case studies that describe and conceptualize the potential contribution of the poverty‐aware paradigm to the creation of a social framework for child protection practice. Utilizing critical reflection as a method of analysis, the findings reveal two major tensions entwined in poverty‐aware child protection practice: the tension between focusing child protection interventions on parenting and focusing them on poverty and the tension between framing risk within a social context and framing it within the concept of the best interest of the child. Based on the case studies, seven poverty‐aware practices to cope with these tensions are identified.     

Environmental ethics for social work: Social work's responsibility to the non‐human world

Gray M, Coates J. Environmental ethics for social work: Social work's responsibility to the non‐human world This lead article in this Special Issue begins discussion on an environmental ethics for social work and raises arguments as to whether and, if so, why social workers have duties, obligations, responsibilities and commitments to the non‐human world. It provides an overview of the field of environmental ethics in searching for a moral stance to affirm an environmental social work. To what extent should social workers engage in fundamental geopolitical issues concerned with climate change, global warming, environmental degradation, pollution, chemical contamination, sustainable agriculture, disaster management, pet therapy, wilderness protection and so on and, if so, why and how? Are these issues incidental and peripheral and only of concern when they impact upon humans or do social workers have a responsibility beyond human interests? What is the significance of the ‘non‐human’ for social work? The article explores the terrain of the burgeoning field of environmental ethics to determine whether convincing ethical grounds for environmental social work might be found beyond hortatory claims of what the profession ought to be doing to address environmental concerns.     

Shame and recognition: Social work practice with vulnerable young people

Drawing on the findings from a longitudinal study of vulnerable young people's transitions to adulthood, this paper explores the ideas of shame and recognition. The young people, aged between 12 and 17 years at the first interview, had experienced chronic exposure to adversity from an early age (abuse, violence, mental health issues, addictions, and expulsion from school). They were clients of statutory and non‐governmental services: child welfare, juvenile justice, remedial education, and mental health services. This paper draws on the qualitative phase of the study (n = 107); young people and a trusted other, nominated by the young person, participated in three annual qualitative interviews. Interviews focused on young people's experiences of services, key transitions, their relationships, and the strategies they used to locate support and resources. Experiences of shame, misrecognition, and seeking recognition emerged as dominant themes in the young people's accounts, and these are explored in this paper. The paper concludes with a discussion on responsive social work interventions that generate a deeper understanding of young people's experiences of shame and misrecognition. Central to this practice are critical and relational social work practices that actively support young people to achieve recognition.     

Green social work and its implications for social development in China

Green social work has been significant in introducing new issues into environmental debates and increasing its centrality to social work practice. These have included: the mainstreaming of environmental considerations; a widening of the theoretical and practice base to ensure that social and environmental justice are considered integral to any environmental involvement by social workers; highlighting the need to think of innovative approaches to socio-economic development; and making disaster interventions core elements in the social work repertoire of knowledge, skills, capacity building and curriculum formulation. This paper considers the challenges of China’s rapid industrialisation and its implications for rural people migrating into cities, the urban populations that receive them and environmental degradation. It introduces the idea of green social work and discusses the implications of green social work for social development in China in the context of environmental crises precipitated by the country’s rapid economic development.     

Social policy and health: transition countries in a comparative perspective

T. Ferrarini, O. Sjöberg. Social policy and health: transition countries in a comparative perspective Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This article analyses the development and design of unemployment insurance and family policy benefits and their links to health outcomes in Estonia, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary from the mid‐1990s. Comparing these six transition countries with long‐standing welfare democracies reveals important similarities and differences in policy and health. Unemployment benefit schemes resemble corporatist schemes in important respects, however, with lower coverage and average benefits. Subjective wellbeing is also comparatively low among both employed and unemployed in the transition countries. Several transition countries have mixed family policy strategies that simultaneously support dual‐earner families and traditional gender roles. One clear exception is Slovenia, which has a highly developed dual‐earner support. Family policy generosity is related to lower rates of poverty, infant mortality and child injuries. The article demonstrates the fruitfulness of institutional analyses of the link between social policy and population health in a broader welfare state context.     

Social policy and social order in East Asia: an evolutionary view

This study contrasts two varieties of comparative analysis: on one hand, researchers may look to explain the historical development of the East Asian welfare systems (EAWS) with an eye towards delineating some common trends, while on the other hand, they may seek to recognize the institutional features of these systems through the cross-regime comparisons. We discuss problems in the operation of these two approaches, instead choosing to employ contextual analysis to illuminate developments in social policy in EAWS. This study proposes to understand the policy model of these systems as a two-phase evolution in policy, thus providing a new foundational approach for the study of EAWS.