Welcome to your Critical Social Work and Social Justice reading list. Here you will find the resources to support you throughout your module.
Essential Reading
Anti-Racist Social Work, 4th edn by Dominelli, L.Fully revised and updated throughout, this fourth edition of Lena Dominelli's influential book retains its reputation as the go-to text on anti-racist social work practice. As racism continues to present a problem in contemporary society: the growth of the Far Right, the rise of Islamophobia and the victory of the Brexit camp in the EU referendum, the need to address racist attitudes and behaviour that affect diverse groups of people in the UK remains an urgent one. A truly classic text, Anti-Racist Social Work has been providing students and practitioners with a comprehensive guide to the debates and practices on racism in contemporary society since 1988.
Call Number: 361.32 DOM
ISBN: 9781137534194
Publication Date: 2018
Social Work: A Critical Approach to Practice by Fook, J.Social work is a human profession founded on social justice. It is difficult, however, to negotiate this in the constantly changing context of the 21st century. Drawing on her own experiences and the experiences of others, Jan Fook returns to address the critical tradition of social work, supporting students in their understanding of the possibilities of critical practices in changing contexts. Part One: Critical Potential and Current Challenges sets the historical and current contexts for critical social work, introducing students to what critical social work is and what it means for practice. Part Two: Rethinking Ideas unpicks the major concepts associated with critical social work, including knowledge, power, discourse, identity, and difference, and how these need to be rethought in new contexts. Part Three: Redeveloping Practices illustrates how these new ideas can inform new practices, proving students with all the tools you need to deliver flexible, responsible and responsive social work practice. Celebrating the ageless ideals of the profession, this book throws a life belt to all social work students and professionals looking to engage with the critical tradition of social work to improve their understanding and practice. Jan Fook is Visiting Professor of Professional Practice Research, Royal Holloway, University of London and Chair in Education (Critical Reflection), Kingston University and St Georges, University of London
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781473913035
Publication Date: 2016
Modernising Social Work by Harris, J. and White, V.New Labour's modernisation agenda has produced an avalanche of change that has posed formidable challenges for everyone involved in social work, whether as service users, practitioners or managers. "Modernising Social Work" provides a radical appraisal of the far-reaching changes in their theoretical, historical and policy contexts. The book is organised into three sections that consider: the inter-relationship of modernisation and managerialism, modernisation's impact on service users and the ways in which social workers and front-line managers seek to exercise professional discretion for the benefit of service users within a workplace culture of intensified scrutiny and control. Analysis of a range of key developments in all three areas reveals the modernisation agenda as complex and contested. The book's three sections cover the main issues of the modernisation agenda, making it ideal for teaching. Locating the issues in their theoretical, historical and policy contexts meets the needs of student readers and experienced social workers will appreciate the emphasis on empirical research as well as practice experience.
Call Number: 361.32 HAR
ISBN: 9781847420060
Publication Date: 2009
Social Work Theories in Context by Healy, K.This innovative text explores current social work theories and perspectives in a systematic way, using an integrated and flexible framework to link context, theory, and practice approaches. Its international breadth and supportive pedagogical features have ensured the book's value to students of social work all over the world.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781137024251
Publication Date: 2014
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice by Tedam, P.Grounded in principles and values of fairness and equality, anti-oppressive practice (AOP) lies at the heart of social work and social work education. This book will equip you with the tools and knowledge to address the concepts of diversity, oppression, power and powerless, and practice in ethically appropriate ways for contemporary social work practice.
Call Number: 361.32 TED
ISBN: 1526476894
Publication Date: 2021
Anti-Discriminatory Practice, 7th edn by Thompson, N.Now going into its seventh edition, Neil Thompson's Anti-Discriminatory Practice has been providing a trusted introduction to the challenges of promoting social justice and equality for a quarter of a century. Addressing the common concepts and issues across the various forms of discrimination, this book explores the reasons why the development of anti-discriminatory practice is so vital, and examines the steps that need to be taken towards constructing a social work practice based on principles of anti-discrimination and the promotion of equality. Promoting social justice, diversity and equality in social work practice is as vital today as it was when Anti-Discriminatory Practice was first published, and there is still much to learn. Written with Thompson's inimitable clarity, this new, fully updated edition of a classic text is key reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of social work. Practitioners will also benefit hugely from Neil Thompson's experience and expertise.New to this Edition:- A new edition of a popular and trusted textbook fully updated to reflect the many changes since the last edition- Voice of Experience and Practice Focus examples, encourage readers to think contextually and integrate theory and practice- An explicit theory base, with key points from each chapter drawn out to highlight specific main themes- A range of questions for reflection and guidance on further learningAccompanying online resources for this title can be found at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/the-effective-social-worker. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781352010947
Publication Date: 2020
The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work by Webb, S. A.The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work brings together the world's leading scholars in the field to provide a cutting-edge overview of classic and current research and future trends in the subject. Comprised of 48 chapters divided into six parts: Historical, social, and political influences Mapping the theoretical and conceptual terrain Methods of engagement and modes of analysis Critical contexts for practice and policy Professional education and socialisation Future challenges, directions, and transformations it provides an authoritative guide to theory and method, and the primary debates of today in social work from a critical perspective. This handbook is a major reference work and the first book to comprehensively map the wide-ranging territory of critical social work. It does so by addressing its conceptual developments, its methodological advances, its value-based front-line practice and as an influence on the policy field. By offering a definitive survey of current academic knowledge as it relates to professional practice, it provides the first comprehensive, up-to-date, definitive work of reference while at the same time identifying emerging, innovative and cutting-edge areas.
On Being Included by Ahmed, S.What does diversity do? What are we doing when we use the language of diversity? Sara Ahmed offers an account of the diversity world based on interviews with diversity practitioners in higher education, as well as her own experience of doing diversity work. Diversity is an ordinary, even unremarkable, feature of institutional life. Yet diversity practitioners often experience institutions as resistant to their work, as captured through their use of the metaphor of the "brick wall." On Being Included offers an explanation of this apparent paradox. It explores the gap between symbolic commitments to diversity and the experience of those who embody diversity. Commitments to diversity are understood as "non-performatives" that do not bring about what they name. The book provides an account of institutional whiteness and shows how racism can be obscured by the institutionalization of diversity. Diversity is used as evidence that institutions do not have a problem with racism. On Being Included offers a critique of what happens when diversity is offered as a solution. It also shows how diversity workers generate knowledge of institutions in attempting to transform them.
Call Number: 378.19829 AHM + eBook
ISBN: 9780822352365
Publication Date: 2012
Critical Practice in Social Work, 2nd edn by Adams, R.; Dominelli, L.; Payne, M.This social work text is conceived as a complementary volume to Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates, although it is usable as a stand-alone introduction in its own right. Focusing on social work values, on areas of particular practice (ranging across work with children, families and vulnerable adults) and on management issues relevant to all social workers whether they are managers or not, it offers an overview both of the practicalities of social work and the principles underpinning practice.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780230628212
Publication Date: 2014
Personalisation by Beresford, P.Personalisation has become the policy buzz-word of the twenty-first century. Supporters claim it offers service users choice and services attuned to meet their specific needs, moving away from 'one size fits all' state services. In this short form book, part of the Critical and Radical Debates in Social Work series, Peter Beresford, one of Britain's foremost social work academics, challenges the personalisation agenda and its consequences on service users. Although critical of 'one size fits all' services that deny service user voice, Beresford argues that personalisation turns service users into 'consumers' of services within a care market and hence reinforces the commodification of care which sees vast profits made by a small number of providers at the expense of good quality services for those who use them.
Call Number: 361.3071 BER
ISBN: 9781447316145
Publication Date: 2014
Intersectionality for Social Workers by Bernard, C.This book explores how intersectionality theory can be applied to social work practice with children and families, older people and mental health service users, and used to engage with diversity and difference in social work education and research. With case-study examples and practice questions throughout, the book provides a model for integrating intersectionality theory into social work practice. It highlights the ways intersectional theory helps us to understand the complexities of working with the interlocking nature of problematised elements such as gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, and other axes of structural inequalities experienced by groups in subjugated social locations. Intersectionality is used to examine multiple forms of inequalities and the complexities and questions they give rise to in social work practice. The emphasis throughout is that intersectional approaches can open up social work practice to new understandings of the complex linkages of multiple and intersecting systems of oppression that shape the lived experiences of diverse groups of service users. Providing an introduction to an intersectional theoretical framework for understanding the lives and experiences of socially disadvantaged service users, Intersectionality for Social Workers will be required reading on all modules on anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice, sociology, and ethics and values in social work.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 0429467281
Publication Date: 2021
Poverty, Inequality and Social Work by Cummins, I.This book offers a critical, sociological analysis of the domino effect of neoliberalism and austerity politics on the role of social work and wider welfare provision. It argues that social work should move away from the resultant emphasis on risk management and bureaucracy, and return to a focus on relational and community approaches as the cornerstone of practice. Applying theoretical frameworks to practice, including those of Bourdieu and the recent work of Wacquant, the book examines the development of neoliberal ideas and their impact on social welfare. It explores the implications of this across a range of areas of social work practice, including work with children and families, working with asylum seekers and refugees and mental health social work.
Call Number: 361.3201 CUM + eBook
ISBN: 9781447334828
Publication Date: 2018
Proactive Child Protection and Social Work, 2nd edn by Davies, L. and Duckett, L.Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a serious and complex area of social work practice and understanding the critical skills of communicating with and listening to children's voices, and those of their advocates and survivors, is essential. In this new edition of a highly-regarded book, the authors offer a strengthened children's rights perspective and explore four main categories of child abuse - emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and physical abuse. The book also considers legal safeguards and protective processes to increase the creativity and confidence of those undertaking such work. Locating knowledge and skills within a series of case examples from real life practice and serious case reviews, this book is an indispensable resource for students, professionals and others concerned with protecting children. This second edition has been comprehensively revised and updated to include current research evidence and a focus on the neglected protection needs of sexually exploited young people, children in custody, disabled children, young carers and unaccompanied child migrants.
Call Number: 362.768 DAV + eBook
ISBN: 9780857259714
Publication Date: 2016
Injustice by Dorling, D.In the five years since the first edition of Injustice there have been devastating increases in poverty, hunger and destitution in the UK. Globally, the richest 1% have never held a greater share of world wealth, while the share of most of the other 99% has fallen in the last five years, with more and more people in debt, especially the young. Economic inequalities will persist and continue to grow for as long as we tolerate the injustices which underpin them. This fully rewritten and updated edition revisits Dorling's claim that Beveridge's five social evils are being replaced by five new tenets of injustice: elitism is efficient; exclusion is necessary; prejudice is natural; greed is good and despair is inevitable. By showing these beliefs are unfounded, Dorling offers hope of a more equal society. We are living in the most remarkable and dangerous times. With every year that passes it is more evident that Injustice is essential reading for anyone concerned with social justice and wants to do something about it.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781447320760
Publication Date: 2015
The Mcdonaldization of Social Work by Dustin, D.Based upon George Ritzer's McDonaldization of Society thesis and incorporating aspects of social theory, this book examines the introduction of care management to social work practice. Donna Dustin analyzes care management as an example of the managerial application of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control to social work practice. These principles, put to good use in organizations that produce tangible outputs at a profit, are being increasingly applied in non-profit public sector organizations where the outcomes require intangibles such as professional relationships. The author examines whether the McDonaldization process heightens dilemmas such as cost versus rights for professionals working in the social services. Using social theory to frame her research with care managers and their managers in the UK, the author examines the day-to-day implications of care management for social work practice and questions whether the construction of service users as customers contributes to empowering practice. The book's in-depth analysis of the policy background, implementation and practice of care management will resonate with social workers in other national contexts, such as the US, where the care management model has been introduced.
In Whose Interest? The Privatisation of Child Protection and Social Work by Jones, R.As the government continues to open up child protection and social work in England to a commercial market place, what is the social cost of privatising public services? And what effect has the failure of previous privatisations had on their provision? This book, by best-selling author and expert social worker Ray Jones, is the first to tell the story of how crucial social work services, including those for families and children, are now being out-sourced to private companies. Detailing how the failures of previous privatisations have led to the deterioration of services for the public, it shows how this trend threatens the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and disabled adults.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781447351276
Publication Date: 2018
Principles of Social Justice by Miller, D.Social justice has been the animating ideal of democratic governments throughout the twentieth century. Even those who oppose it recognize its potency. Yet the meaning of social justice remains obscure, and existing theories put forward by political philosophers to explain it have failed to capture the way people in general think about issues of social justice. This book develops a new theory. David Miller argues that principles of justice must be understood contextually, with each principle finding its natural home in a different form of human association. Because modern societies are complex, the theory of justice must be complex, too. The three primary components in Miller's scheme are the principles of desert, need, and equality. The book uses empirical research to demonstrate the central role played by these principles in popular conceptions of justice. It then offers a close analysis of each concept, defending principles of desert and need against a range of critical attacks, and exploring instances when justice requires equal distribution and when it does not. Finally, it argues that social justice understood in this way remains a viable political ideal even in a world characterized by economic globalization and political multiculturalism. Accessibly written, and drawing upon the resources of both political philosophy and the social sciences, this book will appeal to readers with interest in public policy as well as to students of politics, philosophy, and sociology.
Call Number: 303.372 MIL
ISBN: 9780674007147
Publication Date: 2001
The Politics of Child Protection by Parton, N.From Every Child Matters and the Munro Review, to changing shifts in thinking from Coalition government; the child protection system has seen dramatic political and policy developments over recent years. This book brings you a critical analysis of these developments from a leading writer and commentator. It begins by exploring the origins of present-day arrangements, locating English policy and practice in both a wider British and international context. It examines tragic cases such as 'Baby P' and Maria Colwell, considering their impact on public and professional attitudes and, in turn, the implications for the child protection system. Looking to the future of child protection, Nigel Parton considers the current state of the system and argues that we need to address wider social and political issues, including poverty, class and inequality. Original, authoritative and up-to-date, The Politics of Child Protection is an important book for all students, practitioners and researchers interested in safeguarding and child protection.
Interprofessional Social Work by Quinney, A. and Hafford-Letchfield, T.All Social Work students are required to undertake specific learning and assessment in partnership working and information sharing across professional disciplines and agencies. Increasingly, social workers are also finding that they need to deal with a wide range of other professions as part of their daily work. It is essential therefore that social workers can work effectively and collaboratively with these professions while retaining their own values and identity. This updated second edition will prepare social work students to work with a wide variety of professions including youth workers, the police, teachers and educators, the legal profession and health professionals.
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781844453795
Publication Date: 2013
Critical Social Work with Children and Families by Rogowski, S.This book traces the changing fortunes of radical and critical social work in the U.K., and examines the theory, context and application of such approaches. Radical social work of the 1970s declined as the rise of neoliberalism changed the nature of the welfare state along with what social workers do and how. A looser critical approach developed, although practitioner demoralisation and disillusionment led to the 'second wave' of radical social work in the late 2000s. Despite challenges, critical practice is both necessary and possible in the neoliberal world. Drawing on the author's unique experience, core areas of practice with children and families are covered, including real life case studies, key point summaries and suggestions for further reading. The essential argument is for an emancipatory practice geared to meeting immediate needs, as well as having some vision of a future, more socially just and equal, society. The book will be invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate social work students, experienced practitioners, educators, managers and policy makers.
Call Number: 362.7 ROG
ISBN: 9781447305026
Publication Date: 2013
Practising Reflexivity in Health and Welfare by Taylor, C. and White, S.In recent years, professional practice in health and welfare has come under increasing scrutiny. The dominant response to this has been technical and procedural, as epitomized by the evidence based practice movement. This book offers an alternative, and equally rigorous approach to helping professionals to understand and analyze their practice. Drawing on a hitherto under-utilized literature about argument and persuasion, originating in qualitative research, ethnomethodology, conversation analysis and discursive psychology, the book provides a new perspective on the concept of professional reflexivity. It explores, not only how knowledge is used in professional practice, but how it is made and generated in everyday encounters. It should be a valuable resource for practitioners in health and welfare as well as students in social science disciplines.
Call Number: 362.1 TAY
ISBN: 0335205194
Publication Date: 2001
The Spirit Level by Wilkinson, R. and Pickett, K.Why do we mistrust people more in the UK than in Japan? Why do Americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the French? What makes the Swedish thinner than the Greeks? The answer: inequality. This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show: how almost everything - from life expectancy to depression levels, violence to illiteracy - is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it is; that societies with a bigger gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone in them - including the well-off; and, how we can find positive solutions and move towards a happier, fairer future. Urgent, provocative and genuinely uplifting, "The Spirit Level" has been heralded as providing a new way of thinking about ourselves and our communities, and could change the way you see the world.
Call Number: 305 WIL
ISBN: 9780241954294
Publication Date: 2009
Social Work Theories and Methods by Gray, M. and Webb, S.The Second Edition of this celebrated book by two of the world's leading researchers in social work introduces readers to the main theories, theorists and perspectives that contribute to the debate on social work theory and social work methods. It brings together some outstanding international researchers in social work to challenge the reader to critically question how they think about social work.The new edition includes a focus on the psychosocial perspective, with three new chapters on:Cognitive behavioral approachesAttachment theory and psychoanalytic social workEcological approachesEach chapter allows the reader to relate the theories and methods discussed to their own personal experiences. This reader friendly book includes student questions, glossaries and recommended reading so that students and practitioners can reappraise and expand the knowledge they have learned.This book will be valuable for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in social work theory and research methods, social work interventions and perspectives as well as post qualifying students and researchers in social work.