British Journal of Social Work - current issue

Editorial

Skehill, C. — 2008-06-10

Paradigms and Politics: Understanding Methods Paradigms in an Historical Context: The Case of Social Pedagogy

Lorenz, W. — 2008-06-10

This paper treats the case of social pedagogy, which is an important but widely misunderstood member of the social professions, as an example of how only by exploring the historical roots and trajectories of methods paradigms can we hope to understand their contemporary, cross-national and cross-cultural relevance. It locates the rise of social pedagogy as both a method and as a set of social policy institutions in the historical context of the development of the German nation state with its particular relationship to a corporatist, conservative model of the welfare state. This illustrates not so much a singular development under particular historical circumstances, but the intricate interrelationship between social policies and social work methods which are a feature of this profession in all societies. By analysing the dynamics of this close relationship with social policy, which gave rise to the ambiguous reputation of social work as a semi-profession, the conditions of a theoretical engagement with contemporary social policy developments can be determined with much greater clarity. This is necessary, for instance, in relation of the rising importance of social care in the UK—a development which appears as yet under-theorized. Parallels and differences to the social pedagogy paradigm can only be discerned against the background of the analysis of the respective relationship to social policy. This, in turn, underlines the necessity for professional social work, under whatever title it is practised, to critically observe and contribute to the shaping of social policies in order to regain the professional initiative.

The Present Finnish Formation of Child Welfare and History

Satka, M., Harrikari, T. — 2008-06-10

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the nature of Finnish child welfare as a strategy of social control. It applies Michel Foucault's ‘history of the present’ approach to illuminate what is hidden or taken for granted in the present practice and discourse. The article problematizes child welfare in the present and illuminates its current formations by recourse to the past. Since Finnish child welfare has developed in connection with the Anglo-American and Central European discourses of the field, the provided insights are also transferable to international contexts in the contemporary conditions of governance.

State Social Work: Constructing the Present from Moments in the Past

Harris, J. — 2008-06-10

Social work is often seen as a straightforward response to self-evident human needs and problems or as the outcome of ‘professional projects’ pursued by social workers. However, consideration of social work's history suggests that it is a contingent activity, conditioned by and dependent upon the context from which it emerges and in which it engages. The contingent nature of social work is considered by locating it in the contexts of five historical ‘moments’ that have had significant implications for social work's profile and practice: the nineteenth century origins of social work; social work in the post-war period; the Seebohm Report; the New Right; and New Labour. The review of these historical moments shows that welfare regimes are key in shaping the manner in which social work is constituted and enacted. Furthermore, aspects from each historical moment have been carried forward into present day social work; the construction of the present always owes something to moments from the past.

Humanitarian Narrative: Bodies and Detail in Late-Victorian Social Work

Taylor, C. — 2008-06-10

How should we interpret the humanitarian narratives of early social work? This article suggests that we explore the ways in which bodies and detail were used to establish the grounds for humanitarian action in the late-Victorian period. Drawing on case material from a child welfare organization in Manchester and Salford, it explores how the ‘filthy body’ of the child and the failings of ‘worthless’ parents were used to justify interventions to ‘rescue’ children from urban slums. Thus, progressivist and revisionist accounts of history are dispensed with in favour of a form of cultural history that recognizes the multifarious activities that comprise social work past and present and the fluidity of categorizations that are deployed in the practice of intervening in the flow of lives of the poor. This, it is argued, moves us beyond the tendency to focus on secondary sources relating to a few prominent organizations such as the Charity Organisation Society and the metropolis. Instead, emphasis is placed on the contribution of regional histories and localized, fine-grained empirical studies to broadening analytical approaches and deepening understanding of social work past and present.

A Tale of Two Reports: Social Work in Scotland from Social Work and the Community (1966) to Changing Lives (2006)

Brodie, I., Nottingham, C., Plunkett, S. — 2008-06-10

This paper identifies ‘key moments’ over a forty-year period of the history of Scottish social work, from the publication of Social Work and the Community in 1966 to the outcome of the 21st Century Review contained in Changing Lives of 2006. A recurring theme is the Scottish dimension, for social work in Scotland needs to be understood as distinct in many important respects from social work elsewhere in the UK. The paper traces the evolution of a vision - of a unified profession promoting social equality - underlying Social Work and the Community, arguing that its redefinition in Changing Lives represents both a departure from the earlier, radical aspirations and an opportunity for Scottish social workers to re-examine the question of professionalism.

Transatlantic Transfers in Social Work: Contributions of Three Pioneers

Hegar, R. L. — 2008-06-10

Internationalism has been a prominent theme in the transatlantic history of social reform, and many pioneering social workers championed the causes of peace, war relief, human rights, and international avenues for dispute resolution. For some, internationalism was inseparable from social welfare. Jane Addams in the United States, Alice Masaryk of Czechoslovakia, and Alice Salomon of Germany were central figures during the early 20th century in transatlantic campaigns for social reform and international co-operation, as well as in the emergence of social work. This article draws from letters, autobiographies, and published works of these three pioneers to reconstruct their social networks and to examine their contributions to the transatlantic transfer of knowledge. International diffusion of thought and practice has high salience for a profession embracing change in the 21st century.

Engendering Social Work Education under State Socialism in Yugoslavia

Zavirsek, D. — 2008-06-10

City Welfare in the Sway of Eugenics: A Swiss Case Study

Hauss, G., Ziegler, B. — 2008-06-10

In the 20th century, the eugenics movement in Europe became acceptable for European social work in a number of different contexts. ‘City Welfare in the Sway of Eugenics’ investigates the municipal youth welfare system in Switzerland based on the guardianship case files and reports of two medium-sized Swiss cities. Our research provides insight into how eugenics is linked to social work activities and practices in various political, economic, and institutional contexts.

Our findings reveal how complex and often paradoxical the connection between integration and exclusion in the various fields of social work can be. Crucially, we show that the general principle of integration in welfare was not formulated without any involvement of political programmes. This insight is highly relevant today: amid increasing inequality, social work must be aware of its ambivalent social function in the force field between integration and exclusion. Based on stringent historical research, our article seeks to contribute to the current critical debate on contemporary social work in the context of ever radical social change.

Making Refugees: A Historical Discourse Analysis of the Construction of the 'Refugee' in US Social Work, 1900-1957

Park, Y. — 2008-06-10

This paper traces the discursive constructions through which refugees were produced as particular kinds of subjects in US social work discourse in the first half of the twentieth century. Prior to the onset of the Second World War, the refugee ideal was valorized in social work discourse to both exhort and contest immigration restrictions. In the war years, actual refugees became framed, instead, as the most troublesome immigrants. The many anti-restrictionists among social work's leaders persistently and prolifically opposed problematized constructions of refugees. But through its uncritical uses of the same unstable measures of fitness through which the problematized identities were constructed, the liberal, anti-restrictionist discourse of social work re-inscribed the discourses it sought to counter. As a study of the disciplinary construction of a particularly vulnerable identity, and a methodological exemplar for examining key constructs, this analysis has broad implication for study of the many categories of identity (e.g. child, client, etc.) upon which social work builds its practice models and explanatory theories.

From Melting Pot to Multiculturalism: The Impact of Racial and Ethnic Diversity on Social Work and Social Justice in the USA

Reisch, M. — 2008-06-10

Since the turn of the twentieth century, the relationships among race, citizenship and culture have been central to debates about the goals of social policy and social work in the USA. To date, however, even the best histories of social work have focused primarily on the influence of mainstream (i.e. white) organizations and their leaders, ignoring and often objectifying the contributions of minorities. Based on extensive primary source materials, this essay—part of a larger scholarly project—analyses the differential responses of US social work to demographic and cultural changes during the past century. The findings illuminate discussions not only of social work's past, but how the profession could address such contemporary issues as the compatibility between multiculturalism and other social justice-related goals; the congruence between social equality and professional identity; and the means by which social work practice and ethics can adapt successfully to demographic and cultural transformation.

Introduction

Littlechild, B. — 2008-06-10

The Quest for Community, Robert A. Nisbet, New York, Oxford University Press, originally published 1953, edition reviewed, published 1970, with new preface by author

Bowman, A. — 2008-06-10

Improving Children's Lives: Global Perspectives on Prevention, George Albee, Lynne Bond and Toni V. Cook Monsey, Newbury Park, California, Sage Publications, 1992, ISBN 0-8039-4610-4 (cl)

Buchanan, A. — 2008-06-10

Character Disorders in Parents of Delinquents, Beatrice Simcox Reiner and Irving Kaufman, New York, Family Service Association of America, 1959, pp 179, ISBN 0 87304 089 9

Howe, D. — 2008-06-10

Casework: A Psychosocial Therapy (second edition), Florence Hollis, New York, Random House, 1972, pp xxii + 393, ISBN 0 394 31379 8

Jones, D. N. — 2008-06-10

The Fifth Social Service: A Critical Analysis of the Seebohm Proposals, Peter Townsend, Adrian Sinfield, Barbara Kahan, Peter Mittler, Hilary Rose, Michael Meacher, John Agate, Tony Lynes and David Bull, Glasgow, Civic Press Publishing, undated--circa 1970, pp. 159, ISBN 7163 4010 0 (cloth), ISBN 7163 4011 9 (paper), 90p (pb), {pound}1.50 (hb)

Lyons, K. — 2008-06-10

Character Is Destiny: The Autobiography of Alice Salomon, Andrew Lees (ed.), Michigan, University of Michigan Press, 2004, pp. x+264, ISBN 0472 11367 4, $75.00

Healy, L. M. — 2008-06-10

The Client Speaks, John Mayer and Noel Timm, London, Routledge, 1970, pp. 193, ISBN 0 7100 7673 8

Preston-Shoot, M. — 2008-06-10

The Casework Relationship (12th Edition), Felix P. Biestek, S.J., London, Unwin Hyman Ltd, Loyola University Press, 1989, pp. 149

Mwansa, L.-K. — 2008-06-10

The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckman, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1967, pp. 249, ISBN 978-0140135480

Parton, N. — 2008-06-10

Social and Moral Theory in Casework, Raymond Plant, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970, pp. xi +99, ISBN 0 7100 6809, 60p (original price)

Orme, J. — 2008-06-10

All Quiet on the Western Front, E. M. Remarque (translated by A. W. Wheen), London and New York, Little Brown and Company, 1995 (reprinted)

Beresford, P. — 2008-06-10

Parents and Children in the Inner City, Harriett Wilson and G. W. Herbert, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978, ISBN 0-7100-8715-2

Tunstill, J. — 2008-06-10

Hooligan: A History of Respectable Fears, Geoffrey Pearson, Basingstoke, MacMillan, 1983

Berry, L. — 2008-06-10

Social Work Values: An Enquiry, Noel Timms, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1983, ISBN 0-7100-9404-3

Shardlow, S. M. — 2008-06-10

Books Received

2008-06-10