Critical Social Work: Theories and Practices for a Socially Just World

369 Pages·2009·3.575 MB·English

by  June Allan, Linda Briskman, Bob Pease

‘Another important contribution to the growing literature on critical
social work. It is on the cutting edge of thinking about social work
and its goal of social change.’
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Kate van Heugten, Social Work Review
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Critical Social Work starts from the premise that a central goal of social work practice i
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is social change to redress social inequality. Taking a critical theoretical approach,
the authors explore the links between personal and social change. They confront a
the challenges for critical social work in the context of pressures to separate the
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personal from the political and in responding to the impact of changes in the socio-
political, statutory and global contexts of practice. s
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This second edition of Critical Social Work has been thoroughly revised to take into
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account recent social, economic and political developments. Coverage of theoretical critical social work
frameworks has been substantially expanded and reflects current concerns such as
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evidence-based practice and human rights. The causes of people’s marginalisation a
and oppression are examined in relation to class, race, ethnicity, gender and other
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forms of social inequality. Case study chapters in the earlier edition on working
w theories and edited by
with immigrants, Indigenous people, women, men, families, people with psychiatric
practices for a june allan
disabilities and those experiencing loss and grief have been updated and revised.
The second edition includes new case study chapters on disability, older people, o socially just world linda briskman
children, rurality, and violence and abuse. second edition bob pease
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June Allan is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at RMIT University. Linda Briskman
holds the Dr Haruhisa Handa Chair in Human Rights Education at Curtin University.
Bob Pease is Chair of Social Work at Deakin University. bob plinda bjune aedited
easeriskllan by
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Cover design: Joanna Palmer
Cover image: Shutterstock
social work
spine: 24mm
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critical social work
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critical social work
theories and
edited by
practices for a june allan
socially just world linda briskman
second edition bob pease
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First published in 2009
Copyright © June Allan, Linda Briskman and Bob Pease 2009
Copyright in the articles rests with the individual authors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968
(the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever
is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational
purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has
given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
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Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available
from the National Library of Australia
www.librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au
ISBN 978 1 74237 092 7
Index by Jo Rudd
Set in 11/14 pt Minion by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Printed by CMO Image Printing, Singapore
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contents
Preface ix
List of Contributors xi
Part I: Introduction 1
1 Introducing critical theories for social work in a
neo-liberal context 3
Linda Briskman, Bob Pease and June Allan
Part II: Developing conceptual frameworks for critical social work 15
2 Tracing the origins of critical social work practice 17
Philip Mendes
3 Theorising new developments in critical social work 30
June Allan
4 From evidence-based practice to critical knowledge in
post-positivist social work 45
Bob Pease
5 Promoting a human rights perspective on critical social work 58
Sharlene Nipperess and Linda Briskman
6 Doing critical social work 70
June Allan
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Part III: Resisting domination and oppression 89
7 Towards anti-racist and culturally affi rming practices 91
Marjorie Quinn
8 Reversing colonial practices with Indigenous peoples 105
Christine Fejo-King and Linda Briskman
9 Reconstructing social work practices with families 117
Susie Costello
10 Examining the meaning of childhood in
critical social work practice 132
Heather D’Cruz
11 Using critical refl ection to improve feminist practice 145
Christine Morley
12 Challenges and directions for profeminist practice with men 160
Bob Pease
13 Empowering and rights-based approaches to working
with older people 175
Barbara Black
14 Disabling discourses and enabling practices in disability politics 188
Kelley Johnson
15 Opening spaces for alternative understandings in
mental health practice 201
Selma Macfarlane
16 Weaving together the personal and the political in loss
and grief 214
June Allan
17 Addressing violence and abuse in a gendered world 228
Heather Fraser and Christine Craik
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Part IV: Locating critical social work in shifting worlds 241
18 Critical practice in a changing context 243
Catherine McDonald
19 Enacting critical social work in publicly funded contexts 255
Nick Halfpenny
20 Framing critical social work practices with rural
and remote communities 268
Uschi Bay
21 For a solidarity-based practice in the globalising context 281
Jacques Boulet
Notes 295
References 298
Index 342
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preface
Six years after we edited the fi rst edition of the book, the purposes of a second
edition remain substantially unchanged. At the time of compiling the fi rst edition,
all three editors were employed at RMIT University. Linda Briskman and Bob
Pease are now based at Curtin and Deakin Universities respectively, while June
Allan remains at RMIT. The impetus for the fi rst edition of the book arose from
ongoing efforts by social work staff at RMIT to develop a critical curriculum in
social work education at that university. The origins of those endeavours dated
back to the early 1980s when the then School of Social Work at Phillip Institute of
Technology adopted structural (Moreau 1979), developmental (Benn 1981) and
feminist approaches to social work practice. Although there were changes to the
educational philosophy of RMIT’s social work curriculum over the years, the core
value commitments remained in place and the fi rst book affi rmed the basic premise
that a central goal of social work practice is social change in order to redress social
inequalities and injustice.
Staff in social work courses at other Australian universities increasingly
articulate critical social work approaches in their curriculum and research priorities.
Furthermore, other Australian and international writers have produced critical
texts in social work over the last six years that have infl uenced curriculum content
in social work courses. In acknowledging the increasing scholarship in critical social
work, this new edition incorporates new writings and approaches, particularly in
the light of an increasingly complex socio-political context that besets social work.
Several of the chapters in this new edition have been updated by contributors to
the fi rst edition of the book. In addition, we have invited a number of new writers,
including early career researchers and doctoral students, who are at the cutting edge
of critical social work scholarship.
ix
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