Social work, Vol. 50 (2011), Issue 3-4
International doctoral studies of social work and social policy
ARTICLES
Academisation and internationalisation of social work: Establishment and development of the first joint European doctoral studies in social work and social politics Indosow - 157, (Abstract)
From occupational double to professional triple mandate: Science and human rights as foundations of professional social work - 173, (Abstract)
From professional ethics to ethics in professional life: Reflections on learning and teaching in social work - 187, (Abstract)
Ethics in social work: Ethical practice and the autonomy of social work - 205, (Abstract)
Changing of social incusion of people with personal experience of mental distress: From fight for rights to inclusion into research - 217, (Abstract)
Control of resources vs. clients’ needs within gerontological social work practice - 229, (Abstract)
ABSTRACTS
Abstracts
Darja Zaviršek
Academisation and internationalisation of social work: Establishment and development of the first joint European doctoral studies in social work and social politics Indosow
The Bologna reform has, despite its negative effects, been beneficial to the formal level of social work studies in Europe. After 2000 the social work discipline faced an intensive development of graduate and postgraduate programmes, internationalisation and research activities. These processes also include the establishment and development of the first European doctoral studies in social work and social politics – Indosow. It all started in 2005, when the studies were initiated by the Faculty of social work at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The faculty created a consortium by linking higher education institutions from four European countries. The article describes the dilemmas of neoliberalisation of higher education and innovations, introduced by the first European doctoral programme of social work (2009) as it is the first international doctoral programme at the University of Ljubljana. The main characteristics of Indosow are academisation of social work and doctoral theses based on comparative and critical analysis. Nevertheless, the need to develop professional doctoral studies in social work corresponding to domestic (Slovenian) needs, still remains. Despite the harmonisation of higher education, the doctoral studies in Europe and in the world still face great differences in structure, form and teaching. The article presents some differences and some deficits in implementation of doctoral studies in Slovenia. One of these is a deficit in work with students, which should receive a quality academic support in the form of double and multiple mentorship.
Keywords: international doctoral study of social work, neoliberalisation of study, supporting doctoral students, professional PhD, Bologna reform
Professor Darja Zaviršek, PhD in sociology, is a Chair of the Department of Social Justice and Inclusion at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana. She is the president of the Eastern European Sub-regional Association of the Schools of Social Work of the IASSW. She is a honorary professor of the University of Applied Sciences Alice Salomon Berlin. Contact: +3861/3006231, darja.zavirsek@fsd.uni-lj.si.
Silvia Staub-Bernasconi
From occupational double to professional triple mandate: Science and human rights as foundations of professional social work
The main characteristics of a profession can’t be anymore the defensive, structural guardianship and administration of an exclusive knowledge if it wants to live up to the requirement of inter- and transdisciplinarity. This is no weakening of the identity of social work as discipline and profession, if it is clear about its object base and the correspondent action lines and necessary competences. Internationally, there seems to be a consensus that professional social work has to cope with social problems on different social levels – i.e. from the individual to the international level. Professionality means research and thus science-based interventions and an ethical codex containing – in the case of social work – social justice and human rights as its core values and norms. Taking this serious, social work hasn’t only a double-mandate of negotiation between a) society and its organisational representatives in social welfare and b) its clientele. It has a triple-mandate which comes from the profession itself. This conception of a profession gives way to the critical reflection of societal, but also client mandate, its change or refusal according to the professional code of ethics and even to self-determined mandates, especially in relation to human rights based interventions. This approach to the discipline and profession of social work is accompanied by the hope that this triple-mandate could end the endless debate, if social work has to solve individual problems or work for social change and if it is a profession or a radical social movement. It can’t be an either-or anymore but a skillful combination of both.
Keywords: ethics in social work, social work profession, double mandate, triple mandate
Prof. Dr. habil. Silvia Staub-Bernasconi is a director of Master Social Work Programme “Social Work as Human Rights Profession” in Berlin. She’s a member of the Academic Board and lecturer of „International Doctoral Studies in Social Work” (INDOSOW). Her areas of interest include: social work as a discipline and profession, social work and human rights, transnationalisation of social work, theory of social problems, and contribution of women to the discipline and profession of social work. In 2010 she received the Katherine Kendall award “For a Lifetime of Distinguished International Service to Social Work Education.« Contact: staubernasco@bluewin.ch.
Sarah Banks
From professional ethics to ethics in professional life: Reflections on learning and teaching in social work
The article offers some reflections on features of the traditional professional ethics literature, focusing on codes, conduct and rational decision-making in difficult cases. It is argued that this kind of approach offers a rather artificial, abstract and narrow conception of ethics. Consideration is then given to what might be the implications for learning and teaching of shifting emphasis towards a more embedded conception of ethics in professional life, with a focus on the commitment and character of professional practitioners and the specificities of the contexts in which they work. An excerpt from an interview with a social worker is used to examine the work of moral perception, empathy and imagination that are part of everyday ethical practice.
Keywords: social professions, context, ethics cases, codes of ethics, ethical decision-making, emotional labour
Sarah Banks is a professor in the School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University, UK. She researches in the field of professional ethics in social, community and youth work and is co-editor of the journal Ethics and Social Welfare. Contact: s.j.banks@durham.ac.uk.
Christian Stark
Neoliberalism - challenges for social work practice and ethics
Neoliberalism can be described as an economic-political project of capitalist elites involving economization of all areas of life, privatization, economic globalization and deregulation. The article gives a short historical overview of the development of neoliberalism, the myths and tenets of the new neoliberal “religion” and the „manufacturing of consent”. Additionally, the article describes the consequences for social policy and social work, which include the reduction of welfare state, the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, and also a development that can be outlined with the following key terms: economization of social work, work-fare instead of welfare. Finally the article describes the reaction of social work to this development. Some necessary anti-strategies are also discussed. The logic of social work is not the logic of profit. The market must not have the power to decide whether someone receives the necessary means for a life of human dignity. Social work is a central part of social policy and not only an instrument to alleviate or conserve poverty, or to lessen the consequences of neoliberal policy.
Keywords: economization of social work, political social work, ethics in social work, welfare state, social policy
Christian Stark graduated at the University of Salzburg with a Master of theology, at the University of Innsbruck with a Master of pedagogics and political sciences and a Doctor of pedagogics. He was awarded a Diploma of Social Work at the Academy of Social Work in Innsbruck. He is professor of social work since 2004 at the University of Applied Sciences Linz/Upper Austria and director of the master programme Social work with focus on intercultural competence since 2010. His main topics in teaching and research are: ethics, theory and history of social work and homelessness and intercultural social work. Contact: christian.stark@fh-linz.at.
Ana Marija Sobočan
Ethics in social work: Ethical practice and the autonomy of social work
The paper advocates the importance of reflecting and discussing ethics in social work, drawing from the growing production of literature, events and text-books abroad and the framework of social work practice (tasks in social work practice and its area of work). It also touches upon the importance and role of codes of ethics in social work, and shortly presents some aspects of these documents in different countries of the (predominantly Western) world. It presents some research, i.e. research findings in areas of ethical decision-making, ethical practice, use of codes of ethics etc. from different countries. In the third part it presents some viewpoints, findings and conclusions of a three-year research of experiences and perceptions of ethical dilemmas and situations of social work students in their field-work practice, which can serve for further planning of education and training in social work.
Keywords: codes of ethics, values, social work profession, social work practice
Ana Marija Sobočan, Master in gender studies, is a junior researcher and an assistant at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Ljubljana. Besides ethics in social work, she is interested in researching various (stigmatized, discriminated and excluded) social groups. Contact: ana.sobocan@fsd.uni-lj.si.
Petra Videmšek
Changing of social incusion of people with personal experience of mental distress: From fight for rights to inclusion into research
The developement of the service users’ movement is presented that contributed not only to their changed roles (from passive to active participants) but also to the efforts for the inclusion of users in the discourse about themselves. Social inclusion is broader, multidimensional concept, but in the article it is presented on micro level. In social work, social inclusion on micro level can be defined as participation in the process of planning social services. It is a part of the co-creation of the solution. Article is based on the work that has been writen by people with personal experience in the field of mental health and by hendicapped people (Chamberlin, Oliver, Morris, Beresford, Croft, Lamovec, Pečarič, Wallcraft). From their work we have been able to see that people with personal experience develop their own theory (disability theory), concepts (independent living, recovery) and that they organize anti discrimination campaigns. Besides that, review of users’ movement shows, that their efforts have changed and aimed to broader social inclusion in all spheres of their life, including education and research. Development of service users’ movement clearly shows that only inclusion in the planning of social services is not enough and that for broader changes people with personal experience should be involved into research as well. Decision for this is based on the theory of inclusion and on the premise about what we can do in social work practice to achieve this social inclusion.
Keywords: empowerment, users' research, users’ movements
Petra Videmšek, PhD, is an assistant at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana. Her main research interests are social inclusion of people with personal experience of mental distress, social inequalities in the field of handicap, and violence. Phone: +3861 3003262, email: petra.videmsek@fsd.uni-lj.si.
Rasa Naujanienė
Control of resources vs. clients’ needs within gerontological social work practice
The aim of the article is to discuss how economic discourse influences social work practice in Lithuania, where access to social services is far from universal and officially based on strict definition of needs for care regarding to official documents. The main focus is on manifestation of contradiction between control of resources vs. clients’ needs. Together with globalization processes, there grows impact of economic discourse on social work practice. The study presented in the article is taken from the broader study conducted by the authoress. Contextual social construction was used herein as the theoretical background of the study with the aim to reveal the nature of gerontological social work discourse based on accounts by gerontological social workers about the process of entering clienthood. The transcribed text from the research interviews was analyzed by applying Willig version of Foucauldian discourse analysis. The analysis of two empirical cases is presented in the article. The revealed domination of moralization and blaming of client practices are discussed critically with consideration of economic discourse influence on social work practice.
Keywords: economical discourse, discourse analysis, Lithuania, practices
Naujanienė Rasa, PhD, works at the Social Work Department, Faculty of Social Welfare, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania. Her research interests include: gerontological social work, qualitative research, practical work, social justice, methodology, social work in health care system. Contact: r.naujaniene@sgi.vdu.lt.