SOCIAL WORK THE BASICS Social Work: The Basics is an insightful introduction to the often misrepresented world of social work. Presenting a broad historical and contemporary view, this book dispels myths surrounding social work and explores its roots and its possible future. Questions covered include: (cid:1) How and why do people come into contact with social workers? (cid:1) What are the aims of social work – to help or to control? (cid:1) What is the relationship between social work and social policy? (cid:1) What is the role of the social worker? Drawing examples from the full range of social work practice, this book is a valuable introduction for anyone beginning social work courses,considering a career in socialwork or witha professionalor broad interest in social work. Mark Doel is Emeritus Professor of Social Work at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. He has a wealth of experience in writing about, teaching and practising social work, having worked in the UK, USA, eastern Europe and Russia. He is the author of Social Work Placements: A Traveller’s Guide (Routledge, 2010). The Basics ACTING HUMANGENETICS BELLAMERLIN RICKILEWIS ANTHROPOLOGY HUMANGEOGRAPHY PETERMETCALF ANDREWJONES ARCHAEOLOGY(SECONDEDITION) INTERNATIONALRELATIONS CLIVEGAMBLE PETERSUTCHANDJUANITAELIAS ARTHISTORY ISLAM(SECONDEDITION) GRANTPOOKEANDDIANANEWALL COLINTURNER ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE JUDAISM KEVINWARWICK JACOBNEUSNER THEBIBLE LANGUAGE(SECONDEDITION) JOHNBARTON R.L.TRASK BUDDHISM LAW CATHYCANTWELL GARYSLAPPERANDDAVIDKELLY CONTEMPORARYLITERATURE LITERARYTHEORY(SECONDEDITION) SUMANGUPTA HANSBERTENS CRIMINALLAW LOGIC JONATHANHERRING J.C.BEALL CRIMINOLOGY(SECONDEDITION) MANAGEMENT SANDRAWALKLATE MORGENWITZEL DANCESTUDIES MARKETING(SECONDEDITION) JOBUTTERWORTH KARLMOOREANDNIKETHPAREEK ECONOMICS(SECONDEDITION) MEDIASTUDIES TONYCLEAVER JULIANMCDOUGALL EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY(FOURTHEDITION) KAYWOOD NIGELWARBURTON EVOLUTION PHYSICALGEOGRAPHY SHERRIELYONS JOSEPHHOLDEN EUROPEANUNION(SECONDEDITION) POETRY(SECONDEDITION) ALEXWARLEIGH-LACK JEFFREYWAINWRIGHT FILMSTUDIES POLITICS(FOURTHEDITION) AMYVILLAREJO STEPHENTANSEYANDNIGELJACKSON FINANCE(SECONDEDITION) THEOLYMPICS ERIKBANKS ANDYMIAHANDBEATRIZGARCIA THEQUR’AN SHAKESPEARE(THIRDEDITION) MASSIMOCAMPANINI SEANMCEVOY RACEANDETHNICITY SOCIOLOGY PETERKIVISTOANDPAULR.CROLL KENPLUMMER RELIGION(SECONDEDITION) SPECIALEDUCATIONALNEEDS MALORYNYE JANICEWEARMOUTH RELIGIONANDSCIENCE TELEVISIONSTUDIES PHILIPCLAYTON TOBYMILLER RESEARCHMETHODS TERRORISM NICHOLASWALLIMAN JAMESLUTZANDBRENDALUTZ ROMANCATHOLICISM THEATRESTUDIES MICHAELWALSH ROBERTLEACH SEMIOTICS(SECONDEDITION) WORLDHISTORY DANIELCHANDLER PETERN.STEARNS SOCIAL WORK THE BASICS Mark Doel Firstpublished2012 byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada byRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©2012MarkDoel TherightofMarkDoeltobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen assertedbyhiminaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright, DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedin anyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafter invented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformationstorageor retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintentto infringe. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Doel,Mark. Socialwork:thebasics/MarkDoel. p.cm.–(Thebasics) 1.Socialservice.2.Socialworkers.3.Socialcasework.I.Title. HV40.D63332012 361.3–dc23 2011049945 ISBN:978-0-415-60398-0(hbk) ISBN:978-0-415-60399-7(pbk) ISBN:978-0-203-11423-0(ebk) TypesetinBemboandScalaSans byTaylor&FrancisBooks – Dedicated to Jessica, Finley, Elsie and Shreya the next, next generation CONTENTS Acknowledgements xvii Pioneer, investigator, agitator: a brief introduction 1 1 Reformist or radical: Social work’s roots and different identities 4 What is social work? 4 Definitions 5 Metaphors 7 The social work story 8 Origins of social work 10 Early reformist roots 11 Early radical roots 12 Social work values and ethics 14 Beginnings of social work knowledge 16 Usable knowledge 16 Service user knowledge 18 Roots of models and methods 18 Social and medical models 18 Evolution of social work education 19 Development of social work organisation 21 Professional organisation 22