Introducing social work practice

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	Time: 24 hours Level: Introductory

	Introduction Introduction Resource Ever wondered what social workers do? This brief introduction gives you some insight into social work practice and the theory which informs the practice. This unit is made up of a series of six extracts....

	Approaches to social work Approaches to social work Resource This unit introduces you to social work practice, and you will consider the meaning of ‘social work values’ as well as the different approaches to social work and the skills involved.

	Extract 1: A brief summary of the four components of good practice 1.1 Introduction Resource The four components of good practice are introduced here and you will find references to them throughout your practice learning. The four components are: 1.2 The four components of good practice Resource Developing a knowledge base is only one aspect of learning. The knowledge you acquire will be assessed by the way in which you apply it to practice situations through your written work. Your practice... 1.3 Component 1: Knowledge Resource What exactly is meant by knowledge and theory and how can it inform practice? This question cannot be fully answered here, but the following section maps out the kinds of knowledge that are relevant to... 1.4 Component 2: Values and ethics Resource You will have come across the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers when you looked at the Framework documents for your country. These Codes are the main documents relating to values in the framework... 1.5 Component 3: Skills Resource We all have considerable skills that we develop as we go through life. Many of them are so familiar to us that we probably don't think about them. For example, the reading skill which you are using right... 1.6 Component 4: the social work process Resource The social work process comprises a sequence of actions or tasks which draw upon all of the components of practice discussed so far. The social work process rarely follows a clear linear route and is more... 1.7 Summary of Extract 1 Resource This first extract has raised some complex and important issues, such as questions about what we mean by professional social work practice and values, which will be explored further. You have also been... 1.8 References for Extract 1 Resource Banks, S. (2001) Ethics and Values in Social Work, 2nd edn, London, BASW/Macmillan.

	Extract 2: Biography 2.1 Your life story Resource To begin our exploration of the four components of good practice we will be considering a very specific kind of knowledge, the kind of knowledge that for most of us remains private and is individual to... 2.2 Biography as history Resource So far in this extract you have looked at your life and some of the main influences on you. This process of self reflection, if developed, could provide the basis of your life story. If you decided to... Case study 1 Resource For much of the last century, many children who would today be regarded as being in need were caught up in the long-running child migration scheme. This scheme had been running throughout the 19th century... Case study 2 Resource A widely used approach in child care was the ‘curative’ policy (Midwinter, 1994). This sought to treat those children and adults deemed deficient in some way in locations specially set up for the purpose.... 2.3 Identity and identities Resource So far in this extract we have considered the importance of people's individual biographies to an understanding of who they are. Such biographies play an important part in making us who we are and we will... Self identity Resource Thinking about your own life story and those of other people can lead you to the realisation that we are not just interested in people's experiences, but in what it is those experiences mean to them and... Ascribed identity Resource So far we have been concerned with ways in which we define ourselves. How other people or society at large might define you could be different from the way you define yourself. This points to an important... 2.4 Psychosocial theories of identity Resource This section does not discuss theories of identity in detail. It is important to note, however, that the theory associated with Erik Erikson, a German psychoanalyst who worked in the USA from the 1930s,... 2.5 Conclusion Resource This extract has covered a wide range of issues designed to make you reflect on your own life experiences and on the experiences and perceptions of service users and practitioners. Social work is about... 2.6 References for Extract 2 Resource Bean, P. and Melville, J. (1989) Lost Children of the Empire, London, Unwin Hyman.

	Extract 3: What is social work? 3.1 Introduction: the social context of social work Resource Extract 1 discussed the four components of good practice: Knowledge, Skills, Values and Process. From Extract 2 you will now have an understanding of ‘individual people’ in social work: the service providers... 3.2 Social work roles in practice Resource You will already have taken a look at the Framework documents for your nation, all of which contain broadly the same key roles, but you may like to review them now. It can sometimes be difficult to see... 3.3 What about communities? Resource The last activity looked at the key roles from the perspective of Lynne and Arthur as individuals, but in fact it also says that working with ‘families, carers, groups and communities’ is necessary. Do... 3.4 An international definition of social work Resource The function of social work is not only defined by the philosophies and beliefs of individual nations' governments or assemblies. The following definition of social work was issued jointly by the International... 3.5 Vulnerability and rights Resource One of the assumptions that is made in order to justify social workers making such life-changing judgements is that some people are vulnerable and therefore need decisions made on their behalf. This assumption... 3.6 References for Extract 3 Resource British Association of Social Workers (BASW) (2002) A Code of Ethics for Social Workers, Birmingham, BASW.

	Extract 4: Responding to children's needs 4.1 Children's rights Resource The story of the Palmer family is presented in the audio below, and it provides material about working with families. The case study is a dramatic presentation of a reconstituted family consisting of three... 4.2 The developmental needs of the child Resource The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DH, 2000) emphasises the need for a thorough understanding of child development. There has been extensive and sometimes contradictory... 4.3 Involving parents Resource Petrie (2003, p. 168) suggests that child development is a good topic of discussion when working in partnership with adults. Even if the significance of their child's development is not fully understood,... 4.4 Involving children Resource The other key person to be consulted is the child herself. Although Jade's ability or willingness to communicate may vary in different contexts, her understanding will remain and for most children this... 4.5 Parents and adult family carers Resource Much has been written around the concept of parenting capacity, which according to the Assessment Framework (DH, 2000) is one of the key dimensions of child welfare (along with developmental needs and... 4.6 Final words Resource While social work knowledge, skill and experience can make a difference to a family, the contexts in which we practise create the processes which, more than anything else, determine the life chances of... 4.7 References for Extract 4 Resource Barn, R. (1999) Working with Black Children and Adolescents in Need, London, BAAF.

	Extract 5: Social work skills 5.1 Empowerment and advocacy Resource Qualified social workers are expected to have the necessary skills to empower service users to participate in assessments and decision making and also to ensure that service users have access to advocacy... 5.2 References for Extract 5 Resource Barnes, M. and Walker, A. (1996) ‘Consumerism versus Empowerment: a principled approach to the involvement of older service users’, Policy and Politics, 24 (4) pp. 375–93.

	Extract 6: Social work purpose, roles, codes and standards 6.1 What must qualifying social workers do? Resource In a historical sense there has never really been widespread consensus about what it is that social workers should do. The last government enquiry in the 1980s (Barclay, 1982) had to be published with... 6.2 The key purpose of social work Resource The starting point for the development of these standards is the identification of the key purpose of social work, for which the international definition of social work has been adopted: 6.3 Key roles of social work Resource The internationally agreed key purpose is, as we have seen, a broad statement that is open to debate. It encapsulates a wide brief for social work. You may well want at this stage to focus in more detail... 6.4 What are the codes of practice? Resource As a student on a professional social work qualification programme, you would need to sign up to the codes of practice as part of registration with your nation's care council. Codes of practice have been... 6.5 Service user and carer perspectives Resource A social work degree places an increased emphasis on service users' perspectives. This was first outlined in the White Paper Modernising Social Services (DoH, 1998) that introduced legislation to set up... 6.6 Conclusion Resource This extract has emphasised the importance of becoming familiar with the framework of learning outcomes within which your progress would be assessed. 6.7 References for Extract 6 Resource Barclay, R. (1982) Social Workers: Their Role and Tasks, London, NISW, Bedford Square Press.

	References and Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Resource

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Topic outline

Introduction

Approaches to social work

Extract 1: A brief summary of the four components of good practice

Extract 2: Biography

Extract 3: What is social work?

Extract 4: Responding to children's needs

Extract 5: Social work skills

Extract 6: Social work purpose, roles, codes and standards

References and Acknowledgements

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