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THEORIES AND METHODS

OF SOCIAL WORK

Exploring different perspectives

Edited by

vESNA LESKOšEK

Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana, 2009

Contents

Notes on the authors v Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1 Vesna Leskošek

Part I – Theories, methods and the history of social work

1 Social Work as a Discipline and Profession 9 Silvia Staub-Bernasconi 2 The Use of Conceptual Frameworks to Investigate the Structure-Agency Link in Comparative Immigration Policy and its Relevance to Social Work 31 Claudia Schneider

3 Theory with Passion: Ilse Arlt and Current Questions in Social Work 45 Maria Maiss and Peter Pantucek

4 From Reflection to Action within Community Social Work: The Role of Action Research as a Method for Social Work Education and Practice 61 Reima Ana Maglajlić Holiček and Mark Baldwin

Part II – The impact of globalisation on social work theory and practice

5 ‘Another Social Work is Possible!’ Reclaiming the Radical Tradition 81 Iain Ferguson

6 The Influence of Global Financial Institutions on the Development of Welfare in South Eastern Europe and their Impact on Social Work 99 Maria Donevska and Svetlana Trbojevik

7 The Construction of the ‘Deviant Foreigner’ and its Impact on Social Work 125 Vesna Leskošek

Part III – Participatory approaches in social work

8 Social Work with People with Dementia: The Case of Slovenia 149 Jana Mali

9 Recognition and Recognitive Attitudes between Refugees and Authorities: A Finnish Example 161 Kati Turtiainen

10 From the Margin to the Centre: Service Users as Researchers in Social Work Practice 179 Petra Videmšek Concluding Remarks: Crossing the Borders in Social Work 195 Vesna Leskošek Index 197

vi Theories and Methods of Social Work: Exploring Different Perspectives

Mark Baldwin Dr. Mark Baldwin is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Bath, Department of Social and Policy Sciences. His research interests inclu- de policy implementation and the part played by professionals, particularly social workers; service user involvement; empowerment; and the re-emer- gence of radical social work. His recent publications include: Social Care under Blair: Are Social Care Services More Modern? (2008) (In: Powell, M., Modernising the Welfare State: The Blair legacy , Bristol: The Policy Press); Helping People with Learning Difficulties into Paid Employment: Will UK Social Workers Use the Available Welfare to Work System? (2006) ( Journal of Policy Practice 5: 2–3); and Social Work, Critical Reflection and the Learning Organisation (with N. Gould) (2004), Aldershot: Ashgate.

Maria Donevska Dr. Maria Donevska is a Fulltime Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, Uni- versity Ss. Cyril and Methodious, Skopje, Macedonia, and Head of the Insti- tute of Social Work and Social Policy. Her first Ph.D. was in social sciences and second in social policy and social work. Her research interests include the theory of social work, methods of social work, the non-governmental sec- tor and poverty. Her recent publications include: Theoretical Foundations of Social Work (1999), Skopje: Filozofski fakultet (in Macedonian); Social Work in the Local Community (2006), Skopje: Filozofski fakultet (in Macedonian); Social Policy and Social Work (Co-editor) (1999), Skopje: OSI; ‘Macedonia’: National Strategy for Po- verty in Macedonia (2002), Skopje: Government of the Republic of Macedonia; and Social Inclusion of Children and Youth (Co-editor) (2005), Skopje: Foundation for Educational and Cultural Initiatives, Step by Step.

Iain Ferguson Dr. Iain Ferguson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling, Scotland. He is also a social worker, the Chair of the Departmental Ethics Committee and the Chief Examiner (Social Work). His main research interests include globalisation, welfare reform, radical social work traditions, service user involvement, mental health and asylum seekers. His recent publications include: International Social Work and the Radical Tradition (with M. Lavalette) (2007), London: Venture Press; Reclaiming Social Work: Chal- lenging Neo-liberalism and Promoting Social Justice (2008), London: Sage; and Radical Social Work in the 21st Century (with R. Woodward) (2009), Bristol: Policy Press.

Reima Ana Maglajlić Holiček Dr. Reima Ana Maglajlić Holiček is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Hu- man Sciences, Swansea University, UK. Her research interests include co- operation between relevant stakeholders in education, research and practice innovation; and the impact of international and supranational voluntary sector

Contributors vii

organisations on social protection reform in developing countries. Her recent publications include: Participatory Action Research with Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina (with J. Tiffany) (2006) (In: Checkoway, B.N, Gutierrez, L.M. [Eds.], Youth Participation and Community Change , The Haworth Press); The Role of NGOs in Societies Facing War: Experiences from Bosnia and Herzegovina (with E.K. Rašidagić) (2008) (In: Ramon, S. [Ed.], Social Work in the Context of Political Conflict , IASSW and Venture Press); and Towards Collaborative Social Work Education and Practice (2009), VDM Verlag.

Maria Maiss

Dr. Maria Maiss is a Lecturer at the University for Applied Studies in St.Pölten, Austria. She leads the task force on the history and theory of so- cial work at the Ilse Arlt Institute for Social Inclusion Research. She has a Ph.D. in philosophy. Her research interests include social work theory, ethics, and the history of social work. Her recent publications include: Sozi- alarbeit im Dienst der Ermöglichung substanzeller/materieller Bedingungen von Freiheit und Wohlleben (2008) (In: Pantucek, P., Maiss, M., Die Aktualität des Denkens von Ilse Arlt , Wiesbaden: VS); and Entstaubte Geschichte: Zur Ak- tualität eines hiermit öffentlich zugänglich gemachten Plädoyers Ilse Arlts: „Die geprüfte Großmutter“ (2008) (In: Pantucek, P., Schmid, T., Vyslouzil, M. [Eds.], Recht. SO, Menschenrechte und Probleme der Sozialarbeit, Festschrift für Karl Dvorak , Vienna: Mandelbaum).

Jana Mali

Dr. Jana Mali is an Assistant Lecturer at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. She is also a social worker. Her research interests include social work with older people, gerontology, methods of social work, and supervision in social work. Her recent publications inclu- de: Dementia: A Challenge for Social Work (Co-editor with V. Miloševič Arnold) (2007), Ljubljana: Faculty of Social Work (in Slovene); From Almshouses to Homes for the Older People (2008), Ljubljana: Faculty of Social Work (in Slovene); and Long-term Care: Outline of Needs and Responses to Needs (Co-author) (2008), Ljublja- na: Faculty of Social Work (in Slovene).

Peter Pantucek

Dr. Peter Pantucek is a Dean of the Social Work Department at the Universi- ty of Applied Sciences St. Pöllten, Austria, and the Head of the Ilse Arlt Insti- tute on Social Inclusion Research. He is also a sociologist, a social worker and a supervisor. His research interests include social work intervention methods and social diagnosis. His publications include: Lebensweltorientierte Individualhil- fe (1998), Freiburg im Breisgau: Lambertus; Soziale Diagnostik. Verfahren für die Praxis Sozialer Arbeit (2009), 2nd^ revised edition, Vienna: Boehlau; Die Aktuali- tät des Denkens von Ilse Arlt (Co-editor with M. Maiss) (2009), Wiesbaden: VS

ix

interests include social inclusion in the field of mental health and handicap, the involvement of service users in research and education, and advocacy in the field of the sexual abuse of handicapped people and people with mental health difficulties. Her publications include: A Handbook about Good and Bad Tou- ches (1999), Ljubljana: MOST (in Slovene); and Innovative Methods in Social Work: Empowerment of People who Need Support for Independent Living (Co-author with D. Za- viršek and J. Zorn) (2002), Ljubljana: Študentska založba (in Slovene).

Contributors

Introduction

Vesna Leskošek

Social work as a profession, while originating from different traditions, was closely connected with social movements at the beginning of the twentieth century, as is evident from the work of Alice Salomon, Jane Adams, Ilse Artl, Helena Radlinska and others that contributed to its first conceptualisations. Since then, social work has gone through different phases and has acquired local interpretations that, in many cases, reflect differences in the develop- ment of welfare regimes. Its common roots were lost not just as a result of these developments, but also in the collective memory. Selective memory has its own economy; in the case of social work, the profession’s collective mem- ory became detached from the grassroots ideas that distinguished it from the charitable activities of the church. Reading the texts of women pioneers, we can see that the origins of social work were closely connected with social movements that contributed to the development of the basic principles of welfare states: equality, social justice, well-being and solidarity. The need for a book with such a broad, yet basic title is a result of global processes that have influenced or provoked social changes pertaining to all three basic principles. These changes are reflected in many books and articles on social work from the last few decades, and especially in recent years. They can be summarised as follows:

- The change in language. ‘Social justice’, ‘equality’, ‘well-being’ and ‘solidarity’ are being replaced with ‘social inclusion’. Instead of challenging an unjust society that produces social inequalities, we have begun to think about the inclusion of excluded groups. - A focus on efficiency and effectiveness. A new set of theories and practices has been developed which tends to instrumentalise complex social relations: task-centred, solution-focused, evidence-based approaches incorporat- ing the managerial logic of new economies. - Many policies (including those of the EU) aim to enlarge the profit-focused competitive markets and boost economic growth and new fiscal measures. These policies have incorporated neo-liberalism, which actually applies more to social than economic changes. Welfare regimes are being called into question and,

Introduction 3

perspective. Arlt emphasised that effective social work cannot only deal with individuals, but has to consider the environment. The relevance of the work of these three pioneers to the present situation is demonstrated by the issues raised in the fourth chapter, which features a debate on the position of action research and community social work. Both concepts focus on approaches to human needs and problems that demand social change as opposed to changes in the individual. Through its emphasis on the importance of the radical so- cial work tradition, this chapter also provides a segue into the second part. The second chapter is also a continuation of the debate from the first chapter, which posits the importance of the use of theories in social work. Theoretical and conceptual frameworks enable us to move away from particularities and to link the local level with global processes. Silvia Staub Bernasconi discusses current differences between countries and the extent to which social work is an academic degree and is understood as a science or, conversely, is placed outside academia and treated as a profes- sion. Her argument includes the theoretical contributions of two pioneers of professional social work, one of which focuses on the individual in its social environment, and the other on the close interrelation between the in- dividual and society and on society itself. One can say that, in a way, these two approaches were an important starting point for the theoretical pluralism that exists today. This pluralism is described and discussed as partial theo- ries which diagnose, explain and aim to change selected features of social problems in a specific way. The last section is dedicated to four theoretical approaches which try to integrate the different traditions without homogenis- ing them, that is, without forcing them into a unitary approach. The author concludes that, seen under these premises, social work has a triple mandate: one dimension is constituted by the client; another by society represented by welfare organisations; and a third by the profession itself. Claudia Schneider discusses how conceptual frameworks can be utilised as a methodological and theoretical tool to study the structure-agency link in social investigations. The aim of this chapter is to present a strategy for the investigation of the structure-agency link which should be useful for social work researchers and also for practitioners who are interested in the construc- tion, maintenance or change of social structures. The theoretical discussion is illustrated by examples of comparative immigration policy and its relevance to social work. The concluding part of the chapter discusses the importance of conceptual frameworks and the structure-agency link in the context of social work theory and social work practice. Maria Maiss and Peter Pantucek analyse the work of Ilse Arlt, an Austrian pioneer of social work. This social work thinker’s approach is based on na- tional economic concerns, and contains questions about how to improve the individual and society. Her work emphasises the interdependency of eco- nomic and individual freedom. Taken as a whole, her philosophy includes

4 Theories and Methods of Social Work: Exploring Different Perspectives

many elements that are central to the question of the quality of life in current debates. Current criticism of specialised social services corresponds to Arlt’s philosophy, which points out that specialisation reduces the potential for co- operation with other helping services. Arlt’s concept of need and consumer- ism offers differentiated and expandable categories and concepts, on which useful instruments for the timely recognition, analysis, coding and avoidance of poverty are based. We can use these categories to analyse social problems as well as their multi-causal conditions and interdependencies. Reima Ana Maglajlić and Mark Baldwin discuss the shift in social work from case work to community work. They emphasise the new definition of social work that was adopted by the International Association of the Schools of Social Work, which promotes social change, empowerment and the libera- tion of people in order to enhance their well-being in line with the principles of human rights and social justice. There is evidence of a widening interest in radical perspectives following the perceived attacks on social work values from a variety of globalised initiatives, including the continued focus on com- modified individual consumers in a market of care, the progressive privatisa- tion of services and the de-professionalisation of traditional social work tasks. The authors emphasise the relevance of action research in their discussion of contemporary community social work. To underscore its relevance, they present two case studies from the UK and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and con- clude with a discussion of the lessons and challenges for implementing action research in social work. The second part of the book addresses globalisation and its impact on social work theory and practice. All three chapters focus on neo-liberalism and its effects on social work and the welfare state. The first chapter focuses on the effects of the free market ideology on social work theory and practice, and claims that the radical tradition in social work offers a good foothold for resistance. The second chapter continues the debate with a clear and concise example of how the same neo-liberal ideology that influences nation states has a devastating impact on the social position of citizens. This debate is con- tinued in the third chapter, where the global and the local form the subject of a debate focusing on the role of racism and hatred towards foreigners and on how discriminative practices support the free market ideology. Iain Ferguson claims that for more than two decades, the notion that ‘there is no alternative’ to the free market as a basis for organising both economy and society has exercised an extraordinary influence over almost every aspect of social life and thought – economic, political and academic. Social work, like other social professions, has been profoundly affected by this neo-liberal onslaught. The specific manner in which these ideas and policies have shaped social work services and forms of practice has varied from country to coun- try. This dominance of neo-liberal ideas, policies and practice has not gone unchallenged. Within the narrower field of social welfare and social work,

6 Theories and Methods of Social Work: Exploring Different Perspectives

the more intensive engagement of social workers in programmes of treatment for persons with dementia and through the support provided to their family caregivers, social work can be expected to develop new professional roles in this challenging new field of practise. She supports her discussion with the results of research conducted in Slovenia in 2003 and 2004. Kati Turtiainen writes about refugee policy in Finland. She focuses on refu- gee resettlement and on the issue of recognition as a concept for constructing normative criteria for a good society. The principle of recognition is based on the notion that the possibility of identity formation depends on the develop- ment of self-confidence, self-respect and self-esteem, and that this develop- ment also affects trust. She supports her claims with findings from a qualita- tive research project that is still taking place in Finland. Petra Videmšek focuses on user-led research and explores how it contributes to social work practice. Two issues are discussed in detail: user-led research per se and the purpose of user-led research in social work practice. The discussion is based on her experience of coordinating participatory user-led research in Slovenia in partnership with six trained user researchers. This experience forms the basis of a discussion about the advantages of the involvement of service users as researchers in social work practice, while at the same time acknowledging that user-led research poses a challenge to both the social work profession and the service user. The aim of this brief introduction to the content of the book is to eluci- date connections between the chapters that may not be obvious at first glance. Although they represent different countries, the contributors have a shared view on the current political and social situation that frames our lives and choices. They bring specific views and approaches to problems. I sincerely hope that you, the reader, will find the book stimulating and enjoyable.

PART I

Theories, Methods and the History

of Social Work