This collection charts the key developments in the social work field from 1970 to the present day and shows how by fully understanding social work’s past, we can make better progress for practitioners and service users in the future.It brings together a broad collection of experts from across social work who trace how thinking and approaches to practice have changed over time, examine key legislative developments in the field, look at the impacts of major inquiries and consider the...

This unique book provides an international comparison of labour markets, migrant professionals and immigration policies, and their interaction in relation to social work.Case studies based on the latest research from the UK, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia allow readers to make critical comparisons and gain understanding of the global nature of the social work profession. Detailed analysis covers the opportunities and challenges presented by labour market mobility, the i...

First published in 1999, in the light of recent moves towards deprofessionalisation and instrumentalism, Karen Lyons has conducted extensive research into the challenges facing social work training as a higher education discipline. Here, these challenges are located in a discussion of wider changes in both higher education and the personal social services, and are also linked to debates about professional education and the nature of knowledge. The analysis is based on original data and inc...

Social work has always been a contested activity and its status as an academic discipline remains uncertain. There is currently renewed interest in the theoretical and research dimensions of social work, at a time when significant changes in the broad social, political and economic context in which practice takes place require a re-evaluation of social work's role and a re-examination of its identity. This timely book brings together leading social work academics to examine the state of so...

This book advocates the development of international social work, both as offering an important perspective on practice at local level and as a distinct form of cross-border and supra-national activity. The author argues that the effects of globalization and regional policies on the welfare sector have implications for the users of social services and community development programmes which require all social professionals to have a better understanding of these processes and consequences a...

Excellent social work education and training is vital for ensuring best practice, and it is important to understand the key approaches and methods in order to provide the best teaching and ensure effective learning.This volume provides an overview of social work education, including the background and current context. It covers the key debates surrounding social work education, such as the evaluation of social work education, the use of IT, research-mindedness, and the effectivenes...

Grappling with ethical issues is a daily challenge for those working in organizations that deliver public services. Such services are delivered through an often bewildering range of agencies and amidst this constant change, there are fears that a public service ethos, a tradition of working in the public interest, becomes blurred.Using extensive vignettes and case studies, Ethics and Management in the Public Sector illuminates the practical decisions made by public officia...

Understanding Development offers a comprehensive introduction to the multidimensional and evolving nature of international development in the contemporary world. This new edition has been fully revised and expanded to incorporate the key events, trends and debates that are shaping development today, such as humanitarianism and the global refugee crisis, the growing number of fragile states, and the contested nature of trade and trade deals. Building on the book's original framewor...

Making policy is what governments do, but there are some fascinating and hotly debated issues associated with how government decisions get made in the interests of the people. The concept and practice of evidence-based policy-making insists that properly developed public policy draws on the best available evidence. This book considers how governments in Canada have historically interacted with research and what directions these interactions may take in the future. The goal of government maki...

The newly updated third edition provides a clear and user-friendly introduction to the complex debates around how development has been understood and achieved. It has been fully updated and expanded to reflect global political and economic shifts, as well as new approaches to development.The book deals with the evolution of development ideas and policies, focusing on economic, political, social, environmental and spatial dimensions. It highlights how development cannot be considere...

The Companion to Development Studies contains over a hundred chapters written by leading international experts within the field to provide a concise and authoritative overview of the key theoretical and practical issues dominating contemporary development studies. Covering a wide range of disciplines the book is divided into ten sections, each prefaced by a section introduction written by the editors. The sections cover: the nature of development, theories and strategies of develo...

This book is an edited collection of original papers which challenge in a very direct manner the dominant behviourist and functionalist views that have come to entrap those who live, work and conduct research in the areas of educational leadership, and focusing instead on the structures and processes within schools as organisations that frustrate, distort and ultimately stifle educative relationships the writers provide a much needed way of reconceptualising both thought and action in so-c...