Cover Critical and Radical Social Work
Critical and Radical Social Work
An international journal

Against social work values: their origins, nature and problems

Author: John Harris1
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  • 1 Coventry University, , UK
Article Category:
Research Article
Copyright:
© Policy Press 2021
Online Publication Date:
20 May 2021
Pages:
1–15
Publisher:
Policy Press
Volume/Issue:
Early View
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1332/204986021X16177219029067
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‘Social work values’ are a feature of contemporary English social work and social work education that, over time, have become so established that they are now accepted with little questioning. This lack of reflection about social work values is probed, beginning with a historical excavation to reveal the background to their emergence from the social democratic welfare state, via critical and radical perspectives, and the process that led to their official embrace. After completing the historical excavation, the enduring influence of their historical origins is noted, their nature is interrogated and the problems they pose are explored.

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John Harris1
  • 1 Coventry University, , UK

j.harris@warwick.ac.uk

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