Research
You will find a complete range of our monographs, muti-authored and edited works including peer-reviewed, original scholarly research across the social sciences and aligned disciplines. We publish long and short form research and you can browse the complete Bristol University Press and Policy Press archive.
Policy Press also publishes policy reviews and polemic work which aim to challenge policy and practice in certain fields. These books have a practitioner in mind and are practical, accessible in style, as well as being academically sound and referenced.
Books: Research
The Enlightened Social Worker seeks to understand why there is so often a gap between the aspiration of social work to be a helping profession guided by principles of social justice and the reality of practice, which is often characterised by tension and conflict. The book develops an account of social work that is grounded in the Enlightenment tradition of individual rights. It sees social workers as typically involved when rights are in potential conflict. In working with these tensions social work is an essential profession, with social workers protecting the rights of individuals and contributing to creating a humane, kind and just society. From this foundation the book seeks to articulate theories and practices that provide a foundation for working with the tensions that are an endemic feature of practice. This includes chapters on direct work, assessments, key theories for rights-focused work and moving beyond working with the individual.
This chapter emphasises the social in rights-focused practice. It underscores the importance of social workers thinking beyond the individual. Ways of doing this are reviewed, including Family Group Conferences, Contextual Safeguarding and working to change policy. Dilemmas relating to focusing on the individual or seeking to change society are considered. It is argued that these conundrums, like so many in the book, cannot be resolved. Instead, we need wise, thoughtful and caring social workers to wrestle with such dilemmas. Throughout, the chapter provides examples of innovative changes championed by social workers actively putting the social into their work.
The Enlightened Social Worker seeks to understand why there is so often a gap between the aspiration of social work to be a helping profession guided by principles of social justice and the reality of practice, which is often characterised by tension and conflict. The book develops an account of social work that is grounded in the Enlightenment tradition of individual rights. It sees social workers as typically involved when rights are in potential conflict. In working with these tensions social work is an essential profession, with social workers protecting the rights of individuals and contributing to creating a humane, kind and just society. From this foundation the book seeks to articulate theories and practices that provide a foundation for working with the tensions that are an endemic feature of practice. This includes chapters on direct work, assessments, key theories for rights-focused work and moving beyond working with the individual.
The idea of the social model is introduced through an historical account of its development first by disability rights campaigners and then in other areas. The distinctive focus on critiquing the nature of social problems, prioritising the voice of those directly experiencing an issue and emphasising social causes and solutions for such issues is considered. The emergence of the model from a focus on rights makes the social model particularly consistent with rights-focused practice, though the fact that the social model does not seek to provide an account of practice is an inherent limitation for social workers. It is argued that in combination with the humanist tradition it is possible to meld the critical focus of the social model with individual practices that pay attention to the views and experiences of those worked with. Together the two provide a strong theoretical foundation for rights-focused practice.
This chapter explores theoretical debates about the nature of need. Arguments about objective or subjective need are presented, and it is suggested that the most widely agreed resolutions of this dilemma – which argue for individuals needing resources to pursue their own aims – lead to further dilemmas. In particular the issue of capacity, considered in the previous chapter, once again arises. In addition there can be tensions between what individuals believe they need and what society is willing to provide. Social workers are often at the heart of such debates, working as practical philosophers in focusing on individual rights.
This brief final chapter reviews the wider implications of a rights-focused perspective on social work. It is suggested that it has fundamental implications for what we perceive to be the aims of social work, and therefore for how we evaluate and lead such services. For instance, rights-focused practices – such as policing or courts – are not usually best judged by outcomes. Processes are intrinsically important for rights-focused practice. This explains much of the complexity in leading or research in social work. More generally, the book ends with an argument in favour of the contribution that rights-focused practice can make not just for individuals but in creating a good society, namely one that is humane, kind, authoritative and respectful.
This introductory chapter explores the gap between definitions and theories about social work and the realities of practice. It introduces the idea of human rights, emphasising their contested nature. It is argued that focusing on the idea of contested rights provides a more grounded way of understanding social work but can still produce an inspiring vision for what social work is and could be.
The Enlightened Social Worker seeks to understand why there is so often a gap between the aspiration of social work to be a helping profession guided by principles of social justice and the reality of practice, which is often characterised by tension and conflict. The book develops an account of social work that is grounded in the Enlightenment tradition of individual rights. It sees social workers as typically involved when rights are in potential conflict. In working with these tensions social work is an essential profession, with social workers protecting the rights of individuals and contributing to creating a humane, kind and just society. From this foundation the book seeks to articulate theories and practices that provide a foundation for working with the tensions that are an endemic feature of practice. This includes chapters on direct work, assessments, key theories for rights-focused work and moving beyond working with the individual.
Moving on from assessment to how to work with individuals, this chapter considers how social workers could and should have rights-focused conversations. Throughout the nature of practice is examined with examples from interviews between social workers and actors playing parents. The tendency of social workers to take on authority positions and to be vague about the focus of the work are identified. Suggestions for authoritative and purposeful practice are made and illustrated through case examples, with many being inspired by the spirit and technique of a specific example of a humanist approach, namely Motivational Interviewing. The chapter finishes with a section on working with capacity issues.
Media and political attention relating to people seeking asylum has increased, particularly during the lead up to and now in the aftermath of Brexit. Practitioners are faced with the challenge of providing services to meet the needs of a more culturally plural service user group. This chapter deals with critical practice with children and families seeking refuge or having refugee status in the UK because of major threats to their welfare and lives in their countries of origin. It emphasises anti-oppressive care rather than control and reminds practitioners of the universal needs of children and families, including speaking out against the violation of human rights and thereby staying true to principles of social justice and service to humanity.
