Textbooks
Explore our diverse range of digital textbooks designed for course adoption and recommended reading at universities and colleges. We publish over 140 textbooks across the social sciences, and an annual subscription to digital textbooks is possible via BUP Digital.
Our content is fully searchable and can be accessed on and off-campus through Shibboleth, OpenAthens or an institutional authenticated IP. For any questions on digital textbook pricing and subscription information, please contact simon.bell@bristol.ac.uk.
We are happy to provide digital samples of any of our coursebooks by completing this form. To see the full collection of all our core textbooks, browse our main website.
Books: Textbooks
Rogowski’s second edition of this bestselling textbook responds to the major changes to social work practice since the first edition was published. It is fully revised and updated to include new material that is essential for students and practising social workers today.
Taking a critical perspective, Rogowski evaluates social work’s development, nature and rationale over approximately 150 years. He explores how neoliberalism is at the core of the profession’s crisis and calls for progressive, critical and radical changes to social work policy and practices based on social justice and social change.
This new edition is substantially updated to explore:
• the impact of austerity policies since 2010;
• failures to realise the progressive possibilities which followed the death of ‘Baby P’;
• contemporary examples of critical and radical practice.
It also includes a range of student-friendly features including chapter summaries, key learning and discussion points, and further reading.
It is essential that social work students understand the lasting impact political decision making can have on service users, yet little guidance exists on this subject. This valuable book provides a comprehensive introduction to politics in social work, unifying the themes of political ideology and social construction across several areas of social work practice, including emerging areas of practice. The book:
• Introduces the dominant political ideologies in the UK;
• Examines the impact of these ideological perspectives on different demographic groups;
• Explores emerging areas of growing political interest such as radicalisation;
• Employs case studies and examples from practice to aid student understanding.
Including helpful key points to guide reading at the beginning of each chapter, as well as exercises for seminars and further reading recommendations, this text will be an invaluable resource to all students in social work.
The political and economic landscape of UK social security provision has changed significantly since the 2008 financial crisis. This fully revised, restructured and updated 3rd edition of a go-to text book covers all the key policy changes and their implications since the elections of 2010 and 2015.
With contributions from leading academics in the field this book critically examines the design, entitlement, delivery and impact of current welfare provision. The first half of the book examines social security across the lifecycle from Child Benefit to retirement pensions. The second half focuses on key issues in policy and practice including new topics such as the realities of life on benefits in an era of austerity, and the pros and cons of Universal Basic Income.
• Framework supports teachers and students, encouraging analytical thinking of issues and providing pointers to related sources
• Authoritative and evidence-based arguments
• Clear section and chapter summaries, overviews, questions for discussion, website resources and a bibliography
• Includes tables, charts and text boxes for clarity, interest and appeal
This book is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Social Policy taking modules on Social Security Policy, Poverty and Inequality, Income Support and Welfare Reform, as well as Social Work students and those on other Social Science degree programmes.
In this uniquely vivid and compelling textbook, the authors reflect on eight challenging situations they have faced in the world of child protection social work. Their candid accounts provide in-depth case studies in how to work reflectively, using theory and research in situations of pressure and dilemma. They cover many common aspects of practice, including:
• assessing risk;
• managing different professional perspectives;
• working with uncooperative clients;
• dealing with organisational change.
Throughout the book, the authors pause at intervals to reveal their thoughts and feelings, either as reflections in the moment or afterwards, and they invite the reader to do the same. Their detailed analysis will allow you to understand why particular decisions might be made, and how you can overcome similar predicaments using the tools of reflective practice. Annotated further readings lists and a glossary of terms offer further resources for study.
The realities of child protection social work can be intimidating for even the most seasoned practitioners. This book is designed to empower both students and qualified professionals to practise safely, responsibly and confidently.
How is social work shaped by global issues and international problems and how should it address them? This book employs a radical perspective to examine international social work.
Globalisation had opened up many issues for social work, including how to address global inequalities, the impact of global economic problems and trends towards neoliberalism. By examining the origins of modern social work, problematising its definition and addressing the care/control dichotomy the book reveals what we can learn from different approaches and projects across the globe.
Case studies from the UK, the US, Canada, Spain, Latin America, Australia, Hungary and Greece bring the text to life and allow both students and practitioners to apply theory to practice.
The second edition of this popular book has been inspired by the increasing interest around social entrepreneurship scholarship and the practice of delivering innovative solutions to social issues.
Although social enterprises generally remain small, the impact of social entrepreneurs is increasing globally, as all countries are endeavouring to respond to increasingly complex social problems and demands for welfare at a time of government cut backs.
Additional chapters and international case studies explore new developments, such as the rise of the social investment market, the use of design thinking and the increasing importance of social impact measurement.
Understanding community is a highly topical text offering a clear understanding of policy and theory in relation to community. By examining areas of government policy, such as economic development, education, health, housing, and community safety, this book explores the difficulties that communities face and discusses new concepts such as community cohesion, social capital and community capacity building. Somerville challenges our understanding of community, both social and conceptual, and assesses the strengths and limitations of this understanding.
This book is essential for students studying social policy, social work and sociology, and an invaluable resource for policymakers in community development, urban regeneration and allied fields.
