Abstract
This excellent reference work brings together the world’s leading scholars in the discipline to provide an overview of classic, current and future trends of critical social work. It comprises forty-eight chapters and is divided into six parts: historical, social and political influences; mapping the theoretical and conceptual terrain; methods of engagement and modes of analysis; critical contexts for practice and policy; professional education and socialisation; and future challenges, directions and transformations. In short, this weighty tome comprehensively deals with the various aspects of critical social work by highlighting the thinking and practices needed to ensure social justice in an uncertain future.
Jan Fook’s foreword emphasises that critical social work grew out of the radical social work movement of the 1970s and now includes a range of theory and perspectives including Marxist and neo-Marxist thinking, feminist, post-structural and critical social theories, as well as social constructivism and critical race theory. Perhaps what unites them overall is an antipathy to neoliberalism and ensuing managerialism that dominates in various parts of the world. As for critical social work itself, as Stephen Webb’s introduction highlights, it is a generic term for an approach to practice, policy and research ‘that draws on critical theory and progressive Left thinking to promote social and economic justice through transformational change and [even] insurrection’ (p. xxxiii).
All the chapters are fascinating, but having had lengthy experience of practice in the UK with children and families, perhaps it is no surprise that two chapters particularly caught my eye. First, June Thorburn and Brigid Featherstone look at adoption, child rescue, maltreatment and poverty by charting the key adoption and child protection debates in the UK since the 1970s. These include: the critique of ‘care’ and the increase of adoption as a child protection measure; children and family rights perspectives; and, most recently, the growing evidence about the impact of poverty on life chances. Regarding the latter, research illuminates the impact of poverty and other material deprivations on life chances. For instance, children in the most deprived 10 percent of English small neighbourhoods were over ten times more likely to be taken into care or be the subject of a child protection plan than children in the least deprived 10 percent (Bywaters et al., 2018). Although this was seen for children of all age groups, it is the youngest who are most likely to be separated, from their birth parents via adoption. This is linked to the fact that austerity policies have increased the numbers of children living in poverty, reduced the support services available for them and reinforced the inequalities that limit their potential. As a result, and as the authors’ state, there is a need for a radical review of policies and practices that tend to prioritise adoption over all other options for children and families who essentially only need more help and support.
The second chapter that particularly drew my attention is Emily Keddell’s and Tony Stanley’s contribution on child protection and risk. Indeed, ‘risk’ is currently a primary ‘driver’ of policy and practice in child protection social work. In the UK and elsewhere we have a risk averse culture resulting in an increase in the numbers of children in care and this can be associated with senior managers not wanting their organisations to be pilloried in the media if ‘things go wrong’. Relatedly, organisational ‘key performance indicators’ and modes of quantitative measures now appear to dominate when notions of ‘quality’ are to the fore. Although there are practice models focussing on ‘strengths’ or ‘safety’, the authors point out that, from a critical social work perspective, such ideas need to be embedded in an understanding of ‘the structural conditions relating to high inequality, poverty, poor housing and strained service provision’ (p. 413), all factors, of course, invariably impacting on parenting. More fundamentally, a key point is that critical theorising has to try to facilitate new ideas to re-orientate practice to become more aligned with social justice and rights-based ideals.
On a different tack, Iain Ferguson’s chapter focuses on social work radicalism as a response to political polarisation and the environmental crisis. He notes the return of racism and fascism in the form of neo-Nazi parties now sitting in the parliaments of several European countries. Important also, of course, Trump is ensconced in the White House and perhaps some racist/xenophobic overtones relating to Brexit. Counter posed to this was the support of young people for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders in the US in 2016 and the rise of Jeremy Corbyn in Britain. In this political context, radical social work may not seem to have been energised in the same way. However, there are some examples of recent radicalism. In Spain, for instance, the Orange Tide movement comprises social workers and services users who gather in orange T-shirts to protest against expenditure cuts. In Hong Kong frontline workers, linked to the Progressive Social Work Network, have been involved in social movements aimed at developing more radical forms of practice. Additionally, of course, there is the Social Work Action Network in the UK and Ireland which engages in campaigns against such as the privatisation of children’s services, cuts to mental health services and the coercive practices targeted at asylum seekers. As Ferguson states, such pockets of resistance need to be nurtured and nourished to show that ‘another social work’ and – more broadly – ‘another world’ is possible.
To conclude, this book is certainly recommended and will appeal to readers of CSP. This is despite concerns expressed by many, including some of the contributors, about the price. No doubt this hardback edition is aimed at university libraries, but less expensive formats need to become available for students, practitioners and the general reader. Indeed, Routledge need to publish a paperback issue as soon as possible! Apart from this, not insignificant quibble about the hardback price, The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work is clearly essential reading.