Social Work in the 21st Century


Book Description

Social Work in the 21st Century is a T1 for courses called Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare. It is an overview of the Welfare system in America and it gives special attention to the role of a social worker and how they have historically interacted with the system. This book is written as an alternative to the market leader, Zastrow, which is highly dense introduction to the social welfare system and social work. The course is open to all majors and is often the course that draws students into the major of social work. This book is intended to get students excited about the profession and thinking critically about what social workers do and how they operate within the larger system. Unique features of the text include pedagogical features such as "You be the Social Worker," "Questions to Determine your Frame of Reference," "Info tables," and detailed cases with discussion questions. All these features reviewed very well in the text, and all are going to be retained, updated and expanded in the new edition. In addition, the author will add interviews with social workers in various roles and contexts. Reviewers made some very valuable recommendations for the new edition. They include the following: Incorporating a greater focus on the Person in Environment perspective (unique to social work) and a greater focus on macro issues and policy. They also recommended adding more visually appealing elements such as more photos throughout the text. A new feature will be invited essays by social workers in various roles from across the country. This will give students a first hand experience of the variety of roles social workers perform. In addition, the author will update the book to reflect recent current events, such as the historic election, the recent catastrophes and government response (since the book's publication) and will incorporate a greater emphasis on international issues. Finally, the author will give great




Social Work Concerns and Challenges in the 21st Century


Book Description

Choice of themes and the manner in which they are dealt with is a noteworthy feature of this book, Seven out of the twenty articles are on women. A striking feature is that out of the seven articles four of them discuss the daily work undertaken by women.




Toward a Livable Life


Book Description

Toward a Livable Life explores many of today's most critical issues facing both the United States and the profession of social work (i.e., poverty, inequality, disparities in health, discrimination, and several other areas). The volume enlists the insights of leading social work scholars in order to assess the causes behind these problems and identify innovative solutions.




Rural Social Work in the 21st Century


Book Description

"The second edition of this book provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge, skills, values, ethics, and issues central to the practice of social work in small towns and rural communities with updated information and a new chapter on social, economic, and environmental justice. The topics covered include the importance of rural social work, defining rural, and the rewards and challenges of rural practice. It addresses rural culture, behavior, and, language, diversity, and how social policy affects rural communities. Later chapters discuss rural social services, the history of rural social work, a model for rural social work practice, and ethical practice. The final chapters focus on the practice of rural social work, social, economic, and environmental justice, and challenges for the future. Rural social work, rural, social work, ethics, history, rural culture, generalist practice, environmental justice"--




Employment Relations in the 21st Century


Book Description

It cannot be denied that in recent decades, for many if not most people, work has become unstable and insecure, with serious risk and few benefits for workers. As this reality spills over into political and social life, it is crucial to interrogate the transformations affecting employment relations, shape research agendas, and influence the policies of national and international institutions. This single volume brings together thirty-nine scholars (both academics and experienced industrial relations actors) in the fields of employment relations and labour law in a forthright discussion of new approaches, theories, and methods aimed at ameliorating the world of work. Focusing on why and how work is changing, how collective actors deal with it, and the future of work from different disciplinary angles and at an international level, the contributors describe and analyse such issues and topics as the following: new forms of social protection and representation; differences in the power relations of workers and political dynamics; balancing protection of workers’ dignity and promotion of productivity; intersection of information technology and workplace regulation; how the gig economy undermines legal protections; role of professional and trade associations; workplace conflict management; lay judges in labour courts; undeclared work in the informal sector of the labour market; work incapacity and disability; (in)coherence of the work-related case law of the European Court of Justice; and business restructurings. Derived from a major conference held in Leuven in September 2018, the book offers an in-depth understanding of the changing world of work, its main transformations, and the challenges posed to classical employment relations theories and methods as well as to labour law. With its wide range of insights, analysis, and reflection, this unique contribution to the study of industrial relations offers an authoritative reference guide to scholars, policymakers, trade unions and business associations, human resources professionals, and practitioners who need to deal with the future of work challenges.




Macro Practice in Social Work for the 21st Century


Book Description

This book develops a new paradigm suited to the quickly shifting dynamics of a globalized society, both more reliant on social networking, and yet seeking common connection and community.




Social Work Practice Research for the Twenty-First Century


Book Description

Social work professionals must demonstrate their effectiveness to legislators and governments, not to mention clients and incoming practitioners. A thorough evaluation of the activities, ethics, and outcomes of social work practice is critical to maintaining investment and interest in the profession and improving the lives of underserved populations. Incorporating the concerns of a new century into a consideration of models for practice research, this volume builds on the visionary work of William J. Reid (1928-2003) who transformed social work research through empirically based and task-centered approaches-and, more recently, synthesized intervention knowledge for framing future study. This collection reviews the task-centered model and other contemporary Evidence-Based Practice models for working with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. Essays demonstrate the value of these pragmatic approaches in the United States and international settings. Contributors summarize state-of-the-art methods in several key fields of service, including children and families, aging, substance abuse, and mental health. They also evaluate the research movement itself, outlining an agenda for today's sociopolitical landscape and the profession. This volume inspires practice research to prioritize evidence as a base for the profession.




Gerontological Practice for the Twenty-first Century


Book Description

Gerontological Practice for the Twenty-first Century meets the need for state-of-the-art information on practice approaches with older patients that are age-specific and empirically based, blend "micro" and "macro" views, and reflect current themes in the aging and social work fields. The book is designed as a text for students and as a professional resource for practitioners. Clearly written, the book offers an expert and comprehensive review of the current literature and focuses on issues relating to the most vulnerable older people. Gerontological Practice for the Twenty-first Century also features case illustrations throughout and brief end-of-chapter questions for review. The book has four parts. Part 1 reviews current and classic theories of aging and proposes an original framework for an integrative approach to practice with older people that incorporates both individual and policy-level interventions. The approach is based on current themes such as a life course perspective, heterogeneity, diversity, and inequality. Part 2 covers such common and important psychological problems among older individuals, as anxiety, depression, suicide, substance abuse, and dementia, and describes appropriate, evidence-based interventions. Part 3 considers the social psychological picture by discussing working with older families, end-of-life care, bereavement, and work and retirement. Part 4 focuses on core sociopolitical issues in the lives of older people: economic policy, poverty, health policy, quality-of-life concerns, and social services. Current, authoritative, and original, this single-volume gerontology resource will be of valuable use to graduate students and practitioners.




Holistic Engagement


Book Description

This text offers innovation and a call to action for educators -- engage fully to engage students fully. With stories from the classroom, Holistic Engagement invites and challenges social work, human services and counseling educators to seek meaning in their methods and content in the processes of teaching. Empirically grounded, the authors propose a new model for advancing pedagogy to draw from many ways of knowing and wisdom across traditions. Through rich analysis of globalization, higher education and the social work profession, as well as first person accounts, they co-create a story of holistic pedagogies being employed across the globe. Aiming toward transformative social work practice, the authors discuss the ways that they engage with the whole person (body, mind, heart, culture and spirit) and reveal how such participatory pedagogies strengthen presence, attunement, empathy, professional self-care and the integrative capabilities of social work students and human service professionals. Drawing from a wide range of literature and traditions, from Freire's critical pedagogy to the neuroscience of mindfulness, these engaging essays have much to offer both seasoned and new social work educators, while creating an integrative and realistic conceptual home for them. The authors discuss the uses of theatre, the arts, ritual, mindfulness, critical dialogue, yoga and many other methods that upend the traditional social work classroom. These approaches are used at the undergraduate and graduate levels in a range of courses, including policy, theory and practice. The auto-ethnographical nature of many of the essays will invite educators to reflect on their own pedagogies as they consider the rewards and risks of going beyond the cognitive and engaging the whole person.




Indigenous Social Work around the World


Book Description

How can mainstream Western social work learn from and in turn help advance indigenous practice? This volume brings together prominent international scholars involved in both Western and indigenous social work across the globe - including James Midgley, Linda Briskman, Alean Al-Krenawi and John R. Graham - to discuss some of the most significant global trends and issues relating to indigenous and cross-cultural social work. The contributors identify ways in which indigenization is shaping professional social work practice and education, and examine how social work can better address diversity in international exchanges and cross-cultural issues within and between countries. Key theoretical, methodological and service issues and challenges in the indigenization of social work are reviewed, including the way in which adaptation can lead to more effective practices within indigenous communities and emerging economies, and how adaptation can provide greater insight into cross-cultural understanding and practice.