Critical Reflection: An Imperative Skill for Social Work Practice in Neoliberal Organisations?

Abstract

Social work practice and education have been significantly impacted by neoliberal governmentality, which can greatly undermine the espoused social justice mission of social work. This study explores the research questions: How might critical reflection support social work practice in neoliberal organisations? And how might critical analysis using insights from critical theorists fortify the findings of critically reflective research? This study uses critical reflection on a critical incident (from Author 2’s practice) as a methodology to respond to the first research question. It further analyses the findings of the critically reflective inquiry by drawing on relevant concepts from critical theorists to respond to the second question and expand the possibilities for practitioners to develop emancipatory practices in neoliberal organisations. The findings suggest critical reflection on the critical incident examined was effective in improving social work practice, and that additional critical analysis of the wider issues raised by the research findings may enhance social work as a value-driven, client-centred and social change-oriented profession. The article highlights the benefits and outcomes of working in a critically reflective way, and makes an original contribution to the growing literature that suggests critical reflection is a vital skill for social work practice in neoliberal organisations.

Educating Informal Educators on Issues of Race and Inequality: Raising Critical Consciousness, Identifying Challenges, and Implementing Change in a Youth and Community Work Programme

“…The model has mostly been developed as a pedagogical tool (e.g., [92][93][94]), but it has also been shown to have the capacity to bring about meaningful change [95,96].There are four elements to the model that align with the methodological assumptions underpinning the research, which are: process, theoretical framework, purpose, and setting [92].…”

Collaborative autoethnography and social work

“…It may be because professional protocols/mandates to some extent dictate practice(s) or it may be that 'received wisdom' (Rojek 2012) and other forms of experiential knowledge play a significant part (Hothersall 2017) in how practitioners do what they do. But these situations still require to be considered on a case-by-case basis, recognising the uniqueness of each practice situation in the lives of those people on the receiving end of service delivery, acknowledging the impact of neoliberalism and organisational and professional cultures (Morley and O'Bree, 2021), particularly in the digital age (Nordesjö, Scaramuzzino, and Ulmestig, 2022).…”

“…If we view collaborative autoethnography as having similarities to some forms of peer-led critical reflection used in both educational (Strang, 2021) and practicebased settings (Morley and O'Bree, 2021), what makes critical autoethnography stand out is its focus on making explicit its links to culture (be that personal, professional and societal forms) and the engagement with the wider literature on the topic at hand, so referring to the earlier example, what does the literature tell us about self-neglect and how does that relate to normative understandings regarding self-care and situations where these are not followed, either consciously or otherwise?…”

Mujeres transformando el espacio público de Sant Roc.

“…La perspectiva de análisis cualitativa es utilizada en las investigaciones de TS por su potencial reflexivo sobre la praxis profesional en contextos multifactoriales complejos (Healy, 2020;Morley & O'bree, 2021). Este enfoque aporta a la práctica del TSC interesantes elementos para (re)visar la aplicación consciente, los limites y sus posibilidades de generalización preservando su alineamiento con los valores éticos y perspectivas críticas (educativas y emancipadoras, antirracistas, feministas, anticoloniales), imprescindibles ante los impactos neoliberales que instrumentalizan, burocratizan y fragmentan las prácticas profesionales.…”