Policy-practice in social work and social work education in Israel

Gal, John; Weiss, Idit

doi:10.1080/026154700436002

Cited by 32 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…During this period social justice came to be recognized as a legitimate focus of activity both by social workers in the field and by researchers and educators in the schools of social work. 28 Finally, while the findings suggest that much of the social policy research has remained within schools of social work, internal pluralization has in fact occurred in the sense that the scholars engaged in this research in these schools are not necessarily social workers by training. Increasingly, the schools of social work have recruited staff members with training in diverse disciplines in order to teach and study social policy in these schools, and these individuals have contributed much to the growth in social policy research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The development of social policy research in Israel

Gal

Holler

2014

Israel Affairs

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The study of social policy in Israel has undergone major changes both since its initial steps during the 1950s and since the early 1970s, a period in which the first significant efforts to institutionalize it as an academic field took place. Based on a theoretical perspective that regards the scientific system as a social arena, this article seeks to identify the trends that have characterized this development as reflected in journal publications, both Israeli and international, over the past four decades. The findings indicate that social policy research has become a vibrant field of academic research over this period and that a number of key trends related to both the intra-institutional aspects and the intra-scientific aspects of this development, can be identified.In recent years there has been a marked increase in research on social policy in Israel. Indeed, from very modest origins in the 1950s, the last few decades have seen the emergence of a scientific field of study within Israeli academia engaged in the analysis of very diverse aspects of social policy and employing a wide range of theoretical and methodological tools. This article seeks to better understand the reasons for this development and, in particular, to identify the trends that have characterized the growing scholarship on Israeli social policy. By way of doing so, it follows in the footsteps of efforts to study the development of scientific bodies of knowledge in Israel, particularly those in the social sciences and humanities. 1 These reflexive attempts recognize that these intellectual bodies, and the knowledge they produce, are not progressive and rational in essence, but are rather linked to the social, economic and political context, whether external or internal, in which they operate. In this article a similar approach is adopted in an examination of the historical development of the study of social policy in Israel as reflected in journal publications, both Israeli and international, over the past four decades. This examination will focus on the intra-institutional aspects as well as the intrascientific aspects of this development.Scientific systems and the emergence of a field of study

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The development of social policy research in Israel

Gal

Holler

2014

Israel Affairs

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“…These include skills of analysis, interaction, value clarification, use of power and knowledge, ethical decisionmaking, and change management. The tools include competence in the tasks of agenda building, problem defining and articulation, and proposal making (Jansson, 1994;Gal & Weiss, 2000). These opportunities re-establish connections between social policy and social (care) work within social work education and social work practice, their previous tenuous link having arguably been a contributing influence to social work's loss of control over the ends to which it is put and the means of achieving them.…”

Section: Learning Policy Changementioning

confidence: 98%

Changing learning and learning change: making a difference in education, policy and practice¹

Preston‐Shoot¹

2003

Journal of Social Work Practice

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Themes of dehumanisation, demoralisation, insecurity and powerlessness are identified from research evidence of the experiences of social work staff and clients. Similar themes are uncovered in a review of policy-making across different social work client groups. The picture that emerges is contrasted with official pronouncements about the goals of policy-making and about social work's aims and purposes, whilst their impact is revealed through the operation of various defensive responses. The paper moves on to survey several misunderstandings about practice and policy change before concluding by identifying spaces where teaching and learning social work can effect a shift of mind, where practitioners and managers can begin to make a difference to their own and their clients' experiences of social work. Catalyst'There is nothing we can do', concluded one student. Asked about what they had observed when working in welfare organisations, including on placement, students reported manipulation of workers, distortion of actual practice in official reports, and lack of staff commitment. The mismatch between their lived experience, the public world of standards and modernising policies, and social work's values and competencies, permeated the discussion. A sense of hopelessness and an atmosphere of disillusionment were punctuated only occasionally by those who offered strategies-knowledge and skills that suggested a more optimistic reframe: 'we can make a difference'. Nevertheless, half-way through their qualifying training, students had apparently already concluded that there was a disjunction between what they were learning in academic and practice curricula and what was happening in work settings.Practitioners have expressed similar unease during workshops and conferences on social work's future. They have voiced appreciation and relief when their experiences are acknowledged and verbalised. These voices have found official confirmation from the Audit Commission (2002), which has reported that staff are exiting the public sector, overwhelmed by bureaucracy and government targets, demotivated by unmanageable workloads and imposed changes, and feeling undervalued. It has rebuked government for the tone of its pronouncements about the public sector and its failure to consider the effect of policy changes on staff. Yet these voices also speak when there has been a concerted attempt by central government to raise social work's status and standing, to tackle a serious staff recruitment and retention crisis, and to provide quality in social (care) work and education.

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“…Quite a few of the groups mentioned above are different not only in their culture but in their political power and access to communal resources. Concepts of social justice, social inclusion, anti-oppressive or liberating practice, which have become central to the discourse on social work practice and education in western countries, are hardly at all re¯ected in the curricula of Israeli schools (Gal & Weiss, 2000). A greater attention to issues of justice is a prerequisite for greater relevance to groups which are not part of the cultural and political mainstream.…”

Section: Social Work Education In a Multi-cultural Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beginning in the 1960s, there have been repeated calls to`bring the social back into social work' by placing a stronger emphasis on issues of social policy, service administration and community action (Gal & Weiss, 2000). The declared ideology of all schools is generic, multi-method and problem focused.…”

Section: Practice Orientationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social work education in Israel: Trends and issues

Spiro¹

2001

Social Work Education

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Policy-practice in social work and social work education in Israel

Cited by 32 publications

References 15 publications

The development of social policy research in Israel

The development of social policy research in Israel

Changing learning and learning change: making a difference in education, policy and practice¹

Social work education in Israel: Trends and issues

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