Social Work: A Profession in Search of Its Identity

Gitterman, Alex

doi:10.1080/10437797.2014.947898

Cited by 35 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…For example, Daniskova (2014) suggests that teachers, while coveting professional status in one sense, should really be content with their lot as 'semi-professions' because the current tendency in teacher training is for the development of practical over theoretical skills, thereby undermining, once again, that all important theoretical body of knowledge that is widely accepted as necessary for the conferment of professional status. In the case of social work, Gitterman (2014) shows, historically, that whenever social work stands on the verge of accreting professional status, the social workers in question tend to jump disciplinary ship and start identifying as therapists or even psychiatrists, activities that have proven to be more symbolically and materially rewarding than social work. This is possible, argues Gitterman (2014), because of a longstanding debate in social work over whether the focus should be on the individual or his/her environment.…”

Section: Semi-professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chapter 11 For Social Reflexivity in Organization and Management Theory

Carter¹,

Spence²

2019

The Production of Managerial Knowledge and Organizational Theory: New Approaches to Writing, Producing and Consuming Theory

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This chapter argues that while Organization and Management Theory (OMT) appears in good health it stands on the precipice of a crisis of its own making. This stems from an overly selfreferential and narrow focus on theoretical contribution, at the expense of a broader set of societal commitments. Paradoxically, this is particularly the case if a researcher is putatively engaging with broader societal issues. The central thesis advanced in this chapter is that researchers should be more socially reflexive about what they are researching, why they are researching it, and for whom. As a corollary, the chapter calls for researchers to interrogate the research that they are undertaking critically and to work out the broader social significance of their work. The chapter unfolds with concise analyses of two branches of OMT: the sociology of the professions and institutional theory. The chapter highlights how research into the professions runs the danger of being captured by the objects of its research: as researchers busy themselves examining pre-existing concepts, rather than exploring the power struggles that take place in particular fields. The chapter argues for a re-framing of research into the professions. The chapter highlights the rise of institutional theory to its current position of dominance within OMT. Institutional theory's recent move to study 'Grand Challenges' is welcomed but also problematised. The chapter closes with reflections on a course of action for making OMT matter.

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Section: Semi-professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chapter 11 For Social Reflexivity in Organization and Management Theory

Carter¹,

Spence²

2019

The Production of Managerial Knowledge and Organizational Theory: New Approaches to Writing, Producing and Consuming Theory

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“…With a commitment to action-oriented community-led leadership and knowledge generation, PAR/CBPR aligns with social work’s espoused values of addressing social problems, challenging social injustices, and respecting the dignity and worth of individuals (Newman & McNamara, 2016). However, the degree to which these values manifest in social work practice is undermined by (1) the historical function of social work as a form of social control with roots in Charity Organization Societies (COS; e.g., Gitterman, 2014) and (2) the rise of neoliberalism and New Public Management (Soss et al, 2011), which reinforced the medicalization of social work first embraced by the COS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two opposing approaches to the provision of social welfare emerged in the early 1900s (Stuart, 2013) and continue to shape social work today (Gitterman, 2014). First, the COS promoted by Mary Richmond viewed poverty as an individual problem that could be alleviated by educating and developing the skills of those living in poverty (Gitterman, 2014; Stuart, 2013). Social workers operating from this perspective acted as “friendly visitors” determining who was and was not deserving of social welfare benefits (Stuart, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Social workers operating from this perspective acted as “friendly visitors” determining who was and was not deserving of social welfare benefits (Stuart, 2013). Seeking professional status and recognition, social workers in the COS tradition embraced medical and scientific methods to inform casework with individuals (Gitterman, 2014). Throughout the 20th century, casework has been used as a method for social control, with workers serving as gatekeeper to services and requirements mandating that individuals adapt and conform to social conditions rather than transforming them (Soss et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Role of Identity in Motivating and Shaping the Experiences of Social Work Participatory Action Research Scholars

Cosgrove

Kramer

Mountz

et al. 2020

Affilia

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Participatory action research (PAR) and Community-based participatory research (CBPR) prioritize collaborative research approaches with the goal of social transformation. Themes from this qualitative study of 15 early career social work PAR and CBPR scholars indicate that they are strongly motivated to pursue these methodologies because of their own experiences with disempowerment as well as their connection to social work values. Participants reflected upon their experiences with marginalization (due to observed and unobserved identities/experiences), which fostered a commitment to emphasizing power sharing and elevating marginalized voices. Additionally, identity played a role in how researchers experienced doing PAR/CBPR. Researchers described being simultaneously an insider and outsider in the communities in which they worked, especially the ways that their status as university researchers impacted their positioning in the communities they considered their own. This article explores how identity motivates and presents challenges that scholars must navigate when pursuing PAR/CBPR. Additionally, findings indicate that some scholars who hold marginalized identities experience increased vulnerability within academia when they engage in PAR/CBPR. Such experiences may impact whose voices are represented in the body of social work literature.

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“…98. Mary Richmond's approach to the psychosocial care of distressed individuals and families has often been linked to a ''medical model'' of social work treatment because of its emphasis on a social study, diagnosis and treatment planning process that was predicated on the collection of psychosocial data from an identified client that would assist the practitioner in uncovering the etiology of the client's presenting problem and a corresponding social cure (see Gitterman 2014). McLaughlin (2002), however, has noted that Richmond's application of the medical model to the provision of casework treatment must be understood within an historical era in which she-as a social work pioneerwas attempting to find a credible and scientific base for social casework as a recognized and societally-sanctioned helping method.…”

Section: Definition Of Clinical Social Work: a Historical And Contempmentioning

confidence: 99%