The Flexner Myth and the History of Social Work

Austin, David

doi:10.1086/644113

Cited by 101 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Formal education for social work began in the United States in the late 1890s with short training courses for social workers and by the beginning of the twentieth century, fulltime year-long training programmes had been introduced (Austen, 1983). The need to be recognised as a profession played an important role in the development of social work and social work education, and in 1915 Flexner's speech, "Is social work a profession?"…”

Section: Social Work Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflective Learning in Social Work Education in the Field of Substance Abuse

Slabbert

2015

SWORK

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Social Work Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflective Learning in Social Work Education in the Field of Substance Abuse

Slabbert

2015

SWORK

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Whether this pronouncement was merited has been hotly debated down the years (Carr-Saunders & Wilson, 1933;Greenwood, 1957;Goode, 1969;Roth, 1974;Austin, 1983; but see Wootton, 1959;North, 1972). In fact, it was not as conclusive as it was made out to be, especially as Flexner admitted that his "acquaintance with social work, with the literature of social work, and with social workers is distinctly limited" (Flexner, 1915:576).…”

Section: Five Years Earlier Flexner Had Written a Report Medical Edumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But for his audience his words fell like a ton of bricks, whose impact is felt as strongly today as at the time. For what Flexner decreed was that, because the social worker "is not a professional agent as much as the mediator invoking this or that profession", and that because his vocation lacks an "educationally communicable technique", social work is "not so much a separate profession, as an endeavour to supplement certain existing professions pending their complete development" (Flexner, 1915:585, 584, 586).Whether this pronouncement was merited has been hotly debated down the years (Carr-Saunders & Wilson, 1933;Greenwood, 1957;Goode, 1969;Roth, 1974;Austin, 1983; but see Wootton, 1959;North, 1972). In fact, it was not as conclusive as it was made out to be, especially as Flexner admitted that his "acquaintance with social work, with the literature of social work, and with social workers is distinctly limited" (Flexner, 1915:576).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Practice: Some Informed Guesses –Self-Evident but Impossible

Bar-On

2014

Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ever since Western social work was exported to Africa an ongoing debate has been taking place on whether it fits the African context. Most of this debate, however, has revolved around Western social work's techniques rather than on its ends, which, being predicated on Western values, are likely to be alien to many Africans. The article outlines the arguments why Africa might require a form of social work of its own and the chances of such indigenisation taking place. It concludes, however, that while indigenisation may be a desirable end, it is probably impossible unless African social workers can engage in reflective learning with their clients.Common sense, presumably a universal trait, suggests that people behave differently in different situations and, as a corollary, that they require different types of knowledge that befit these situations. Most people, for example, conduct themselves differently at home and elsewhere and adapt their clothing and behaviour differently to formal and informal occasions. Equally apparent is that similar differences apply to people who live in different circumstances and, partly as a result, entertain different conceptions of the good. Thus, children in a resource-strapped school, who must share pencils in class, are more likely to develop interdependent outlooks than their counterparts in richer schools. Indeed, so self-evident are such observations that they beg the question why a practical pursuit like social work, as distinguished from more theory-oriented disciplines, must examine them at all?Or is this so? Recent years have seen a sharp rise in social workers being accused of skirting this common sense by ignoring the specific, lived-in experiences of many of their clients and consequently of being largely ineffective. Among these concerns are the negatively labelled "antiracist", "anti-sexist", "anti-oppressive" and "anti-agist" prescriptions that increasingly imbue Western social work writings, and the more positively labelled "indigenisation" movement that emanates more from developing countries. This article examines the latter's apprehensions, mainly as presented by African scholars, arguing that while its reasoning is self-evident, effective transformation of this reasoning into professional practice is often impossible. The article that follows this exposition (MW/SW 38(4) pages 311 -323), by Kwaku Osei-Hwedie, contests this position in maintaining that the development of indigenous African social work knowledge and practices are possible. BACKGROUND"Indigenous" refers to physical and social traits inherently belonging to a people or place and so conjures up images rooted in history. It may be appropriate, therefore, to begin this exposition with the classic words "Once Upon a Time in a Distant Land" and, in line with such openings, also to identify a villain, a hero and a damsel in distress. One Upon a Time stories are purposefully ambiguous about their time and place, but in our case, in an historical freak, we can pinpoint the time and location of our t...

show abstract

“…Its spread and development have been accompanied by a drive to attain professional status. Ever since Abraham Flexner declared in 1915 that social work is not a profession (Flexner, 1915(Flexner, /2001, it has striven to adopt features that have been identified as characteristic of fully fledged professions (Austin, 1983;Hopps & Collins, 1995). Despite the longstanding and unresolved debate concerning the impact and value of this 'professional project' (Bamford, 1990;Illich, 1977;Reisch & Andrews, 2001;Simpkin, 1979;Walker & Beaumont, 1981), the drive to professionalism seems to be strong in many countries today (Healy & Meagher, 2004;Weiss et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The professionalisation of social work: a cross‐national exploration

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article compares the professional features of social work in ten countries. It is based on detailed descriptions of the professional features of social work in Chile, Germany, Hungary, India, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA. Social work in these countries is discussed in terms of eight features, chosen as marks of a profession on the basis of the ‘attributes’ and ‘power’ approaches to professionalisation: public recognition, monopoly over types of work, professional autonomy, the knowledge base, the professional education, the professional organisations, the existence of codified ethical standards and, lastly, the prestige and remuneration of social work.

show abstract

The Flexner Myth and the History of Social Work

Cited by 101 publications

References 19 publications

Reflective Learning in Social Work Education in the Field of Substance Abuse

Reflective Learning in Social Work Education in the Field of Substance Abuse

Indigenous Practice: Some Informed Guesses –Self-Evident but Impossible

The professionalisation of social work: a cross‐national exploration

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About