Willem Blok - Core Social Work: International Theory, Values and Practice

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Core Social Work

International Theory, Values and Practice

Willem Blok

Foreword by Stephen A. Webb

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

London and Philadelphia

Figures 3.24 and 3.25 from Donkers 2010 on p.116 and p.118 are reproduced by permission of Gerard Donkers

Figure 5.1 from Herrmann and Maesen 2008 on p.134 is reproduced by permission of the European Foundation of Social Quality

First published in 2009 in Dutch

by ThiemeMeulenhoff, The Netherlands, as Inleiding Social Work vanuit internationaal perspectief

This revised English edition published in 2012

by Jessica Kingsley Publishers

116 Pentonville Road

London N1 9JB, UK

and

400 Market Street, Suite 400

Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.jkp.com

Copyright Willem Blok 2012

Foreword copyright Stephen A. Webb 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Blok, Willem, 1950-

[Inleiding social work. English]

Core social work : international theory, values and practice / Willem Blok ;

foreword by Stephen Webb.

p. cm.

First published in 2009 in Dutch by ThiemeMeulenhoff, The Netherlands, as

Inleiding Social Work : vanuit internationaal perspectief.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-84905-176-7 (alk. paper)

1. Social service. I. Title.

HV40.B544613 2012

361.3--dc23

2011035733

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84905 176 7

eISBN 978 0 85700 401 7

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

Dedicated to my wife Marja, love and light in my life; and to my brother Rinus, because of his sense of justness and his eye for little things

Foreword

Social work is constantly required to confront new challenges from changing policy agendas, transitions in welfare delivery, the shift of focus towards service-user involvement, the rise of evidence-based practice, the challenge of globalization and neoliberal economics, and the professionalization of front-line practice. These all impact directly on the delivery of services and interventions. It confronts these challenges whilst retaining a core set of values focusing on social justice, anti-oppressive practice, and the ethics of recognition. One of the distinctive features of social work is its continuing adherence to a set of progressive ethical values.

Social work research and practice have changed enormously over the last 40 years or so, with the language, knowledge-base and methods constantly evolving. While this emerging diversity of practice approaches appears quite striking, there continues to be something of a mainstream even though it is navigated by fewer than before. However difficult it is to reach agreement about the exact nature and role of social work in modern societies, this mainstream is best conveyed in practice-based textbooks and student practitioner guides. Nevertheless, the architecture of any social work text is always meritorious when strongly girded by current research.

This important book by Willem Blok brings a fresh but closely considered perspective to important aspects of social work practice. In many respects, it represents a systematic treatment of the various components that make up the field of social work practice. In doing so, it lays out in a reader-friendly way the different processes and attributes that make up the complex world of social work. As a textbook that is informed by current evidence and contemporary research it is praiseworthy. The book really does show how organizing is the art of tolerating and forging relationships with this hybrid range of mediators called social workers. Guiding such a readership through the noise, ambiguities, tensions and complexities of practice is no mean feat, especially when done in such a vividly engaging and thorough manner. Indeed, the merits of this book are precisely to be found in its versatility, in the scope and range of material traversed. In many ways it really does feel like a labour of love.

It is fair to say that this book bears the fruit of many years of research and practice experience, much of which the author gleaned through international perspectives and travels. As I have shared some of these with the author, I know that many a merry song, but not a song and dance, have been vocalized along the way. The book thus offers a broad horizon and one that particularly draws on and benefits from European traditions in social work. It is this ability to reach a wide audience that will help sustain the books import and shelf life. This, the first of Willems single-authored books in the English language, amply demonstrates the virtue of taking a well-seasoned approach to thinking about the vexed problems and contradictions faced by social work practitioners. Unlike some theorists in social work, infatuated by fashionable post this that and the other, Willem Blok is not worried about issuing a straightforward statement on what he conceives to be the nature of social work. Thats a technique, of course.

I know it has long been a deeply held ambition of Willems to make this sort of systematic contribution to social work. The book demonstrates the insatiable curiosity the author has for modern social work, that verges on an encyclopaedic knowledge. It conveys an unflagging passion and commitment to the field of practice. The longstanding experience of the author across a variety of practice settings helps him marshall a range of understandings that are inevitably sourced by a deeply grounded set of ethical concerns. The value of social work is always permeating just beneath the surface of this text. Over the decades the author has shown consistent support for the oppressed, the disadvantaged and exploited; those on the receiving end of social work interventions. An investment in social justice and human transformation sits at the heart of Willem Bloks new book.

This book is a welcome contribution and will be a most useful guide for students of social work and its practitioners. I would like to hope that student and practitioners of social work invest time in reading it carefully from cover to cover.

Stephen A. Webb

Professor of Human Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia

Preface and Acknowledgements

As in all other professions, social work is being affected by the ongoing process of globalization, in the form of vanishing borders, shrinking distances, rapid communication, waves of global migration, supranational policy, and international money streams.

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