Troublemakers: The Construction of ‘Troubled Families’ as a Social Problem, by Stephen Crossley

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The roles of values and advocacy approaches in Irish social work practice: Findings from an attitudinal survey of practising social workers

This paper focuses on the profession of social work in Ireland. It examines the role of values within the profession and the relationship of the profession to independent advocacy groups. The purpose of this has been to explore themes that are of fundamental importance to the profession of social work. The findings presented in this paper are drawn from a quantitative attitudinal survey of practising social workers conducted in the Republic of Ireland in 2016. Sampling was conducted across Ireland within a population of 3900 practising social workers approximately and resulted in 128 responses, 111 of which were complete. In relation to values, overall findings suggested a marked preference for traditional value types with many respondents indicating that the tasks associated with emancipatory values are best placed with other groups in Irish society. In relation to advocacy, the study found that social workers frequently engage in advocacy tasks. However, despite this, it also found that a majority of social workers feel that the tasks associated with advocacy are best placed with other groups in Irish society. The study found that a majority of social workers acknowledge sharing a similar value-base to independent advocacy groups. However, it also suggests that the relationship between social workers and advocacy groups is complex and conflictual. In this respect, it was suggested that while social workers recognise the importance of advocacy groups, they also acknowledge that advocacy groups do not always complement the social work role. Ultimately this study suggests that many practitioners acknowledge that the necessity for advocacy groups in Ireland can be ascribed, in part at least, to the way in which contemporary social work practice is carried out

Delivering Social Welfare: Governance and Service Provision in the UK, by Derek Birrell and Ann Marie Gray

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