Book review of Malcolm Payne, Citizenship Social Work with Older People. (2011). Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books. $36.95 (paperback)

Gumz, Edward J.

English

ScholarWorks at WMU

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 39 Issue 1 March - Special Issue on Declining Significance of Race, Revisited Article 15 2012 Review of Citizenship Social Work with Older People. Malcolm Payne. Reviewed by Edward J. Gurnz. Edward J. Gumz Loyola University of Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw  Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Gumz, Edward J. (2012) "Review of Citizenship Social Work with Older People. Malcolm Payne. Reviewed by Edward J. Gurnz.," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 39 : Iss. 1 , Article 15. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol39/iss1/15 This Book Review is brought to you by the Western Michigan University School of Social Work. For more information, please contact wmu-scholarworks@wmich.edu. Book ReviewsMalcolm Payne, Citizenship Social Work with Older People. (2011).Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books. $36.95 (paperback).Much has been written in the social work literature abouthuman needs and the role of social workers in responding totheir clients' needs. Much less has been written about lookingat the "client" as "citizen" and how that shapes the socialworker's role. This compact book addresses seeing the olderpeople with whom social workers work as citizens and whatthat means.Malcolm Payne, professor emeritus of social work andmanagement at Metropolitan University, London, currentlypolicy and development advisor at St. Christopher's Hospice,is the author of fourteen books on social work and relatedareas. He holds visiting professorships at universities inPoland and Finland. He writes from an international perspec-tive, looking at aging and the response to it in Western Europeand the United States. For this book, he draws upon his workin Britain, Finland and Poland; throughout, he uses case ex-amples based on his practice experience and information fromcolleagues and students. He is also familiar with U.S. policiestoward the aged and introduces them often as a basis for com-parison. American social workers can learn much from howother countries understand and deal with aging.Payne's idea of citizenship social work starts from the ideathat older people are equal as citizens in any society, state, com-munity, or family, and that citizenship confers rights of partici-pation in and responsibilities for older people and everyoneelse in social relationships with them, based on the inherentworth of the individual regardless of age. In modern societ-ies, the aged are often viewed as having limited roles-they nolonger work, are often poor consumers, and cost society muchin terms of the provision of medical care and Social Security.The initial section of the book contains a general discus-sion of how aging affects people in terms of its psychological,social, economic, and political aspects. The author discussesmain types of aging theories such as gerontological theories,critical analyses of social ideas of aging such as conflict theo-ries, and biological and medical approaches to aging to assistin understanding the aging process. The importance of theory(and in fact, a range of theories, including feminist, life course200 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfareand social construction theories) is mentioned. While citizen-ship social work is not a theory, the author contends that itcan be used as a model for social work practice with olderpeople. This is plausible from the case examples presented.For example, the author discusses critical practice with olderpeople and contends that it can be used effectively.Theories that question the existing social order to guidepractice actions can lead to the creation of social change thataffirms the citizenship of older people in society. The authorcontends that social work practice with older adults that usescreativity can lead to a sense of empowerment in older adults.Examples are listening to music, art therapy, community artexperiences, using pictures for life review and reminiscence.Payne also asks, "What is the role of the older adult in thecommunity?" and discusses how social workers need to dealwith this in citizenship social work. Examples are the par-ticipation of older adults in mutual support groups, organi-zations, and groups. Participation in service planning is alsomentioned. All of these suggestions are limited by health, in-terest and support from the communityThis book is a welcome addition to the literature on agingand, more specifically, to the little that has been written aboutthe role of social work in social and political participation, par-ticularly citizenship. The author brings a wealth of scholarshipto this book, looking at aging and citizenship as they is en-countered in Britain, Finland, Poland, and the United States.This gives the book a richness and range that a study dealingwith aging in one country does not have. In one sense, thisbook is written in the best tradition of C. Wright Mills, whoin The Sociological Tradition talked about "private troubles"and "public issues." Using relevant examples, the author talksabout these troubles of the aged but spends the majority of thebook discussing the issues of aging, social and political partici-pation, which are generated when a society's population ages,and what the social work response needs to be to help achievesocial and economic justice. While citizenship social work witholder adults is not a well developed concept, it can serve asa useful model for social workers to use in their practice toenable older adults to live well with their aging and to helpsociety to accept responsibility for the life that older peoplelive.Book Reviews 201This book would be edifying reading for anyone interestedin aging and how to maintain the dignity and participation ofthe aged in society.Edward J. Gumz, Loyola University of Chicago

Review of \u3cem\u3eCitizenship Social Work with Older People.\u3c/em\u3e Malcolm Payne. Reviewed by Edward J. Gurnz.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 
Volume 39 
Issue 1 March - Special Issue on Declining 
Significance of Race, Revisited 
Article 15 
2012 
Review of Citizenship Social Work with Older People. Malcolm 
Payne. Reviewed by Edward J. Gurnz. 
Edward J. Gumz 
Loyola University of Chicago 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw 
 Part of the Social Work Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Gumz, Edward J. (2012) "Review of Citizenship Social Work with Older People. Malcolm Payne. Reviewed 
by Edward J. Gurnz.," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 39 : Iss. 1 , Article 15. 
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol39/iss1/15 
This Book Review is brought to you by the Western 
Michigan University School of Social Work. For more 
information, please contact wmu-
scholarworks@wmich.edu. 
Book Reviews
Malcolm Payne, Citizenship Social Work with Older People. (2011).
Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books. $36.95 (paperback).
Much has been written in the social work literature about
human needs and the role of social workers in responding to
their clients' needs. Much less has been written about looking
at the "client" as "citizen" and how that shapes the social
worker's role. This compact book addresses seeing the older
people with whom social workers work as citizens and what
that means.
Malcolm Payne, professor emeritus of social work and
management at Metropolitan University, London, currently
policy and development advisor at St. Christopher's Hospice,
is the author of fourteen books on social work and related
areas. He holds visiting professorships at universities in
Poland and Finland. He writes from an international perspec-
tive, looking at aging and the response to it in Western Europe
and the United States. For this book, he draws upon his work
in Britain, Finland and Poland; throughout, he uses case ex-
amples based on his practice experience and information from
colleagues and students. He is also familiar with U.S. policies
toward the aged and introduces them often as a basis for com-
parison. American social workers can learn much from how
other countries understand and deal with aging.
Payne's idea of citizenship social work starts from the idea
that older people are equal as citizens in any society, state, com-
munity, or family, and that citizenship confers rights of partici-
pation in and responsibilities for older people and everyone
else in social relationships with them, based on the inherent
worth of the individual regardless of age. In modern societ-
ies, the aged are often viewed as having limited roles-they no
longer work, are often poor consumers, and cost society much
in terms of the provision of medical care and Social Security.
The initial section of the book contains a general discus-
sion of how aging affects people in terms of its psychological,
social, economic, and political aspects. The author discusses
main types of aging theories such as gerontological theories,
critical analyses of social ideas of aging such as conflict theo-
ries, and biological and medical approaches to aging to assist
in understanding the aging process. The importance of theory
(and in fact, a range of theories, including feminist, life course
200 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
and social construction theories) is mentioned. While citizen-
ship social work is not a theory, the author contends that it
can be used as a model for social work practice with older
people. This is plausible from the case examples presented.
For example, the author discusses critical practice with older
people and contends that it can be used effectively.
Theories that question the existing social order to guide
practice actions can lead to the creation of social change that
affirms the citizenship of older people in society. The author
contends that social work practice with older adults that uses
creativity can lead to a sense of empowerment in older adults.
Examples are listening to music, art therapy, community art
experiences, using pictures for life review and reminiscence.
Payne also asks, "What is the role of the older adult in the
community?" and discusses how social workers need to deal
with this in citizenship social work. Examples are the par-
ticipation of older adults in mutual support groups, organi-
zations, and groups. Participation in service planning is also
mentioned. All of these suggestions are limited by health, in-
terest and support from the community
This book is a welcome addition to the literature on aging
and, more specifically, to the little that has been written about
the role of social work in social and political participation, par-
ticularly citizenship. The author brings a wealth of scholarship
to this book, looking at aging and citizenship as they is en-
countered in Britain, Finland, Poland, and the United States.
This gives the book a richness and range that a study dealing
with aging in one country does not have. In one sense, this
book is written in the best tradition of C. Wright Mills, who
in The Sociological Tradition talked about "private troubles"
and "public issues." Using relevant examples, the author talks
about these troubles of the aged but spends the majority of the
book discussing the issues of aging, social and political partici-
pation, which are generated when a society's population ages,
and what the social work response needs to be to help achieve
social and economic justice. While citizenship social work with
older adults is not a well developed concept, it can serve as
a useful model for social workers to use in their practice to
enable older adults to live well with their aging and to help
society to accept responsibility for the life that older people
live.
Book Reviews 201
This book would be edifying reading for anyone interested
in aging and how to maintain the dignity and participation of
the aged in society.
Edward J. Gumz, Loyola University of Chicago


https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3660&amp;context=jssw

Review of \u3cem\u3eCitizenship Social Work with Older People.\u3c/em\u3e Malcolm Payne. Reviewed by Edward J. Gurnz.

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

ScholarWorks at WMU

ScholarWorks at WMU