Social Work for Sociologist Heugten and Gibbs

Summary

Social Work for Sociologist has been written for students and practitioners of sociology. It aims to introduce them to some important concepts from social work, concepts of which these readers may be unaware, to their detriment. The book emerged out of discussions that took place among the editors and authors over the course of several years. It is a product of the combined efforts of educators, researchers, and practitioners in social work and sociology.

The diverse international contributors share concerns about social problems such as poverty, substandard housing, and violence, and all are committed to improving cultural understanding, social justice, and human rights. The contributors hold academic qualifications in sociology and/or social work, and they are experienced as educators and as human service practitioners.

Many have witnessed debates in which sociologists or social workers are stereotyped by others, suggesting that, for example, sociologists are theoretical purists who will not act to promote public interests, or that social workers are value-driven ideologues intent on imposing their interpretations of ideal family lives. The contributors to this book do not believe that these dualistic typologies are accurate reflections of the complex considerations that they apply in their research, teaching, and human services work.

After many decades of following divergent paths, social workers and sociologists have recently been coming back together to deal with complex, intractable social problems. In the world of work, interdisciplinary collaborations seek to address major issues such as poverty, violence, and human rights violations.

Within universities, previously separate academic departments of sociology and social work are joining or colocating. Although combinations of previously separate disciplines into joint departments are sometimes prompted by fiscal considerations resulting from cutbacks affecting the social sciences internationally, working together has helped them recognize their common aims and interests. They have been stimulated and inspired by their debates about theory and practice.

Contents

• Part I. Key Frameworks, Ethics, and Values
  • Overview of the Historical and Contextual Development of Sociology and Social Work
    Kate van Heugten and Anita Gibbs
  • Key Social Work Frameworks for Sociologists
    Anita Gibbs and Kate van Heugten
  • Key Values, Ethics, and Skills for Working with People
    Kate van Heugten and Anita Gibbs
• Part II. Application of Social Work Frameworks to Practice with Families, Organizations, and Communities
  • Moving from Risk to Safety: Work with Children and Families in Child Welfare Contexts
    Emily Keddell and Tony Stanley
  • Working with Groups: Group Work with Young Pacific Islands People
    Patrick Vakaoti
  • Bicultural Practice: Beyond Mere Tokenism
    Anaru Eketone and Shayne Walker
  • Analyzing and Solving Social Problems
    Anita Gibbs
  • Stress and Violence in the Workplace: Theory and Practice
    Kate van Heugten and Cathryne L. Schmitz
  • Facilitating Research Mindedness in a Sociology Research Internship Course
    Martin Tolich
  • Conclusion
    Anita Gibbs and Kate van Heugten

Extract

In this first chapter, we identify the historical roots of ideological divisions between social work and sociology. Not all sociologists and social workers know that their disciplines were once closely linked. This is not surprising because it suited the professionalization projects of each discipline in the twentieth century to construct historical narratives that emphasized their differences rather than their commonalities.

Internationally, however, the two disciplines emerged in close association. Within academic institutions, the disciplines often shared departments, although those shared departments became established at different times in different countries—around the turn of the nineteenth century into the twentieth in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, and half a century later in Australia and New Zealand (Crothers 2008; Nash and Munford 2001).

The trajectories of their separation involved disagreements that emerged within academic departments in universities, often within a few decades of the departments’ establishment. The disagreements were focused on relatively dualistic positions that each discipline adopted around two core questions.

The first question concerned the place of theory and practice. Academic sociologists adopted the position that the ultimate goal of theorizing was knowledge building, whereas social workers theorized toward the goal of practice.

The second major division, which is inextricably linked to the first, involved the place of values. Sociologists tended to argue for value neutrality, while social workers argued that their endeavors should be value-laden.