Book contents
- Engaging with Social Work
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Engaging with Social Work
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword to the second edition
- About the authors
- Acknowledgements
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- 1 The critical potential of social work
- 2 Contemporary practice contexts: Enduring social forces
- 3 The new normal: Contemporary and emerging challenges and opportunities for social work
- 4 What can we do? A critical response to social contexts
- 5 How did we get here? The history of critical social work
- 6 Values and ethics for critical practice
- 7 Theories for practice
- 8 Social work practice
- 9 Diversity, power and knowledge
- 10 Fields of practice: Challenges and opportunities
- 11 Advancing critical social work into the future
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
11 - Advancing critical social work into the future
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 October 2025
Book contents
- Engaging with Social Work
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Engaging with Social Work
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword to the second edition
- About the authors
- Acknowledgements
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- 1 The critical potential of social work
- 2 Contemporary practice contexts: Enduring social forces
- 3 The new normal: Contemporary and emerging challenges and opportunities for social work
- 4 What can we do? A critical response to social contexts
- 5 How did we get here? The history of critical social work
- 6 Values and ethics for critical practice
- 7 Theories for practice
- 8 Social work practice
- 9 Diversity, power and knowledge
- 10 Fields of practice: Challenges and opportunities
- 11 Advancing critical social work into the future
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
Summary
In Chapter 1, we invited you to consider the critical potential of social work: the potential for us as individual workers, and collectively as a profession, to question the social conditions and discourses that give rise to human suffering and what we might do about these. The critical standpoint is one that sensitises us to social injustice and the need for transformation. Being a critical practitioner is challenging: while we may decide that this is the path we wish to take, it is an ongoing process, borne out in day-to-day and week-to-week activities. Becoming a critical practitioner is not a single act of commitment, but an often-arduous journey of revelation and struggle. There are many potential setbacks along this journey. As the words of a great twentieth-century social reformer Martin Luther King remind us, ‘Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable … Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concerns of dedicated individuals.’ Critical social workers are among those dedicated individuals with passionate concerns.
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- Engaging with Social WorkA Critical Introduction, pp. 339 - 361Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Further reading
Boddy, J. & Ramsay, S. 2016, ‘Promoting ecosocial transition through permaculture: A practice tool for social work’, in Matthies, A.-L. & Närhi, K., eds, The Ecosocial Transition of Societies: The Contribution of Social Work and Social Policy, Routledge.Google Scholar
Ferguson, I. 2009, ‘“Another social work is possible”: Reclaiming the radical tradition’, in Leskošek, V., ed., Theories and Methods of Social Work: Exploring Different Perspectives, Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana, www.historyofsocialwork.org/1975_radical_social_work/2009,%20Fergusson,%20radical%20social%20work.pdfGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, I. & Lavalette, M. 2013, ‘“Another world is possible”: Social work and the struggle for social justice’, in Ferguson, I., Lavalette, M. & Whitmore, E., eds, Globalisation, Global Justice and Social Work, Routledge.Google Scholar
Fook, J. 2000, ‘The lone crusader: Constructing enemies and allies in the workplace’, in Napier, L. & Fook, J., eds, Breakthroughs in Practice: Theorising Critical Moments in Social Work, Whiting and Birch.Google Scholar
Fook, J. & Gardner, F., eds 2013, Critical Reflection in Context: Applications in Health and Social Care, Routledge.Google Scholar
Greenslade, L., McAuliffe, D. & Chenoweth, L. 2015, ‘Social workers’ experiences of covert workplace activism’, Australian Social Work, 68(4), 422–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ife, J., Soldatic, K. & Briskman, L. 2022, ‘Achieving human rights through social work practice’, in Human Rights and Social Work: Towards Rights-Based Practice, 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morley, C. 2014, ‘Stories from front-line practice’, in Practising Critical Reflection to Develop Emancipatory Change: Challenging the Legal Response to Sexual Assault, Routledge.Google Scholar
Morley, C. 2016, ‘Critical reflection and critical social work’, in Pease, B., Goldingay, S., Hosken, N. & Nipperess, S., eds, Doing Critical Social Work: Transformative Practices for Social Justice, Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Reisch, M. 2020, ‘A prophet without honor: Betha Capen Reynolds’ contribution to social work’s critical practice and pedagogy’, in Morley, C., Ablett, P., Noble, C. & Cowden, S., eds, The Routledge Handbook of Critical Pedagogies for Social Work, Routledge.Google Scholar
Reynolds, V. 2011, ‘Resisting burnout with justice-doing’, International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, 4, 27–45.Google Scholar
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil 2006, Faith Morgan (film-maker) The Community Solution, www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the-power-of-community-how-cuba-survived-peak-oil-2006Google Scholar
The Take: Occupy, Resist, Produce! 2004, Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis (film-makers), www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-DSu8RPJt8Google Scholar
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil 2006, Faith Morgan (film-maker) The Community Solution, www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the-power-of-community-how-cuba-survived-peak-oil-2006Google Scholar
The Take: Occupy, Resist, Produce! 2004, Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis (film-makers), www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-DSu8RPJt8Google Scholar
Films
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil 2006, Faith Morgan (film-maker) The Community Solution, www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the-power-of-community-how-cuba-survived-peak-oil-2006Google Scholar
The Take: Occupy, Resist, Produce! 2004, Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis (film-makers), www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-DSu8RPJt8Google Scholar
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