A history of social work in Scotland

Abstract

A history of social work in Scotland must therefore locate Scottish social work as both separate from and, at the same time, connected to social work in the UK and beyond. The story of social work history in Scotland is further complicated by the sheer diversity of social work. This chapter focuses on three key examples from social work history. It illuminates some larger truths about Scotland and its very particular understanding of, and relationship to, social work and social care. The story of the development of Scotland's poor relief is both similar and in crucial ways, a very different one. Scotland also suffered from the Black Death, though a slightly smaller proportion of people died in the outbreak of 1350 and in subsequent plagues. The care of needy children provides further insight into the issue of Scotland's approach to provision of care, and the similarities and differences between Scottish and English approaches.