Between othering and recognition: in search of transformative practice at the street level

Abstract

ABSTRACT Critical social work scholars consider recognition a counterpractice to othering, but, empirical evidence of recognition as a contextualized and feasible challenge to othering in social services is scarce. This gap in the existing literature is significant in light of the operation of conservative and neo-managerial approaches known in the European context to enable othering while hindering critical practices. This article traces the implementation of the Poverty-Aware Paradigm in welfare agencies in Israel to qualitatively analyze the detailed ways in which 25 street-level social caseworkers navigated the tensions between othering and recognition. By showing how recognition operates at the discursive, relational, and institutional levels, the article expands the current articulation of recognition as solely relational. Its portrayal of recognition as posing a potential transformative challenge to othering contributes to its conceptualization as a contextualized challenge to neo-managerialism and to the feasible promotion of practice informed by social justice.