Abstract
This article explores the application of Critical Discourse Analytic methods learnt during a (Social Work) Master’s degree, in the author’s first year of practice as a newly qualified social worker. The focus is the Liberty Protection Safeguards and how the discourse analytic techniques utilised may be translated into specific practice learning. An extract from the author’s Critical Discourse Analysis of the Liberty Protection Safeguards factsheets is presented before further exploration of analytic methods in the context of both literature and personal practice reflections. Specifically, the four issues addressed are: A. Considering how language signals a certain (ethical, social, political, moral) position. B. How language helps construct and reconstruct practice. C. What it means for social work practice to remain open to the consequences of language. D. Considering writing as a form of social work practice. Discourse analytic methods may complement social work values, considering the ethical stance that underpins our work. It is argued that critical discourse analytic tools and the learning arising from them can have a direct influence on social work practice through encouraging practitioners to remain open to language and questioning of the role of power in communication.
Published Version
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