Researching social work as a means of social inclusion - notes on the Edinburgh seminar

Abstract

The aim of the Edinburgh seminar was to explore those research issues which arise when investigating the part that social work plays in responding to social exclusion. From the outset, Juliet Cheetham, the chair of the morning session pointed to a paradox which was to run as one of the major themes of the day's discussions. While in the view of practitioners and academics, the contribution which social work can make to overcoming discrimination and disadvantage is apparent and powerful, in the eyes of the public and of many social work clients it is a source of stigma, a badge of exclusion, rather than inclusivity. From her perspective as member of the Scottish Mental Health Commission, Professor Cheetham suggested that part of this paradox is to be explained by the contradictory and competing views of what com prises 'inclusion' amongst those most closely involved in many social work encoun ters. From the perspective of providers, for example, hospitalization of mental health patients is regarded as strongly excluding, while for relatives it may be a preferred option. The scene for the morning session was thus set against a question which asked whether the apparent absence of subtlety in discussion of the social work and social inclusion interface was to be found rooted in a research use of the term as a