Anti-oppressive Practice Research Articles

Beyond Anti-Oppressive Practice: Investigating Reflexive Social Relations

Anti-oppressive practice is promoted with increasing frequency as a foundation for social work practice. This article develops a critique of anti-oppressive practice by drawing on tools from ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. Against anti-oppressive practice, it is suggested that inquiry must be informed by an abiding attention to the explication of members'; local and congregationally enacted social interactions. It is argued that anti-oppressive practice redirects social workers'; attention from consideration of the ineffable ambiguity, paradoxes, and puzzles of our clients'; and our own lives in favor of formulaic “discoveries” of oppression.

Anti-Oppressive Practice and Social Work Students' Portfolios in Scotland

Anti-oppressive practice is seen by social work educators as a key approach to social work in the UK. However, controversies exist about its use in practice. Recent literature has criticised the complexities and problematics of anti-oppressive practice. An examination is made of the content of portfolios completed by social work students undertaking a final practice learning opportunity on a post-graduate programme in Scotland. The findings indicate that students gave considerable attention to power, empowerment and partnership but there was also an apparent general acceptance of agency policies, procedures and wider structural oppression. Also some aspects of social divisions and forms of oppression such as gender, age, disability and language received considerable attention while others such as ‘race’, class, sexuality and religion received less attention. Limitations of the research are noted. Suggestions for improvement in considering anti-oppressive material include a focus on both micro and macro issues, ranging from the structure for the portfolio and the content of supervision discussions through to agency policies and procedures and the national guidelines provided to social work programmes.

Making a Difference? Developing Career Education as a Socially Just Practice

Career education plays a crucial role during compulsory secondary schooling by providing students with opportunities to gain diverse insights into the multiple ways in which social, political and economic discourses shape and position concepts of self, career, opportunity and justice. It hence has the potential to make a difference to how young people construct their career(s), make sense of their lives and critically engage with the world but the current career development focus on skills acquisition, competencies and self-management may be limiting opportunities for wider critical educational learning, leading to a restricted conceptualisation of career(s). In this article I draw on the work of Young (1990) to explore the concepts of social injustice and injustice, to consider how these intersect with career education and to outline ways in which career education might engage in anti-oppressive practice. While the examples presented and the issues are from New Zealand, they are applicable elsewhere.

Exploring the Place of Values in the New Social Work Degree in Scotland

Social work education in the UK has experienced major changes in recent years with the move to an honours degree qualification. Introduced in 2003, the new degree requires students to develop skills in analysis and critical reflection yet, almost six years later, it would appear that this level of critical analysis is not being demonstrated consistently in relation to values. Two weak areas standout: understanding service users' situations at a structural level, and recognising the importance of anti-oppressive practice. This paper draws upon UK literature, and the authors' own experiences to date, to explore why the new degree seems to fall short when it comes to the development of a strong values framework in students. In particular, it is argued that increased standardisation in social work education, as well as practice, is one possible explanation. Focusing on the Scottish situation, it is suggested that standardisation has become even more apparent since the introduction of new Key Capabilities in Child Care and Protection in 2006, which students are now required to meet in addition to the existing Scottish Standards in Social Work Education.

Exploring Power and Privilege Using Participatory Learning and Action Techniques

In contexts of extreme inequality in terms of resources, power and privilege, such as South Africa, students preparing to enter caring professions need to develop the capacity to become critical, thinking and caring people. This would include imagination, a desire for learning, respect and recognition, and democratic practice across racial and class differences. A Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) approach provides a valuable basis from which students can engage in experiential learning about differences and inequalities. In addition, the approach can encourage developing health and human service professionals to be critically reflective in relation to social, political and cultural assumptions they may hold about themselves and others, becoming effectors of social change. We examine how the use of PLA techniques in pedagogic practice provides an environment in which students are able to share their locations and histories across differences of race, class and gender. We describe a joint project involving senior undergraduate students of the Social Work and Occupational Therapy Departments at the University of the Western Cape, and Community Psychology at Stellenbosch University in 2006 and 2007. The article describes how the PLA exercises contributed to students' knowledge of self and others towards anti-oppressive professional practice.

A Glimpse of the Truth: Evaluating ‘Debate’ and ‘Role Play’ as Pedagogical Tools for Learning about Sexuality Issues on a Law and Ethics Module

Social work education is familiar with concepts such as social exclusion, marginalisation, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. This familiarisation implies that students are adequately prepared to embrace equality and diversity, become ‘culturally competent’ and subscribe to moral and ethical standards including the rights of service users to respect and support regardless of sexual orientation. The ability of social work students to articulate and develop their own theories for practice and to handle personal issues when these conflict with ‘theories’ on equality and diversity are important aspects of learning. Educators teaching about sexual orientation issues however currently have fewer texts or support networks to draw on when addressing these. This paper looks at the effectiveness of ‘debate’ and ‘role play’ as pedagogical strategies and tools when teaching complex ethical issues on a law and ethics module. Dramatic and creative participative methods were used through the tools of debate and role play. These were used with students to explore a specific topic around gay adoption in the context of learning about anti-discriminatory law. The paper seeks to evaluate the outcomes of this approach by drawing on the students' post learning reflection.

Citizens as social work educators in a post-conflict society: reflections from Northern Ireland

This paper examines how service users and carers can contribute to social work education in a post conflict society. A small-scale study undertaken in Northern Ireland is used as a case study to show how such citizens can potentially critically contribute to social work students’ understanding of the impact of conflict on individuals, groups and communities. The need to appreciate the effects of such community division is now a core knowledge requirement of the social work curriculum in Northern Ireland. The article reports on research findings with service users, carers and agency representatives which points to ways in which social work students can achieve a critical understanding of the impact of conflict. Northern Ireland, in this way, is presented as a divided society, still in a state of adjustment and evolution, following a period of protracted community strife and violence. The author suggests that individuals who have been directly affected by conflict can contribute in an informed and critical way to social work students’ developing knowledge and experience in an important area of their professional competence and understanding of anti-oppressive practice more broadly.

Power and Social Work in the United Kingdom

• Summary: This article explores relations of power in social work using insights drawn from the critical ‘toolkit’ emanating from work of French philosopher, Michel Foucault. The article discusses the relationship between Foucault’s conceptual tools of ‘knowledge and power’, the emergence of ‘the modern subject’ and the concept of ‘governmentality’. Despite ongoing pressures, professional expertise persists as a core element of neo-liberal government in the management of the population. We use a Foucauldian perspective to explore two issues central to contemporary practice: surveillance and discretion that epitomise dualism of power relations. On the one hand, surveillance brings with it a potentially problematic process especially in context of top down managerial power; yet, on the other hand, discretion is much more focused on what Foucault (1977) calls ‘the microphysics of power’ with opportunities for ‘resistance’ from the bottom up.• Findings: Professional expertise creates a paradox where surveillance and discretion operate within similar social space as the expression of power relations that encompass the matrix of users, carers and social workers. On one hand, surveillance restricts practice however; on the other, complexity opens the space for resistance and new formulations of power relations.• Applications : Exposing social work activity to a critical stance enables the exploration of relations of power identifying how commitments such as empowerment and anti-oppressive practice become detached from their original radical and humanitarian moorings to feature now as components of oppressive discourses they might once have challenged.

Constructive Marginality: Conflicts and Dilemmas in Cultural Competence and Anti-Oppressive Practice

This paper argues that social work education in the United Kingdom (UK) needs to develop teaching cultural competence in order to respond to the increasing cultural diversity of service users. In recognising this it argues that anti-oppressive practice (AOP) is central to this task in linking issues of social justice with culture. The paper explores some of the dynamics of culture and argues that a more complete conceptualisation of how cultures are constituted will enable social work to be more effective. It will argue that cultures are not monolithic. Culture is a site of struggle around which different groups seek to imprint their values as the cultural norm upon less powerful others. It discusses the inevitable conflicts that student social workers face in intervening in different cultural practices that may be considered harmful. It discusses criteria for working in cultural dialogue to enable student social workers to work in an anti-oppressive way. In negotiating the conflicts inherent in social work practice with different cultures it argues that student social workers adopt a position of ‘constructive marginality’.

The Use of Social Theory in Reflecting on Anti-Oppressive Practice with Final Year BSc Social Work Students

This article explores the relevance of social theory for social work teaching and learning about anti-oppressive practice. Use of theory in social work practice is discussed. It is argued that social theory is a toolbox from which social workers can draw eclectically in order to enhance their ability to practise anti-oppressively. A course/module which focuses on theory to understand and support anti-oppressive practice is described. The main aspects of social theory addressed in this module are outlined. These areas are firstly, human rights; secondly, traditional, modern and postmodern discourses or ‘ways of knowing’; thirdly, essentialism vis-à-vis the social construction of identity; and fourthly, an analysis of power in personal/professional relationships. The use of case studies or scenarios is discussed in relation to facilitating students' application of theory to practice. Extracts from a student essay demonstrate how one student applied social theory to a comparison of two case studies leading to strategies to empower the individuals in each scenario. The value of using social theory to reflect on and enhance anti-oppressive practice is discussed.

Human Rights Practice: Possibilities and Pitfalls for Developing Emancipatory Social Work

This paper seeks to analyse the contribution of a human rights perspective to emancipatory social work. Human rights practice builds on long-standing values and theoretical frameworks related to emancipatory, radical and structural social work and anti-oppressive practice. However, historical tensions within social work, notably in the United Kingdom, continue in contemporary forms, magnified by the global impact of neo-liberalism. The paper considers connections between human rights and other frameworks, including professional codes; ethical critiques drawing on feminist and indigenous perspectives; the articulation of human rights with social justice; and the strength of a rights-based approach demonstrated by community campaigns and service-user movements. It also addresses discontinuities between human rights and trends in social work and the wider context, including managerialism, privatization, and the consumerization of rights; unexamined rhetoric and limited regulatory interpretations; the dangers of rights being interpreted and imposed from dominant and/or Western perspectives; and the complexities of universal versus culturally specific rights claims. Drawing on the struggles of oppressed groups, the paper argues that a more critical and informed focus on human rights can be a further potentially powerful tool contributing to resistance to oppression, collective solidarity and the promotion of emancipatory change.

Pride or Prejudice? Gay Men, Lesbians and Dementia

Social workers have a professional obligation to empower service users to make independent decisions and life choices and to respect their individual lifestyle preferences. This commitment to anti-oppressive practice can be challenged when working with people who have dementia and may be particularly difficult to effectively adhere to when those diagnosed, and/or their carers, do not fit what might be described as societal norms. This article explores some of the links between a non-heterosexual identity, ageing, cognitive loss and the challenges these intersecting identities may produce for social work practitioners.

Anti-Oppressive Practices with Chronic Pain Sufferers

ABSTRACT Chronic pain and (dis)Ability leaves one struggling for normalcy, trying to make sense out of the fundamental operations of one's body, the meaning of suffering, and the social construction of wellness (Jackson, 2002; MacDonald, 2000; Oliver, 1996; Thomas, 1999; Wendell, 1996). Social work and other helping professions need to find ways to learn from sufferers, to listen to their stories, deriving insight from their knowledge, in order to more effectively attend to their health care needs. Findings from a doctoral dissertation using a narrative “testimonial” methodology, framed within a postmodern anti-oppressive ideology, will be presented. This research listened to the stories of women in, or retired from, the helping professions, who are sufferers of chronic pain, specifically attending to their experiences of living with chronic pain, dealing with the medical system, and the relationship of their pain and (dis)Ability with their helping roles. Six sufferers participated—two physicians, two nurses, and two social workers—providing a cross-disciplinary lens to both their personal and work experiences. The guiding research question was, “How can the stories of women in the helping professions, who are sufferers of chronic pain and (dis)Ability, inform an anti-oppressive approach to social work practice in working with sufferers?” A close read is provided into the sufferers' professional storying, including their insights, reflections, and critiques of health services. An anti-oppressive model of social work is highlighted, extrapolated from participants' storied practices and collaborative visions for best practices in working with chronic pain sufferers.

Family Matters: Developments Concerning the Role of the Nearest Relative and Social Worker under Mental Health Law in England and Wales

The ‘nearest relative’ and social work roles in mental health services share common ground. Although the social worker is a trained professional and the nearest relative is identified from a fixed hierarchy of kin, both roles were awarded the authority to make a compulsory order for hospital admission of a person with serious mental disorder warranting detention in hospital. Both roles will alter if amendments to the 1983 Mental Health Act in England and Wales come into force. This article considers the changing roles of relatives, carers and practitioners in the context of policy shifts in mental health legislation and services in England and Wales. Drawing on the interlinked tenets of anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice, it presents an analysis of the interlocking powers of the nearest relative and the Approved Social Worker, and an overview of defunct and existing legal proposals. The article concludes that the lay and professional roles remain in flux but they are still interdependent in many instances. Note: The term ‘patient’ is used to describe a person who is detained or liable to be detained under the 1983 Mental Health Act. The term ‘service user’ is used to describe someone who uses mental health services. However, the authors acknowledge that both descriptors are problematic given the stigma associated with the term ‘patient’ and possible offence caused by defining people by the services they use. The terms are used to reflect the legal status implied and no prejudicial meanings or interpretations are intended.

Anti-oppressive Practice in Mental Health

ABSTRACT This article identifies the challenges to incorporating an anti-oppressive practice approach in the field of mental health, which has traditionally utilized a discourse and perspectives of a bio-medical model. Schools of Social Work often teach anti-oppressive and social justice approaches which make it difficult for students to link theory and practice in fields such as mental health. In this article, seven principles of practice are presented as a framework for working with people with disabling conditions of mental health. Specific strategies for implementing these principles are presented.

Anti-oppressive practice Jane Dalrymple Anti-oppressive practiceandBeverleyBurke Open University PressSecond£24.9936097803352180110335218016

This revised text should be read by all practitioners in health and social care settings who supports people with complex needs and who aim to promote anti-oppressive and person-centred practice. Many of the substantial changes to this book appear in part one, which features a discussion of the essential elements of anti-oppressive theory and the law.

Anti-oppressive practice: social care and the lawAnti-oppressive practice: social care and the law Jane Dalrymple Beverley Burke Open University Press Second 360 £24.99 9780335218011 0335218016

The critical tradition of social work can be traced back to the Settlement movement of the 1880s and the pioneering work of the Fabians and the Quakers. But the emphasis in this book is on the contribution made to developing anti-oppressive practice over the past 50 years and how that practice can be further informed and enhanced by today’s health and social care practitioners.

Human Rights and Gypsies and Travellers: An Exploration of the Application of a Human Rights Perspective to Social Work with a Minority Community in Britain

This paper explores the relationship between human rights social work and issues facing Gypsies and Travellers, and argues that work with these groups cannot be properly understood outside a human rights framework. It outlines different generations of rights, key current debates, and their significance for social work, building on other emancipatory frameworks for practice including anti-oppressive practice, structural social work and critical postmodernism. These perspectives find some expression in social work ethical codes. For Gypsies and Travellers, human rights violations occur in many socio-political contexts, causing cycles of exclusion and disadvantage. However, Gypsies and Travellers are increasingly mobilizing nationally and locally to promote their rights. The somewhat limited research on social work in this area concurs in finding distance between the parties, lack of cultural understanding and engagement, and problematic practice as well as some clear pointers for improvement. Policy developments contradictorily related to promoting rights and increasing disciplinary surveillance are examined for their relevance to work with this group. The paper explores the importance of an inclusive, participatory and discursive approach to human rights practice, and examines its significance for a paradigmatic shift linking social work with the broader struggle for human rights of Gypsy Travellers and other groups.

Emancipating and Empowering De-Valued Skilled Immigrants: What Hope Does Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Offer?

Globalization and the transnational movement of people have intensified the migration of highly educated people from developing countries to the industrialized countries of the North. While causing a serious ‘brain drain’ or ‘talent shortage’ in developing countries, these migrations have also produced profound ethnic, cultural and racial diversity in receiving countries. Even as developed countries lure and vie for high-calibre immigrants in order to gain or maintain a competitive advantage in the ‘knowledge-based’ global economy, structural barriers in the labour markets of these countries exclude and deny immigrants access to occupations and jobs commensurate with their training and expertise. Denying people access to hiring opportunities for reasons unrelated to their abilities or industry is discriminatory, oppressive and unjust. This paper argues that anti-oppressive practice is an effective social work practice tool for gaining a better understanding of the oppression, marginalization and exclusion of skilled immigrants of colour in Western societies. In working with visible minority immigrants, anti-oppressive practice becomes a powerful instrument of resistance and for advocating for structural change that would emancipate and empower immigrants in Canada and other immigrant-receiving countries.

Developing Inclusive Health and Social Care Policies for Older LGBT Citizens

Creating anti-oppressive practices in service provision that successfully remove barriers to the social inclusion of older lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered (LGBT) citizens has proven thus far tremendously difficult. The White Paper, Better Care, Higher Standards: A Charter for Long Term Care, (Department of Health, 1999) addresses the development of non-discriminatory services that treat users with dignity and respect, taking account of sexual orientation (Department of Health, 1999, p. 3). Such government social policy holds out the hope that services will be designed to support senior LGBT people. This paper examines the unique oppression and marginalization faced by older lesbian, gay men, bisexual and transgendered citizens in homophobic and ageist societies, which often fail to acknowledge their existence. The research findings highlight strategies being created through social policy that aim to successfully achieve the inclusion of this group in the planning and delivery of their services.