Social Work in a Changing Scotland [Paperback]

Scotland has changed, politically and culturally, in recent years, with persistent demands for independence culminating in a referendum in 2014. On this fluid political landscape, social welfare can be co-opted towards a wider nation-building project. As a result, social work in Scotland is increasingly divergent from the rest of the UK. This book offers a comprehensive, critical and timely account of the profession in these changing times, charting its historical development, current practice and future directions.

Bringing together a range of academic and practice experts, it considers social work as it is currently but also as it might be. Divided into three parts, the first part sets a context, identifying historical, philosophical, policy and legal influences on current practice. The second part picks up on current themes in policy and practice, addressing key issues of professional identity in an increasingly integrated policy context. The final part contains chapters on current domains of practice, identifying key areas of legislation, policy and practice.

Social Work in a Changing Scotlandis essential reading for social work students, offering an accessible yet critical overview of the profession. It will also inform current practitioners to understand better the changing contexts within which they practise, while prompting further academic debate about Scottish social work.

Acknowledgements

List of abbreviations

List of contributors

Introduction (Mark Smith and Viviene E. Cree)

Part I. The context

Chapter 1: A history of social work in Scotland (Viviene E. Cree)

Chapter 2: Social work in a system of multi-level governance (James Mitchell)

Chapter 3: Ethics for Scottish social work (Mark Smith)

Chapter 4: The legal context for social work in Scotland