Summary
Contents
This book is a quick and accessible reference guide to the key concepts that social work students and professionals need to understand to be effective. The authors place practice at the center of the text, and include a host of case examples to bring the concepts to life.
Examining the essential topics of the social work curriculum, the concepts covered relate to practice, theory, policy and personal challenges. Further reading is included in each entry, so that the reader can explore what they have learned in more detail.
This book will be an invaluable resource for social work students during their studies and on their practice placement. It will also be useful for qualified social workers, who want to continue their professional education.
Social Justice
Social Justice
Definition
As a value in social work's professional ethical code (BASW, 2002), social justice is rather different from the others (human dignity and worth, service to humanity, integrity and competence). Whereas those others are concerned with the intrinsic value of individuals, the ethics of practice, honesty and proficiency, social justice is about the relations between members of a society, the distribution of resources, and access to the protections of citizenship.
Whereas the other values involve actions which are under the direct control of practitioners, social justice concerns matters which are ultimately determined by political decisions and economic processes. While social justice is accepted as a human right, its interpretation is strongly contested. The concept features prominently in the social democratic political tradition, with social ...
