RHETORIC VERSUS REALITY IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: POLITICAL, NEOLIBERAL AND NEW MANAGERIAL INFLUENCES

Authors

  • Thembeni TrueLove Dlamini University of KwaZulu Natal
  • Visanthie Sewpaul Univeristy of KwaZulu Natal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15270/51-4-461

Abstract

This article is based on a study of the experiences of social workers employed in a public service organisation in the Ethekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the profession of social work commit to the pursuit of human rights, social justice and a better life for all. However, an increasing shift towards neoliberalism and new managerialism impacts on the functions and levels of satisfaction of social workers as they deal with the ideal aspirations of the profession and the realities of their day-to-day practice. Informed by critical theory, the research was inspired by the desire for social workers to use the research process to engage in ethical political resistance.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Thembeni TrueLove Dlamini, University of KwaZulu Natal

Department of social Work

Visanthie Sewpaul, Univeristy of KwaZulu Natal

Department of Social Work

References

ALPASLAN, N. & SCHENCK, R. 2012. Challenges related to working conditions experienced by social workers practicing in rural areas. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 48(4):400-419.

ALVESSON, M. & SKÖLDBERG, K. 2009. Reflexive methodology. New vistas for qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.

BALDAUF, S. 2010. South Africa AIDS orphans overwhelm social work services. [Online] Available: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2010/0510/South-Africa-AIDS-orphans-overwhelm-social-work-services [Accessed: 21/08/2015].

BAUMAN, Z. 1993. Postmodern ethics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

CARPENTER, J. & WEBB, C. 2012. Effective supervision in social work and social care. Bristol: Social Care Institute for Excellence.

CHOMSKY, N. 1999. Profit over people – neoliberalism and global order. New York: Seven Stories Press.

CLARKE, J. 2007. Subordinating the social? Neoliberalism and the remaking of welfare capitalism. Cultural Studies, 21(6):974-987.

DE VOS, A.S., STRYDOM, H., FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S.L. 2010. Research at grassroots: for the social services and human service professions. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.

DENZIN, K.N. & LINCOLN, Y.S. 2011. The Sage handbook of qualitative research. New York: Sage Publications.

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (DHET). 2014. White Paper for Post-School Education and Training: Building an Expanded, Effective and Integrated Post-School System. Pretoria: DHET.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (DSD). 2013. Framework for Social Welfare Services. Pretoria: DSD.

DEPARTMENT OF WELFARE. 1997. White Paper for Social Welfare. Government Gazette Notice 1108 of 1997. Pretoria: Ministry for Welfare and Population Development.

DOMINELLI, L. 1996. Deprofessionalising social work: anti-oppressive practice, competencies and postmodernism. British Journal of Social Work, 26:153-175.

DOMINELLI, L. 2002. Anti-oppressive social work theory and practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

DOMINELLI, L. 2012. Green social work: from environmental crises to environmental justice. Cambridge: Polity Press.

FERGUSON, I. & LAVALETTE, M. 2006. Globalization and global justice. International Social Work, 49(3):309-318.

FREIRE, P. 1970. The pedagogy of the oppressed. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books.

FREIRE, P. 1973. Education for critical consciousness. New York: Seabury Press.

FUCHS, C. & SANDOVAL, M. 2008. Positivism, postmodernism, or critical theory? A case study of communications students’ understandings of criticism, Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 6(2):112-141.

GIROUX, H.A. 2002. Neoliberalism, corporate culture, and the promise of higher education: the university as a democratic public sphere. Harvard Educational Review, 72(4):425-463.

GRAMSCI, A. 1988. Gramsci’s prison letters (Translated by Henderson, H.). Edinburgh: Zwan Publications.

HENDRICKSON, S. 2012. Legitimizing resistance to organizational change: a social work social justice perspective. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(5):50-59.

HENNING, E. 2004. Finding your way in qualitative research. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.

HÖLSCHER, D. & SEWPAUL, V. 2006. Ethics as a cite of resistance: the tension between social control and critical reflection. In: HALL, N. (ed). Social work: making a world of difference. Berne: IFSW.

HOWE, D. 1996. Surface and depth in social work practice. In: PARTON, N. (ed). Social theory, social work and social change: the state of welfare. London: Routledge.

HUMPHRIES, B. 2008. Social work research and social justice. Hampshire: Palgrave, Macmillan.

IOAKIMIDIS, V. 2013. Arguing the case for a social justice based global social work definition. Critical and Radical Social Work, 1(2):183-200.

LAVALETTE, M. & FERGUSON, I. 2007. Towards a social work of resistance: international social work and the radical tradition. In: LAVALETTE, M. & FERGUSON, I. (eds). International social work and the radical tradition. Birmingham: Venture Press.

LEONARD, P. 1997. Postmodern welfare. Reconstructing an emancipatory project. London: Thousand Oaks.

LINCOLN, Y.S. & GUBA, E.G. 1985. Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

MILLER, R.L. & BREWER, J.D. 2003. The A-Z of social research. London: Sage Publications.

NEUMAN, W.L. 2006. The meanings of methodology. In: NEUMAN, W.L. (ed). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative methods. New York: Pearson.

NOBLE, D. 1999. Digital diploma mills. London: Monthly Review Press.

ROBERTS, P. 2009. A new patriotism: neoliberalism, citizenship and tertiary education in New Zealand. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41(4):410-423.

RUBIN, A. & BABBIE, E. 2011. Research methods for social work. Belmont: Brooks/Cole.

SEPTEMBER, R.L. 2007. Separating social welfare services and social welfare grants: challenges and opportunities. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 43(2):93-105.

SEWPAUL, V. & HÖLSCHER, D. 2004. Social work in times of neoliberalism: a postmodern discourse. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.

SEWPAUL, V. 2013. Neoliberalism and social work in South Africa. Critical and Radical Social Work, 1(1):15-30.

SEWPAUL, V. 2014a. Social work education: current trends and future directions. In: NOBLE, C., STRAUSS, H. & LITTLECHILD, B. (eds). Global social work: crossing borders, blurring boundaries. Sydney: Sydney University Press.

SEWPAUL, V. & LARSEN, A.K. 2014b. Community development: towards an integrated emancipatory framework. In: LARSEN, A.K., SEWPAUL, V. & OLINE, G. (eds). Participation in community work: international perspectives. London: Routledge.

SEWPAUL, V. 2014c. Emancipatory education: towards engaged citizenship, democratic practices and active community engagement. In: DOMINELLI, L. & MOOSA-MITHA, M. (eds). Reconfiguring citizenship: social exclusion and diversity within inclusive citizenship practices. Hampshire: Ashgate.

SEWPAUL, V. 2015. Neoliberalism. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 16:462-468.

SHENTON, A.K. 2003. Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22:63-75.

TERREBLANCHE, M. & DURRHEIM, K. 1999. Research in practice: applied methods for the social sciences. Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press.

YOUNG, I. 2004. Five faces of oppression. In: HELDKE, L. & O’CONNER, P. (eds). Oppression, privilege and resistance. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Downloads

Published

2015-11-05

How to Cite

Dlamini, T. T., & Sewpaul, V. (2015). RHETORIC VERSUS REALITY IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: POLITICAL, NEOLIBERAL AND NEW MANAGERIAL INFLUENCES. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 51(4). https://doi.org/10.15270/51-4-461

Issue

Section

Articles