REVISITING THE ESOTERIC QUESTION: CAN NON-SOCIAL WORKERS MANAGE AND SUPERVISE SOCIAL WORKERS?

Authors

  • Lambert Engelbrecht Stellenbosch University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15270/51-3-451

Abstract

A dilution, and eventual denigration, of the social work profession, such as through the practice of social workers being managed by non-social workers, can increasingly be traced to neoliberal utterances and resultant managerial discourses. Social workers may unwittingly be contributing to the handover of management practices to non-social workers. This paper outlines the reasons for the tension between general management and social work management, presents a conceptualisation of social work management and supervision, and examines the impact of the global neoliberal discourse and resultant managerial tenets on social work in the South African context

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Author Biography

Lambert Engelbrecht, Stellenbosch University

Professor : Department of Social Work

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This paper stems from an EU-funded research project: Marie Curie Action: International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (contract no. 318938: EU FP7-PEOPLE-IRSES, Grant Agreement Number: PIRSES-GA-2012), CIVIL_SW (Civil engagement in social work: Developing global models).

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Published

2015-09-09

How to Cite

Engelbrecht, L. (2015). REVISITING THE ESOTERIC QUESTION: CAN NON-SOCIAL WORKERS MANAGE AND SUPERVISE SOCIAL WORKERS?. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 51(3). https://doi.org/10.15270/51-3-451

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