European Journal of Social Work 

About: European Journal of Social Work is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Social work & Social Welfare. It has an ISSN identifier of 1369-1457. Over the lifetime, 1358 publications have been published receiving 15415 citations.

The concept of critical reflection: promises and contradictions

Abstract: In the world of professional education today we see frequent calls for practitioners to be critically reflective. This conflating of the terms ‘reflection’ and ‘critical reflection’ implies that adding the qualifier ‘critical’ somehow makes the kind of reflection happening deeper and more profound. I contend that reflection is not, by definition, critical. It is quite possible to practise reflectively while focusing solely on the nuts and bolts of process and leaving unquestioned the criteria, power dynamics and wider structures that frame a field of practice. Reflection is useful and necessary in the terms it sets itself; that is, to make a set of practices work more smoothly and achieve the consequences intended for them. But this is not critical reflection; critical reflection calls into question the power relationships that allow, or promote, one set of practices considered to be technically effective. It assumes that the minutiae of practice have embedded within them the struggles between unequal int...

Child protection systems within the Danish, Finnish and Norwegian welfare states—time for a child centric approach?

Abstract: This article explores the relationship between the child protection systems and the Nordic welfare state in Denmark, Finland and Norway. Despite an ideological focus on prevention and provision of a fair amount of universal services and in-home child protection services for families and children, there is, nevertheless, a relatively high number of children in the child protection system, even children placed out of their home. The outcome of child protection seems to be relatively poor. One of the problems in the present child protection systems is related to questionable service provision within the system. Other problems are about the normative foundation for the system, for example, family orientation and the least intrusive principle. Such principles are closely related to the logic of universal services, and may as such ignore the diversity of needs, rights, risks and ages of children needing protection and related services. Consequently, many principles of the present child protection systems are – ...

Beyond talking - children's participation in Norwegian care and protection cases

Abstract: The attempt to give children an effective voice in social work processes which can have substantial impact on their lives takes different forms in countries with varying professional cultures and legal frameworks. This paper reports on a study of children's participation in decision-making in care and protection services in Norway, which was carried out in conjunction with a project to support social work teams in enabling children to participate, using materials borrowed from England and Wales. The results showed that (a) taking an active part in decision-making did not correlate perfectly with (b) having an influence on the outcome. Cases were therefore classified as ‘participation’ or ‘non-participation’ using a combination of both the above criteria. Statistical analysis of the factors influencing children's participation enabled the proposition of a model which appeared to explain much of the variance. The results point to the inadequacy of equating social work conversation with children with effecti...

Professional Discretion in Welfare Services : Beyond Street-level Bureaucracy

Abstract: The issue of discretion in social work has been a central topic for social workers and social work educators ever since Michael Lipsky's seminal study was published, first as a journal paper and la...

Service users and carers’ involvement in social work education: lessons from an English case study

Abstract: Within the larger context of the search to improve social work practice in Europe, this article presents a case study of a UK innovation in social work education with the potential to radically change social work practice. Following governmental requirements, Anglia Ruskin University has introduced systematic involvement of service users and carers in the training of a new undergraduate degree since September 2003. The conceptual and value base, the structure, staffing, and main activities are outlined; the main achievements and obstacles are highlighted. Mindful of the danger of slipping into tokenistic involvement, the project has included an action research evaluation component exploring the views of all the project's stakeholders thus establishing the project as an evidence-based educational innovation. The findings highlight the value of service users and carers’ involvement on the qualifying social work degree, of the action research design of the evaluation, and the steps needed for the cultural ch...