Critical Practice in Social Work - 2nd Edition by Robert Adams & Lena Dominelli & Malcolm Payne (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

What do social workers need to know in order to practise skilfully and effectively? Edited by three Social Work's leading scholars, the second edition of this highly respected textbook helps bridge the gap between social work theory and the challenges of day-to-day practice.

Versatile and thoughtful, the book's simultaneous accessibility and depth make it essential reading suited for both social work students at undergraduate and post-qualifying level. Practitioners, too, will learn and benefit from the insights collected together in this valuable addition to their bookshelf.

From the Back Cover

What do social workers need to know in order to practise skilfully and effectively? The second edition of this highly respected text gives you the understanding to bridge the gap between social work theory and the challenges of day-to-day practice.

Critical Practice in Social Work is different from every other text for several reasons:
- Its unique combination of theory, values and practice
- The wealth of expertise its contributors bring to their subject
- The way the themes of critical practice and reflective practice are used to show how theories can be applied meaningfully
- The number of methods covered, in an 'easy reference' structure
- Its in-depth look at an unrivalled spectrum of professional situations, illustrated by rich case material
- Its systematic discussion of professional ethics and values, both as general principles for practice and as practical tools.

The book's simultaneous accessibility and depth make it suited for study at both qualifying and post-qualifying level. Conveying the versatility and thoughtfulness required to do social work well, it is an essential purchase for every aspiring and practising social worker's bookshelf. It is one of three interrelated books edited by the internationally renowned and widely published team, Robert Adams, Lena Dominelli and Malcolm Payne. The companion books are Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates (third edition) and Practising Social Work in a Complex World. Each book can be used alone or in combination with the other two as a uniquely flexible and comprehensive programme of study.

Review Quotes

Social Work Practice: Critical Reflection and Skills: 1st edition
"Excellent...on the relationship between values and social work, Chris Clark's elegant chapter on rights, justice and citizenship [is] especially well argued." -- Martin Davies, THES

"Social Work Practice: Critical Reflection and Skills: 1st edition
""Excellent...on the relationship between values and social work, Chris Clark's elegant chapter on rights, justice and citizenship [is] especially well argued." -- Martin Davies, "THES"

About the Author

ROBERT ADAMS is Visiting Professor of Social Work in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Teesside, UK.

LENA DOMINELLI is Professor of Applied Social Sciences and Head of Social and Community and Youth Work at the University of Durham, UK.

MALCOLM PAYNE is Adviser (Policy and Development) at St Christopher's Hospice, London, UK.

There are also a number of prestigious contributors to this book, bringing experience of teaching and practice from a variety of backgrounds.
ROBERT ADAMS is Visiting Professor of Social Work in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Teesside, UK. He has a considerable writing and publishing track record, for example as author of Social Policy for Social Work (Palgrave Macmillan), editor of Foundations of Health and Social Care (Palgrave Macmillan 2007), consultant editor for the Handbook of Postqualifying Social Work (Jessica Kingsley 2007).

LENA DOMINELLI is Professor of Applied Social Sciences and Head of Social and Community and Youth Work at the University of Durham, UK. She is an academician in the Academy of the Learned Societies for Social Sciences. From 1996 to 2004, she served as President of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). She is widely published, with a number of important sole-authored books to her name, particularly in the areas of feminism and anti-racism. These include: Social Work: Theory and Practice in a Changing Profession (Polity Press, 2004); Anti-Oppressive Social Work Theory and Practice; and Anti-Racist Social Work (3rd edition).

MALCOLM PAYNE is Adviser (Policy and Development) at St Christopher's Hospice, London, UK. He is also Emeritus Professor of Community Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Honorary Professor, Kingston University St George's Medical School. He is author of the global best-seller, Modern Social Work Theory, as well as numerous other books including Teamwork in Multiprofessional Care and The Origins of Social Work.