Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (12)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by McDonald, C.
Right arrow Articles by Wintersteen, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

British Journal of Social Work (2003) 33, 191-208
© 2003 British Association of Social Workers

Contingent on Context? Social Work and the State in Australia, Britain, and the USA

Catherine McDonald, John Harris and Richard Wintersteen

Catherine McDonald is a Senior Lecturer and Director of the Bachelor of Social Work Programme, University of Queensland, Australia.

John Harris is Professor in the School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick, UK.

Richard Wintersteen is Emeritus Professor, Department of Social Work, Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA.

Correspondence to John Harris, School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. E-mail: j.harris{at}warwick.ac.uk

Summary

The notion that social work is an international profession, operating with generally similar goals, methodologies, and common values is considered critically. Examining the political and social contexts of three countries with liberal democratic governments—Australia, Britain and the United States—the role of social work within the welfare processes of each country is compared. While social work as an identifiable professional activity shares some features, it is argued that the idea of its having a core essence needs to be tempered with a realistic assessment of the importance of contextually created difference. Recent and rapid developments in the institutional context, such as those experienced in these three countries, further underscore the limited utility of the notion of a common professional project.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Br J Soc WorkHome page
J. Harris
State Social Work: Constructing the Present from Moments in the Past
Br. J. Soc. Work, June 1, 2008; 38(4): 662 - 679.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 International Social WorkHome page
S. Fargion
Reflections on social work's identity: International themes in Italian practitioners' representation of social work
International Social Work, March 1, 2008; 51(2): 206 - 219.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J Soc WorkHome page
T. Spratt and J. Devaney
Identifying Families with Multiple Problems: Perspectives of Practitioners and Managers in Three Nations
Br. J. Soc. Work, January 21, 2008; (2008) bcm151v1.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JIRHome page
C. Briggs, G. Meagher, and K. Healy
Becoming an Industry: The Struggle of Social and Community Workers for Award Coverage, 1976 2001
Journal of Industrial Relations, September 1, 2007; 49(4): 497 - 521.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 International Social WorkHome page
P. Welbourne, G. Harrison, and D. Ford
Social work in the UK and the global labour market: Recruitment, practice and ethical considerations
International Social Work, January 1, 2007; 50(1): 27 - 40.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 International Social WorkHome page
I. Ferguson and M. Lavalette
Globalization and global justice: Towards a social work of resistance
International Social Work, May 1, 2006; 49(3): 309 - 318.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 International Social WorkHome page
J. Orme and G. Rennie
The role of registration in ensuring ethical practice
International Social Work, May 1, 2006; 49(3): 333 - 344.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.