© British Association of Social Workers
Which Way For ‘Radical’ Social Work?
Robin Means graduated in social administration at Nottingham University and then carried out three years postgraduate research on local authority community work at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Birmingham, for which he obtained a Ph.D. This was followed by a year as a trainee social worker in a local authority before going on the social work course at Warwick University.
Summary
This paper attempts to show that ‘radical’ social work needs to develop a more sophisticated analysis of the conflict between social work clients and the ‘conforming’ working class. The ‘radical’ literature is criticized for tending to locate the origin of such conflict in the socialization experiences of the latter group. It is argued that the basis of conflict can often lie in the competition for scarce resources in a market economy and this is illustrated by reference to housing struggles in the redevelopment areas of a large Midlands city. Social work support for client deviance may serve to worsen such divisions unless more ways are found to link up different sections of the working class.
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  J. Hearn Radical Social Work- Contradictions, Limitations and Political Possibilities Critical Social Policy, June 1, 1982; 2(4): 19 - 34. [Abstract] [PDF]
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