Social workers and their understanding of neoliberalism, advocacy, and othering
Keywords:
Advocacy, neoliberalism, othering, ethical responsibilitiesAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Advocacy is a fundamental basis of social work and forms part of a social worker’s ethical responsibilities. As part of these responsibilities, it is a requirement for social workers to understand structures and power bases which sustain social injustices. The study was completed for a Master of Arts (Social Policy). The aim was to understand how neoliberalism affected the ability of social workers to provide support and advocacy to disadvantaged people.
METHODS: This article reports on the findings of a qualitative-exploratory study. The data was collected from eight participant interviews using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis then identified key themes within the data.
FINDINGS: A key finding of the research was that social workers have limited understanding of neoliberalism; are placing themselves at risk of sustaining neoliberalism; and engaging in ‘othering’ discourses towards their clients.
CONCLUSION: The research confirms the presence of neoliberalism, evidenced through increased compliance and a standardisation of social work practice. Social workers identify change as possible within their local communities but require greater leadership to engage in this advocacy. Further research into social workers’ understanding of neoliberalism and how this affects their worldview would offer further insight about their capacity to engage in social change.
References
Abramovitz, M., & Zelnick, J. (2012). Double jeopardy: The impact of neoliberalism on care workers in the United States and South Africa. International Journal of Health Services, 40(1), 97–117. https://doi.org/10.2190/hs.40.1.f
Baker, T., & Cooper, S. (2018). New Zealand’s social investment experiment. Critical Social Policy, 38(2), 428–437. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018317745610
Beddoe, L., & Keddell, E. (2016). Informed outrage: Tackling shame and stigma in poverty education in social work. Ethics and Social Welfare, 10(2), 149–162. https://doi.or g/10.1080/17496535.2016.1159775
Boone, K., Roets, G., & Roose, R. (2020). Enabling the recognition of people in poverty through social work practice. From being on a par to participating on a par. European Journal of Social Work, 23(5), 755–766. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2019.1639626
Boston, J., & Gill, D. (2017). Overview – key issues and themes. In J. Boston & D. Gill (Eds.), Social investment: A New Zealand policy experiment (pp. 11–34). Bridget Williams Books.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage Publications.
Brockmann, O., & Garrett, P. (2022). “People are responsible for their own individual actions”: Dominant ideologies within the neoliberal institutionalised social work order. European Journal of Social Work, 25(2), 880–893. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2022.2040443
Conneely, E., & Garrett, P. (2015). Social workers and social justice during a period of intensive neoliberalization:
A preliminary investigation from the Republic of Ireland. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 26(2), 126–147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2015.1017914
Döbl, S., & Ross, A. (2013). Thinking beyond the contract: A journey to collaborative community social work. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 25(1), 43–53. https://doi. org/10.11157/anzswj-vol25iss1id97
Duarte, F. (2017). Reshaping political ideology in social work: A critical perspective. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(2), 34–44. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj- vol29iss2id282
Fenton, J. (2018). Putting old heads on young shoulders: Helping social work students uncover the neoliberal hegemony. Social Work Education, 37(8), 941–954. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2018.1468877
Ferguson, I. (2008). Reclaiming social work: Challenging neo-liberalism and promoting social justice. Sage Publications.
Ferguson, I., Iokimidis, V., & Lavalette, M. (2018). Global social work in a political context: Radical perspectives. Policy Press.
Gair, S. (2018). Upholding social justice: Obligation or optional extra in social work? Critical reflections on a classroom-based inquiry. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 27(2), 140–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2017.1409674
Galbin, A. (2014). An introduction to social constructionism. Social Research Reports, 26, 82-92.
Hendrix, E., Barusch, A., & Gringeri, C. (2021). Eats me alive!: Social workers reflect on practice in neoliberal contexts. Social Work Education, 40(2), 161–173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1718635
Henrickson, M. (2022). The origins of social care and social work: Creating a global future. Policy Press.
Houston, S. (2016). Beyond individualism: Social work and social identity. British Journal of Social Work, 46(2), 532–548.
Hyslop, I. (2017). Child protection in New Zealand: A history of the future. British Journal of Social Work, 47(6), 1800–1817. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcx088
Hyslop, I., & Keddell, E. (2018). Outing the elephants: Exploring a new paradigm for child protection social work. Social Sciences, 7(7), 105–118. https://doi. org/10.3390/socsci7070105
Joseph, R. (2019). Poverty, welfare, and self-sufficiency: Implications for the social work profession. Journal of Poverty, 23(6), 505–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/108755 49.2019.1616037
Krumer-Nevo, M., & Sidi, M. (2012). Writing against othering. Qualitative Inquiry, 18(4), 299-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800411433546
Lavee, E. (2022). Walking the talk of social equity? Street-level bureaucrats’ decisionmaking about the provision of personal resources. American Review of Public Administration, 52(1), 3–14. https://doi:10.1177/02750740211050577
Lavee, E., & Strier, R. (2018). Social workers’ emotional labour with families in poverty: Neoliberal fatigue? Child and Family Social Work, 23(3), 504–512. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12443
Lipsky, M. (2010). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services (30th anniversary edition). Russell Sage Foundation.
Lukes, S. (2005). Power: A radical view. Palgrave Macmillan.
McCabe, K. (2016). Mothercraft: Birth work and the making of neoliberal mothers. Social Science & Medicine, 162, 177–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.021
McCarten, C. Morrison, A., Bunting, L. Davidson, G., & McIlroy, J. (2018). Stripping the wallpaper of practice: Empowering social workers to tackle poverty. Social Sciences, 7(10), 193–208. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7100193
Morley, C., Ablett, P., & Macfarlane, S. (2019). Engaging with social work: A critical introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Morley, L. (2022). Contemporary practitioner experiences of relational social work: The case of child welfare. Australian Social Work, 75(4), 458–470. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/0312407X.2021.2001831
Mitendorf, A., & Ewijk, H. (2019). How social workers maneuver in complex and neoliberal contexts. Social Work Education, 38(6), 721–734. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 02615479.2018.1561840
Munford, R., & Sanders, J. (2020). Transformative practice: Social work practice with vulnerable young people. European Journal of Social Work, 24(4), 720–731. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2020.1819205
Musheno, M., & Maynard-Moody, S. (2015). “Playing the rules”: Discretion in social and policy context. In P. Hupe, M. Hill, & A. Buffat (Eds.), Understanding street-level bureaucracy (pp. 169–186). Policy Press.
Nilsen, A., Fylkesnes, S., & Mausethagen, S. (2017). The linguistics in othering: Teacher educators’ talk about cultural diversity. Reconceptualizing Educational Research Methodology, 8(1), 40–50. http://dx.doi. org/10.7577/rerm.2556
O’Brien, M. (2010). Social justice: Alive and well (partly) in social work practice? International Social Work, 54(2), 174–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872810382682
O’Brien, M. (2013). Social work registration and professionalism: Social justice and poverty – fellow travellers or discarded passengers? Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 25(3), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol25iss3id73
O’Brien, M. (2016). The triplets: Investment in outcomes for the vulnerable: Reshaping social services for (some) New Zealand children. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 28(2), 9–21. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol28iss2id220
Patton, M. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Sage Publications.
Payne, M. (2009). Management. In R. Adams., L. Dominelli., & M. Payne (Eds.), Critical practice in social work (2nd ed.). (pp. 223–235). Palgrave.
Payne, M. (2014). Modern social work theory. Palgrave.
Rankine, M. (2021). Thinking critically. A four-layered practice model in supervision. In K. O’Donoghue & L Engelbrecht (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of social work supervision (pp. 345–357). Routledge.
Roberts, M., & Schiavenato, M. (2017). Othering in the nursing context: A concept analysis. Nursing Open, 4(3), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.82
Russell, A. (2017). Competent solidarity: The alternative for professional social work. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(2), 137–144. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol29iss2id406
Sawyers, L. (2016). Finally accountable? Social work and the community investment strategy. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 28(2), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol28iss2id222
Schiettecat, T., Roets, G., & Vandenbroeck, M. (2018). Hide and seek: Political agency of social workers in supporting families living in poverty. British Journal of Social Work, 48(7), 1874–1891. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcx129
Social Workers Registration Board. (2020). Core competence standards. https://swrb.govt.nz/social-workers/ competence/core-competence-standards
Spolander, G., Engelbrecht, L., & Sansfaçon, A. (2016). Social work and macro-economic liberalism: Beyond the social justice rhetoric. European Journal of Social Work, 19(5), 634–649. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2015.1066761
Stanley-Clarke, N. (2016). Key ideologies: The theories of social policy. In J. Maidment & L. Beddoe (Eds.), Social policy for social work and human services in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 48–63). Canterbury University Press.
Trochim, W., Donnelly, J., & Arora, K. (2016). Research methods: The essential knowledge base (2nd ed.). Cengage.
Wilks, T. (2012). Advocacy and social work practice. Maidenhead.
Wilson, J. (2017). Neoliberalism. Routledge.
Woolford, A., & Nelund, A. (2013). The responsibilities of the poor: Performing neoliberal citizenship within the bureaucratic field. Social Service Review, 87(2), 292–318. https://doi.org/10.1086/671072
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
By completing the online submission process, you confirm you accept this agreement. The following is the entire agreement between you and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) and it may be modified only in writing.
You and any co-authors
If you are completing this agreement on behalf of co-authors, you confirm that you are acting on their behalf with their knowledge.
First publication
By submitting the work you are:
- granting the ANZASW the right of first publication of this work;
- confirming that the work is original; and
- confirming that the work has not been published in any other form.
Once published, you are free to use the final, accepted version in any way, as outlined below under Copyright.
Copyright
You assign copyright in the final, accepted version of your article to the ANZASW. You and any co-authors of the article retain the right to be identified as authors of the work.
The ANZASW will publish the final, accepted manuscript under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows anyone – including you – to share, copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make commercial use of the work without needing additional permission, provided appropriate attribution is made to the original author or source.
A human-readable summary of the licence is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which includes a link to the full licence text.
Under this licence you can use the final, published version of the article freely – such as depositing a copy in your institutional research repository, uploading a copy to your profile on an academic networking site or including it in a different publication, such as a collection of articles on a topic or in conference proceedings – provided that original publication in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work is acknowledged.
This agreement has no effect on any pre-publication versions or elements, which remain entirely yours, and to which we claim no right.
Reviewers hold copyright in their own comments and should not be further copied in any way without their permission.
The copyright of others
If your article includes the copyright material of others (e.g. graphs, diagrams etc.), you confirm that your use either:
- falls within the limits of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism and review or fair use; OR
- that you have gained permission from the rights holder for publication in an open access journal.
