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Working through Barriers: Shaping Social Workers' Engagement in Policy Practice.
- Source :
- British Journal of Social Work; Jun2020, Vol. 50 Issue 4, p1107-1125, 19p
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Although social workers' engagement in policy-shaping processes to advance social justice reflects this obligation of the social work profession, many social workers avoid implementing policy practice (PP). Previous studies have identified several barriers limiting social workers' use of this practice. However, how such barriers can be overcome remains under-studied. In this study, we address this lacuna by examining the role of social workers vis-à-vis their engagement in PP, through the theoretical framework of social psychology of organizations, and therein, through ideas concerning open systems and the formation of roles and praxes in organizations. Drawing on twenty-eight in-depth interviews and three focus groups, we demonstrate how social workers underwent a coping and transformation process that increased their engagement in PP. In certain situations, it was the expectations of colleagues and the challenges posed by them that impelled social workers to re-examine their approach to such engagement and enhance it. We show how social workers can overcome barriers and facilitate their involvement in the policy arena, as well as highlight policy-makers' role in shaping social workers' modes of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation
CONCEPTUAL structures
CORPORATE culture
FOCUS groups
GROUNDED theory
INTERVIEWING
POLICY sciences
RACE
ROLE conflict
STATISTICAL sampling
SOCIAL justice
SOCIAL psychology
SOCIAL services
SOCIAL workers
PATIENT participation
PROFESSIONAL practice
JUDGMENT sampling
OCCUPATIONAL roles
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00453102
- Volume :
- 50
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- British Journal of Social Work
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 144382780
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcz084