Challenges for Social Work Students

Social workers are facilitators of social and individual change. How are their values similar or different from those of their clients? How do these values develop out of interaction with cultures and subcultures? How can theories be used practically? How can social service organisations facilitate or impede effective service delivery? This book of readings is designed to help social work students grasp the fundamentals of social work practice from an anti-oppression, empowerment perspective. These seventeen articles illustrate an awareness of group and individual diversity, and of the public and political aspects of private troubles. These readings encourage students to be critically self-reflective about their beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, and actions, which ultimately impact on their practice and their clients.