case work history
03-Lymbery-3301-Ch-02.qxd
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The History and Development of Social Work
Is becoming a social worker primarily to be understood in terms of the ‘helping’,‘caring’ or therapeutic content of the job, or according to the official, bureaucratic, legal and even potentially coercive powers and responsibilities it entails? (Jordan, 1984: 13)
The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the establishment, growth and development of social work in Britain, from its origins in the nineteenth century to its position at the start of the twenty-first century. It is written on the assumption that understanding the history of social work is helpful when seeking to explore options for its future direction. This is particularly important when the social work role is under question, as it undoubtedly is in relation to work with older people. Ensuring that forms of practice are developed that pay full attention to its history and potential might form a useful corrective to the overwhelmingly
‘administrative’ nature of much contemporary social work.
As the above quotation from Jordan (1984) indicates, there are different ways of interpreting the growth and development of social work as an organised activity. Following Seed (1973), three strands in its development are charted. The first of these is the focus on individual casework, which originated in the work of the Charity Organisation Society (COS) (Woodroofe, 1962; Lewis, 1995). The second is the role of social work in social administration, particularly (although not exclusively) involving various forms of relief from poverty. Although much of this originated from the Poor Law (Jordan, 1984), it was also promoted in some of the work of the COS. The third is the focus on social action, which has been particularly identified with the growth of the Settlement Movement, both in Britain and the United States (Rose, 2001).
Although these three strands will be addressed
7/29/2005
7:34 PM
Page 35
2
The History and Development of Social Work
Is becoming a social worker primarily to be understood in terms of the ‘helping’,‘caring’ or therapeutic content of the job, or according to the official, bureaucratic, legal and even potentially coercive powers and responsibilities it entails? (Jordan, 1984: 13)
The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the establishment, growth and development of social work in Britain, from its origins in the nineteenth century to its position at the start of the twenty-first century. It is written on the assumption that understanding the history of social work is helpful when seeking to explore options for its future direction. This is particularly important when the social work role is under question, as it undoubtedly is in relation to work with older people. Ensuring that forms of practice are developed that pay full attention to its history and potential might form a useful corrective to the overwhelmingly
‘administrative’ nature of much contemporary social work.
As the above quotation from Jordan (1984) indicates, there are different ways of interpreting the growth and development of social work as an organised activity. Following Seed (1973), three strands in its development are charted. The first of these is the focus on individual casework, which originated in the work of the Charity Organisation Society (COS) (Woodroofe, 1962; Lewis, 1995). The second is the role of social work in social administration, particularly (although not exclusively) involving various forms of relief from poverty. Although much of this originated from the Poor Law (Jordan, 1984), it was also promoted in some of the work of the COS. The third is the focus on social action, which has been particularly identified with the growth of the Settlement Movement, both in Britain and the United States (Rose, 2001).
Although these three strands will be addressed