Smeeton, J. orcid.org/0000-0002-9177-2625 (2020) In search of social work's post-risk paradigm. Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 20 (3). pp. 34-49. ISSN 0953-5225
Abstract
This paper describes a paradigmatic shift in child protection practice within the UK, arguing that there is a move away from the risk paradigm but that its replacement is not yet defined. The paper draws upon the critical literature to elucidate this shift and to give examples and arguments for why the risk paradigm is unsustainable and how this
has created an essential tension within the profession. While the case against the risk perspective is strongly argued there is not yet a coherent perspective to replace it which is problematic as practitioners are left with a toolkit of technical interventions to guide their practice but what is missing is the capacity to develop an ethic of practice due to a failure of
social work in the UK to engage with philosophical questions about its remit. The conclusion is drawn that social work needs to focus more on ethical fluency rather than being stuck on statistical understandings of practice and policy in order to achieve a shift in paradigm from ‘risk’ to ‘ethics’.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Social Work and Social Sciences Review. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Social Work and Social Sciences Review. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | child protection; risk; philosophy; ethics; social work practice |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 06 Jan 2020 14:41 |
Last Modified: | 24 Jan 2022 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Whiting & Birch |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1921/swssr.v20i3.1334 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:155012 |