https://toarcheio.org To Archeio project site Mon, 20 Apr 2020 13:46:22 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.1 https://toarcheio.org/items/hope-over-fear-social-work-education-towards-2025-esperanza-sobre-el-miedo-la-educacion-en-trabajo-social-hacia-el-ano-2025/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:48 +0000 http://arc.local/items/hope-over-fear-social-work-education-towards-2025-esperanza-sobre-el-miedo-la-educacion-en-trabajo-social-hacia-el-ano-2025/ Continued]]> Prediction of possible futures is fraught with dangers. Neither the global economic crisis which erupted in 2008 nor the political earthquake which shook Scotland over the issue of independence during 2014 was foreseen by many commentators, if indeed any. Given these experiences, predicting where social work education might be in 2025 is a potentially hazardous enterprise. Nevertheless, the recent resurgence of interest in utopian thinking reflects a widely felt desire to go beyond ‘capitalist realism’ and to envisage different possibilities – a desire also reflected in political developments in Greece and Spain. This development is primarily in reaction to the dominance of another form of utopian (or dystopian) thinking: neo-liberalism, with its message that ‘there is no alternative’. In this paper, I will argue that that search for alternatives has important implications for social work and social work education. Following a discussion of the ways in which neo-liberalism has shaped the profession over two decades, the paper will identify current challenges to neo-liberal social work and social work education and more widely, to the politics of austerity. Drawing on examples from different countries, I will argue that this ‘new radicalism’ points the way to a more politically engaged social work education.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/social-work-education-in-a-time-of-national-crisis-in-greece-educating-the-workforce-to-combat-inequalities/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:40 +0000 http://arc.local/items/social-work-education-in-a-time-of-national-crisis-in-greece-educating-the-workforce-to-combat-inequalities/ Continued]]> Since 2010, Greece has experienced an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis, which continues to have tremendous social impact. Austerity measures and policy cuts have included a dis-investment in social work and social care and more recently the abolition of one of the four national Social Work Departments providing qualifying social work education. In this context, this study addresses the following question: how does pre-qualifying social work education in Greece influence students’ ability to manage value tensions in relation to anti-oppressive practice? Using a case study methodology, the research was based in one Social Work Department (subsequently abolished). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from social work students at the beginning and the end of their professional education (n = 32) and once from academic staff/placement supervisors (n = 10). Data were analysed drawing on grounded theory techniques. In this paper only one particular dataset is considered in detail: the attitudes and experiences of final year students. The main findings indicate students’ narrow understandings and individualistic approaches towards oppression, reflecting an urgent need to redefine social work education and practice in Greece according to current social justice concerns. Specifically, social work education needs to give greater weight to a structural perspective on the dynamics of oppression. Although focussed on Greece, the paper offers a critical debate of contemporary relevance for social work education in many European nation states.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/the-executive-committee-of-the-greek-professional-association-of-social-work-in-an-age-of-austerity-examining-its-response/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:36 +0000 http://arc.local/items/the-executive-committee-of-the-greek-professional-association-of-social-work-in-an-age-of-austerity-examining-its-response/ Continued]]> This paper explores the response by the Greek Association of Social Workers (SKLE) to Greece’s
current economic crisis. Socioeconomic conditions in Greece have deteriorated rapidly since the
imposition of a Structural Adjustment Programme as a condition of the loan Troika provided to
Greece to address its class-based public debt crisis. Interviews were conducted with SKLE Executive
Committee members to examine SKLE’s response in the context of newly raised inequalities.
Research results show that SKLE recognised the negative consequences to both service users and its
members. However, SKLE continues to reformulate its strategy mostly as a social partner. SKLE’s
previous strategy entailed amongst other things the analysis of policy proposals and participation in
welfare related government committees. This strategy is no longer relevant because decisionmaking
powers have been transferred to transnational bodies. This paper elaborates on these
findings and discusses the barriers that prohibit SKLE from differentiation of its strategy. Although
the research is country specific, it has implications for the broader global debate because
professional associations must reformulate their strategies for better serving of both their
constituents and the collective good based on the social justice mandate of the profession.

]]>