This reference work addresses the ideas that shape social work. Much of the social work literature addresses questions of theory and ethics separately, so that the body of thought that is represented in social work scholarship and research creates a distinction between them. However, the differences between these categories of thought can be somewhat arbitrary. This volume goes beyond this simple separation of categories. Although it recognises that questions of theory and ethics may be addressed distinctly, the connections between them can be made evident and drawn out by analysing them alongside each other.
Social work's use and development of theory can be understood in two complementary ways. First, theory from the social sciences and other disciplines can be applied for social work; second, considered, systematic examinations of practice have enabled theory to be developed out of social work. These different approaches are usually referred to as 'theory for practice' and 'practice theory'. The advancement of social work theory occurs often through the interplay between these two dimensions, through research and scholarship in the field.
Similarly, social work ethics draw on principles and concepts that have their roots in philosophical inquiry and also involve applied analysis in the particular issues with which social workers engage and their practices in doing so. In this way social work contributes to wider debates through advancement of its own perspectives and knowledge gained through practice.
Social Work Theory and Ethics: Ideas in Practice offers a unique approach by bringing together the complementary dimensions of theory with each other and at the same time with ethical research and scholarship. It presents an analysis of the ideas of social work in a way that enables connections between them to be identified and explored. This reference is essential reading for social work practitioners, researchers, policy-makers, academics and students, as well as an invaluable resource for universities, research institutes, government ministries and departments, major non-governmental organisations, and professional associations of social work.
Dr. Dorothee Hölscher is a social work lecturer in the School of Nursing Midwifery and Social Work at The University of Queensland in Australia and a research associate with the Department of Social Work and Criminology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Previously, she worked at Griffith University (Australia) and the Universities of KwaZulu Natal and the Witwatersrand (South Africa). Currently, she serves on the editorial board of the journal Ethics and Social Welfare (ESW).
Dorothee began her social work education in Germany, followed by the completion of a Master of Social Science (cum laude) and a PhD (by publication) in South Africa. Her practice experience comprises social work with refugees and other cross-border migrants, community development, and child protection.
Richard Hugman, PhD, is an emeritus professor of Social Work in the School of Social Sciences (SoSS) at the Universityof New South Wales, Australia. He has practised, taught, and researched social work in Australia and the UK. He has also worked as an independent consultant, most notably for UNICEF Vietnam (from 2004 to 2022). Richard’s work has variously focused on professional ethics, social development, refugees and forced migration, mental health, and social work with issues of late life. He has published widely in these areas, as well as being an editor or member of editorial boards of several major social work journals. In addition, Richard was the ethics commissioner of the International Federation of Social Workers (2008–2014) and a member of the ‘expert panel’ which drafted the 2004 international statement on ethics for social work. He was a Foundation Fellow of the Australian College of Social Work.
Donna McAuliffe is a professor and academic lead for Social Work in the School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Australia.Donna completed her PhD on ethical dilemmas in social work practice at the University of Queensland in 2000 after many years of practice in mental health, legal social work, community development, and social policy. Her primary focus area of teaching and research is professional and applied ethics, and she has developed a well-known model of ethical decision-making that is widely used in social work education. Donna is the sole author of the second edition text, Interprofessional Ethics: Collaboration in the Social, Health and Human Services published by Cambridge University Press. She is also the lead co-author of the 7th edition text, The Road to Social Work and Human Service Practice, published by Cengage. She has a longstanding commitment to Editorial Boards of journals, including Ethics and Social Welfare, International Social Work, and International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics. She regularly reviews for a number of other national and international journals. Donna hasbeen actively involved in revisions of the Australian social work Code of Ethics and is a Life Member of the Australian Association of Social Workers. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
