An internat onal perspective

Edited by John Gal and ldit Weiss-Gal

Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
 Socialworkersaffectingsocialpolicy
Scanlon, E., Hartnett, H. and Harding, S. (2006) 'An analysis of the
politicalactivities ofNASW chapters' ,Journal efPolicyPractice,vol 5,
no 4, pp 41-54.
Schneider, R. and Lester, L. (2000) Social Work Advocacy:A New
Frameworkfor Action, Belmont, CA: Brooks Cole.
Specht, H. and Courtney, M. (1994) UnfaitlifulAngels:How SocialWork
Has Abçmdonedíts Missíon,N ew York: Basic Books .
Tower, L. and Hartnett , H. (2011) 'An internet-based assignment to
teach students to engage in policy-practice: A thr ee-cohort study',
]ournal efPolicy Practíce,
vol 10, no 1, pp 65-77.
University ofHouston (2011) 'MSW specialization', www.sw.uh.edu/
acadernics/ gcswcurriculum. php.
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. and Brady, H. (1995) Voiceand Equality:Citizen
Voluntarismín American Politícs,Cam brid ge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Walz, T. and Groze,V (1991) 'The rnission of social work revisited: An
agenda for the 1990s', SocialWork,vol 36, no 6, pp 500-4.
Wolfer,T. and Gray, K. (2007) 'Using the decision case method to teach
legislative policy advocacy' ,Journal efTeachíngin SocialWork,vol 27,
no 1, pp 37-59.
Wolk,J. (1981) 'Are social workers politically active?', SocialWork,vol
26, no 4, pp 283-8.
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy
TEN
An international perspective on
policy practice
lditWeiss-Ga/and John Gal
The point of departure for this volume is that social work is a profession
that embodies the valu es of social justice and human rights, and
embraces social change as a means to achieve these values (Hare,2004).
As such, changing social welfare policies is an important, indeed crucial,
aim of social work int erventions because those policies can facilitate
the furthering of these values by changing the environment in whic h
service users live (Cumrnins at al, 2011). Policy practice is the form
of social work practice that focuses on affecting social welfare policies
Qansson, 2008).
Our explicit goal in this book has been to explore the nature of
policy practice in social work in eight countries with diverse social
work legacies and patterns and different welfare regimes . ln arder to
do this, four principal questions have dorninated th e coun try chapters
that constitute the bulk of this study.The first relates to the importance
of policy practice in the social work discourse. In other words, the
volume has sought to explore the place of policy practice in Codes
of Ethics, formal documents of social work organisations and the
professional literature in the countries exarnined.The second question
endeavours to examine social work education, the degree to which
it prepares social work gradua tes to engage in policy practice and the
manner in which it does so. The third question seeks to understand
better the actual engagement of social workers in policy practice, in
terms of the extent of this engagement and the forms that this takes in
different countries. A fourth and final question focuses on the factors
that contribute to involvement by social work professionals in policy
practi ce in th e various national settings. This concluding chapter
attempt s t brin g togcthcr the respon ses offered to th ese questions by
thc cou11try cxpl'rls that authored each of thc <.: hapter s ofthe book. By
doi11g so, wt• set•k to olfrr so111t · 111ort · gl·1wr:1lr<.:sponsesto thc se issues
011 tlll' b.1,i, oi .111 r . .1111111.1tio11oi ' tlit · , 1111il.11itk ~ .111d til\.' dilli:rrnn .'s
llll ' l j.\l' Ili til\ d1JJ1•11•11t 111\llltl y 1 ,I~('~.
[it,lt ('Press
 Socialworkers affectingsocialpolicy
Thinking about how policy practice is defined
'Policy practice' is the term employed here to describe the policy-
related activities of social workers. While a more formal definition
of this term was offered in Cha pter One, it is perbaps worthwhile
reiterating tbat the underlying assumpt ion in this volume has been that
policy practice can be distinguished from other interactions becween
social workers and the policy arena. ln particular, policy practice is
distinct from civic voluntary políti ca! participation, which comp rises
a wide range of political activities that social workers do or can do as
members of the societie s in wbich they live, such as voting in local, state
or national elections, actively work for a political party or candidate,
or persuading others how to vote.
By contrast, the term 'policy practice' refers specifically to professional
activities tbat seek to cha nge or promote social policies which are
directly related to the speci fic problems of the service users and
social groups with whom the social workers work. As such, these
interventio ns are undertaken as part and pareei of th e social workers'
daily practice in order to meet their service users' needs or add ress their
problem s in a better way.These activities are política! in the Lasswellian
sense that they relate to the pro cess by which it is decided who gets
what, when and how (LassweH, 1936). Or, as Bruce Jansson (2003, p
289) not ed, they refer to efforts by individuai s ' in governmental and
nongovernmenta1 settings to secure their poli cy wishes by developing
and using power resour ces'. H owever, unlike civic voluntary political
participation, policy practice refers to the inherently poli ti cal activities
that social worker s do as part of their professional responsibility in order
to affect policies that have an impact on services users, and it does not
refer to social workers' voluntary political activities as active cit izens
of the society of whi ch they are part.
Th e examples of social worker engagement in policy-related activities
in the various chapter s of this volume reveal that the distin ction
between civic political participation and policy practice is not always
clear-cut and may be better perceived as two poles of the contin uum
depicted in Figure 10.1.
Figure 10.1 :Th e civic polit ical particip ation-p olicy practic e
continuum
Civic political Policy
participation practlc e
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
184
An internationalperspectiveon policypractice
There can be little doubt that a social worker participating in a
campaign for public office on behalf of a spec ific candidate (civic
política! participation) or efforts by a social worker to change policies
determining access to soc ial care services in the locality in which she
is employed (policy practice) represem clear-cut exam ples of the two
poles. Othe r types of intervention in the policy sphere are not so clear
cut. Thu s, for example, social worker involvement in social action
such as a sit-in or letter-writ ing campa ign which is focused on social
problem s or policies that diversely affect disadvantaged gro ups may be
construed as either poli cy practice or civic política! participation.This
will depend on the specific natur e of the social action but also on the
organisational context in which it occurs. If this type of activity is not
organised by the social worker's place of emp loyme nt but by externai
organisations and takes place after working hour s, it will be closer to
the civic political participation pole. H owever, if there is a direct link
between the poli cy-related activicies and the specific problems of the
social worker's service users or ifthe activity is initiated by a professional
recruitment network then it will be nearer to the policy practice pole.
Policy pradice in the social work discourse
An obvious inicial arena for examining the impa ct of policy practice
in social work is the profession 's discourse. The social work discourse
is made up of the body of w ritten and oral knowledge and thought
created by social work professionals, educators and scholars in a given
society. lt includes professional Codes of Ethi cs, formal documents
and declarations of social work o rganisations as well as diverse forms
of professional literature and professional debate.
An examination of che place of policy practice in the Codes ofEthics
- perhaps the key do cument in any profession (Banks, 2006) - reveals
that, although the explicit term ' policy practice' did not appear in any
ofthese cexts in the eight countri es studied here, most Co des ofEthics
do require social workers to engage in activities aimed at influencing
policy in order to further social justice. lnde ed it would appear that a
cross-national exchange ofideas, ofte n through the good offices ofthe
Interna cional Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), has contr ibuted
much to this trend. More specifically social workers are required to
contribute to the development of social policy (UK), to advocate for
change in policy (US), to promote socially just policies (Australia), to
influence the formation of social policy (Russia ), to plan, design, apply
and establish changes in social polic ies (Spain), to play an active role
185
 Socialworkersaffectingsocialpolicy
in the promotion, developm ent and advancement of integrated social
policies (ltaly) or to support policies that further social justice {Israel).
Besides these explicit demands, aUof the Codes of Eth.ics also contain
implicit section s which require social workers to engag e in activities
thac can bc linked to policy practice. For example, whil e there is not
an explicit call for engagement in policy formulation in the Swedish
code, the docum ent does note that social workers are expected to play
an importam role in community planning and the dcvelopm ent of
social support progr am mes.
How ever, differen ces also emerge, particularly with regard to the
extent to which issues of poli cy- related activities are referred to in the
codes in different countries. ln the Codes ofEth.ics in the UK, the U S
and Auscralia, there is cxtensive reference to social workers' requir ement
to engage in activities that seek to influence poli cy. Mor eover these
activities are regarded as an integral and crucial part of professional
social work practice. Throughout the British Code of Ethics (BASW,
2012). one can find strong legitima cy for social worke rs to 'bring to the
attention of their employers, policy maker s, politicians and the general
publi c sicuations where resources are inadequate or wh ere distribution
of resources, policies and practice are op pressive, unfair, harmful or
illcgal' (BASW, 2012, p 9) or 'be prepared to challenge discrirninator y,
ineffective and unju st policies, procedures and practice' (BASW, 2012 ,
p 14).In the US the Code of Ethi cs contains severa] referen ces to
participation in activities aimed at influencing polic y. For example,
'social workers ... should advocate for changes in policy and legislation
co improve social cond itions in order to meet basic human needs and
promote social jus tice' (NASW, 2008,sect ion 6.04). Similarly, the 2010
Australian Association ofSoc ialWork ers Code ofEthics refers to social
poli cy involvement in different places in the code and expects social
workers to achieve social ju stice by 'promoting poli cies and practices
that achieve a fair allocation of social resou rces' (AASW, 201 Oa,p 8).
ln ltal y, Rus sia, Spain and Israel the Co des of Ethi cs co ntain
statem ents that support and promote participation in policy practice
activiries, but these references tend to be mor e limited in their extent
and in their det ail. For example, there is a general statement in the
Italian Code ofEthics on the need for social workers to play an accive
role in the prom otion , developm ent and advancement of social policies
aimed at fostering social and civic advancement emancipation and
responsibilities and to alert the author ities and the general public to
social problems such as poverty, oppression or inequality. ln the Ru ssian
Code of Ethi cs ('Co de of Ethics for the Social Worker and Social
Pedagogue , 2003, section 3.2) social wo rkers are reque sted to 'influence
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
186
An internationalperspeetiveon policy praetice
the formation of the social policy promoting fair satisfaction of social
needs'. In the sarne vein , the Spanish Code of Ethic s states chat: 'T he
duti es of social workers are to plan, design , apply and establish changes
in social policies and services for groups and communiti es' (Consejo
General de Co legio s, 1999, section 2).
Israel is a good exa mple of a country in which the place of policy
practice was expanded in the latest Code of Ethi cs (Israel Association of
SocialWorker s, 1995), although it stills remains relatively marginali sed.
While in an early version of the code ther e was no clear refcrenc e to
engagement in efforts to influence social policy, in the 1995 publication
it is stated that social worker s should 'support policies and legislacion
aimed at enha ncing social condition s and furthering social ju stice'
(Israel Association of Social Workcr s, 1995, section 2.6).
The importan ce attributed to policy practice in the US andAu stralian
Codes of Ethic s is also reflected in promin e nt do cument s of the
social work profession in the se co untrie s. ln the US policy practice is
regarded as a core co mpeten cy of social work by the Co uncil ofSocial
Work Edu cation (CSWE ), and both the CSWE and the Nacional
Association of Social Workers (NASW ) have increased their supp ort
for the importance of engagement in policy practice in recent years. ln
Australia, official statements by the AASW endorse the involvement of
social workers in poli cy-r elated activity and perceive policy advocacy
as a core professional requirement . Th e AASW Practice Standards
defines social poli cy as one of the six core areas of social work practice.
ln addition, the AASW Nacion al Social Policy Comrnittee (NSP C),
form ed in 2006 , has been active in prom oti ng an activist social poli cy
agenda with.in the social work profession .
ln other co untrie s reference to the policy involvement by social
workers in formal social work documents is mu ch more lirnited. ln
the English case, although the Co de ofEth.ic s und erscores that social
workers are required exten sively and clearly to engage in policy change,
che current National Occupation Standards for Social Work relates
only vaguely to engagemen t in poli cy. Jn Italy and Ru ssia the place
of accivities within the realm of policy practice in the discou rsc of
social work organisations (such as the Profession al R egister in Italy)
is virtually non-existent.
Between the se two poles are the Swedish, Spanish and Israeli cases.
ln the past the disco urse of Swedish social work organisations, in
parti cular the Central Associacion of Social Work and the Swedish
Association for Social Worker s (SSR ), reflected a co mmicment to
engage in policy practice and, more recently, ther e have been attempts
by social work represencative organisations to increase policy awareness
187
 Socialworkersaffeetingsocialpolicy
and involvement on the pare of social workers. ln Spain there has
been limited reference to policy-related activities in formal social
work documents, though professional conferences organised by either
the Genera l Council of Social Work or university-based school s of
social work have tended to serve as forums in which calls for social
work involvement in social policy have been made. These calls have
intensified in recent years. ln particular, the severe economic crisis
at the end of the first decade of the 21se centu ry led to a demand
issued at the 2009 Spanish Social Work Congress for social workers
to participate in formulating municipal social policies and give voice
to the needs of citizens. ln Israel, cal1sfor social work intervention in
social policy debates dominated social work conferences in the 1970s
and 1980s. Uniquely, specific references to the term 'po licy practice'
have also emerged in oflicial state publicacions. ln a recently published
reporc of the State Commission on Reform of Local Social Care
Services (State of Israel, the Ministry ofWelfare and Social Services,
2010), policy practice was described as one of che social workers'
intervention methods.The report also notes that social workers 'should
engage in the formulation of social policy of other social services, local
authorities, and the state' (State of Israel, the Mini stry ofWelfare and
Social Services, 2010, p 36).
Between-country differences emerged w ith regard to the place of
policy practice in unoflicial, genera lly academi c, social work literature .
Explicit discussion of policy practice is most extensive in the US.
H ere there has been growing discussion of, and increased reference
to, policy practice over the !ase three decades. This literature , be it in
the form of journal arcicles or of books, <leaiswith a wide range of
quest ions rangi ng from the concep tualisation of policy practice and
the normative j ustification for it, through examina tion of the actual
engagement of social workers in policy practice, to a discussion of the
factors that contrib ute or shape this levei of engagement (see, most
recently, Colby, 2008; Jansson, 2008 ; Ritter, 2008; C handler, 2009;
Haynes and Mickelson, 2009; Rocha et ai, 201 O;Ho efer, 2012). Ind eed
a journal devoted to policy practice, the Journal cf Policy Practice,has
been published regularly since the early 2000s. In Israel too there has
been grow ing discussion of, and publication on, policy practice in the
!ase decade. These have included a special issue on poli cy practice in
a leading social work professional journal (Weiss-Ga1 and Ben-Arieh,
2009), the 2012 issue ofthe social work associatio n bul1etin anda book
devoced entirely to policy practice (Weiss-Gal and Gal, 2011).
By cont rast, the place of policy practice or the engagement of social
workers in policy- related activities in the professional literature in ot her
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
188
An internationalperspectiveon policypractice
countri es is mor e circumspect. ln Australia, while poli cy-r elated issues
have emerged in the literature - primarily in academi c journals (for
exam ple, Mendes, 2003a; Pawar 2004; Zubrzycki and McArthur , 2004)
- most ofthe leading Australian social work texts contain very limited
discussion of the actual policy involvement of social workers. ln England
'poli cy practice' as a concep t is barely discussed, though policy issues
have been exami ned in some journal articles, and the link between
social wor k and social policy has been the copie of a small num ber
of book s (Denny, 1998 ; Adams, 2002; Dickens, 201 O; H othersall and
Bolger, 2010; Simpson and Connor, 2011). Generally the emphasis in
chese has been on the impact of social policies on service users and on
social workers, rather than on actual social work engagement in policy
change , although the Simpson and Conno r volum e is a fairly explicit
attempt to argue for engagemenc. In Spain reference to the policy
involvement of social workers in the social work academic licerature
has been very limited despite the relatively large number of professional
publi cation s that exist in chis co untry. Sirnilarly, in Sweden the issue
of social policy involvement has generated relatively littl e interest in
professional publi cation s, although a handful of authors have expressed
concern over the limited degree of social wo rk engagement in social
policy formulation . This criticism has found expression recen tly in a
publication thac explores attitudes towards social workers' involvement
in socio political debate and in a social media initiative on the pare of
social workers and a trade union .
ln the Ru ssian case there is no evidence of a discussion of
involvement in policy practice in the social work literature. Likewise,
in the professional discourse in Italy there are no publi cations or
published studies specifically devoted to social workers' involveme nt
in policy practice.
Table 10.1 presents a schematic overview of the place of policy
practice in the eight nations discussed in che cou ntr y chapters. The
three column s on the left relate to the place of policy practice in the
social work discourse. Broadly speaking, the findin gs in the table reflect
thr ee groupin gs of countri es. T he first of these is the US, whic h is
the only cou ntr y in the study in whic h policy practice is prominent
in all thre e facets of the social work discourse. A second groupin g
co mprises two countri es wher e there is a sirnilarly high degree of
congru ence with regard to the lack of discussion of policy-related social
wor k activity in the discour se. While there is explicit (albeit limited )
reference to po licy- related activities in the Codes ofEth ics in Italy and
in Ru ssia, policy practice is absent in other facets of the social work
discourse in these countri es. Finally, che place of policy practice in
189
 Socialworkersaffeetingsaciaipolicy
An internationalperspeetiveon policypraetice

the social work discourse in a third grouping of countries included in ln the US the CSWE has clearly enunciated the need for graduates
this study (Australia, England, Israel, Spain and Sweden) is uneven. In
of social work programmes at the bachelor and master leveis to be able
these. cou ntries, there are discrepancies in the degree to which policy
to demonst ra te core competency in policy practice. As such, ther e is a
pracn ce is prominent in the various facets of th e discourse. Although requirement for al1schoo ls to include courses on polic y praccice in their
pobcy-related activities are relatively prominent in the Codes ofEthics
curricula. Less data exists on the actual achievement of this competency.
in these nations, policy practice tend s to be discussed to a much lesser While firm figures are not available,it appears that in general social work
degree in either professiona] documents or in the literature.
education has not moved cowards increasing the number of courses on
Table 10.1: Policy practice in social work discourse and education
policy practice over the last decade. Complemen tin g this requiremenc,
ther e is an ongoing professional debate in the literature and in diverse
Country Dlscourse: Codes of Discourse: other Discourse: Educatlon• professional forums on how to teach policy practice or how to increase
Ethlcs• professional professlonal interest and involvement in this area. Due to falling student demand
documents• literature •
Australia explicit; extensive extensive
for macro practice , instructors are attempting to gain student interest in
limited existent
England explicit; extensive non-existent policy courses by employing innovative classroom cechniques (Carey,
limited weak
Israel explicit; limited limited extensive
2007; Sather et al, 2007; Wolfer and Gray, 2007; Ersing and Loeffier,
existent
ltaly explicit; limlted non-existent 2008; Hardina and Obel-Jorgensen, 2009; DiRigne , 2011 ; Rei sch and
non- existent non.existent
Russla explicit; limited non-existent Sta1ler, 2011;Tower and Hartnett, 2011).
non-existent weak
Spaln explicit; limited limited Social policy, as a specific subject of teaching , has been part of the
limited existent
Sweden implicit; limlted limited limited weak social work curriculum in Spanish school s of social work from 1983,
us explicit; extensive extensive extensive ever since the integration of social work studies inco univ ersities. The
existem
Notes:
then nacional legal regulacion for academi c programmes incl uded in
• Refers to the degree to which social workers are required to engage in policy-related
act 1v1t1es
.
che third year of studies a compulsory subject entitled 'Social Policy
and Social Wellbeing '. ln 1990, a new curricu lum regulation for social
• Refers to . the importance at tributed to engagement in policy practice or policy- work university studies included 'Social Policy' . The contem guideline
related act1v1c1es .
of the course consisced of the structure, co ntem and mean s of social
' Refers to resea~ch .º " ·.and the conceptualisation or discussion of, policy practice or
polocy-related act1v1t1eson social work journa ls or other publications. action, and social and política! analyses of current model s. Since 2010
there have been no common legal guidelines on social work trainin g
' Refers to the degree to which applied policy practice is taught in schools of so cial
work. but some standards have been agreed on between univer sities and the
Social Work Co uncil. Among the co mpetencie s of the professional
profile approved in 2003 by the Co uncil Consejo de Colegios General
Education for policy practice is one related to policy knowled ge and intervention. The guidelines
includ e: (a) to identify contexts and procedures to cooperat e in local
Substantia] between-countries differences emerg ed with regard to the and nacional policy;and (b) to contribute to knowl edge ofbes t praccices
place that social worker engageme nt in policy formu lation is related to withi n his/ her work team, organisation and other network s. Th ese
in social work education (see the fourth column in Table 10.1). In four
criteri a explici tly recognis e the interpla y between social policy, social
of the countries studied, specifically the U S, Spain, Israel and Aust ralia, work and poli cy practi ce. A review of the social work curri culum in
alongside th e study of diverse aspects of social policy th ere are also
ali 36 univer sity-b ased school s of social work, undertaken by María
some applied poli cy practice cou rses in the cu rri cula. However th eir Asunc ión Martín ez-Román , and a co mpari son of the approaches
extent is still limit ed and they are not necessarily offered in al1school s adopced in the various schools and th e common cri teria reveal thac, in
of social work. ln th e other co untri es, whi le co urses on social policy
practi ce, each university has a grea c deg ree of freedom in the setti ng of
are gener ally com mon , policy practice, with its emphasis on providing its curriculum. Ind eed differenc es emerge in th e number of social policy
tools for int erve ntion in policy arenas, hardly exists as a distinctive courses, in the co ntem or in the approach to social work practice and
compo nent for study.
in the number of cre dits offered for thi s subje ct. Eightee n universiti es
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
190
191
 Socialworkersaffectingsocialpolicy
have at least 12 credits, but policy practi ce is not explicit in the course
syllabus. Ho wever, policy practi ce is presem in, at least, some specific
syllabuses of social work or social services courses.
Prior to the early 2000s, training in policy practice in Israel, as distinct
from the more theoreti cal study of social policy, was absent in social
work education. However, over the last decade policy practice has begun
to be better integrated into social work educat ion . Follow ing calls in
the literature in Israel (Weiss et al, 2006) and in the wider social work
world (Pierce, 2000) to adapt social wor k training so that it conveys
the understanding, knowledge and skills that will encourage students to
engage in policy practice, there has been impressive movement towards
the introduction of more applied policy practice cou rses in most social
work schools in Israel on both the undergraduate (Kaufinan, 2005)
and graduate leveis (Weiss-Gal and Savaya, 2012). Of all schoo ls of
social work in Israel, 80% currently offer either comp ulsory or elective
courses on policy practice co Bache lor ofSocial Work (BSW) students.
Although advan ced soc ial policy courses are included in the curricu la
in all seven schools which offer Master ofSocia lWork (MSW) degrees,
these courses tend to be descriptive or analytical. Neverthele ss, in five
of the schools policy practice is integrated in the teaching programme.
Finally, policy practice is now incorporated, to a certain degree, in in-
scrvice training for social workers (Eytan et al, 2009).
ln Australia th e AASW Edu cation and Accreditation Standards
(201 Ob) identify social policy analysis and deve lopment as a core
componem of social work practice. As a result, aU 28 schoo ls of social
work are obliged to include social policy as a rnandatory subject.
How ever . th e form and extem of thi s compone m in social policy
cdu cation appears to vary considerably between the scho ols, and the
impact ofthes e courses still appears to be limit ed.T his can be linked to
the fact that most social policy subjec ts are taught separate ly from social
work theory and practice subject s, leaving social work srudents with
the impression that social policy is simply about theoretical knowl edge,
without any need for practical application. Few students, for example,
co mplete their fieldwork practicums in social policy agencies and the
AASW does not require social policy to be taught by qualified social
workers, or even by lecturers with some direct practice exper ience in
soc ial poli cy activities . Consequently, this leaves ope n the possibility of
social policy subje cts being taught in a highly theorecica l manner with
little practi ce-based application (Ife, 1997; Mendes , 2003b).
l n England, although social policy has lon g been a compon ent in
social wor k education (Burgess and Taylor, 2005) and social work
education stiU emphasises the role of soc iology, ethi cs and human
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
192
An internationalperspectiveon policypractice
rights, che policy involvement of social workers is not yet an integral
pare of studies. C hanges now being discussed in th ese scudies may
offer pot encial for the imegra tion of policy-oriemed practi ce in the
curriculum. A key area which has emered the capabili ty framework for
the new degree is tha c of'Rig hts,J ustice and Economic Well-Being :
Advance human rights,and promote social just ice and economic well-
being' .This may serve as an avenue for introducing policy practi ce imo
the social work cur riculum.
ln Sweden social policy courses are offered in virtually ali social
work programmes and the assumption is that social workers require
this know ledge base in their education. As such social pol icy cours es
are taught both on the undergraduate and graduate leveis, though the
direction and contem of specific social policy cour ses vary to some
extent between un iversities in the country. There is no division in
Swedish social work education between clinicai social work and social
policy, as the social work programme is a broad social science edu cation
entailing both clinica! social work and structura1 and policy-oriented
social work knowledge. H owever, an examination of the various
syllabuses and course descriptions of social policy cou rses reveals that
soc ial work studen ts gain social policy knowledge about broad and
theoretical areas but there is virt ually no specific Swedish social work
literature relating to the subject of poli cy practice, and students get
little practical training in how to work professionally at the policy levei.
University-lev el training programmes in social work in Rus sia
include cou rses on ethics as well as on social policy and research
methods. How ever, che emphasis in studies in this country is primarily
theoretical and the courses include very lim ited policy practice
component. ln ltaly policy practice is absent from th e programme of
studies. While there are general courses on the principie s and history
of social work and on methods, social policies and the organisation of
social services, none <leaiswith specifi c methods or clients ' problems
or modu les specifically on human rights, social justi ce, advocacy or
policy practice.
Actual involvement in policy practice
There is a dearth of empi rical data on the policy involvement of social
worker s and in most of the count ries included here (and elsewhe re,
for that matter) no systematic studies on the accual involvement of
social workers in policy practi ce exist. l n a small number of countrics
(primarily the US -and Israel) studies do exist but these provide only
partia! answers to the question of what is the current levei of social
193
 Socialworkers affeetingsocialpolicy
worker involvement in policy practice. With regard to the US, Hoef er
(Cha pter Nine) not es that the empirical research on the amount of
advocacy undertaken is mor e than a decade old and not ali of it is
focused on policy practice, as defined in this volume. Howev er, he
estimates that 'the leve] of actual policy practice among social workers
is lower than would be expected, given the stances of the CSWE and
the NASW' (p 174).
Weiss-Gal (Chapter Four) posits that an examination ofisraeli social
workers' involvement in policy practice over the last six decades reveals
both an increase in involvement and greater diver sity with regard
to both the characteristics of the social workers engaged in policy
pra ct ice and the str ategies they have adopted. The increase of
engageme nt in, and diversification of, policy practice among Israeli
social workers is reflected in a recent study of the involvement of social
workers in the deliberations of parliamentary committees in the
Knesset, lsrael's parliament (Gal and Weiss-Gal, 2011). Th e findings
journal of sessions of the Cong ress and Sena te hearings otfers evidence
indicated that, during the period studied (1999-2006), social workers
participated in 14% of relevam parliamentary committee meetings. It
is notable that social workers were party to between a third and a half
of the meetings of six ditferent parliamentary committees. At the sarne
time,Weiss-Gal (Chapte r Four) concludes that 'although policy practice
is an emergem form of social work practice in Israel, to a large extent
it remains relatively marginali sed in the field'.
While no systematic data on the involvement of social workers in .
policy practice in the other six nation s exists, ali the nacional expe rts
estimate that this involvement tends to be marginal and that there is
a wide discrepancy between discourse (at least as it reflected in the
nacional Codes ofEt hics) and practice, and ali concur that practi ce does
not match the rhetoric. When describing the Swedish case, Thorén
and Salonen contend that social workers do not generaliy parti cipate
in sociopo litical debates and that they have abandoned issues such as
poverty, ineguality and marginalisation. Mendes (ChapterT wo) claims
that , despite the AASW commitment to promot ing more eguitable
social policy outcomes, in Australia 'many (perhaps most) social workers
do not parti cipate in policy activitie s' (p 32). ln the sarne vein, Graeme
Simpson concl ud es that for most English social worke rs poli cy practice
is 'hardly likely to become a mainstream activity' (p 47). Neverthel ess he
notes that social workers are engaged in helping shape policy ata local
leve] through vario us working groups and committe es with varying
degree of success. ln the ltalian case, Campa nini and Facchini emphasise
that ltalian social workers are much more focused on the 'dime nsion
of individual relationship s in their professional work with clients ' (p
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
194
An internationalperspectíveon policypractíce
93) than on aspects of policy, and in Russia Iarskaia-Smirnova and
Romanov claim that, while 'social workers are gradua11yacguiring new
k.nowledge and skills to etfect social change in a democrati c egalitarian
mode rather than following a paternalist scheme of thought and action
. .. this is still an exception rather than usual practice' (p 116).
Though there is very little empirical data on policy practice in the
Spanish case, it appears that social worker s clearly do engage in policy
practice in this coumry although it is still limited in compari son to
other types of practice. Indeed, this engagement is apparently much
mor e extensive than that in most of the other countries included in the
study and similar to that in the US and Israel. Martínez - Román not es
that there is documentation of the major role that social workers in
government and in non-profit organisations have played in designing
and implementing new policies (Dom enech, 1991; De la Red-Vega,
1997; Corral, 2001; Gomá et ai, 2009; Lima , 2009). ln addition, the
of policy practice by professional social workers at the invitation of
parliamentary comm ittees. Many social workers have participated in
the policy proces s leadin g to the adoption of legislation concerning
social issues by providing professiona1 practice expertise in the debate
process of provisional propo salsand the !ater legal developmem of them .
Although the finding that policy practice is nota predominam social
work intervention is not surpri sing, the actual diversity of forms that
social worker policy practice engagement takes across the nations
studied in this volume is. Five routes by which social workers engage
in the policy process emerge in this study.
Policypraetice by proxy
A commo n route through w hich social workers seek to affect social
policies is by way of autonomous or semi-autonomous social wo rk
organisations.While these organisations represem social workers, when
the int ervention into the policy process takes the form ofleadership-
or organisation- levei statement s, lobbyin g etforts or participation in
the policy discourse, it relieves rank-and-file members of the need to
be involved directly in policy involvement. Professional organisation s
operati ng outside the state realm, such as the NASW in the US and
the Swedish trade unions, or within the boundaries of th e state, as
in the case of the Profe ssional Register in ltal y, are examples of this
type of organisation. Hoefer, for example, cites research that describes
the involvement of NASW chapters in advocacy, coalition building,
lobbying and efforts to track legislation status and attem pt to influence
195
 Socialworkersaffeetingsocialpolicy
government administra tive policy. As an organisation, the NASW
was very much involved in suppor ting healthcare reform in the US
when the legislation passed in March, 2010, and continued working
to maintain the law against attacks intended to retrench it.
The Australian AASW NSPC is another examp le of this type
of involvement. The NSPC is involved in making submissions to
government inquiries, issuing media releases, developing position
statements in areas such as child protection, housing, mental health and
Indigenous affairs. establishing parcnerships wi th other stakehold ers
such as wclfare advocacy gro up s and schools of social wo rk , and
motivating social workers and the AASW co provid e an informed and
effective voice on social policy (Cheron-Sauer, 2008).
ln Spain, the General Counc il of Social Work is regu larly invited to
presem repores and policy proposals to variou s bodies involved in the
policy formulation process. A specific examp le of its involvement in
social policy form ulation is the creation in 2008 of the Observatorio
Nacional de Servicio s Sociales (Nacional Observatory of Social
Services). ln respon se to the lack of development of the 2006 social
services legislation due to the opposition of some regional governme nts,
the General Council decided to pro mote discussion, analysis and social
crit icism in response to the vio.lation of individual rights of people in
a situation of dependency, with the coUaboration of universities and
non-profit organisations.
Po/icypracticethroughrecruitmentnetworks
ln contrast to the policy practice involvement by proxy described
above, in this type of engagement social worke rs seek to influence
policy by participating directly in activities initi ated and organised by
social work organisations. Here the organisations serve as recru itment
networks for social wor kers and involvement is by the grassroots in
the framework of the organ isations. Thus, for example , in England the
SocialWorkAction Network (SWAN) is a loose coalition ofmembers
who share the aim of practice, which seeks to recapt ure the essence
of a campaigning social work, commit ted to social j ustice. The West
Midlands network has been at the forefront of campaigns against current
policies, notably the attemp ts by Birmingham City Co un cil to save
in excess of ,C30m by increasing the threshold s for a serv"ice,a move
which would remove support and services from many disabled people.
ln Sweden, trade unions representing social workers have been engaged
in a number of projects thac seek to encourage the involvement of social
workers in the social policy process. These have taken the form of a
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
196
An internationa/perspectiveon policypractice
publication in which various stakeholders such as social wo rkers, social
work professors, politicians and union represencatives expressed their
views on the lack of sociopoli tical engagement amon g social wo rkers,
and a Facebook page 'Lets break the silence' (Nu brytervi tystnaden),
initiated by social workers and the trad e union SKTF that seeks to
highlight how povert y and injustice are growing in Sweden and the
deterioration insocial workers' working conditi ons.Another example
is a campaign by the Australian Council ofHeads ofSc hoo ls ofSocial
Work (ACH SSW) that involved rank-and-file social work practitioners
and students conte sting Australian governmen t policies concerni ng the
rights of refugees seeking asylum . The ACHSSW initiated a citizen-
driven People's Inquiry into Detention in order to expose the abuses
oflong-term detention and to place the stories of those in detention
on the public recor d. Social workers assisted the inquiry by testifying
and submitting written submission s, and the first report of the inquiry,
We've Bo,mdlessPlains to Share, was released in November 2006 at a
nacional social work co nference in Perch.
Finally, the significance of professional recruitment necworks in
providing an avenue for policy practice among social workers is
reflected in studies on social work in the US cited by Hoefer. Thus
H am ilton and Fauri (2001) found that social wo rkers who were
members of the NASW were more likely to be active in attempts to
influence policy than non-m embers. Hart nett et ai (2005) note that
social workers belongi ng to the NASW are enco uraged by 100% of
NASW chapcers to engage in political action, and that , in 91 % of
chapcers, members are active.
Academicpolicyproctice
Due to the greater autonomy that characterises it and the existe nce
of both relevam data and critica! approac hes wit hin it, social work
academia is an additional rouce through which social workers engage
in policy practice (Sherraden et ai, 2002) . Social work academics can
utilise their professional status and access to policy makers and the
media in order to influence policy. They also contribuce to the policy
process through research and the publication of findings that have
implication for policy.The countr y experts in this volum e cite diverse
casesin which social work academics have played a role in policy-re lated
activities, often in conjunc tion with social workers in the field. One
exam ple of this is th e struggle against food insecurity in Israel du ring
che early years of the 2000s. ln this case, academics and students from
the scho ol of social work at Ben Gurion University formed a coalition
197
 Socialworkersaffectingsocialpolicy
of social workers and activists in a struggle to reintrodu ce school lunches
as a response to the findings of a stud y that they undertook which
revealed a high levei of food insecurity among poor peopl e in Israel.
The public struggle resulted in the passage oflegislation in the Israeli
parliament that led to the establishment of a school lunch programme
m elementary school s throughout the country in 2004 (Chapter Four).
The civilsocietyroute
Not only social work organisations but also diverse advocacy
organisations, social movements and indeed social welfare provider
organisations serve as the framework for the policy practice activities
of social workers. Thcse organ isations play a major role in the policy
formulation process in different countries, and the issues that they
engage in often relate to service users and to social welfare policy
and services (Schmid et ai, 2008; Kimb erlin , 2010). Social worker
involvement in poli cy practice as members or employees of these
organisations, or in conjunction with them, appears to be a more viable
option in different countri es than direct engagement on the pare of
social workers who are civil servants. This is clearly the case in Ru ssia,
where norm s and formal regulations severely restrict the involveme nt
of social workers employed by the state in policy- related activities.
A good cxample of this type of policy practice is that of social work
stud ent Gloria Vinogradova, who became a leader of a small team
advocating hom eless people's rights in the city ofTomsk. The team
sought to establish a shelter for the homeless in the city by overcoming
cla1ms by the municipal and regional authoriti es that there were no
hom eless people in the region. The efforts eventua lly culminat ed in
the establishm ent of a municipal overnight home called the 'Refuge
of a Wanderer' in 1999 from funding raised by the Evangelic-Lutheran
C hurch in the US. Similady,social workers in Australia have participated
in welfare lobby grou ps such as the Australian Counc il ofSocial Service
and the associated State andT erri tory Councils ofSocial Service and are
involved in broader social change activities including local and national
electoral politics and global campaigns for hum an rights.
The 'insider'route
Policy praccice undercaken by social workers who are civil servants and
engage in this practice directly within the context oftheir wo rkplace is
one of the major forms that this type of intervention takes in some of
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
198
An internationa/perspectiveon policypractice
the countrie s studied in this volume. Social workers engaging in direct
policy practice employ a wide range of policy practice strategies.These
include legislative/ legal advocacy (submissions to government inquirie s,
letters to cabinet ministers, participation in a government committee),
social action with externai (public and media advocacy,networking and
partnerships with other welfare bodies) and internai foci (community
development) and research and policy analysis(development of position
papers, initiated inquiries to expose problems and suffering and place
the storie s of suffering on the public reco rd).
lt appears that much of the involveme nt of rank-and-fi.le social
workers in policy practice takes place within lo cal agencies,
neighbourhoods and comm unitie s.Thi s is the case inAustralia,England,
fsrael, Spain, and the US. The case of Svetlana Dri akhlitsyna, a social
worker in the city of Petro zavodsk in the northwest of Russia is an
example of this form of policy practice. ln 2004 she supported a court
appeal by a group of parents who sought pre-school places for their
children with disabilities despite the refusal ofthe municipal authorities
to offer such places. While the original appeal to the Supreme Court
of Karelia was dismissed, an intensive media campaign by the parent s
and social workers led to the original decision being reversed in 2006.
ln a number of country cases described in thi s volume, social
workers' poli cy practice engagement takes the form of testifying in the
deliberations of parliamentary committees at the regional or nacional
leveis.Thus in Spain a large number of social workers have played an
active role in the legislative process at the invitation of parliamentary
committees. Similarly in Israel the author reports on the findings of
a stud y that revealed that many social workers, a third of whom were
employed at the time by municipal social welfare agencies, participaced
in the deliberations of these committe es in the lsraeli parliament.
Factors that influence policy practice involvement
C learly, the factors that influence the policy practice involvement
of social worker are numerous and inevitably differ from cou ntr y to
country to a cer tain degree. Nevertheless, all the volume's con tributor s
employ similar frames of reference or sets of factors or explanation s in
order to explain the leveis and forms of social workers' engagement
in poli cy practice. Figure 10.2 presents these frames.
As can be seen in Figure 10.2, it is suggested that there are four
broad interrelated sets of factors that explain the levei and form of
involvement of social workers in policy practice in the eight co unt ries
studied in this volume.These include the sociopoliti cal context within
199
 Socialworkersaffeetingsocialpolicy
An international
perspectiveon policypractice
Figure 10.2: Explanatory factors for policy practice
work engagement in policy practice. ln different count ries, the rise
The social- Individual
of critical perspectives in the late 1960s led to social work embracing
The social work The work
political contex t profession characteristics and structural approac hes and a tendency by many within the profession
settlng
perceptions to perceive social change as a central component in their professional
project. This was certainly the case in English, American and ltalian
social work. Similarly, as Simpson underscores in his discussion of
the English case, the rise of neo-liberalism in recent decades and its
lnvolvement in policy practice undeniable influence on social and econornic thinking and policies in
liberal democracies are regarded by many ofthe cont ribu tors as a crucial
factors in the reluctance by social workers to engage in policy practice.
which the profession operates in the different national settings; the
The social work profession itself is, of course, anot her major factor
in the attem.pt to understand better th e policy practice involvem.ent of
-l/
spec1fic charactenstics of the social work profession; the nature of the
social workers. Professional trends within social work, the characteristics
work settings in which social workers are employed; and finally a set
of individual characteristics and perceptions. of the social work professional association or trade union and their
perceived role in policy practice, and the scope and content of social
All of the authors regard the sociopoliticai environment in which
work educat ion are a11compone nt s in this cluster.
soc ial work has operated over time as crucial in understanding the
More specifically, some of the nacional expe rts (in countries such
111volvementof social workers in the policy process. This set of factors
as Australia, Israel, Italy and Sweden) explici tly link trends towards
can relate to the political or welfare regime in a specific nation, to the
individualisation or clinica lisation the profession to the lim.ited
dominam ideologies that hold sway in a particular society and to its
invo lvement of sociãl workers in policy practice. For example, Mendes
manifestations in social and econornic policies in a set time period,
claims that narrow dehrutions of profess10nalism in Australia which
as well as to more structural factors, such as the severity of social
emphasise the development of clinic al therapeutic interventions wit~
problems or the leveis of ine~tuhat exist in a nation. Obvious]y,
individuais at the expense of broader system.ic approaches mhib1t
a~ path dependen _cy the~ry shows (Pierson, 2000), there is a temporal
involvement in policy practice . Weiss-Gal asseres th at the marginality
d1mens1011 that 1s crucial when discussing suc h factors, whereby
of policy practice in social work in Israel can be traced to the fact that
developments or critical even ts at a specific point of time can lead to
social work in Israel is dominated by an indi vidualistic ideology that
trajectories that have a significant impact over long periods of time.
understands distress, be it that of individuais, families or, communiues,
Th e impact of political regime on social worker involvement is
primar ily through intra-psychic psychological processe s. This reflects

t perhap s most striking in th e Spanish case. The tran sformation in the

mid ~1970 s from the Fran co dictatorship to demo cracy had major
both the ongoing impact of the therapeutic m.odel dorninant in US 1
social work and alongside it the intensive professionalisation process
1mphcauon s for th e social work profe ssion in general, and for poli cy
that has sought to link Israeli social work to more prestigious clinicai
practic e in particular. At the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s,
professions such as psychology and psychiatry.
pohcy practice on the part of social workers took plac e only at the
The characteristics of social work professional associations and trade
ne1ghbourhood levei, especially in new areas inhabited by Spanish
unions are also factors that influence social wo rkers involvement in
rnigrant workers from rural areas.After Franco 's death , the democrati c
poli cy practice. These include the levei of commitm.ent to policy
transition led th e way to the growin g involvement of social worker s in
pract ice by the specific organ isation and its structure and leadership.
the formu lation of new social services and socia l policies. This trend
The strength of the association can also be another crucial factor. ln
was parti cularly strong during the 1980s with the establishment of
the Australian case, the low leveis of membership in th e AASW and
the sociabst government beca use of the major role that social workers
played in this adrninistration. the fragmentation of social work organisations are seen by Mendes
to be a major factor in the lirnited engagement of social workers in
Th .e dominance of specific ideologi es in public discourse is clearly an
policy practice in that country. More specifically, the formation in 1975
addiuonal facet of the sociopolitical environment that has affected social
of the Australian Social Welfare Union as a trade union for ali social
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal,
200 I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
201
 Socialworkersaffectíngsocial policy
welfare wor kers, rather than ju st social workers, split the AASW and
pre cipitated a gradu al decline in accivism. From 1985 on wards there
was - with minor exception s - little organised branch commitm ent
to social action or reform. The face that the AASW has often selected
leaders ata state and nacional levei that were employed by public sector
agencies is regarded as a factor that impedes them from expressing
cri tica] views in the publi c sphere.
Finally, social work edu cation is a central com ponent in che manner
in which the profession has an impact on engagement in policy practice.
Ali the national co ntri butors attribute policy practice's mar ginaliry in
social work praccice to the lirnited attentio n it ertjoys in the professional
socialisacion process. While it is not clear whether edu catio n leads
to practice or vice versa, ít would appear chac socialisacion towards
engageme nt ín thi s rype of practice and the provisíon of too ls with
which to undert ake poli cy practice will be likely to increase the
readiness of practitioners to incorporate policy practice in their
interventions.Th e chapter s in thi s volume indicate that incorporation
of policy practice in social work educacion goes hand in hand w ith
highe r leveis of engagement in policy practice on the pare of social
wo rkers in the field. Thi s is apparent in the US, Israel and Spain. By
cont rast,i n naciona l settings in which the levei of engagement in policy
praccice in national settings is particularly Jow (Russia, Sweden, Italy
and E ngland), there is lictle or no socialisation to eh.isrype of practice
in the social work cd ucation system. It is not surprising, then, that mo st
national experts suggest changes in social work educatio n in order to
increase policy praccice engagcment.
y < Th e work settings of social workers are an additio nal factor that affects
the form that policy practice takes, the routes cho sen by social workers
seeking to influence poli cy and che degree to which professionals are
able to engage in this rype of practice. The_ rypes. of work setcings in
wh.ich social wo rkers are emp loyed - in parti cular w hether chese are
within the realm of the stace or beyond it - che organisational norm s
that frame the rypes of activicies undercaken by social worker s and that
define the relationship berween the wor kplace and the formal policy
arena and the specific micro- leve! interactions berween management
and staff wi thin the contours of the workplace will play a major role
in if, and how, social wor kers engage in policy practice.
The adoption of manag erialism as a consegu ence of the adh erence
to the prin cipies of New Pu blic Man ageme nt in the social services
in co untrie s such as England and Italy has deprived social wor kers
of opportuniti es to engage in poli cy- related activities wi thin th e
framewor k of their workplace. Mende s claims that many Australian
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
202
An internatíonalperspectiveon policy practice
soc ial wo rk er s are emplo yed by gov e rnment departments or
government-funded agencies, which may restrict them from speaking
out against government policie s. This will lead to social workers
choosing alternati ve route s to influence the policy pro cess. Similarly,
<
in Sweden and m Ru ss1a, the dorninant norms within the state sector
in chese countries dictate a serice hier archical structur e that leaves
policy involvement in the hands of the políticãl echelons and lirnits the
possibilities for rank and file social worker involvement in this process.
On a more specific levei the Australian and US chapters in this
book conc ur chat the provi sion of supp ort from the employing agency
can increase social work ers' involvement m policy pracnce. Hoeter
(Chapter Nme) notes that Orgaru sational tactors are a lack of support
by employers of social wo rkers and limitation s set by the Internai
R evenue Service on lobbying by non-profit organisations.' ln the sarne
vein, Mend es explains the low leveis of social workers involvem ent in
policy practice by the possibiliry that they hold a profe ssional identiry
link ed more closely to their agency (Centr elink or state and territory
government child prot ec tion services) rather than to social work per
se.Weiss-Gal claims that the marginalit y of policy practice in Israel is
influen ced by the nature of the workplace environment of many social
workers. Local social care services are underfunded and und erstaffed
and , as a result, social workers are overwhelmed by large. case loads.
Moreover , due to the adoption of protective legislation , they are often
occupied by statutory activities !:_ha t leave little tim e to move beyon d
casework.A s policy practice has not been 1dent1fied as an integral pare
of the tasks of most social workers employed in social care, nor been
encouraged by mana gement, motivation to engage in this rype of
practice has been limit ed.
A final set of facto rs that affects po licy practice by social wor kers
relates to the indi vidual social worker. Some of the chapter contrib utor s
relat e to indi vid ual characteristtcs that may impede or enco urage
4;
involvement in poli cy practice. Thes e can be grouped into four main
categories: sociod emoira phic characteristics; personal values; politi~al
self-e fficacy; ª11:~_P.rofessional
ideology, pri n:1~.:.~_perce~tions ~!~ l
problem, social work and its main goals and tasks.Also important are the
employment status of the social wor ker and the impact of professional
recrmtment network:s.
For examp le, Martín ez- Román claims that the persona l attitudes
of Spanish social wo rkers are one obstacle to po licy practice. T hese
attitudes includ e a Jack of belief that professional social wo rk can
influence policy anda Jack ofinterest in politics.With regard to Sweden,
T horén and Salon en link the low levei of willingne ss to engage in
203
 Socialworkersaffectingsocialpolicy
polic_ypractice a_mongsocial workers in the area of financial suppor t
w1tlun the municipal social services to their individual (rather than
structura1) explanations of their clients' economic hardship and poverty.
ln th~ sarne _vem,Mendes associates the low levei of engagement of
Austral1an social workers in policy practice with the social workers'
perception t~at policy activism is incompatible w ith professional
pracnce. Relymg on a smal1-scale purposive study of 1Oactivist social
workers, he found that personal background, experiences and beliefs
play a key role in promoting the involvement of these social workers
in social justice activism. For most of his imerview ees, social work
educatio n primarily reinforced their existing beliefs and values. Equally,
social work values, skills and identity tended to comp lement rather than
shape their activist comrnitme nt . Other key factors that enhanced their
soe'.ª! activism appeared to include working in senior o r management
posmons that permit considerable practice autonomy, a belief that social
action is a co re requirem ent of social work practice, a co mrnitment to
a broad social justice agenda that transcends social work practice per se
anda greater engagem ent with broader soc ial and political movements
than with specific professional social work stru ctures and networks.
Re spondi ng to what he describes as one of the mor e imeresting
quesuons relating to policy practice - why are some social workers
engaged and ot hers are not? - Hoefer presents an exp lanatory model
based on the theory_ of c~vic volumarism (Verba et ai, 1995~. M ore
spec 1fically, he has 1dent1fied two group s of variables that affect
readiness to engage in policy practice: externa! characteristics, including
part1c1pat1on m other organisations, time and skilis; and internai
charactcr istics that include levei of education, intercst, values and sense
of professional responsibil ity.
Concluding remarks
Th e con tribu tors to this volume adhere to the claim that, in order to
achieve its goals of social justice and social right s for aU, social work
cannot ignore its task of social cha nge, nor can it afford to delegate
th e role of ensunng that social policies do inde ed reflect its desire for
a more equitable society to other professions or to decision makers.
They co?c ur that social workers can play a major role in the policy
formulauon process and indeed have done so in the past and continue
to do so today. How ever, too often this engagement in policy has bee n
the domam of a smali minority of social workers who have often
focused exclusively.011thi s field of practice. lntervemion in policy that
affects service users, be it at the agency, local or nacional leveis, cannot
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
20-4
An international perspectiveon policypractice
remain on the sidelines of th e profession. It is something that aU social
workers can, and should, integra te into their repertoire of inter vention
tools. They must be able to shape the environment in which service
users exist if the need be. We call this policy practice.
By placing po licy practice at t he very focal point of a cross -
national research proje ct for the first time, this volume adds to our
know ledge that, while the professional discourse appears to reflect th~s
under standing to a large degree, there is still a marked gap between th1s
discourse and che formal socialisation process and actual practice in
ali the countrie s studied here. lt also reveals that the degree to which
social workers engage in policy practice and the form that this takes
differ greatly becween the different nation s. Moreov er, the nature of
the professional discourse and the place of policy practice in the social
work education process in the various countries vary to a large degree.
It is hoped that the rich analyses offered in the chapters in this volume,
and the commonalit ies and divergences that emerge in the overview
of the case studie s presented in this concl udin g chapter will set the
stage for more extensive cross-na tional scholarship that can harness
the advantages of compara tive analysis to a better understandmg _of
the dy nam ics of policy practice in social work. The country studies
reveal the Jirnited extent of systematic research on policy practice in
most of them. Moreover, this research has tended to focus on questions
such as: why should social workers engage in policy practice? H ow
should they do so? And , to what degree do they undertak e this type
of activity, and why? Thi s projec t offers a framcwork thro ugh which
to offer responses to these questions in the different countries studied
here but also to move beyond th ese issues to a research agenda that
will focus on the diversity of forms of policy practice adopted by
social workers and a better understanding of the factors that explain
this engagement and its forms.
The intention is that the insights into policy practice that can
be found here will not only stimulate the analytical rninds of social
work scholar s but also serve as an impetus for greater engagement in
this cru cial ty pe of activity on the part of social wo rk educator s and
practitioners.
References
Adams, R. (2002) SocialPolicyfor SocialWork, Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.
AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers) (2010a) Code of
Ethics, Canberra: AASW
205
 Socialworkersaffectingsocialpolicy
AASW (Auscralian Associacion of Social Workers) (201 Ob) Australian
Social Work Educationand AccreditationStandards,www.aasw.asn.au/
documenc/icem/100.
Banks, S. (2006) Ethicsand Vciluesin SocialWork (3rd edn), Houndmills:
Palgrave Macmillan .
BASW (British Association of Social Workers) (2012) Code of Ethics,
www.basw.co.uk/ codeofethics.
Burge ss, H. and Taylor, I. (eds) (2005) EffectiveLearningand Teaching in
SocialPolicyand SocialWork,London: Routledge Farmer.
Carey, L. (2007) 'Teaching macro practice', Journal efTeachingin Social
Work,vol 27, no 1, pp 61-71.
Chandler, S.K. (2009) 'Work.ing hard, Jiving poor: Social workers and
the Movemenc for Livable Wages',Joumal efCormnuníty Practice,vol
17,p p 170-83.
Cheron-Sauer, M.C. (2008) 'Why does social policy matcer to social
work? A case study in developing policy leadership', address to
Strength in Unity Conference, Sydney, 9 November.
'Code of Ethics for the Social Worker and Social Pedagogue' (2003)
Moscow , available at: http: //soc pedagogika.narod.ru / Kodeks.htm1
(in Ru ssian).
Colby, I.C. (2008) Social welfare policy as a form of social justice', in
K.M. Sowers and C.N. Dulmus (eds) ComprehensiveHandbookefSocial
Work and SocialWe!fare,Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Consejo General de Colegios (1999) 'Có dig o Deontológico de
la Profe sión de Diplomado en Trabajo Social', www.ifsw.org/
p38000297.htm1.
Co rra!, L. (2001) 'The alarming decline of social policy in Spain',
Serr,iciosSocialesy PolíticaSocial, vol 54, pp 101-8.
Cu mmins, L.K., Byers, K. V and Pedrick, L. (201 1) Policy Practicefor
Social Workers,Boston, MA: Aliyn and Bacon.
De la Red -Vega, N. (1997) 'Social policy and social work', in C.Alemán
and J. Garcés (eds) Política social,Madrid : McGraw Hill, pp 531-52.
Denny, D. (1998) Social Policy and Social Work, Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Dickens,J. (201 O) Social IM!rkand SocialPolicy:An Introduction, London:
Routled ge.
DiRigne, L. (2011) 'Teaching social policy: Incegration of currenc
legislation and media resources',Journa/ efTeachingin Social/MJrk,vol
3 1, no 2, pp 224-31.
Dom e nech, R . (1991) 'The evolution of social work in Spain during
the 80s', ServiciosSociales y Política Social, vol 20, pp 14-18.
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
206
An internationa/perspectiveon policypractice
Ersing, R. and Loeffier, D. (2008) 'Teaching scudents to beco me effective
in policy practice: Integrating social capital into social work education
and practice',Journal of PolicyPractice,vol 7, no 2, pp 226-38.
Eytan, S., Aran, L., Khamra, K. and Obed, W (2009) 'Training for
enlarging the role of social workers in formulating policy processes',
SocialSecurity,vol 81, pp 135-66 (in Hebrew).
Gal,J. and Weiss-Gal, I. (2011) 'Social policy formulation and the role
of professionals:The involvement of social workers in parliamentary
committees in Israel', Health and SocialCarein the Community, vol 19,
no 2, pp 158-67.
Gomá,R.,Arenas,J., Figueras, C. (2009) 'An inside look at social work
from different political groups' , Servidos Socialesy PolíticaSocial,vol
86,pp 91-102.
Hamilton, D. and Fauri, D. (2001) 'Social workers' political participation:
Strengthening the political confidence of social work students' .Journal
of SocialWork Education,vol 37, no 2, pp 321-32.
Hardina, D. and Obel-Jorgensen, R. (2009) 'Increasing social action
competency: A framework for supervision' ,Journal of Policy Practice,
vol 8, no 2, pp 89-109.
Hare, I. (2004) 'Defining social work for the 21st centu ry', lnternational
Social Work,vol 47, no 3, pp 407-24.
Hartnett , H. , Harding , S., and Scanlon, E. (2005) 'NASW chapcers:
Executive directors' perceptions of factors which impede and
encourage active member participation'.Journal of Community Practice,
vol 13, no 4, pp 69-83.
Hayn es, K. and Mickelson,J. (2009) Ajfecting Change: SocialWorkersin
the Political Arena (7th edn), Boston , MA: Prentice Hall.
Hoefer , R . (2012) Advocacy Practicefo r SocialJu stice (2nd edn), Chicago:
Lyceum .
Hother sall,S. and Bolger,J. (eds) (201O) SocialPolícyfor SocialIM!rk,Social
Care and the Caring Professions: Scottish Perspectives, Farnham:Ashgate .
Ife,J. (1997) Rethinking SocialWork,Melbourne: Longman.
Israel Association of Social Workers (1995) Code of Ethics,Tel-Aviv:
ISASW.
Jansson, B.S. (2003) Becoming an ElfectivePolicyAdvocate:From Policy
Practiceto Socialjusti ce(4th edn),Belmont, CA:Thomson,Brooks/Cole.
Jansson , B.S. (2008 ) Becomingan Elfective PolicyAdvocate: From Policy
Practice to Socialjustice(5th edn),Belmont, CA:T homson,Brooks/Cole.
Kaufman,R. (2005) 'Invo lvemen t offaculty and stud ents in promoting
the Rights To Food Security: Lessons from a social change project',
Society & We!fare, vol 25, pp 511-32.
207
 Socialworkersaffectingsocialpolicy
An internationalperspectiveon policypractice

Kimberlin, S.E. (2010) 'Advocacy by nonprofits: Roles and praccices

Simpson, G. and Connor, S. (2011) Social Policyfor Social We!fare
of core advocacy organizations and direct service agencies',Journa1
of PolicyPractice,vol 9, pp 164-82. Professionals: Toolsfor Understanding,Analysis and Engagement,Bristol :
The Policy Pre ss.
Lasswell, H .D. (1936) Politics:Who Gets What, When and How New
York: P.Smith. Sta te of Israel, the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services (201 O) The
Repor/ of the State Commission on Reform of Local Social Care Service,
Lima, A. (2009) 'Socia l work profession ', Servidos Sociales y PoUtica
Social,vol 86, pp 9-41. Jeru salem: Ministry ofWelfare and Social Services.
Tower , L. and Hartnett, H . (2011) 'An internet-based assignment to
Mendes, P.(2003a) 'Soc ial workers and social action: a case study of the
teach students to engage in policy-practice: A three-cohort stud y',
Australian Association ofSocial Workers Victorian Branch', Australian
SocialWork,vol 56, no 1, pp 16-27. J ournal oJPolicyPractice,vol 10, no 1, pp 65-77.
Verba, S., Schlozman , K. and Brady, H. (1995) Voiceand Equa/ity:Citizen
Mendes, P.(2003b) 'Teaclung social policy to social work stude nt s: A
Voluntarismin American Politics,Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
critica! reflection ', Au stralian SocialWork,vol 56 , no 3, pp 220-33.
Press.
NASW (Na tion al Association of Social Workers) (2008 ) 'Code of
Weiss, I., Gal,]. and , Kacan,J. (2006) 'Social poli cy for social work: A
Ethics ', www.socialworkers.org/ pubs/ code / code.asp .
teaching agenda', BritishJournal of SocialWork,vol 36, pp 789-806.
Pawar, M. (2004) 'Social poli cy curricula for training social workers:
Weiss-Gal , !., and Asher Ben-Arieh (eds) 2009) 'Social Workers and
Towards a model', Australian Social Work,vol 57, no 1, pp 3- 18.
Policy in Israel', SocialSecurity,81 (Special Issue) (in Hebrew)
Pierce, D. (2000) ' Policy practice', in J. Midgley, M.B. Tracy and M.
Weiss-Gal, I. and Gal,J. (2011) Policy Practice in Social Work,Jeru salem:
Livermore (eds) The Handbook of Social Policy, Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage, pp 53-63 . Magn es.
Weiss-Gal, I. and Savaya,R. (2012) 'A hand s-on policy practice seminar
Pier son, P. (2000) 'In creasing returns, path depe nden ce and the study
for social workers in Israel: De scription and evaluation ', J ournal of
of politics', AmericanPolitical ScienceReview,vol 94, no 2, pp 251-67.
Policyand Practice,vol 11, no 3, pp 139-57.
Reisch, M. and Staller, K. (201 1) 'Teaching social welfare history and
Wolfer, T. and Gray, K. (2007) 'Using the decision case method to ceach
social welfare policy from a conflict perspective' ,Journal ojTeaching
legislative policy advocacy' ,Journal ofTeacliingin Social Work, vol 27,
in SocialWork,vol 32, no 2, pp 131-44.
no 1, pp 37-59.
Ritter, J. (2008) 'A national study predicting licensed social workers'
Zubrzycki,J. and McArthur, M. (2004) 'Preparing social work stud ents
leveis of policical participation: The role of resources, psychological
for pol.icy practice: An Australian exampl e', SocialWork Education,vol
engageme nt , and recruitment network s', Social Work, vol 53, no 4,
PP 347-57. 23, no 4, pp 451-64.
Rocha, C., Poe, B. and Thoma s, V. (2010) ' Political activities of social
workers: Addressing perceived barr iers to poli ti cal participacion', Social
Work, vol 55, no 4, pp 317-25.
Sath er, P.,Weitz, B. and Carlson, P. (2007) 'Engagi ng students in macro
issues throu gh community-based learni ng',Journa / efTeaching in Social
Work,vol 27, no 3, pp 61-79.
Schmid , H. , Bar, M. and Nirel, R. (2008) 'Advocacy roles of nonprofit
human service organizations: Implications for poli cy', Nonpr<ifitand
VoluntarySectorQuarterly,vol 37, no 4, pp 581-6 02.
Sherraden, M .S., Slosar, B. and Sherraden, M. (2002) 'Innovation in
social policy: Co llaborative policy advocacy', SocialWork, vol 47 , no
3, PP 209-21.

Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I.208

(Eds.). (2013). Social Workers Affecting Social Policy: An International Perspective. Bristol: Policy Press
209