Power and Social Work in the United Kingdom

Abstract

• Summary: This article explores relations of power in social work using insights drawn from the critical ‘toolkit’ emanating from work of French philosopher, Michel Foucault. The article discusses the relationship between Foucault’s conceptual tools of ‘knowledge and power’, the emergence of ‘the modern subject’ and the concept of ‘governmentality’. Despite ongoing pressures, professional expertise persists as a core element of neo-liberal government in the management of the population. We use a Foucauldian perspective to explore two issues central to contemporary practice: surveillance and discretion that epitomise dualism of power relations. On the one hand, surveillance brings with it a potentially problematic process especially in context of top down managerial power; yet, on the other hand, discretion is much more focused on what Foucault (1977) calls ‘the microphysics of power’ with opportunities for ‘resistance’ from the bottom up. • Findings: Professional expertise creates a paradox where surveillance and discretion operate within similar social space as the expression of power relations that encompass the matrix of users, carers and social workers. On one hand, surveillance restricts practice however; on the other, complexity opens the space for resistance and new formulations of power relations. • Applications : Exposing social work activity to a critical stance enables the exploration of relations of power identifying how commitments such as empowerment and anti-oppressive practice become detached from their original radical and humanitarian moorings to feature now as components of oppressive discourses they might once have challenged.

Governmentality, Social Policy and the Social Construction of Old Age in England

“…As such, social workers are exhorted to become entrepreneurs in all spheres and to accept responsibility for the management of civic life (Beck, 2005). There is also an apparent dispersal of power (Foucault, 1977) achieved through establishing structures in which social workers and older people are co-opted into or co-produce governance through their own accountable choices (Gilbert and Powell 2010).…”

A Construção do Sentido de Envelhecimento para os Assistentes Sociais: uma abordagem contextualista das emoções a partir do cotidiano de trabalho

“…Nesse sentido, não se mostra possível estabelecer uma forma universal de desempenho desses profissionais, porém, há que se problematizar sob quais projetos políticos esses indivíduos buscam se pautar. (GILBERT;POWELL, 2010) De acordo com Yazbek e Degenszajn (2010), o trabalho dos assistentes sociais também se relaciona com a dinâmica do espaço urbano. A dinâmica social contemporânea tem produzido grupos marginalizados e a intervenção desses profissionais se faz necessária tanto no desenvolvimento de políticas públicas, como na constituição de espaços de acolhimento dos sujeitos em situação de degradação social.…”

The weight of my words: the role of confession and surveillance in parenting programmes

“…This often takes the form of supervision, where the worker meets with their manager on a monthly basis to discuss their work. This allows for the manager to survey the workers' individual practice and oversee their caseload (Gilbert and Powell 2010). In Moffatt's study, welfare case Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law 417 workers were watched and monitored, being judged for example on the number of interviews conducted in one day.…”