What is the way forward for social work in turbulent and unfriendly contexts? Taking account of the political, economic, and cultural changes that have impacted on social work, and providing examples, this book offers an analysis of why social work needs to reconstitute itself and why it needs to develop new responses.

What is the way forward for social work in turbulent and increasingly unfriendly contexts? Taking account of the political, economic and cultural changes that have impacted on social work over recent years, this book explores the challenges and prepares readers for the realities of practice. McDonald goes on to engage in a comprehensive, theoretically informed yet accessible analysis of why social work needs to reconstitute itself and why it needs to develop new responses. Using an international range of examples, this text will make an important contribution to the ongoing debate about the character and purpose of social work.

Acknowledgements - PART ONE - Preface to Part One - The Professional Project in the Context of Change - Modernity, Social Work and the Welfare State - Challenging Social Work: The
Economics of Change - Challenging Social Work: The Politics
of Change - Challenging Social Work: The Ideas of Change - Reconstructing Practitioners - Reconstructing Service Users - PART TWO - Preface to Part Two - Entrepreneurial Social Work - Evidence-Based Practice - Critical Practice - Global Social Work - Thinking Our Way Forward - Bibliography