For Social Betterment: Social Work Education in Australia 19001960

(Paperback)

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Australia introduced professional education for social workers thirty years later than much of the developed world. It joined an international movement to set up the new profession and was helped by the well-established American and British social workers. As Australian social work education approaches its centenary in 2029, it is clear that much of the history of the profession has been forgotten or is merely shadowy memory, layered with gossip, clich and stereotypes rather than facts.

Verl Lewis, social work educator and historian, was right when he said that understanding their own history is essential for social workers self-understanding and self-awareness. Who are the social workers today, and where have they come from Are they doctors handmaidens, because of their origins in almoning, or do their connections to the Settlement movement make them radical drivers of change Perhaps their origins in the Charity Organisation Society mean that they are agents of social control. There is some truth in all these assertions, but the story of Australian social work education is both more complex and more nuanced than this.

For Social Betterment tells, for the first time, the history of Australian social work a story of a fight for standards and the tenacity of a group of women (and a few men) who were determined to improve care and conditions for those most vulnerable in our community. It also reflects on why the rights of women and First Nations peoples were overlooked for so long, and examines the future challenges for social work in Australia.

Reviews

I thought it was engaging, funny, historically interesting, enlightening and intriguing.

Author Bio

Jane Miller is a retired social worker and life member of the Australian Association of Social Workers. She is the author of several books, including A Love of Truth and a Love of Service: The Social Work Legacy of Leonard Tierney (2019) and Leading Social Work: 75 Years at the University of Melbourne (2016). Her work appears in a range of print and online publications, including on the London School of Economics and Politics website. Jane contributed to the Royal Childrens Hospital history 150 Years of Caring (2021) and the Spoken Memories Project of the Australian Association of Social Workers, and worked with the University of Melbourne Social Work Alumni on a series of oral histories, Reflecting on Social Work Careers (2021).