Social Working: An Ethnography of Front-Line Practice

Henry G. MacLeod teaches sociology at both Trent University and the
University of Waterloo.

Social Working, an ethnomethodological analysis of front-line social
work practice, uses an interpretative sociological perspective and a
Structuralist–Marxist approach, the first half of this excellent book
examines how social workers construct a professional standpoint; the
second half shows how these social constructions are used by
child-protection workers.

The book focuses on how social workers produce a common understanding
of their encounters with individuals who are experiencing personal
difficulties by socially constructing an institutional reality that
categorizes the difficulties as a social problem that requires
professional social work intervention. For example, conflicting accounts
of how a child was injured are transformed by social workers into an
objective account that makes sense within social work theory and
practice. Throughout, the book offers valuable insights into the world
of child protection, particularly the many frustrations that come with
being a social worker.

De Montigny raises a valid concern about the positivistic methodology
that underlies the construction of institutional reality. Positivist
social work avoids blaming the structures of inequality and class that
produce poverty and unemployment. Such problems as child abuse are
instead explained by “blaming the victim.” De Montigny advocates a
“liberating practice” whereby front-line workers would help their
clients understand how they are affected by broader social forces. While
he describes in detail the nature and consequences of ideological
practice, his discussion of a liberating practice in the book’s
concluding chapter is unfortunately brief.

Social Working will appeal to radical, socialist, and Marxist social
workers, or to anyone who views social work practice as an ideology of
control and legitimation in advanced capitalist societies.