Purnima George

Structural Social Work in Action: Experiences from Rural India

Abstract In a world of growing inequality and oppression, there is a need for a social work practice that works for social justice and societal transformation, while simultaneously addressing peoples immediate needs. Structural social work is one such theory of practice, but many claim it to be idealistic and difficult to practice. This article offers an example from India that operationalizes structural social work and illustrates its viability. It describes the work of an agency over a period of 25 years that has successfully brought about personal, cultural, socio-economic and political transformation in the lives of Dalits in over 200 rural areas of India. Implications for current social work practice and the necessity for a holistic approach that returns social work to its historic commitment of social justice and social change are discussed.

Going home: Social work across and about borders

This article explores the idea of returning home to the South to practise social work. Through our experiences as members of diasporic communities living in the North, we examine how we are implicated in the tensions that surround social work practice and research as efforts to internationalize continue to grow. Specifically, we explore the following themes: the neo-managerial underpinnings of the internationalization of social work; neocolonialism embedded in occupying the role of the reluctant expert; and what we carry with us to help us negotiate the tensions that we experience in navigating our practices across borders.

Social Enquiry and Action Research for Social Work

Critical social enquiry (CSE) connotes research frameworks that originated from the critical social science paradigm and those that have been influenced by feminist, antiracist, anticolonial, poststructural, and postmodern perspectives. This article traces the development of various frameworks of CSE such as action research, participatory action research, and community-based action research associated mainly with critical social science and antioppression research that blends the influences of the critical social science with other theoretical perspectives identified above. These frameworks share a commitment to community participation, social justice, and challenging existing ways of conducting research.