Practicing Critical Reflection in Social Care Organisations

This book explores concrete examples of different strategies and activities aimed at creating and embedding critically reflective learning and working environments within organisations whose prime function is social care.

Critical reflection has long been recommended as a general professional skill and is a core component of the practice capabilities in social work in countries across the Western world. However, despite unequivocal support for it in social work education, sustaining critical reflection within organisations as both an individual and collective practices, supported by organisational cultures, is problematic. With contributions from social work practitioners and educators who have sought to embed critical reflection into broader activities and cultures within their organizations, the book addresses common features of critical reflection, and challenges and benefits in specific case studies. This book will inspire and develop new thinking and vision about being critically reflective in organisations, and facilitate efforts to improve the learning and working experience in addition to that of service quality and delivery.

It will be required reading for all undergraduate and postgraduate social work modules focusing on management, leadership organizational change, and professional education.

Jan Fook is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of Vermont, USA.