Transformative Social Work: Practices for Academic Settings

Transformative approaches to social work have been popular for some time. Most discussions of this perspective, however, focus on actual practice with clients or service users, not educational contexts. In addition, there is often a lack of clarity about what “transformative” really means, both in theory and in practice.

This book brings together a range of contributors to reconsider transformative social work, focusing on concrete examples in academic settings both inside and outside the classroom. They illustrate theories and practices of transformative social work in the academy in detail from different standpoints. Chapters by scholars at all career stages, students, staff, and managers consider all aspects of academic work―teaching and learning, research, and administration―as well as labor that academics perform outside the university. Authors describe their understanding of a transformative perspective as well as the practices that flow from this conception, providing rich detail on how a transformative approach can be implemented.

This book stands out for the breadth of its focus, its international contributions, and its openness about the new challenges involved in doing transformative work today. It develops an expansive and systematic understanding of what “transformative” can mean across the entire academic and professional context of social work education.

Jan Fook is professor and chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of Vermont. She is an internationally recognized scholar who has held academic positions at universities in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Norway. She has published extensively on various topics including practice research, critical reflection, and critical social work.

Danielle Jatlow is a lecturer and the coordinator of the BSW program in the Department of Social Work at the University of Vermont. She has worked with adolescents, young adults, and their families for more than eighteen years as a social work practitioner. Jatlow is currently a PhD student at Simmons University.