Radical social work practice : what are the barriers that block social workers from practising radically? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Radical social work can trace its roots back to the beginning of the 20th century, but it exploded onto the social work consciousness with a vengeance in the 1970's. Radical social work was seen by many as the panacea to the prevailing mindset of individualising issues as opposed to viewing them within the context of broader societal ills. Over the last 40 years, with the onset of neoliberalism, radical social work has seen quite a steep decline; so much so that it is not widely practiced amongst most social work professionals. This research picks up that point and asks: What are the barriers that block practitioners from practicing radically in Aotearoa New Zealand? Using a qualitative methodological approach, 16 semi-structured face to face or phone interviews were conducted and transcribed. Through a thematic analysis of the data, key barriers to radical social work practice were identified. It was found social work education, contemporary social service funding regimes and high workload were the main barriers to practising radically in Aotearoa New Zealand. Results reveal that the benefits of practising radically included an increase in practitioner wellbeing and practice authenticity, the reclamation of social justice and human rights principles in Aotearoa New Zealand social work praxis and societal change at the systemic and structural levels. The risks of not practising radically meant further entrenching the neoliberal status quo of individualising the issues, being unable to create real systemic change and cementing the structural inequalities prevalent in today's society.