It is an acknowledged if not accepted fact that all European societies are being fundamentally transformed, and indeed perceptively unsettled, by increased migrations across nations and by the asserted presence of established minorities within their borders. The scale and speed at which these transformations have taken place have brought in their wake considerable social impacts and no small measure of fear and anxiety. Encounters with such diversity are part and parcel of the social work task, and learning how to negotiate them should be a de facto aspect of the training and continuous professional development of social workers and other social professions. However, the moral and political dimensions of the role, scope and nature of the social work task in responding appropriately to these changed and changing realities are rather more contested. This volume addresses many dimensions of the response to issues of race and ethnicity in social work practice in Europe. It extends the debates on inter-cultural and race equality practice in social work through a stimulating and innovative collection of contributions. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Social Work.

It is an acknowledged if not accepted fact that all European societies are being fundamentally transformed, and indeed perceptively unsettled, by increased migrations across nations and by the asserted presence of established minorities within their borders. The scale and speed at which these transformations have taken place have brought in their wake considerable social impacts and no small measure of fear and anxiety. Encounters with such diversity are part and parcel of the social work task, and learning how to negotiate them should be a de facto aspect of the training and continuous professional development of social workers and other social professions. However, the moral and political dimensions of the role, scope and nature of the social work task in responding appropriately to these changed and changing realities are rather more contested. This volume addresses many dimensions of the response to issues of race and ethnicity in social work practice in Europe. It extends the debates on inter-cultural and race equality practice in social work through a stimulating and innovative collection of contributions. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Social Work.

Over several decades, anti-oppressive practice and anti-discriminatory perspectives have become an integral part of social work. These perspectives emerged during the 1980s in response to the growing awareness of widespread discrimination and inequalities in service provision and delivery. Anti-racist perspectives were subsumed into an anti-discriminatory framework which addressed wider forms of discrimination such as those based on gender, disability and ageing. Major social work texts have developed anti-discriminatory perspectives and anti-oppressive models of practice as an essential component of contemporary social work. This book builds upon popular texts addressing anti-discriminatory frameworks but focuses specifically upon black perspectives in social work and taking into account current issues and concerns. Black Perspectives in Social Work was published almost sixteen years ago and there is an urgent need for a new text that addresses new developments and charts the impact of social changes and new literature shaping social work theory and practice with black and minority individuals, families and communities.This book provides a general introductory text to social work with black and minority ethnic communities for students, lecturers, practice teachers/assessors who are engaged in examining anti-discriminatory practice frameworks and black perspectives in academic settings and practice learning. It will support curriculum-based learning through its focus on anti-discriminatory practice in a climate that appears less sympathetic to the multicultural nature of British society.