Evaluation And Social Work Practice

Evaluation and Social Work Practice offers a comprehensive treatment of the central issues confronting evaluation in social work that links theory and method to practical applications.

Evaluation is an integral part of social work and social care provision, for both practice and service delivery. Evaluation can improve effectiveness and increase accountability and help develop new models of practice and service delivery. The authors argue that evaluation should not just be applied to practice but should be a direct dimension of practice.

Appealing to the student, researcher and practitioner, Evaluation and Social Work Practice will become the standard reference source on evalua

Evaluation and Social Work Practice offers a comprehensive treatment of the central issues confronting evaluation in social work that links theory and method to practical applications.

Evaluation is an integral part of social work and social care provision, for both practice and service delivery. Evaluation can improve effectiveness and increase accountability and help develop new models of practice and service delivery. The authors argue that evaluation should not just be applied to practice but should be a direct dimension of practice.

Appealing to the student, researcher and practitioner, Evaluation and Social Work Practice will become the standard reference source.

I have been working in a university most of my career, after five years working as a probation officer. My recent interests within social work and social science focus on several themes:

The practice/research relationship Understanding the nature of social work as an applied social science in relation to disciplines like sociology Qualitative research and evaluation methodology, practitioner and action research Developing social work research strategies Technology and professional practice The history of social work research My first degree was in sociology, and it has continued to influence my social work practice and, subsequently, my university work. I followed my first degree with social work training in South Wales, before returning to Sheffield in the north of England to work as a Probation Officer for five years. I arrived in York as Professor of Social Work in Spring 2003, following a long career in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University.

Much of my teaching is at the borders of practice and research. I teach qualitative methods, dissertation and thesis skills, and evidence and knowledge for practice. I have aimed, in addition, to develop a view of professional practice in social work that embeds an evaluative dimension as part and parcel of good direct practice. I have also taught social work practice through e Learning, utilising packages for which I have taken the lead developer role.

Professor Joyce Lishman is now retired, and was previously Head of the School of Applied Social Studies, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. She was also General Editor of the Research Highlights in Social Work series for many years.