Mark Doel

Task centred social work is one of the best known and most strongly supported approaches to social work practice. This text is a radical departure from traditional literature on social work methods. The main reference point is the voice of practitioners, service users and carers, as researched and developed by the authors over twenty years. Case studies are used throughout the book to build on the experiences of practitioners and the people with whom they have worked, demonstrating practical skills for:study and analysisteaching and learningpracticing task-centred social workreview and continuing development.The Task-Centred Book is a core text for both undergraduate social work courses and continuing professional development training, as well as being a practical book for the active professional which will support the development and implementation of task-centred practice.

Modern Social Work Practice is an interactive book designed to provide readers with an opportunity to engage with key aspects of current social work practice. It also provides an excellent digest of the significant literature. Each chapter is introduced with an activity or exercise designed to aid student learning in discrete aspects of practice, building up to a complete curriculum for practice learning. The book builds upon the success and style of Social Work Practice (1993) and The New Social Work Practice (1998). Mark Doel and Steven M. Shardlow have shaped the book to take account of the National Occupational Standards for Social Work, aiming to provide a creative, practical and up-to-date resource for teaching and learning in line with current practices.

Recognising the centrality of the practice placement in preparing students to become effective social workers, this book offers practical guidance to both students and their practice teachers regarding how to enhance learning on placement in social work agencies. Distinguished by the coherence of its approach, the book presents an integrated approach to practice teaching with a clear methodological focus, practical help for practitioners and discussion of principles for students.

Teaching Social Work Practice is a lively, practical guide to developing your knowledge and skills as a teacher of social work practice in an agency setting. Social work students learn to practise in college and agency settings, and this book will help to integrate the student’s experience of learning. Teaching social work is different from practising social work, and this book is designed to help practitioners to develop their teaching abilities with students. The author uses a combination of exercises, activities, notes and further reading to guide and encourage the reader through seven ’modules’, which include Anti-oppressive practice teaching, Models of adult learning, and Methods of practice teaching. Each module is designed to help you learn how to teach social work practice. There is an emphasis on self-directed learning and active teaching. The book also gives advice on collecting evidence of your developing abilities, and examples of how to demonstrate this in a portfolio. This is especially useful to people who are studying for the Practice Teaching Award. Finally, Teaching Social Work Practice provides useful digests of the relevant literature in the area of practice teaching and learning - helpful pointers for busy practitioners. Teaching Social Work Practice will be of interest to social workers who are considering practice teaching as well as those existing practice teachers who want to continue to develop their skills. College-based teachers and trainers will also find useful material. In addition, the book has much to offer social work managers who wish to develop their skills in staff and supervision and staff-development.

Task-centred practice is a forward thinking, goal-orientated approach to social work. It is a practice-based approach built on research which reflects the new mood being developed in the social work field, and it has now been successfully used in a wide variety of settings and circumstances. The theme of Task-Centred Social Work is partnership; exploring the principles on which task-centred practice is based, while offering clear and practical guidance for work, whether with people who seek help with social problems, or with those who are ’involuntary clients’. The book describes in detail the sequence of work to help clients move from present problems to future goals. This is illustrated by a case study which runs through the chapters and uses an imaginative recording style. Checklists and bibliographies are also used to aid understanding. The authors respond to the model's critics and explore both the scope and the limitations of the task-centred practice. Social professionals, whether working in practice or in training settings will find this book an invaluable aid to the development of successful social practice work.