Exploring neglected elements of cultural competence in social work practice. Promoting and developing understanding of religion, belief and culture

摘要

This PhD by published work consists of:udfive single authored articles in refereed journals;udtwo main author articles in refereed journals;udfour jointly authored articles in refereed journals;uda single authored article in a non-refereed journal;udone jointly authored book, including five single authored chapters;udtwo single authored chapters in edited books.udThey were published in the period 2003-2013. None has been submitted forudany other degree or diploma by me or any other person.udThe theme running through these publications is the need for social workersudto pay significant attention to issues arising from religion, belief and culture.udThe research reported highlights the impact of such issues on the lives,udexperiences, resources and responses of individuals, groups andudcommunities for whom they are important. The work emphasises theudimportance of developing such understanding and of enhancing knowledgeudof different ways in which religion, belief and culture impact on the issuesudthat social workers deal with. I suggest that these are essential aspects ofudculturally competent social work practice which have too often beenudneglected in both research and professional training. The publications are listed in Appendix 1 (pp 56 - 59). They demonstrateudhow my thinking has developed over the past decade. They reflect and are,udin part, a response to the developing professional, theoretical and politicaludiiudcontext within which I have operated as a social work practitioner, managerudand academic over a longer period. The majority are solo-authored.udHowever, I remain committed to collaborative work and recognise thatuddiscussions with those researched, my collaborators, and others remainudinvaluable to the ongoing development of my thinking. Joint authorshipuddeclaration forms have been completed, in respect of all relevantudpublications, and are appended. Eight publications (Art.12, Art.11, Art.10, Art.9, Art.8, Art.6, Art.5 and Art.3)udare based on findings from primary research, while Art.1 and Art.2 exploreudpublished data or data supplied by others to provide original analyses ofudparticular issues. The remaining publications, notably book chapters, areudprimarily conceptual in their approach. They are underpinned by findingsudfrom both the primary research reported elsewhere and the use of caseudexamples collected from semi-structured interviews with social workudpractitioners.