Social Work Journal Articles

These peer reviewed articles are provided as an overview of the study of social work.  Articles included reference the history of the profession, current trends in practice, and the ethics and values of the profession.

For more results please contact your librarian.

 Abramovitz, M. (2005). The Largely Untold Story of Welfare Reform and the Human Services. Social Work, 50(2), 175-186.

Abramovitz discusses how welfare reform continues to limit the abilities of social workers and their clients in successfully reaching their desired outcomes in practice.  This article is a compilation of more than 100 interviews of social work professionals currently practicing.  The interviews provide a view into how welfare reform affects policy and practice within the profession.

Bride, B. (2007). Prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress among Social Workers. Social Work, 52(1), 63-70.

Social workers are increasingly working with clients who have suffered from traumatizing events in their lives.  These professionals are forced to face the hardships of their clients’ lives.  This article is a study of social work professionals in the field.  The results are a statistical view of how many professionals studied were found to have symptoms of stress disorders.  

Faherty, V. (2006). Social Welfare before the Elizabethan Poor Laws:The Early Christian Tradition, AD 33 to 313. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 33(2), 107-122.  

This article provides an interesting look at the origins of Social Work, preceding the history covered by most text books.  The author suggests that social work practice has a long history and a foundation in a variety of religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.

Hoffman, K., & Godenzi, A. (2007). Increasing our impact through unification. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(2), 181-185.

In this article, the authors suggest that unification throughout the profession of Social Work is key to positive policy reform.  By unifying the profession through joint policies, organizations and practices, services will increase and advance, benefiting both the client, and the profession as a whole.

Marsh, J. (2005). Social Justice: Social Work's Organizing Value. Social Work, 50(4), 293-294.

In this article, the author emphasizes the importance of social and economic justice as the primary value to the profession of social work.  Through understanding and maintaining a high value on social justice, workers will be better prepared to employ practices and encourage policies that work toward the goal of social justice.

Reamer, F. (2005). Documentation in Social Work: Evolving Ethical and Risk-Management Standards. Social Work, 50(4), 325-334.

This article discusses the importance of documentation within the field of Social Work.  The article looks at how the use of documentation has evolved in the profession over time, and provides implications for practice and a guide for documentation standards for both professionals and administrators.

Ringstad, R. (2005). Conflict in the Workplace: Social Workers as Victims and Perpetrators. Social Work, 5(4), 305-313.

Social Work can be a dangerous profession.  This article is a study of more than 1,000 professionals, and their experiences of violence with their clients.  The results found may be surprising in that workers were found to have both been a victim of violence from their clients, as well as a perpetrator of violence to their clients.  The article provides statistical results and suggests that violence education be mandated by governing boards of the profession.

Rosenwald, M. (2006). Exploring the Political Diversity of Social Workers. Social Work Research, 30(2), 121-126.

This paper is the result of a study that was done to examine the political view points of social workers in the context of their practice.  While social workers highly value diversity as a primary requirement of the professional code of ethics, little research has been done on the diversity of those practicing within the profession.  This article provides detailed results of the study findings.

Sites, E. (2005). Child welfare in the 21st Century.. Journal of Children and Poverty, 11(2), 169-175.

This article discusses the challenges Social Workers face when providing services to children during the 21st century.  This article is a call to action for the public, social workers, and the government to reduce the economic hardships of families at risk through programs and services to meet the needs of disadvantaged children.

Cadie Maas
LI 835
12.03.05