Abstract

In this editorial we introduce a special thematic collection of articles which focus on how risk operates, or is conceptualised, at the boundaries of social work practice. The collection includes theoretical, empirical, and practice-oriented articles, each of which critically engages with contemporary debates about risk and social work and its complex intersections with boundary making in diverse fields. These fields include social work with older people, child sexual abuse and exploitation, and people with learning disabilities. We begin the editorial with a brief account of how social work can be defined and the competing ideological traditions that underpin differing forms of social work in practice, policy, and research. We also point to the contrasting nature of risk studies in relation to social work, ranging from the pragmatic concern with measuring and managing risk, to critical analysis of how and why risk is conceptualised and socially constructed in particular ways. We provide an overview of each of the five articles that comprise the special issue, their intersecting themes, and how they animate in different ways the idea of boundaries and boundary making. In the final section of the editorial, we consider the possibilities for the future direction of theoretical and empirical work in this field.

摘要

在这篇社论中，我们介绍了一个特别的专题文章集，重点关注风险如何在社会工作实践的边界上运作或概念化。该系列包括理论、实证和实践导向的文章，每篇文章都批判性地参与了当代关于风险和社会工作的辩论，以及它与不同领域边界制定的复杂交集。这些领域包括老年人社会工作、儿童性虐待和性剥削以及有学习障碍的人。我们在社论的开头简要介绍了如何定义社会工作，以及在实践、政策和研究中支撑不同社会工作形式的相互竞争的意识形态传统。我们还指出了与社会工作相关的风险研究的对比性质，从对衡量和管理风险的务实关注，到对风险如何以及为何以特定方式被概念化和社会建构的批判性分析。我们概述了构成特刊的五篇文章中的每一篇，它们的交叉主题，以及它们如何以不同的方式激发边界和边界制定的想法。在社论的最后部分，我们考虑了该领域理论和实证工作未来方向的可能性。