Language Practices in Social Work

Christopher Hall is Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Applied Childhood Studies, University of Huddersfield, UK. Stef Slembrouck is Professor of English Linguistics and Discourse Analysis, University of Ghent, Belgium. Srikant Sarangi is Professor of Language and Communication, and Director of the Health Communication Research Centre, Cardiff University, UK.

• 1. Introduction 2. Categorisation and Accountability in Professional Texts and Talk 3. Collegial Communication in Policy Review Interviews 4. Inter-professional Decision-making in a Case Conference 5. Negotiating Roles in a Home Visit 6. Reporting Events in Case Notes 7. The Client’s Account of a Social Work Intervention 8. Justifying Action in a Public Inquiry 9. Narrative Transformation in Media Reporting 10. Conclusion

"This is a discussion of discourse and narrative analysis well worth perusing. While the book might be particularly appealing to those interested in linguistic issues in social work, it is also a study of the communication challenges presented by engagement in the social work profession, but most particularly, in child welfare work. The book has important implications for practitioners in the statutory system." -European Journal of Social Work"This book is a good example of how qualitative research and analysis is done. It uses transcripts from interviews, case conferences and reports from media and subjects them to discourse analysis, which is very informative and insightful."-Ismaeil Fazel, Journal of Language and Politics, University of British Columbia