Welfare states have institutionalised welfare state architectures and social values and social justice orientations, affecting the rationalities, scope and autonomy of social work. In the current climate, institutional logics - referring to institutionalised social problem constructions and social work strategies – are strongly influenced by a neo-managerial and clinical agenda, promoting individual responsibility and resilience as answers to social issues. This is especially intrusive for the most vulnerable people in society.
Deinstitutionalising social work – as a central topic of this conference - refers to:
1) social work as an agent which can deinstitutionalise, question and transform these logics, as well as to
2) social work as an institutionalised setting in its own right, which needs to be rethought, in order to live up to its social value orientation of social justice.
In order to address this challenge, TiSSA invites experts from academic social work research, professional fields and policy to the TiSSA 2024 conference in Athens, Greece, to discuss the position of social work research and practice in rethinking institutional logics in social work research and practice.
