Social administration revisited: traditions of observational fieldwork and their value

Exley, Sonia (2018) Social administration revisited: traditions of observational fieldwork and their value. Social Policy and Administration. ISSN 0144-5596

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Abstract

This article revisits traditions of observational fieldwork inside welfare institutions which formed a core part of past social administration teaching and research in the United Kingdom. Drawing on archive materials, a historical exploration of journal contents and some supplementary interview data, it is argued that such approaches—though carried out in a less theoretically pluralist, more vocationally‐oriented time for the subject of social policy and administration—were at the same time valuable in facilitating critical perspectives on how welfare bureaucracies work. Their popularity is potentially rising once again in social policy teaching. Where cultivated alongside an appreciation of theory and where carefully integrated into university social policy departments' wider pedagogical and curricular strategies, they may be of benefit today to students and more senior scholars alike.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14679515
Additional Information:	© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	15 Jun 2018 15:37
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2024 13:17
Funders:	Titmuss‐Meinhardt Memorial Fund
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/88361

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