Critical Social Work Case Study

Critical Social Work practice is an ideological framework that bridges the gap between a dichotomous approach, in which there is struggle between delivering services to the individual or targeting social structures (Salas et al., 2010, p. 91). A practitioner analyzes both the macro and micro levels to determine the best course of action (Hayden, 2016). York University uses critical social work as their framework to avoid a dichotomous practice by presenting an innovative mission statement which is in align with the theory’s principles shaping the profession.
Critical theory consists of six components which include the following: historical context of the situation, power distribution, self- reflection, non-judgemental inquiry, acknowledgement

York’s School of Social Work believes “through research, curriculum and critical pedagogy the school will develop a critical appreciation of the social construction of reality” (York University, 2016, p. 1). Reality is constructed through subjective experiences of individuals and objective experiences of society. The treatment of Indigenous people in Canada was an act of social injustice. From society’s perspective, the ‘specialized’ treatment helped to ease their transition in assimilating into the Canadian culture. Through the Indian Act, it was and still is today, social legislation that regulates the lives of Indigenous peoples, including government’s guardianship over Indian lands, and controlling the process of enfranchisement (Hicks and Stokes, 2016, p. 27.6) The government was not critically conscious, in which they lacked knowledge of the various forms of systems such as race and gender. (Sibblis, 2016) Furthermore, during the 60’s Scoop, children were kidnapped from their homes and placed in the foster care system. These children were placed into white homes in which it caused many to develop a lack sense of self (Hayden, 2016). In Thomas King’s lecture, he describes a hierarchy, that is made up of a series of traits in both the Native and Christian culture, keeping in mind, these are the two societies in which Canada is founded upon. These include cooperation,

Oppression is experienced by various social classes (York University, 2016, p. 1). Social workers examine the element of power and distribution amongst policy makers of the Indian Act, who were motivated by acts of racism. These were powerful white males, known as the dominant group. According to Marx’s Conflict theory, society is made up of class divisions, in which there is a hegemonic system, in which power is given to the dominant class (Tepperman and Albanese, 2015, p. 66). An exert from the lives of Aboriginal children today, explain that they were vulnerable, as they were “poor in a rich country and part of it was knowing that white was more than just a colour” (Sibblis, 2016). Cultural hegemony plays a role in examining the widened gap between these two cultures, as the White dominant race acts as the superior, making the Aboriginals inferior. This helps to understand the “values and ideologies that construct social problems [in which they also] construct responses” (York University, 2016, p. 1) In Thomas King’s lecture, he states that the truth “is all we are, it’s turtles all the way down” (King, 2014). We are carrying the world on stories, developing social construction of realities. One will have their own interpretation of values and ideologies in these stories, however many pieces will be left out. One must break those stories down, and engage in self-reflection, nonjudgmental inquiry and