Effective Personal and Professional Judgement in Social Work: How personal biography can affect professional effectiveness - Paperback

by Arlene Weekes (Author), Denise Harvey (Author)

This is a simple and effective guide for social work students and seasoned practitioners empowering them to understand and navigate how to make fair and objective decisions while cultivating a heightened awareness of their own personal biases.

Our personal experiences from birth to the present can shape our conscious and unconscious decisions in everyday life. Yet this may lead to unfair or harmful decision making in the social work environment. This book provides a step-by-step guide on how to develop effective personal and professional judgement, backed up with theory and research to help readers increase their self-awareness, understand their own unconscious bias and how it can affect their decision making.

Reflective exercises and practical examples are provided throughout to encourage readers to consider how they might implement their new understanding when making decisions in their social work roles.

Author Biography

Arlene Weekes is currently a senior lecturer at the University of West London, teaching values and ethics and understanding diversity and equalities. She has over 30 years' experience in the social work profession, with roles including probation officer, leaving care team manager, child protection Chair, fostering and adoption panel Chair, and IRO for both foster carers and children, as well as a CiN/LAC service manager. Arlene's website is https: //eppj.org/

Denise Harvey is an experienced academic, consultant, and author with experience spanning over two decades. Her professional expertise includes strategic leadership within social care as well as in the higher education sector. Denise holds a BSc (Hons), a Masters' degree, and is currently a PhD student at London Southbank University, researching the intersection of risk prediction and youth justice. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and has held significant roles such as BA Course Director and senior lecturer, where she led programme revalidations and Social Work England inspections, earning commendations for her work reflecting her dedication to teaching and mentoring at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her work in training and development has been pivotal in transforming educational and professional pathways.

Denise has contributed to books and academic journals, addressing critical issues in social work practice, decision making, and the use of technology in justice systems, and has contributed to several impactful research projects, with co-authored publications in prestigious journals such as BMC Psychiatry and Research in Developmental Disabilities. She has co-authored book chapters and was the lead author for Social Work Law: Applying the Law in Practice. Recognised for her dedication to education and community impact, Denise received the Afro Arts Outstanding Contribution to Education Award in 2022. Her diverse expertise makes her a respected voice in academia, research, and the broader field of social justice.