A critical characteristic of human service organizations is their capacity to learn from experience and to adapt continuously to changing external conditions such as downward pressure on resources, constant reconfiguration of the welfare state and rapidly changing patterns of social need. This invaluable, groundbreaking volume discusses in detail the concept of the learning organization, in particular its relevance to social work and social services. Contributors join together from across Europe, North America and Australia to explore the development of the learning organization within social work contexts and its use as a strategic tool for meeting problems of continuous learning, supervision and change. The volume addresses a range of important topics, from strategies for embedding learning and critical reflection in the social work learning organization, to the implications of the learning organization for the new community-based health and social care agenda.
Introduction: The Learning Organization and Reflective Practice - the Emergence of a Concept, Nick Gould; Chapter 1 Supervision, Learning and Transformative Practices, Martyn Jones; Chapter 2 Social Work Supervision: Contributing to Innovative Knowledge Production and Open Expertise, Synnöve Karvinen-Niinikoski; Chapter 3 Critical Reflection: Opportunities and Threats to Professional Learning and Service Development in Social Work Organizations, Mark Baldwin; Chapter 4 Critical Reflection and Organizational Learning and Change: A Case Study, Jan Fook; Chapter 5 Multi-professional Teams and the Learning Organization, Imogen Taylor; Chapter 6 Sustaining Reflective Practice in the Workplace, Hilary Sage, Mary Allan; Chapter 7 Using 'Critical Incident Analysis' to Promote Critical Reflection and Holistic Assessment, Judith Thomas; Chapter 8 Evaluation for a Learning Organization?, Ian Shaw; Chapter 9 Reflecting on Practice: Exploring Individual and Organizational Learning through a Reflective Teaching Model, Bairbre Redmond; Chapter 10 Living out Histories and Identities in Organizations: A Case Study from Three Perspectives, Harjeet Badwall, Patricia O'Connor, Amy Rossiter; Chapter 11 Conclusions: Optimism and the Art of the Possible, Mark Baldwin;
