IntersectionalityIntersectionality is a theory that was develope

Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a theory that was developed by Kimberle
Crenshaw, a feminist of color who was troubled by the more
mainstream notions of feminism that seemed to exclude the
experiences of women of color and queer women in the 1970s
and 1980s (Bubar, et al., 2016). Over the past decade,
intersectionality has become a prominent theory in social work
education as the profession has given much more attention to
the impact of colonization on social work clients. The
foundations of intersectionality and post-colonial approaches to
social work are built on the idea that populations on the margins
who have been most impacted by issues of racism, colonization,
sexism, homophobia, and many other forms of marginalization
are often not included in conversations addressing these issues.
In social work, intersectionality has largely been looked as a
framework for understanding how issues of power, privilege
intersect and focuses largely on the complex and diverse
experiences that people have related to their race, class, gender,
SOGI (sexual orientation gender identity), ability, etc. For
instance, if we were looking at the experience of a teenager who
is placed in the foster care system, those experiences might look
different for a child who is black when compared to a child who
is white. Similarly, the experiences for a child who is gay, or
lesbian might look different than a child who is not. An
intersectional lens or analysis would expose the diversity of
experiences within groups.
An important component of both intersectionality and post-
colonial social work is the attention that is given to both the
oppressed and the oppressor.
A common critique of many social work theories it they fail to
address the role of the oppressor, especially when it comes to
issues of racism and gender violence. Intersectionality and post-
colonial social work place a strong emphasis on issues of power
and privilege and the way that oppressions work together to

produce injustice. Consider the following case
example:
Elsa is a 34-year old woman who migrated to the U.S. from
Guatemala after her ex-husband and his father had threatened
violence against Elsa and her 8-year old son. Both Elsa and her
son are undocumented. Nearly a year after arriving in the U.S
she and her son were living with a boyfriend that she had met at
her workplace. The boyfriend was controlling with Elsa and her
son and has recently started to perpetrate behaviors that Elsa
considered to be both psychologically and physically abusive.
An intersectional and post-colonial approach to Elsa's case
would offer a lens to look at the factors related to her identity,
status, socioeconomic that would make Elsa's more vulnerable
to being in an abusive relationship. For instance, does Elsa's
undocumented status make her more vulnerable to force or
threats, control tactics such as financial control, humiliation,
and emotional isolation. Furthermore, intersectional and post-
colonial approaches would also look at the tactics and behaviors
or her abuser, as well as the systems and structures that
contribute to her vulnerability. For instance, the increased
immigration enforcement and deportation might make Elsa
reluctant or even fearful to reach out to law enforcement or
even to social service organizations, because the fear of being
Deported..
Power and the Social Work Relationship
The dimension of Power in the client-social worker relationship
are critical components in intersectional and post-colonial
approaches (Bundy-Fazioli, et al., 2013). The distribution of
power between the social worker and client can take two forms.
Power over or hierarchal power works from the belief that the
social worker can create the necessary change for a client.
Power with or shared power approaches align much more
closely with intersectional and post-colonial and emphasize a
more balanced approach in which the social worker is a partner
with the client and seeks to empower (or give power to) the
client.

Many theories of power that focus on the victims of power
result in ways of working that place the social worker in the
role of being the rescuer of client who seems otherwise
helpless, passive, or powerless. Critics of these theoretical
assumptions suggest that such a view can create for a power
imbalance between the client and social worker in which the
social worker can easily become paternalistic
While a great deal of social work theory and practice has
emphasized the dynamics of structural and systemic power and
have looked at strategies for helping clients to gain power over
their circumstances, there has been much less emphasis on the
power dynamics between social workers and their clients.
Furthermore, few theoretical or practice frameworks have
looked at specific ways that social workers to approach issues
of shared power in conversations and interventions with clients
(Tew, 2006).
Putting Intersectionality and post-colonial ideas into practice
Multiple Struggles and Multiple Intersections
An intersectional approach recognizes that for many clients of
color they are navigating multiple forms of systematic Injustice.
For instance, a black youth who is navigating the child welfare
system might be vulnerable to stereotypes and disparities based
upon his race, however, a black youth in foster care who is gay
might experience additional forms of oppression or injustice.
Intersectional practice moves beyond just addressing the
multiple forms of discrimination and recognizes that these
different forms of discrimination may intersect with one another
causing further marginalization.
Voice
Intersectional and post-colonial frameworks recognize that the
voices of those who are most impacted by oppression and
discrimination are often excluded from conversations about
change. Social workers committed to intersectional and post-
colonial practice seek to amplify the voices of those on the
margins and provide a platform for them to share their stories,
experiences, expertise, and ideas for change. For instance, a

social worker who is working with LGBTQ youth in the foster
care system might seek out ways to get youth to share their
stories with stakeholders who are seeking system change.
Collaboration and Collegiality
Given the power dynamics between a social worker and their
clients, especially those clients who have been placed on the
margins, social workers strive to collaborate with the clients to
seek out change that is sustainable. By intentionally working in
collaboration, social workers can create opportunities to
empower clients by providing them with a level of power that is
often removed from their situations.
Community
Community is often a critical value for many Americans whose
identities have placed them on the margins. Intersectional and
post-colonial social work recognize that all members of a
community should be treated with dignity and worth and efforts
to assist clients will often involve members of their
communities.
Summary
Intersectional and post-colonial perspectives in social work
acknowledge the complexity of human experiences, instead of
focusing on issues or race, class, gender, and other identities in
isolation of one another.
Bother perspectives place a strong emphasis on the reality that
many clients will experience multiple forms of oppression and
those experiences often intersect with one another. Efforts to
engage a practice that his intersectional and post-colonial
should recognize these intersections, as well as seek to amplify
the voice of those on the margins who are most effected by
systems, structures and institutions that they navigate.
Owens, Rodashia Project
Four.docx

by Rodashia Owens
Submission date: 12-Nov-2021 11:06PM (UTC-0500)
Submission ID: 1701407203
File name: Owens_Rodashia_Project_Four.docx (26.33K)
Word count: 1451
Character count: 8381
Rodashia Shields
Rodashia Shields
Rodashia Shields
Rodashia Shields
Rodashia Shields
3
Rodashia Shields
1
1

1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
71%
SIMILARITY INDEX
3%
INTERNET SOURCES

1%
PUBLICATIONS
71%
STUDENT PAPERS
1 68%
2 2%
3 1%
Exclude quotes Off
Exclude bibliography On
Exclude matches < 4 words
Owens, Rodashia Project Four.docx
ORIGINALITY REPORT
PRIMARY SOURCES
Submitted to University of Maryland,
University College
Student Paper
www.coursehero.com
Internet Source
dictionary.cambridge.org
Internet Source
Rodashia Shields

Rodashia Shields
Purpose
In this project, you will understand the importance of the
control function in a manufacturing business. You will compare
actual performance with desired production standards, measure
progress toward company goals, and address deviations in
performance through corrective action.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment
· Develop measures and assess outcomes against plans and
standards to improve organizational effective ness.
How to Set Up the Paper
· Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is
double-spaced using 12-point font. The final product will be 5-
6 pages in length, excluding the title and reference pages.
· Create a title page with a title, date, course number and
section, your name, and the instructor's name.
Scenario
The following chart displays the results of the first year’s
production of the, Lacks Tracks Cycles, an electric-powered
chopper-style motorcycle produced by Lacks Tracks Cycles to
compete with Harley-Davidson's Electra Glide. The metrics
table below was created from data supplied by Lacks Tracks
Cycles five (5) plants. The purpose of the table is
to provide data for management to decide what controls and
actions are needed to increase production efficiency.
You recently joined the Lacks Tracks Cycles' headquarters staff
as a quality assurance associate. Your manager has requested
you to analyze the first year's motorcycle production results.
This information will be used by management to evaluate and
improve overall production efficiency.
Lacks Tracks Cycles is known for producing high-quality
products at reasonable prices. They plan to compete against
Harley's top-end model by developing superior
production efficiency that will allow them to

price significantly below Harley Davidson's Electra Glide
model.
The chart below lists the desired production standards and the
actual production metrics for each stage of the electric
motorcycle's manufacturing process that must be completed to
determine the overall production efficiency at each of Lacks
Tracks Cycles' five (5) production facilities.
A comparison of the production standard to the actual
production outcomes using all the relevant metrics allows
management to determine which of its facilities is the
most efficient producer of the electric motorcycle. This
knowledge will help Lacks Tracks Cycles' management team to
determine what controls need to be put into place at their
various production plants to match the production efficiency of
their most efficient plant. More efficiency means
higher production at lower per unit (cycle) costs.
Metrics
Standard
Maryland
Delaware
New Jersey
Texas
Alaska
Total Cost to Manufacture (per unit)
13,500
15,250
14,100
12,750
16,000
14,250
Manufacturing Cycle Time (time to complete a single vehicle -
in hours)
15
18

16
12
12
14
Yield (percentage of cars produced to specifications first time
without rework)
98%
99%
97%
96.50%
97.50%
95.15%
Defective Rate/Recall Rate
2%
1%
3%
3.50%
2.50%
4.85%
Scrap Rate
2%
3%
4%
2.50%
2%
1.90%
Average Production Downtime
0.50%
1%
1.50%
0.75%
0.50%
0.75%
Training Time (hours per month)
8
6

3
5
7
4
Shipping Problems/Damage (per 10,000 units)
1
2
4
2
1
3
Safety Incident per Employee
1.50%
2.25%
0.75%
3%
2%
1.90%
Number of units manufactured per year
45,000
43,000
27,000
42,500
48,000
45,500
Utilization Rate (Capacity rate facility is utilizing during
available production time)
81.82%
78.18%
49.09%
77.27%
87.27%
82.73%
Use only the BOLDED centered and left-justified headings to
write your paper.

Introduction
· Write an Introduction paragraph.The introduction paragraph is
the first paragraph of the paper and will describe to the reader
the intent of the paper, explaining the main points covered in
the paper. This intent should be understood before reading the
remainder of the paper so the reader knows exactly what is
being covered in the paper. The introduction is often written
after the paper is completed. (Use in-text citations, as needed,
and include the references in the Reference section.)
The body of the paper will cover the following:
Controls
· Explain what control means in a business setting. (Use
headings below and in-text citations as required.)
· Explain why Lacks Tracks must be concerned with the actual
production metrics at its plants. (Use headings below and in-
text citations as required.)
Control Defined
Importance of Lacks Tracks Production Metrics
Standard
Specifications
· Compare the metrics table standards to the actual performance
outcomes at each of the five (5) plants and explain your
findings for each plant. (Use headings below and in-text
citations, as appropriate.)
· Identify the four (4) most important and common deviations
from the standards among the plants and explain why this data
is important to Lacks Tracks management. (Use headings below
and in-text citations, as appropriate.)
· Using course materials, identify and explain two (2) types of
controls that could be used by Lacks Tracks management to
attempt to correct the deviations from standards at its plants.
(Use headings below and in-text citations, as appropriate.)
Metrics Table Plant Performance Comparisons
Four Most Significant Deviations
Two Recommended Controls
Total Quality

Management
· Explain why implementi ng a Total Quality Management
(TQM) program could improve operational efficiency at Lacks
Tracks. (Use in-text citations, as appropriate.)
Conclusion
Create a concluding paragraph. The conclusion paragraph
highlights the major findings covered in the paper. (Use in-text
citations, as appropriate.)
References
Review the Paper
Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journal
Code=cesw20
European Journal of Social Work
ISSN: 1369-1457 (Print) 1468-2664 (Online) Journal homepage:
https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cesw20
Poverty and the political: wresting the political
out of and into social work theory, research and
practice
Michal Krumer-Nevo
To cite this article: Michal Krumer-Nevo (2017) Poverty and
the political: wresting the political
out of and into social work theory, research and practice,
European Journal of Social Work, 20:6,
811-822, DOI: 10.1080/13691457.2017.1318264

To link to this article:
https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2017.1318264
Published online: 02 May 2017.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 1341
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Citing articles: 14 View citing articles
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journal
Code=cesw20
https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cesw20
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.10
80/13691457.2017.1318264
https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2017.1318264
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalC
ode=cesw20&show=instructions
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalC
ode=cesw20&show=instructions
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/mlt/10.1080/13691457.2017.1
318264
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/mlt/10.1080/13691457.2017.1
318264
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1080/13691457.20
17.1318264&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-05-02
17.1318264&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-05-02
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/13691457.201
7.1318264#tabModule
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/13691457.201

7.1318264#tabModule
Poverty and the political: wresting the political out of and into
social work theory, research and practice
Michal Krumer-Nevoa,b
aSpitzer Department of Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel; bIsraeli Center for
Qualitative Research of People and Societies, Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
ABSTRACT
This article explores the relations between social work theory,
research and
practice in regard to poverty, arguing for the need to bring the
political
back into these three dimensions of the discipline/profession.
Throughout the last decades, social work has been treating
practice as a
discrete technology, and left outside questions stemming from
different
theoretical approaches regarding the desired relationship
between social
workers and service users. This trend has divorced practice
from its
political dimensions. In this article I suggest to bring the
political into
social work, and specifically to exemplify the implications of
using the
context of power imbalance as an analytical framework for
theory,
research and practice with people in poverty. This move is
illustrated
through the example of a developing paradigm – ‘Poverty
Aware Social

Work Paradigm’.
KEYWORDS
Critical perspectives; human
rights/social justice; practice/
theory/methods; values/
ethics; poverty
Recently there has been a renewed call to connect social work
and politics. In a series of publications,
Featherstone, Broadhurst, and Holt (2012), Nadan, Weinberg-
Kurnik, and Ben-Ari (2015), O’Brien
(2011; in Conneely & Garrett, 2015), and Reisch and Jani
(2012) claim that in the current Neo-
liberal political-economic and ideological context social
workers have abandoned their involvement
in influencing societal macro-level changes, and have
undergone a process of depoliticisation. In this
process social work practice has pretended to be value-less,
neutral and objective activity, and has
been distanced from the professional commitment to social
justice, and the political forces that
shape the profession have been masked.
Depoliticisation might take two main forms: first, it might be
manifested in social workers disre-
garding the influence of political-economic context on the
profession. This might be the result of
a disinterest in macro-level developments, a lack of awareness
of the influences of the macro-level
on everyday lives or a lack of willingness to take part in
changing the macro-level. Second, it
might be manifested in treating social work practice as a
discrete scientific or technical expertise
obscuring its ontological, epistemological and ethical
foundations. Thus, the political nature of ques-

tions regarding the ‘why,’ ‘how’ and ‘for what goal’ of practice
go un-examined.
This article aims to counter this trend. My underlying
assumption is that, through its function in
academia and in the field, social work serves as a social
mechanism that can enhance or challenge
the status quo, and contribute to or subvert dominant discourses.
Often the role social work plays
vis-a-vis the status quo is concealed by words such as
‘objectivity’, ‘truth’, ‘professionalism’ or ‘evi-
dence based’. However, my claim is that in order to have better
theory, research and practice in
general, and with people in poverty in particular, we must
acknowledge the fact that over the
years these three – theory, research and practice – have served
as powerful tools through which
© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
CONTACT Michal Krumer-Nevo [email protected]
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK, 2017
VOL. 20, NO. 6, 811–822
https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2017.1318264
17.1318264&domain=pdf
mailto:[email protected]
http://www.tandfonline.com
poverty and other social problem have been ‘naturalized’,
loaded with negative moral judgments,
and service users such as, people in poverty, immigrants,
refugees, or youth ‘at risk’, braided as
the ultimate Other.

My aim is, first, to expose, via critical reading, the political
dimensions of social work, specifically with
people in poverty, in three major arenas: theory, research and
practice. Second, based on the previous
analysis, I would like to offer Poverty-Aware Social Work as a
new paradigm to think and to practise social
work. This paradigm has theoretical, ontological,
epistemological, rhetorical and axiological premises,
all of which influence and are influenced by a specific kind of
practice (Krumer-Nevo, 2016). During
the last six years this practice has been carried out in two Israeli
intervention programmes that I
lead. As a way of positioning myself, I start the article with a
personal disclosure regarding the devel-
opment of my understanding and engaging with the political.
The article continues with articulating
the view that social life is a political arena and with a specific
conceptualization of poverty as a political
phenomenon. The article then moves on to deal with the
interrelated questions of how to politicize
social work theory, research and practice with people in
poverty.
Self-positioning or what is it ‘to be political’?
I did not grow up in an environment that held political life in
high regard. Like most Israelis, my
parents used to read the newspaper daily and listen to the news
somewhat anxiously, but talk
over the dinner table was dominated by personal stories,
revealing people’s characteristics and
complex relationships within the family circle or within the
circles of friends, acquaintances and col-
leagues. The public sphere or the political life was there only
very vaguely, as a far-away background,

disconnected from the daily troubles, nuisances and
accomplishments. None of us saw ourselves as
influencing it or taking an active part in political activities.
When I met Gideon, my partner for the last 30 years, I realized
that there might be another way of
dealing with the political. In Gideon’s family, personal
behaviours or relationships were very seldom the
focus of discussion. Instead, political figures, policy and
ideologies were the heroes of the day, dominat-
ing excited and involved conversations. Being politically active
or at least knowledgeable was seen as a
moral obligation, and all family members were in some way or
another engaged in the political.
When I started my studies in social work I realized that these
two attitudes to the political resemble
the deep embedded conflict in the profession between clinical
orientation and social activism, my
family representing the clinical social workers and Gideon’s
family representing the activists. Gradu-
ally I came to the understanding that beyond the seeming
polarities between these two attitudes,
they share a common perception of the political as a well
delineated arena, a separate sphere of
life one can basically totally ignore or get deeply and
emotionally involved in. This is a perception
I would like to challenge. There were some professional
experiences in my early days in social
work that lead me to challenge the perception that the political
is a separate sphere of life. The
stories I had heard in my family influenced me to write my
Ph.D. on the life stories of women in
poverty (Krumer-Nevo, 2006). At the time, I had hoped that by
giving voice to the pain and struggle
of these women, I would be able to bring about a change in the

public discourse. In fact I had
believed the earth would shake once people had heard and seen
and understood the immoral
nature of the existence of poverty, and the pain it stored for the
people experiencing it.
However, I soon realized how naïve I was. I understood that the
absence of certain stories from the
public discourse was not the result of the fact that poor people
kept their stories to themselves or
waited for a researcher to expose them, but rather of the fact
that nobody wanted to hear them,
to treat them as repositories of valuable knowledge. Rainwater
(1970) called the stories told by
poor people ‘hostile information’, because the non-poor feel
threatened by the information these
stories reveal. In this vein, Tardieu (1999), a French activist of
ATD Fourth World Movement, an inter-
national movement committed to battling poverty, said, ‘The
main thing is not to give the poor the
chance to make their voice heard, but to open our ears. It is not
about empowering the poor, but
about humanizing citizens and institutions’ (p. 175).
812 M. KRUMER-NEVO
The realization that what I knew about poverty was meaningless
for policy makers was a turning
point in my life as a professional and as an academic, and
changed my attitude regarding what is the
political. Inspired mainly by feminist writing as well as by a
bunch of other critical theories I had
stumbled upon during my studies, like the Frankfurt school,
Queer theory, the Foucaultian school

of thought, and critical race theory, no longer was I led to see
the political as a separate sphere of
life, but rather came to see it as something inherently
interconnected with the personal through a
complex network of countless, powerful and subtle threads.
Social life as a political arena
I came to understand social life as a political arena that is a web
of power relations between heavily
marked status-laden groups. I started to trace the way power
infiltrates into and shapes people’s
behaviours and relationships, how it radiates from language to
policy, and then to people; how exclu-
sion, discrimination and oppression are used to create social
hierarchies and to justify them not only
in a far-away arena but in the personal and interpersonal lives
of individuals. I remember how sur-
prised I was when I read for the first time that the role spouses
take when they make love is
shaped by the political, by the social constructions of
masculinity and femininity, and that when
we make love we are not only pursuing our and our partner’s
bodily pleasures, but also confirming
(or playing with) our gendered roles.
I started to ask myself questions such as, who dominates the
public discourse, and how is this
domination constituted and maintained? What is the role of
language in processes of domination?
What role does social work as a discipline and as a profession
play with regard to society’s dominant
discourse on marginalized groups? Should social work be an
instrument of power and surveillance, or
an instrument of emancipation? What makes the suffering of
some people ‘legitimate’ while the suf-

fering of others remains their own problem?
These questions led me to adopt a politicized reading of what is
social work, in general, and social
work with people in poverty, in particular, and has changed the
way I read theories, conduct research,
and teach practice. Politicizing theories, research and practice
does not mean that those activities
were not political before I ‘politicized’ them. On the contrary,
they are awash with power relations,
and they cannot but be political activities. Politicizing them is a
process consisting two stages.
First, it is a process of becoming aware of the political aspects
of these disciplinary and professional
activities, that is of the ideologies, policies and discours es that
shape our theories, research and prac-
tice. Second, politicizing professional activities is about, based
on this awareness, positioning oneself
vis-a-vis those ideologies, policies and discourses –
contributing or subverting them.
Poverty and ‘the political’
Using a political perspective to understand poverty is to place
poverty in the context of power
relations. Building upon the conceptualization of Lister (2004),
who based hers on Fraser (1997)
and Spicker (1999), I place poverty in the context of power
relations in three spheres:
The first, core circle represents poverty as a lack of material
capital. The second circle represents
the lack of social capital as a result of unequal and unjust
distribution, which is expressed in limited
social opportunities, such as restricted access to good schools,
to good employment, good neigh-

bourhoods or good health. The third circle relates to poverty as
a lack of symbolic capital, manifested
in discrimination, disrespect and the Othering of people in
poverty.
Politicizing social work theory on poverty
How does the use of a political lens help us to differentiate
between theories on poverty and on
people in poverty?
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK 813
While theories can be evaluated based on their richness or the
applicability of their explanatory
power, these criteria do not take into consideration the links
between knowledge and power.
They ignore the insidious ways in which theories can distort the
reality of poverty and justify the
inferior status of poor people. Since a political analysis always
examines the hegemonic narrative
and the ways it excludes marginalized people and points to their
own responsibility for their margin-
alization, a critical analysis of poverty theories will aim to
reveal how they construe poverty and how
people in poverty are characterized by them. Are the people
represented as Others or as ‘We’? What is
the relationship in different theories between poverty and the
people who experience it? What is the
theory’s emotive impact on us? What do we feel towards the
people depicted by the theory?
In the rich body of poverty knowledge, we can distinguish
between three theories or groups of

theories: the culture of poverty, the structural theories and the
critical theories, which I group
under the title of Poverty-Aware Paradigm. The first, the
amazingly influential Lewis (1968) culture
of poverty theory and its affiliates, regards poverty as the sum
product of the psychological,
moral, behavioural and cultural pathologies or deficits of poor
people. This is a classic example of
a stigmatizing discourse, which portrays poor people and
‘welfare clients’ primarily as Others, depen-
dent, lazy, irresponsible and bad parents (O’Connor, 2009) (for
critical reviews of Lewis’ approach, see
Abramovitz, 1996; Katz, 1995; Wilson, 1987). Examining the
representation of people in poverty in this
theory we can say that it offers a decontextualized, monolithic,
uniform and cyclic picture of poor
people that blames them for the further reproduction of poverty.
Although it perceives poverty as
the main factor in the development of the culture of poverty,
people’s characteristics achieve an
autonomous status once this sub-culture appears, and indeed
those behavioural characteristics dom-
inate the whole picture, creating in the readers an emotional
combination of pity for the people and
anger towards them.
The culture of poverty theory goes hand in hand with the
hegemonic narrative that assumes that
the poor are essentially different from the non-poor, that there
is an unbridgeable gap between
them. In turn, the behaviours become the target for intervention,
and since the people are created
in the public imagination as Other, this kind of intervention
aims at changing them through
control and surveillance (Moffatt, 1999).

This theory fails to address all three foci constituting the
political understanding of poverty – the
lack of material, social and symbolic capital. It treats the lack
of money as only a background variable,
that might had influenced the development of the deviant
characteristics, but once those appeared,
they become the focal point of interest, and poverty is left to be
irrelevant. The lack of social and sym-
bolic capital is totally ignored in the theoretical framework.
The second kind of theories employs a structural perspective
that put poverty in the context of
inequality. This approach perceives poverty as the result of
economic and social structures and insti-
tutions that promote inequality through insecure job markets
(Quigley, 2003; Zeytinoglu & Muteshi,
2000); unhealthy housing and violent neighbourhoods (Wilson,
1987, 1996); failing school system
(Chubb & Moe, 1996; Peters & Mullis, 1997); lack of access to
health services (Bond, 1999); and
weak, stigmatizing, and privatized welfare systems (Dominelli,
1999). These create limited and con-
fined life trajectories that in turn influence poor people’s
behaviour (Wilson, 1987, 1996). Thus,
while a cultural explanation will consider women’s decision to
become single mothers a consequence
of an immoral personality or the internalization of their
families’ norms, structural theories will inter-
pret it as a rational response to the limited availability of
breadwinners in the context of unemploy-
ment and incarceration (Edin & Kefalas, 2005).
Where the culture of poverty sees the solution for poverty in
transforming the personal character-
istics of the poor through more or less decontextualized
individualized means, the structural

approach sees it as a matter of changes in policy, in the political
arena and specifically through poli-
tics of redistribution. Indeed the claim for changes in the
politics of redistribution has been the rally-
ing point of radical social workers and activist social work. Its
current form is the developing body of
knowledge on the involvement of social workers in policy
practice, in which social workers are
814 M. KRUMER-NEVO
encouraged and given tools to contribute to policy changes in
the organizational, local and national
levels (Gal & Weiss-Gal, 2013).
People in poverty are seen in this theory mainly clustered in
groups, since politics of redistribution is
best suited to answer the needs of groups – such as women,
single parents, old people, immigrants, etc.
But the structural theory failed to inspire a full-fledged direct
practice. I see this failure as resulting
from the tendency of this theoretical framework to see the
political as separate from the personal,
and from the inability of this school of thought to relate to the
endless threads that connect the pol-
itical and the personal, specifically in the lives of people in
poverty. If we go back to the three circles
comprising the political conceptualization of poverty shown in
Figure 1, we can say that while this
kind of theory stresses the socio-economic dimensions of
poverty, that is the lack of material and
social capital, it ignores the many ways in which power
relations play out in the most subtle,

minor gestures, in the smallest interactions and day-to-day
encounters. Not dealing directly with
the symbolic dimension of poverty leaves a void that is quickly
filled up by hegemonic narratives
and stereotyping, the upshot of which is blaming the poor for
their condition.
Indeed, after teaching poverty for more than 20 years, I know
that while social workers are quite
willing to adopt a structural analysis of poverty they do not see
the connections between the inter-
personal relationships of direct practice and the politics of
redistribution that is negotiated and deter-
mined at the arena of policy makers. Hence, they find it hard to
harness the notion that poverty is
unequal power relations to the understanding of the micro-level,
of specific service users’ behaviours
and choices. Again and again I’ve heard,
I know that poverty is the result of unequal and unjust societal
arrangements, but with Dina, my client, it’s differ-
ent. She really is responsible for her poverty, because she got
married too early, has too many children, will not
take the job offered her, and she spends money on hair color
instead of buying food.
Countering such a claim is a challenge taken by the third kind
of theories, the critical ones, which
are the platform for the developing ‘Poverty-Aware Social Work
Paradigm’ (Krumer-Nevo, 2016). This
paradigm builds upon a structural analysis of poverty, and
shares with it its macro-level analysis. But,
and this is a crucial but, it couples it with a strong focus on the
realm of symbolic capital, or lack
thereof. This in turn translates into politics of recognition,
which boils down to a detailed portrayal

of the agency and knowledge of people in poverty, a heightened
sensitivity to language and
other symbolic aspects of domination, and an acute awareness
of Othering and the constant struggle
against Othering (Lister, 2004). The focus on the realm of
symbolic capital calls our attention to the
Figure 1. The wheel of poverty (based on Lister, 2004).
micro-level of everyday experiences and relationships, in which
people in poverty feel intensely the
effects of power and powerlessness. The psychiatrist Pierce
(1970) calls experiences such as stigma-
tization, discrimination and Othering ‘micro-aggressions’.
These may include inconspicuous, appar-
ently innocuous behaviours, such as a facial expression of
disgust, or a bodily expression of
distancing or withdrawal.
Micro-aggression of this sort is exemplified in an experience
that Tal, one of my students, was
involved in when she accompanied Gila, a poor woman, to the
electricity company to settle Gila’s
debt. The clerk, seated in an open space that offered no privacy,
was sympathetic and tried to
help, but required her supervisor’s approval to do so. She stood
up and called loudly to the other
side of the large and crowded office, ‘Svetlana … I need your
advice, I’ve got a welfare case here.’
Gila said nothing, but Tal saw her cringing silently in her seat,
absorbing the pain.

Why is the emphasis on symbolic capital important? Because
the struggle over symbolic capital and
the politics of recognition take place not only in a far-away
political arena but in the interactions between
social workers and service users. When we, social workers,
accept or reject service users’ narratives and
interpretations, we are engaged in politics of recognition; when
we decide the aims of intervention we
are involved in politics of recognition. In fact, every segment of
practice involves issues of symbolic
capital and politics of recognition. Moreover, the notion of
symbolic capital inspires the development
of a new theorization of welfare, which designates poor people
as active social agents that respond
to, and cope with, poverty in endless ways and seek to
overcome it (for a detailed account of the
agency of people in poverty see Lister, 2004, chapter 6). It
enriches the discourse with the simple, yet
essential notion, that people in poverty struggle against poverty
routinely, using various tactics on a
day-to-day basis. They hate it, are afraid of bequeathing it to
their children, do not accept or justify it.
In contrast to the culture of poverty theory that puts no distance
between poverty and the people
– as if the people with their individual characteristics are
personifications of poverty – and to struc-
tural theories that recognize poor people’s resistance onl y when
it occurs in the public arena in a
more or less organized manner, the analysis of the symbolic
dimensions of poverty acknowledges
the resistance of people to their poverty in everyday life. Some
behaviours are easily recognized
as resistance to poverty, for example when people work and are
being good parents. But we
really do not need a theory to recognize these behaviours as a

struggle against poverty. What the
paradigm of poverty-aware social work provides us with is a
new understanding of what the hege-
monic discourse calls ‘problem behaviours’. The recognition of
these behaviours not as expressions of
pathology opens up a new horizon for conceptualization. For
example, they might be communicat-
ing suffering, which is different than pathology, or they might
be communicating resistance to
poverty in ways that are unimaginable for people who do not
know poverty from personal experi-
ence. Even behaviours of self-destruction might contain aspects
of resistance to poverty.
In terms of policy, incorporating a symbolic dimension in the
anti-poverty efforts implies comple-
menting the politics of material redistribution with a politics of
recognition (Lister, 2004). In that
latter field, we, social work researchers and practitioners, play a
major role and have special responsi-
bility, as through our daily practice we are engaged in creating
representations of people in poverty. As
academics we create representations of service users when we
plan or write a research, and as prac-
titioners we are involved in the politics of recognition whenever
we talk about service users with col-
leagues, consult about our work in supervision, or even when
we write a psychosocial report (for an
example of a psychosocial report written through a critical
social work perspective see, Weiss-Gal,
Levin, & Krumer-Nevo, 2012). Thus, we are under the
obligation of being constantly aware of these rep-
resentations and their repercussions.
Politicizing social work research on poverty

How can recognizing the political guide us in thinking about
social work research? If we accept that
we are actors in the realm of representations and symbolic
capital, what are the implications of this
role for research?
816 M. KRUMER-NEVO
The first step in developing an answer to these questions is
adopting critical reflexivity to guide us
through the research process (Fook, 1999; Hesse-Biber &
Piatelli, 2007). The interpretive, critical and
participatory turns in the social sciences have provided us with
the notion of research as a political
act, a loaded and contested activity. These legitimize
questioning our positioning regarding the
status quo and choosing whether to strengthen or challenge
hegemonic attitudes through our
research. Critical reflexivity begins with examining our
research questions, continues with examining
the methods we employ and concludes with examining the way
we present our research.
Politicizing research questions
Politicizing research questions entails reflexivity regarding both
the perspective guiding the ques-
tions and their content. As feminist theorists, such as Crenshaw
(1989), Harding (2007), Hill-Collins
(1991) and Hooks (1984, 1994), have taught us, the choice of
perspective is crucial when studying
topics related to the lives of marginalized people: when we
represent the hegemonic perspective,
we tend to examine the faults of the marginalized; when we

represent the perspective of the margin-
alized, we will often end up with surprising, even radical
findings.
A simple and striking example is poor people’s perspective
regarding their social workers. There is
an abundance of research ostensibly supporting the claim that
people in poverty are hard to reach, or
that they lack the motivation or capacity for therapy. However,
when poor people were asked in a
qualitative study about their social workers, we learnt that they
perceive their social workers as
hard to reach or uncooperative (Krumer-Nevo, 2006; Krumer-
Nevo, Slonim-Nevo, & Hirshenzon-
Segev, 2006). Clearly both perspectives might have a kernel of
truth. The point is whose truth do
we need more in order to make our professional body of
knowledge more comprehensive?
When exploring social life from the perspective of people in
poverty, we should be cautious not to
treat them as knowledgeable only with regard to their personal
lives. Instead we should see them as
full-fledged citizens having valuable knowledge in respect to
inequality, in respect to policy, social
institutions and structures (Krumer-Nevo, 2005). We can take
Sara, whom I interviewed in a life
story study, as an example. Speaking with her, I was under the
impression that she was not used
to be asked about her thoughts or opinions. She answered me in
brief and said that she was
upset because life was so difficult, having six little kids and a
husband who worked in a sheltered
job, earning almost nothing. I asked her a question that I hardly
ever ask – ‘have you thought
about going to work?’ She said ‘yes, but the baby is too young,

maybe when he gets older.’ At
that moment all I knew about the knowledge of people in
poverty did not help me in not hearing
what she said as an excuse. However, I continued questioning
her for her theory, for her explanation
regarding the situation, and said something to the effect of how
hard it is to go out to work when you
have a baby, but had she ever thought of sending the baby to
childcare with a subsidy from the social
welfare department? Her answer shocked me, because she said
something that is crucial to anti-
poverty policy yet seldom discussed.
She said that if she went to work, she would be employed as a
cleaning lady, and get paid on an
hourly basis. Meanwhile her payment to childcare would be
made in checks that she would have to
give in advance for the whole year. If the baby got sick, as often
babies do in childcare, she would lose
a couple of days’ salary and would not be able to cover the
check she had already given. In a few
simple words she depicted a complex picture of the intersection
between the limited structure of
the job market, especially for women at the bottom of the
employment ladder, and the advance pay-
ments required by the public childcare system in Israel, the very
system that was designed to enable
poor women to leave home for work.
If we remember Sara when thinking about the woman whom my
student was complaining about,
the one who got married too early, had too many children, spent
money on hair colour instead of
buying food, and refused the job offered to her, we can
understand her refusal to the job not as
an irresponsible decision, a proof of her passivity and

dependence. Rather, we can see it as a rational
and responsible decision that takes into account the context of
her limited resources. Thus, these two
little stories exemplify the kind of twist that research questions
can take when the perspective of
people in poverty is taken into account, and their consequent
potential to provide us with a clear
picture of structural deficiencies.
In addition to the research perspective taken, researchers s hould
also pay attention to the content
of their research questions. I suggest that research questions
should be focused on the documen-
tation and analysis of the manifestations of policy-induced
inequality in everyday lives, and the
dynamic ways by which they limit people’s real opportunities. I
also suggest that studying inequality
should be complemented by an agenda of hope, by opening
possibilities through studying the
agency and resistance of people in poverty and their successes,
instead of painstakingly collecting
and dissecting their deficiencies.
In addition, studying inequality should take into consideration
the intersection of poverty with
other marginal positions – gender, ethnicity, race, sexuality and
disability – in order to give us a
fuller, and more accurate, picture of what poverty is for the
various people who experience it and
to avoid an essentialized and unified conception of them.

Politicizing research methodology and writing
Participatory methods focus on the life knowledge of people
with direct experience with the exam-
ined phenomenon and use methods such as focus groups and arts
that are very fruitful in eliciting
people’s experiences, interpretations and theories (Lykes &
Coquillon, 2007). Qualitative method-
ologies in general are regarded as better suited for exploring
participants’ perspectives. But quanti-
tative methodologies also have an important role, as long as
they are used in the same critical
reflexive vein. Quantitative studies are important, even crucial,
in uncovering inequality. A commu-
nity-based study I conducted collaboratively with immigrants
who came to Israel from the Caucasus
might serve as an example. This group, who originates from the
southern, hilly region of the former
Soviet Union, suffers from unique socio-economic difficulties
and stigma. Some of the community’s
activists wanted to collect data about the community’s young
people’s experience in the army in
order to examine their intuition that the community’s
youngsters are discriminated against. The acti-
vists helped us pen a questionnaire that included questions that
we would never have thought of
asking, and they were also involved in analysing the data. The
findings were later published in an
academic paper (Krumer-Nevo, Malka, & Mordechaiv, 2013),
but more importantly, a special
version of them was created for the activists’ use, and it helped
them later in their negotiation
with the army authorities and with changing policy.
The writing of more than one version of the findings is part of
the larger issue of writing. Fine and

Harris (2001) argue that researchers have a responsibility to
‘find audiences of worth’, to think
through those who will respect, engage and will be committed
to the research agenda. The
writing of various versions of the research report also entails
decisions regarding rhetoric and
language. The judicious use of those is paramount if want to
prevent othering of people in
poverty (Krumer-Nevo & Sidi, 2012). This aim can be achieved
for example, through the researcher’s
use of herself as subject in the research report. Using this
strategy helps to construct the report as
partial and the claims discussed as subjective. In addition, a
special attention to the vocabulary
and avoidance of jargon, help to keep distance from hegemoni c
attitudes regarding people in
poverty. The specific audience of the research report should
naturally bear on its rhetoric, whether
it is targeted at academic audience, professional audience,
policy makers, activists or people in
poverty.
Politicizing social work practice with people in poverty
How can anchoring social work practice in the matrix of power
relations inspire new modes of prac-
tice with people in poverty?
818 M. KRUMER-NEVO
Critical, feminist, anti-oppressive and post-modern social works
have already developed forms of
emancipatory direct practice that is shaped by political analysis
and sets political aims (e.g. see Bailey

& Brake, 1975; Baines, 2007; Brake & Bailey, 1980; Bricker -
Jenkins, Hooyman, & Gottlieb, 1991; Dom-
inelli, 2002a, 2002b; Ferguson & Woodward, 2009; Ife, 1997,
2001; Mullaly, 1997, 2001; Parton, 2009;
Pease & Fook, 1999; Sakamoto & Pitner, 2005; Thompson,
2006). The Poverty-Aware Paradigm uses
some of their guidelines but adapts them to be particularly
sensitive and suitable for working with
people in poverty. The rationale behind this paradigm and the
strategies it uses is the notion that
people always resist their poverty. The role of social workers is
thus, to join people in poverty in
their struggle in order to make it more successful. Due to lack
of space it is impossible to give a
full account of these strategies, only to name three of them and
give a short example of a fourth one.
The first strategy is working in the real life context (Saar -
Heiman, Krumer-Nevo & Lavie-Ajayi, in
press). Intervention in the real-life context has two
characteristics: first, it does not occur in an artificial
space, such as the office, but rather in the natural life space, its
specific arenas might vary depending
on the specific population. The second characteristic of
intervention in the real-life context is that it is
not limited to one fixed space, but is dynamic and moves
between different spaces relevant in service
users’ lives.
The arena that is most relevant in poor people’s lives is their
homes. Meeting service users at their
homes, rather than at the agency, involves a dramatic shift in
power relations, enables social workers
to become witnesses to the hardship caused by poverty and
enables the development of strong alli-
ance between social workers and service users. Meeting service

users on a regular basis at their
neighbourhoods and homes is different from the narrowly
defined ‘home visit’ which serves
usually very limited purposes (Winter & Cree, 2016). This
format is offered to service users, never
imposed on them. From my experience, most of the people who
were labelled as ‘uncooperative’
in social service departments are happy with this offer.
The second strategy is called active mediation and advocacy.
Based on the recognition that people
in poverty do not succeed in actualizing their rights even when
they know them because service
users’ lack of symbolic capital makes it easier on administrators
and officials in diverse institutions,
such as the housing company or the electricity company to
mistreat them, to ignore their rights,
to exhaust them with endless bureaucratic requests or to
humiliate them on a personal level, we
understand mediation and advocacy to be pro-active, continuous
and personal (for an example of
this kind of practice see the intervention story at Shimei et al.,
2016). It involves also working
through experiences of micro-aggressions that service users
might have undergone in their past
encounters with officials at administrative authorities.
The third strategy is the combination of the micro – direct
practice – with the macro – policy practice
(see Gal & Weiss-Gal, 2013 for a description of social workers’
involvement with policy practice). Based
on the understanding that personal problems originate in
injustice at the macro level, social workers
who work in direct practice offer service users to join them in
the activity for policy change. In this
process both social workers and service users acquire critical

consciousness and develop skills of
social activism.
The fourth strategy is joining people’s resistance. Standing by
service users requests that social
workers become experts in recognizing displays of resistance in
the micro-level in order to join
them. These displays could sometimes be transitory or
momentary, at times not even consolidated
as behaviours at all, existing only at the level of dreams,
attitudes and aspirations. In order to recog-
nize resistance we must understand that we work in an arena
dominated by power relations and by a
hegemonic discourse that induce us to see poor people as
Others. This awareness will enable us to
navigate and resist hegemonic interpretations and to offer
critical ones that change the way interven-
tion is taken. As an example I did not choose a heroic resistance
story, but a simple, micro-level one. I
wish by this choice to shed light on the struggle and agency
lying beneath the surface of an everyday,
mundane behaviour that seems ‘problematic’ at first sight.
It is a story I heard from a social worker about an older man, ‘a
chronic case’, who was known to the
social service department for many years, and had come to see
his social worker asking for money to
pay for a bus ticket to a nearby city in order to visit his
hospitalized wife. The social worker who
told me this story was furious at the man, telling me that he was
an example of the ‘bad client’

(Urek, 2005) – dependent, unable to take care of his basic needs
on his own, a client who clearly
did not understand the social worker’s role nor that the social
welfare department lacked funds
for this purpose. With years of experience that the older man
had with the Social Welfare Department
he should have known not to come with such a request to his
social worker.
Working on the assumption that service users usually do their
best to resist poverty, I questioned
the social worker for some more information. An interesting
picture emerged. It appeared that the
man had come to the social worker carrying plastic bags filled
with little presents he wanted to
bring to his wife – some soap, shampoo, candies. These were
donations from private people in
the town. A couple of days before he came to the social worker,
he had gone from one small
shop to the other in order not to visit his wife empty handed. He
came to his social worker
because he could not ask the bus driver to let him travel for
free, and he needed help with this
final task.
This information changed the man’s portrayal from dependent to
independent, from a person
who did not take care of himself to a person caring for his wife,
from someone unable to understand
the social worker’s role to one who gives the social worker the
opportunity to acknowledge his efforts
and small achievements, and to become a partner in his journey
to his wife.
Unearthing this perspective revealed the older man’s agency.
Adhering to the hegemonic dis-

course, we would ignore the man’s request or see changing his
attitudes as a goal for our interven-
tion. However, recognizing his agency and resistance shifts
entirely our position, makes his request
totally rational, and leads us to stand by him. This new stance
of poverty awareness will result in a
total different dialogue than the one the social worker had with
the man. In this new dialogue
social workers confront the naked reality of poverty. They do
not mask the lack of money with a
‘lack of motivation’ or a ‘lack of understanding of the social
worker’s role’. They recognize the diffi-
culties and challenges that face people who are trying to live a
decent life in the context of
poverty. Only after we acknowledge the way poverty is
manifested in real life, we will be able to
see people’s agency, and then use words in the dialogue with
them to name their efforts, to stand
by them in order to magnify those efforts, and, hopefully, to
turn them into successes. In our
story, a poverty-aware social worker would appreciate the old
man’s request, and would tell him
I’m happy you came to me for help with this one. You know
that we don’t have any money in our budget for a
request like yours, but we won’t let you go out of this office
without the money you need. Let’s think of creative
ways to raise this money now.
After we help the man get to his wife, we might exercise policy
practice, with or without him, in order
to set up a small flexible budget at the social service
departments for precisely this kind of on-the-
spot humanitarian needs.
Summary

Social work has the potential to be provocative, to challenge the
status quo, to reveal poverty as a site
of injustice, to identify the numerous and incessant occurrences
in which injustice happens and the
structures and institutions that make it happen. By adopting a
political lens in thinking about the the-
ories we create and use, the research we conduct, and the
practice we teach and carry out, we will be
better positioned to fulfil our commitment to promote social
justice, and not less importantly, and
maybe even more importantly, we will enhance our relevance in
the lives of people in poverty.
What more can we ask for?
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
820 M. KRUMER-NEVO
Notes on contributor
Michal Krumer-Nevo is associate professor at the Spitzer
Department of Social Work, and the director of the Israeli
Center
for Qualitative Research of People and Societies, Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
References
Abramovitz, M. (1996). Under attack, fighting back: Women
and welfare in the United States. New York, NY: Monthly
Review

Press.
Bailey, R., & Brake, M. (Eds.). (1975). Radical social work.
London: Edward Arnold.
Baines, D. (Ed.). (2007). Doing anti-Oppressive practice:
Building transformative politicized social work. Fernwood.
Bond, M. (1999). Placing poverty on the agenda of a primary
health care team: An evaluation of an action research
project. Health and Social Care in the Community, 7(1), 9–16.
Brake, M., & Bailey, R. (Eds.). (1980). Radical social work and
practice. London: Edward Arnold.
Bricker-Jenkins, M., Hooyman, N., & Gottlieb, N. (Eds.).
(1991). Feminist social work practice. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Chubb, E. J., & Moe, M. T. (1996). Politics, markets, and
equality in schools. In R. Michael (Ed.), Reducing poverty in
America:
Views and approaches (pp. 121–153). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Conneely, E., & Garrett, P. M. (2015). Social workers and
social justice during a period of intensive neoliberalization: A
preliminary investigation from the Republic of Ireland. Journal
of Progressive Human Services, 26(2), 126–147. doi:10.
1080/10428232.2015.1017914
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race
and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doc-
trine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of
Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 139–167.
Dominelli, L. (1999). Neo-liberalism, social exclusion and
welfare clients in a global economy. International Journal of
Social Welfare, 8(1), 14–22.

Dominelli, L. (2002a). Feminist social work: Theory and
practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Dominelli, L. (2002b). Anti-oppressive social work: Theory and
practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Edin, K., & Kefalas, M. (2005). Promises I can keep: Why poor
women put motherhood before marriage. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press.
Featherstone, B., Broadhurst, K., & Holt, K. (2012). Thinking
systemically – thinking politically: Building strong partnerships
with children and families in the context of rising inequality.
British Journal of Social Work, 42(4), 618–633.
Ferguson, I., & Woodward, R. (2009). Radical social work in
practice: Making a difference. Bristol: The Policy Press.
Fine, M., & Harris, A. (2001). Under the covers: Theorising the
politics of counter stories (No. 4). Lawrence & Wishart.
Fook, J. (1999). Critical reflectivity in education and practice.
In B. Pease & J. Fook (Eds.), Transforming social work
practice:
Postmodern critical perspectives (pp. 195–210). London:
Routledge.
Fraser, N. (1997). Justice interrupts. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gal, J., & Weiss-Gal, I. (Eds.). (2013). Social workers affecting
social policy: An international perspective. Bristol: The Policy
Press.
Harding, S. (2007). Feminist standpoints. In S. N. Hesse-Biber
(Ed.), Handbook of feminist research: Theory and praxis (pp.
45–69). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hesse-Biber, S. N., & Piatelli, D. (2007). Holistic reflexivity:
The feminist practice of reflexivity. In S. N. Hesse-Biber (Ed.),
Handbook of feminist research: Theory and praxis (pp. 493–

514). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hill-Collins, P. (1991). Black feminist thought. New York, NY:
Routledge.
Hooks, b. (1984). Feminist theory: From margin to center.
Boston, MA: South End Press.
Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the
practice of freedom. London: Routledge.
Ife, J. (1997). Rethinking social work: Towards critical
practice. South Melbourne: Longman.
Ife, J. (2001). Human rights and social work: Towards right-
based practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Katz, B. M. (1995). Improving poor people: The welfare state,
the ‘underclass’ and urban schools as history. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.
Krumer-Nevo, M. (2005). Listening to ‘life knowledge’: A new
research direction in poverty studies. International Journal of
Social Welfare, 14(2), 99–106.
Krumer-Nevo, M. (2006). Women in poverty: Life stories:
Gender, pain, resistance. Tel-Aviv: Hakibutz Hameuchad
Publications.
Krumer-Nevo, M. (2016). Poverty aware social work: A
paradigm for social work practice with people in poverty.
British
Journal of Social Work, 46(6): 1793–1808.
doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcv118
Krumer-Nevo, M., Malka, M., & Mordechaiv, S. (2013).
Immigrants from the Caucasus as soldiers in the IDF. Sociologia
Israelit (Israeli Sociology), 14(2), 313–338.
Krumer-Nevo, M., & Sidi, M. (2012). Writing against Othering.
Qualitative Inquiry, 18(4), 299–309.
Krumer-Nevo, M., Slonim-Nevo V., & Hirshenzon-Segev, E.

(2006). Social workers and their long-term clients: The never
ending struggle. Journal of Social Service Research, 33(1), 27–
38.
Lewis, O. (1968). La Vida: A Puerto Rican family in the culture
of poverty. New York, NY: Random House.
Lister, R. (2004). Poverty. London: Polity Press.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2015.1017914
https://doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2015.1017914
https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcv118
Lykes, M. B., & Coquillon, E. (2007). Participatory and action
research and feminisms: Toward transformative praxis. In S. N.
Hesse-Biber (Ed.), Handbook of feminist research: Theory and
praxis (pp. 297–326). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Moffatt, K. (1999). Surveillance and government of the welfare
recipient. In A. S. Chambon, A. Irving, & L. Epstein (Eds.),
Reading Foucault for social work (pp. 209–246). New York,
NY: Columbia University Press.
Mullaly, B. (1997). Structural social work: Ideology, theory and
practice. Toronto: McLelland & Stewart.
Mullaly, B. (2001). Confronting the politics of despair: Toward
the reconstruction of progressive social work in a global
economy and postmodern age. Social Work Education, 20, 303–
320. doi:10.1080/02615470120057406
Nadan, Y., Weinberg-Kurnik, G., & Ben-Ari, A. (2015). The
political dimension of multicultural social work education.
Journal of Social Work. doi:10.1177/146801731557915

O’Brien, M. (2011). Social justice: Alive and well (partly) in
social work practice? International Social Work, 54(2), 174–
190.
O’Connor, A. (2009). Poverty knowledge: Social science, social
policy and the poor in Twentieth century US history. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press.
Parton, N. (2009). Postmodern and constructionist approaches to
social work. In R. Adams, L. Dominelli, & M. Payne (Eds.),
Critical practice in social work (2nd ed., pp. 237–246).
Houndmills: Palgrave.
Pease, B., & Fook, J. (1999). Postmodern critical theory and
emancipatory social work practice. In B. Pease, & J. Fook
(Eds.),
Transforming social work practice: Postmodern critical
perspectives (pp. 1–22). London: Routledge.
Peters, H. E., & Mullis, C. N. (1997). The role of family income
and sources of income in adolescent achievement. In J. G.
Duncan & J. Brooks-Gunn (Eds.), Consequences of growing up
poor (pp. 340–381). New York, NY: Russell Sage
Foundation.
Pierce, C. (1970). Offensive mechanisms. In F. B. Barbour
(Ed.), The black seventies (pp. 265–282). Boston: Porter
Sargent.
Quigley, P. W. (2003). Ending poverty as we know it.
Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Rainwater, L. (1970). Neutralizing the disinherited: Some
psychological aspects of understanding the poor. In V. L. Allen
(Ed.), Psychological factors in poverty (pp. 9–28). New York,
NY: Academic Press.
Reisch, M., & Jani, J. S. (2012). The new politics of social work

practice: Understanding context to promote change. British
Journal of Social Work, 42(6), 1132–1150.
Saar-Heiman, Y., Krumer-Nevo, M., & Lavie-Ajayi, M. (in
press). Intervention in real-life context. Chevra U’Revacha
(Hebrew).
Sakamoto, I., & Pitner, R. (2005). Use of critical consciousness
in anti-oppressive practice: Disentangling power dynamics
at personal and structural levels. British Journal of Social
Work, 35(4), 435–452. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch190
Shimei, N., Krumer-Nevo, M., Saar-Heiman, Y., Russo-
Carmel1, S., Mirmovitch, I., Zaitoun-Aricha1, L., & Social
Work for
Change Group Members. (2016). Critical Social Work: A
Performance Ethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 22(8), 615–
623. Advanced online publication.
doi:10.1177/1077800416629696
Spicker, P. (1999). Definition of poverty. In D. Gordon & P.
Spicker (Eds.), The international glossary of poverty (pp. 229–
242). London: Zed Books.
Tardieu, B. (1999). Building a partnership with ‘Fourth World
Families’: The severely poor as leaders. In A. Ben Arieh & Y.
Zionit (Eds.), Children in Israel on the threshold of the new
millennium (pp. 169–180). Jerusalem: National Children’s
Welfare Council and Ashalim.
Thompson, N. (2006). Anti-discriminatory practice (3rd ed.).
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Urek, M. (2005). Making a case in social work: The
construction of an unsuitable mother. Qualitative Social Work,
4, 451––

467. doi:10.1177/1473325005058646
Weiss-Gal, I., Levin, L., & Krumer-Nevo, M. (2012). Applying
critical social work in direct practice with families. Child &
Family Social Work, 19(1), 55–64. doi:10.1111/j.1365-
2206.2012.00880
Wilson, J. W. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city,
the underclass, and public policy. Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago Press.
Wilson, J. W. (1996). When work disappears: The world of the
new urban poor. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Winter, K., & Cree, V. E. (2016). Social work home visits to
children and families in the UK: A Foucauldian perspective.
British
Journal of Social Work, 46(5), 1175–1190, Advanced online
publication. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcv069
Zeytinoglu, I. U., & Muteshi, K. J. (2000). Gender, race and
class dimensions of nonstandard work. Relations Industrielles,
55(1), 133–167.
822 M. KRUMER-NEVO
https://doi.org/10.1080/02615470120057406
https://doi.org/10.1177/146801731557915
https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bch190
https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416629696
https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325005058646
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2012.00880
https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcv069AbstractSelf-positioning or
what is it ‘to be political’?Social life as a political arenaPoverty
and ‘the political’Politicizing social work theory on
povertyPoliticizing social work research on povertyPoliticizing
research questionsPoliticizing research methodology and

writingPoliticizing social work practice with people in
povertySummaryDisclosure statementNotes on
contributorReferences
<<
/ASCII85EncodePages false
/AllowTransparency false
/AutoPositionEPSFiles false
/AutoRotatePages /PageByPage
/Binding /Left
/CalGrayProfile ()
/CalRGBProfile (Adobe RGB 0501998051)
/CalCMYKProfile (U.S. Web Coated 050SWOP051 v2)
/sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
/CannotEmbedFontPolicy /Error
/CompatibilityLevel 1.3
/CompressObjects /Off
/CompressPages true
/ConvertImagesToIndexed true
/PassThroughJPEGImages false
/CreateJobTicket false
/DefaultRenderingIntent /Default
/DetectBlends true
/DetectCurves 0.1000
/ColorConversionStrategy /sRGB
/DoThumbnails true
/EmbedAllFonts true
/EmbedOpenType false
/ParseICCProfilesInComments true
/EmbedJobOptions true
/DSCReportingLevel 0
/EmitDSCWarnings false
/EndPage -1
/ImageMemory 524288
/LockDistillerParams true
/MaxSubsetPct 100
/Optimize true

/OPM 1
/ParseDSCComments false
/ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true
/PreserveCopyPage true
/PreserveDICMYKValues true
/PreserveEPSInfo false
/PreserveFlatness true
/PreserveHalftoneInfo false
/PreserveOPIComments false
/PreserveOverprintSettings false
/StartPage 1
/SubsetFonts true
/TransferFunctionInfo /Remove
/UCRandBGInfo /Remove
/UsePrologue false
/ColorSettingsFile ()
/AlwaysEmbed [ true
]
/NeverEmbed [ true
]
/AntiAliasColorImages false
/CropColorImages true
/ColorImageMinResolution 150
/ColorImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
/DownsampleColorImages true
/ColorImageDownsampleType /Bicubic
/ColorImageResolution 300
/ColorImageDepth -1
/ColorImageMinDownsampleDepth 1
/ColorImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
/EncodeColorImages true
/ColorImageFilter /DCTEncode
/AutoFilterColorImages false
/ColorImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG
/ColorACSImageDict <<
/QFactor 0.90

/HSamples [2 1 1 2] /VSamples [2 1 1 2]
>>
/ColorImageDict <<
/QFactor 0.40
>>
/JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict <<
/TileWidth 256
/TileHeight 256
/Quality 15
>>
/JPEG2000ColorImageDict <<
/TileWidth 256
/TileHeight 256
/Quality 15
>>
/AntiAliasGrayImages false
/CropGrayImages true
/GrayImageMinResolution 150
/GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
/DownsampleGrayImages true
/GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic
/GrayImageResolution 300
/GrayImageDepth -1
/GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2
/GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
/EncodeGrayImages true
/GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode
/AutoFilterGrayImages false
/GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG
/GrayACSImageDict <<
/QFactor 0.90
>>
/GrayImageDict <<
/QFactor 0.40

>>
/JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict <<
/TileWidth 256
/TileHeight 256
/Quality 15
>>
/JPEG2000GrayImageDict <<
/TileWidth 256
/TileHeight 256
/Quality 15
>>
/AntiAliasMonoImages false
/CropMonoImages true
/MonoImageMinResolution 1200
/MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
/DownsampleMonoImages true
/MonoImageDownsampleType /Average
/MonoImageResolution 300
/MonoImageDepth -1
/MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
/EncodeMonoImages true
/MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode
/MonoImageDict <<
/K -1
>>
/AllowPSXObjects true
/CheckCompliance [
/None
]
/PDFX1aCheck false
/PDFX3Check false
/PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false
/PDFXNoTrimBoxError true
/PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [
0.00000

0.00000
0.00000
0.00000
]
/PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true
/PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [
0.00000
0.00000
0.00000
0.00000
]
/PDFXOutputIntentProfile (None)
/PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier ()
/PDFXOutputCondition ()
/PDFXRegistryName ()
/PDFXTrapped /False
/Description <<
/ENU ()
>>
>> setdistillerparams
<<
/HWResolution [600 600]
/PageSize [595.245 841.846]
>> setpagedevice
Module 3: Theoretical Article Review
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate the ability to
recognize the role and importance of theory in social work
research and practice. Students will demonstrate the ability
review social work research through a theoretical lens.
Course Objectives
· CO1: Critique and apply knowledge of multicultural purism

when engaging individuals, families, communities,
organizations, and groups.
· CO5: Analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention,
and evaluation.
· CO6: Apply clinically and culturally appropriate strategies in
the context of intervening with individuals and families.
Requirements
1. The Theoretical Article assignment is worth 100 points and
will be graded on use of citations, use of Standard English
grammar, sentence structure, and overall
organization/effectiveness based on the required components as
summarized in the directions and grading criteria/rubric.
2. Create your exercise using Microsoft Word (a part of
Microsoft Office), which is the required format for all
Chamberlain College documents. You can tell that the document
is saved as a MS Word document because it will end in ".docx"
3. Follow the directions and grading criteria closely. Any
questions about your assignment may be posted under the Q &
A Forum.
4. The length of the exercise is to be no less than 3pages and no
greater than 4 pages excluding title page and reference pages.
5. APA format is required with both a title page and reference
page. Use the required components of the review as Level 1
headings (upper and lower case, centered, boldface):
Guidelines
Select a research or theoretical article (or a chapter in an edited
book) in social work or psychology and, using both class
readings and readings from outside class, perform a critical
analysis of it with respect to the questions below.
You must send a pdf of your chosen article along with your

paper.
1. On what theory or theories does the author depend? (The
culture of poverty theory) AND Structural Theory
Is the use of theory well explained and effective in
making/advancing the argument(s) presented? Are there other
theories that might have been usefully employed?
2. What elements of Western ideologyare prominent in the
piece? Can its core ideas be applied in non-Western contexts?
3. How broadly contextual is the framing of its argument (i.e.,
how far toward the “macro” does it extend?)?
4. Does the author make use of an intersectional framework? If
so, in what way(s)? If not, how would the research benefit from
such a framework?
5. How does article address power, either implicitly or
explicitly?
6. If applicable, what ideas about health, illness and/or
suffering are conveyed?
7. What ideas, implicit or explicit, does it hold about
difference?
8. Does the author speak to potential critiques, debates, or
theoretical positions in that oppose those put forward in the
piece you have selected?
9. Are the ideas presented useful to social work? If so, are they
narrowly or broadly applicable? If not, why not?
Grading Criteria
Criteria
Description
Article Selection (10 Points)
Select an article that clearly highlights the use of social work
theory in research, policy, or practice.
Theory Identification (10 points)
Identifies the theory or theories that the author depends upon
Analysis of Theory Explanation (10 points)
Analyzes the author’s use of theory and author’s ability to use
the theory to advance an argument.

Elements of Western Ideology (10 points)
Recognizes and analyzes the elements of Western ideology that
are present in the article
Intersectionality (20 points)
Examines whether or not the author uses intersectionality. If
not, offers ways in which an intersectional framework would
enhance the article.
Power (20 points)
Examines whether or not the author addresses issues of power.
If not, offers ways in which a power analysis could enhance the
article.
Clarity of Writing (10 points)
Presents information using clear and concise language in an
organized manner (NO errors in English grammar, spelling,
syntax, and punctuation).
APA/page length (10 points)
· All sources are credited using APA formatting
· Paper is between 2-3 pages excluding title and reference
pages.
Total (100 points)
A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above
requirements.
Rubric
MSW516: Theoretical Article Assignment (1) (1)
Criteria
Ratings
Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome
Article Selection
10 pts
Highest Level of performance

Article clearly highlights the use of a theory or theories in
social work practice, policy, and/or research.
8 pts
Very Good or High Level of Performance
Article partially highlights the use of a theory or theories in
7 pts
Acceptable Level of Performance
Article minimally highlights the use of a theory or theories in
0 pts
Failing Level of Performance
Article does not highlight the use of a theory or theories in
10 pts
Theory Identification
10 pts
Student clearly identifies the theory or theories used in the
article for analysis.
8 pts
Student partially identifies the theory or theories used in the
7 pts
Student minimally identifies the theory or theories used in the
0 pts
Student does not identify the theory or theories used in the
10 pts

Analysis of Theory Explanation
10 pts
Student provides an excellent analysis of the author’s use of
theory and author’s ability to use the theory to advance an
argument.
8 pts
Student provides a strong analysis of the author’s use of theory
and author’s ability to use the theory to advance an argument.
7 pts
Student provides marginal analysis of the author’s use of theory
and author’s ability to use the theory to advance an argument.
0 pts
Student provides no analysis of the author’s use of theory and
author’s ability to use the theory to advance an argument.
10 pts
Intersectionality
20 pts
Student provides an excellent analysis of the author’s use of
intersectionality or offers an excellent analysis of how an
intersectional framework could have strengthened the article.
16 pts
Student provides a strong analysis of the author’s use of
intersectionality or offers a strong analysis of how an
14 pts
Student provides marginal analysis of the author’s use of

intersectionality or offers marginal analysis of how an
0 pts
Student provides no analysis of the author’s use of
intersectionality or offers no analysis of how an intersectional
framework could have strengthened the article.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Power
20 pts
Student provides an excellent analysis of the author’s analysis
of power or offers an excellent analysis of how a power analysis
could have strengthened the article.
16 pts
Student provides a strong analysis of the author’s analysis of
power or offers a strong analysis of how a power analysis could
have strengthened the article.
14 pts
Student provides marginal analysis of the author’s analysis of
power or offers marginal analysis of how a power analysis could
have strengthened the article.
0 pts
Student provides no analysis of the author’s analysis of power
or offers no analysis of how a power analysis could have
strengthened the article.
20 pts
Clarity of Writing
10 pts

Written content is clear, free from syntax and grammar issues
and communicates intended thoughts effectively. Written
content is somewhat clear, free from syntax and grammar issues
and communicates intended thoughts effectively.
8 pts
Written content is mostly clear, free from syntax and grammar
issues and communicates intended thoughts effectively.
7 pts
Written content is somewhat clear, free from syntax and
grammar issues and communicates intended thoughts
effectively.
0 pts
Written content is not clear, has multiple syntax and grammar
issues and does not communicate intended thoughts effectively.
10 pts
APA Style/Page length
10 pts
APA properly formatted with no more than one to two minor
errors
8 pts
Some APA errors in formatting with three to five errors and/or
one to two citations missing.
7 pts
APA formatting contains multiple errors and/or selected
citations are missing.
0 pts
APA formatting contains multiple errors and selected citations

are missing.
10 pts
Elements of Western Ideology
10 pts
Excellent recognition and analysis of the elements of Western
ideology that are present in the article
8 pts
Strong recognition and analysis of the elements of Western
7 pts
Marginal recognition and analysis of the elements of Western
0 pts
No recognition and analysis of the elements of Western
10 pts

IntersectionalityIntersectionality is a theory that was develope

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to IntersectionalityIntersectionality is a theory that was develope

Similar to IntersectionalityIntersectionality is a theory that was develope (9)

More from TatianaMajor22

More from TatianaMajor22 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

IntersectionalityIntersectionality is a theory that was develope