Textbooks

This valuable book provides a comprehensive introduction to politics in social work, unifying the themes of political ideology and social construction across several areas of social work practice, including emerging areas of practice.

In this clear and systematic book covering the both general practice concepts and theoretical insights, best-selling author Malcolm Payne shows you how to work with the main social work theories and practice techniques and pinpoint their strengths and limitations.

A fully updated edition of this bestselling textbook offers a radical approach to community development taking theories of Gramsci and Freire into the current context. The focus is on putting theory into action for those training, working or managing any social justice practice.

Evolving modes of delivery and new technologies are changing the way society holds police officers to account. This much-needed new book from criminology professor Michael Rowe, part of the ‘Key Themes in Policing’ series, explores issues of governance, discipline and transparency to set out a new agenda for modern-day accountability.

Re-examining C.Wright Mills’s legacy as a jumping off point, this original introduction to sociology illuminates global concepts, themes and practices that are fundamental to the discipline and rethinks and re-imagines what a critically committed, politically engaged and publicly relevant sociology should look like in the 21st century.

This illuminating book offers a fresh and contemporary guide to the field of sociology. By demonstrating the versatility of the sociological imagination, the authors reveal the ways in which thinking sociologically can help us understand the personal, social and structural changes going on in the world around us.

At a time of close scrutiny of police culture, this is a thorough and accessible study of its impacts on both practitioners and the people they serve. Tom Cockcroft’s evidence-based approach contextualises our understanding of police culture in relation to both contemporary police agendas and wider social change.

This is a critical analysis of our understanding of police leadership and a bold new conceptualisation of the subject. Drawing on criminology, sociology and leadership studies and critical theory, leading authors Davis and Silvestri provide a critique of police leadership as a product of social, institutional and historical processes.

This brilliant book is a great guide for students undertaking their first piece of independent research. Regular critical reflection is an invaluable tool for helping you gain new insights, deal with practical issues as they arise and develop your understanding. This book gets you started in the habit of using a research journal.

The fundamental role of police officers in society is under fresh scrutiny in this stimulating book on ethical policing. Through a moral philosophical lens, Wood provides an up-to-date overview of police values and their impact. It is a timely contribution to police debate and essential reading for those studying and leading the profession.

Authored by two highly respected and experienced academics, this book demonstrates the rewards of studying social policy from an international perspective by avoiding the constraints of a single-nation focus.

Informed by sociological theory and recent empirical analysis, the new edition of this classic textbook is an accessible account of the major social divisions that structure social life. Written by experts, it covers an unrivalled range of social divisions, diversity and inequalities. This is an invaluable sourcebook for social science students.