Rethinking Discourse and Social Work Practice with Youth from Ethnic Minority Groups: The Case of Young Ethiopian-Israelis

Background and purpose

In the contemporary global reality, social workers are key players in the life of youth from minority groups who face social exclusion. However, influenced by neoliberal thinking, the strengthening of authoritative stances has led to the abandoning the development of theory and practice aimed at social justice. This study aims to explore the discourse and practice of social workers who work with youth from ethnic minority groups in Israel. Specifically, it examines Israeli social workers who work with youth of Ethiopian origin, and analyzes how assumptions and theoretical choices, mediated by values, shape their evaluation, goals definitions and practices.

Method

The study employed a constructive grounded theory approach, based on a critical paradigm. The findings are based on a constructional analysis of semi-structured in-depth interviews with 33 social workers, who were selected through purposeful sampling.

Findings

The analysis revealed three main sets of discourses and practices: Social integration; Meritocracy; and Social conflict.

The social integration discourse adopts values of immigrant's assimilation to homogenous Israeli culture and the perception of the Ethiopian-Israeli youth as "at-risk" service users. professional practice is directed at preventing risks, supervision and placement in educational or employment settings.

The meritocracy discourse is characterized by neo-liberal perceptions regarding the importance of free market in the promotion of individual and societal welfare. Ethiopian Israelis are perceived as immigrants from an under-developed country who faced with education gaps. The professional practice is channeled towards preparing and accompanying youth in their pursuit to integrate into the labor market and achieving economic independence.

The social conflict discourse adopts a critical stand regarding the society and the power relations which shape the social and economic position of Ethiopian-Israelis as a discriminated ethnic minority. The professional practice is directed to the formation of a positive culture identity, building strength, and the ability of youth to deal with the non-egalitarian reality.

Alongside the dominance of conservative and neoliberal discourses, the findings reveal the existence of the competing critical discourse. Yet, social workers who hold critical perspective and use its discourse do not necessarily translate it into goals and practices of a critical nature.

Conclusion and implications

This study contributes to the professional discussion regarding the gap between the growing anti-oppression theoretical discourse and its minimal effect in social work practice. It highlights the dynamics between social discourses and professional practices and contribute to a better understanding of the challenges and processes toward implementation of critical models in policy and social work training and practice regarding youth from ethnic minority.