ABSTRACT
This chapter adopts an historical approach and attempt to introduce the subject of social work, firstly by detailed illustrations, and secondly by raising some general questions concerning the history of social work. It begins with an illustration of contemporary activity which everyone would agree was social work, and then contrast this with an example from the same social work agency but from a slightly earlier period. There are several ways in which the case of Mary and that of Mrs Smith stand in marked contrast to each other. There are two difficulties that can be immediately illustrated from these two records. First, it is extremely difficult to obtain detailed records of the activities of social workers even in the comparatively recent past. The second difficulty facing those who want to trace the historical development of social work concerns the ease with which we adopt attitudes of condemnation or praise towards past activities or ideas.
