Education never ends

Review of Scheller/Rohloff: Habitus and taste in social work

Background

Social work is, it seems, on its way to becoming an increasingly recognized profession and discipline in Germany. This is also connected in many ways with habitus and taste, not least in the internal context of specific academic habitus. Research using Bourdieu's concept of habitus is thus also found in connection with the professionalization of social work professionals and the question of what would constitute a specific, professional habitus in social work. This anthology also sheds light on other perspectives and thus offers an overview of theory - research and discussion - on the one hand, and suggestions for practice - teaching and professional practice - on the other.

Structure and contents

The publication is structured in five chapters. The first chapter, “Introduction”, offers precisely this: a comprehensive introduction to the subject area, the state of research and, last but not least, the book. The following chapters examine the broad field of habitus and taste in a thematically structured manner, each with two contributions. Chapter II is entitled “Approaches to the study of social work and fits with professional culture”, Chapter III poses the question of “Habitus sensitivity as a ‘new’ professionalism?” in social work, Chapter IV opens up the view of habitus and taste in social space-oriented social work. The book concludes with Chapter V and the title's focus on “Taste preferences of social workers” with the question of their significance for professional practice. All contributions can stand on their own and, in addition to the list of sources, also offer adapted guiding questions. These can be used directly in teaching and can also be useful for an extended understanding of the text in the context of individual reading.

In the 22-page introduction, after a brief introduction to the concepts of habitus and taste, the reader is given a good overview of the current state of research in the field of social work. In addition, the contributions to the anthology are summarized in the introduction.

Chapter II deals with “Approaches to studying social work and fits with the subject culture” based on the two questions “Which habitus and milieu-specific approaches lead to social work” (p. 27) and “What is the connection between social images and educational strategies of drop-outs and students in doubt?” (S. 28). The first article in this chapter specifically examines the extent to which gender, milieu and habitus influence access to social work studies. On the one hand, there are indications of milieu-specific approaches and, on the other hand, this does not exclude cross-milieu characteristics. The second question in the chapter also looks at students or, in this case, those who have dropped out of university. It can be seen that the respective images of society and educational strategies also interact with each other in the target group under investigation and are formed through individual, biographical processes. The focus is then directed to the significance of these images of society for dropping out, also in order to derive suggestions on how the number of dropouts can be reduced.

Chapter III poses the question of “Habitus sensitivity as a ‘new’ professionalism?” in social work. The first article deals on the one hand with the influence of individual habitus on the professionalism of people working in social work and on the other hand with the extent to which the analysis of habitus contributes to professionalism in social work. The second contribution of the chapter ties in with this. It examines the extent to which habitus sensitivity can succeed and what role such habitus sensitivity can and should play as a competence in relation to self-reflection.

Chapter IV focuses on habitus and taste in social space-oriented social work. The first article is specifically dedicated to the topic of the perception of one's own residential area and the reflection of social inequality in precisely these perceptions and the patterns of perception recognizable therein, based on two residential areas in Cologne. This is followed by the second article in this chapter, which pragmatically poses the question of the effects of social work that takes a social space-oriented approach and addresses habitus and taste.

The book concludes with Chapter V and its focus on the “Taste preferences of social workers”. Here, too, the question of their significance for professional practice is the decisive perspective. The first article focuses on taking stock. The question addressed here is that of the preference systems of taste: the broader view is directed at the social sector. The second contribution in the chapter concludes the book. Here, an attempt is made to identify the taste preferences of social workers in particular, also with the aim of investigating the question of who social workers' distinction is directed against.

Discussion

The great strength of the publication is certainly its structure with a view to teaching in social work. The texts are comparatively easy to access for a German-language textbook. The individual contributions can also stand on their own. This is not least due to the introductory paragraphs in most of the articles, which explain both habitus and methodology. Although this is to some extent redundant when reading the entire book, it also offers readers who already have extensive specialist knowledge of Bourdieu's theories a nice repetition. The fact that each contribution also concludes with key questions on the respective texts is an added value, especially for teaching purposes.

The introduction provides a good introduction to the book and describes not only the contributions, but also the concept and idea of the publication. The introduction can also stand on its own and not only arouses curiosity about the contributions, but also provides a good introduction to the wide range of topics.

The first chapter after the introduction already clearly shows how large the gaps in research are with regard to habitus and taste in social work. The very exciting question of the specific approaches to studying social work is addressed here using qualitative interviews as an example. The three interviews presented here reveal a diverse view of the importance and role of social work. However, as it is already clear here that there are indications of milieu-specific influences on access to social work studies, it is also clear that this exciting research question would benefit from a broader data basis. However, this can certainly be seen as a strength, as students can thus find inspiration for further research, perhaps in the context of final theses, and become enthusiastic about it. The perspective on those who drop out of university, which is taken up in the next article, can also inspire teachers to shape their own teaching practice in a way that is sensitive to habitus and milieu and thus offer students a variety of approaches to studying. In the best case scenario, teachers also act in a way that is sensitive to the »Arbeiterkindsyndrom« (working-class child syndrome) and reflect on their own habitus as lecturers in this regard. Reading this chapter already demonstrates another strength of the book very well: an offer of (self-)reflection for teachers and students to improve their own professional practice.

This aspect is emphasized once again in the following chapter, as it is precisely this question that is explicitly addressed here. The book's consistent practical orientation also becomes clear as a strength - despite the associated weakness of possibly not satisfactorily addressing a predominantly theoretically interested and highly educated audience. However, a self-referential education in relation to one's own habitus(es) also helps professionals immensely, who may be all too at risk of producing knowledge and not education. The first article describes in concrete terms how the theory - Bourdieu's concept of habitus - can be applied in practice, i.e. in social work. The second article follows on from this. Here, an area of tension is highlighted that can be decisive for professional social work: the ability to reflect. Here, a very nice combination of life-world orientation, power-sensitive counseling and milieu research with habitus research is achieved.

The first contribution in Chapter IV is particularly interesting, as it looks very specifically at physical space. The fact that the reviewer was born in Cologne and that the topic is examined on the basis of two Cologne districts certainly plays a role. But even those who have no personal connection to Cologne will find the article a fruitful read. It becomes very clear how important negative perceptions of the characteristics of residential areas are for the perception of these areas. Particularly relevant here seems to be the still little-known realization that social space is also reflected in physical space. Here, too, the article whets the appetite for further research in this exciting field. The following article complements and expands on this well. The fact that explicit reference is made to the preceding research in Cologne invites the reader to use both texts in teaching, building on each other. In the second article, the descriptive aspect is supplemented by an ethical aspect, which also enables theoretical considerations and discussions to be stimulated. In this way, it can be shown that the distinction between descriptive, interpretative and normative perspectives is not only fruitful for theory and practice, but is also helpful in terms of the personal skills of people working - in this case - in social work and teaching.


The next chapter starts with a contribution that continues the high quality of the book. Here, the author starts with a successful, brief overview of what taste is and which (academic) positions can be found. The examination of the taste preferences of social workers then refers to various aspects such as hobbies, clothing, music, etc., whereby, according to the author, the taste that focuses on art and creativity in particular should be made fruitful for social work practice.

The book then closes with what must be mentioned here directly as the clearly weakest contribution - this assessment is now followed by a clear “but”. On the one hand, unscientific and judgmental formulations such as “In contrast, a younger social worker swaggers confidently [...]” (p. 241) can also indicate a lack of reflection on the author's own habitus; on the other hand, this provides an excellent example of why reflection, not least on one's own habitus, is also important in research and especially in teaching, as it allows such unscientific formulations to be avoided. The author would then presumably also have dispensed with implicit statements such as that legitimate taste is linked to the ability to empathize (p. 270).

Conclusion

In summary, it can be said that the publication is a very worthwhile purchase and, above all, a good read for many reasons. For example, from an external perspective on “the” social work. The inconsistent use of specialist terms, for example to describe the addressees of social work, can be interpreted to mean that social work is still on its way to becoming a discipline within the field.

For example, clients even write about clientele. However, the book can help to further “disciplinarize” social work, i.e. to turn it into an epistemological system with the criteria of truth and correctness. However, the book is not only aimed at the aspect of the discipline, but also at the aspect of the profession (practice system with the criterion of effectiveness) and so the book is also exciting from an internal perspective. It could be said that the anthology also operates in this “field of tension” of social work as a whole and contributes to both “professionalization” and “disciplinarization”. This publication is highly recommended reading, especially because of its practical relevance for teaching and professional practice, but also for further research within social work and about social work.

Last but not least, the comparatively easily accessible texts for a German-language textbook make it an excellent choice for universities of applied sciences and for teaching in a dual study program. But even those who are familiar with university teaching, who generally appreciate texts that are more difficult to access and who enjoy Bourdieu's work as primary literature will undoubtedly enjoy reading it. The numerous tracks for teachers, students and professionals to critically and rationally open up their own practice and habitus in a self-reflective way and thus create new scope for action are particularly successful.