Читать книгу Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice - Prospera Tedam - Страница 69

Although a useful categorisation of power by French and Raven (1959), there appears to be three modes through which power is operationalised. These are personal power, positional power and relational power, which will be discussed below.

By personal power, Smith (2010) is referring to power at a level consistent with identity and the self which manifest in domination of the ‘other’. The concept of ‘otherness’ is examined in more detail in Chapter 2; however, it is important that social workers understand the ways in which power works at a personal level.

The second way in which power is transmitted is through one’s position. Positional power therefore is vested in people in specific roles, job titles and responsibilities. Teachers, social workers, nurses and many other professionals have power vested in their roles. During collaborative, multi-agency work, it is important that you, as a social worker, fully understands that each profession will be using their own positional power as a means to propose interventions for service users and their families. Where there is a clash or disagreement of this power, service users are likely to be disadvantaged through decision making that may not be in their best interests or which may reflect the power struggles among the professionals. This is similar to expert power by French and Raven (1959).

The third mode of power by Smith (2010) is relational power, which is dynamic and fluid rather than fixed. Here, power is understood to be shaped by human interactions that shape every changing relationship.