Reforming Professional Training and Protecting Vulnerable Adults from Abuse: A Thematic Analysis of the New Social Work Degree's Prescribed Curriculum

This paper analyses the Prescribed Curriculum of the new Degree in Social Work in relation to the Department of Health theme of ‘protecting vulnerable adults from abuse’. A review of post-war social policy first establishes the significance of these terms, both individually and in varying combinations. Subsequently, the phrase as a whole provides the focus for a content analysis of the three constituents of the Prescribed Curriculum, namely, the Secretary of State’s Requirements for Social Work Training, the employment-focussed National Occupational Standards for Social Work, and the academically oriented Benchmark Statement for Social Work. With the exception of ‘abuse’, the key terms are all registered, albeit unevenly. This presence is subsequently enhanced via strategic considerations of ‘logical importance’ and ‘organising rubrics’. Finally, terminological variants of ‘abuse’ are traced, with particular regard to the emerging language of ‘rights’.