1. Brown, A. and Bourne, I. (1996) The Social Work Supervisor: Supervision in Community, Day Care and Residential Settings (Buckingham, Open University Press). This book, although focusing on supervision, is invaluable in drawing attention to issues of professional development and support for social workers and potential blocks to them.
2. Carter, P., Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1995) Social Working (Basingstoke, Macmillan). This edited collection of chapters by practising social workers identifies major issues in professional development by analysing social work practice from the perspective of experienced social workers, including the main processes: a ‘hands-on’ approach to examining and articulating practice and learning from it.
3. Eraut, M. (1994) Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence (London, Falmer Press). This book contains a valuable multidisciplinary analysis of issues in professional development and pressures which deal with complexity.
4. Shaw, I. (1996) Evaluating in Practice (Aldershot, Arena). This book presents a model of evaluating a practice based on the reality of social work and recent developments in qualitative methodology for doing and learning research.
5. Yelloly, M. and Henkel, M. (1995) Learning and Teaching in Social Work: Towards Reflective Practice (London, Jessica Kingsley). This edited collection addresses issues in the post-professional education of social workers and related professionals, examining the concepts of professionalism, competence, knowledge and anti-racism, with an emphasis on how professionals learn and maintain a self-critical and reflective approach to practice.