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On guard against bureaucracy: depictions of the social work bureaucrat in syllabi texts

ABSTRACT This article investigates the depiction of social workers and bureaucracy in selected social work syllabi texts in Norway. The core message is that bureaucracy threatens to undermine important social work principles. The texts emphasize individual responsibility and that social workers cannot assume that the ‘system’ will be ethical. As bureaucrats, social workers should prioritize loyalty to the clients and the political agenda of the profession above the demands of public bureaucracies. This entails that social workers need to oppose rules and policies when necessary, engage in critical reflection, approach clients in a personal and holistic manner, promote anti-hierarchical attitudes and actively combat social inequality on a structural level. While the texts promote an image of the social work bureaucrat as an antidote to the dark sides of bureaucracy, they to a limited extent reflect the ethos of bureaucracy as a sphere with distinct values that are important in democratic societies.