Ethnicity and Placement: Beginning the Debate

Abstract

This article is based on an interview with John Small by Guest Editor Beverley Prevatt Goldstein during the Fourth International Conference of Caribbean and International Social Work Educators, which took place in Jamaica in July 1999.

Small played a key role in the recruitment of black carers, which, with its focus on the importance of identity, contributed to the radical shift in the ideological base of British social work practice from the early 1980s. After a brief introduction by the Editor, he reflects on these issues, both in the light of the pioneering work carried out by black activists at that time and the challenges for those engaged in family placement work today. In conclusion, Prevatt Goldstein comments on the interview and the relevance of Small's position in the 21st Century.