Care work in Europe : current understandings and future directions / Claire Cameron and Peter Moss.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cameron, Claire.

Contributor:

Moss, Peter.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human services--Europe.

Human services.

Caregivers--Europe.

Caregivers.

Social workers--Europe.

Social workers.

Europe.

Physical Description:

170 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2007.

Summary:

With an aging population, increasing numbers of working parents and growing attention to the rights of children and of people with disabilities, 'care work' is of more political and public interest than ever before.

Care Work in Europe provides a cross-national and cross-sectoral study of care work in Europe today. It covers policy, provision and practice, as well as how care work is conceptualised and understood. Drawing on a study that looks at care work across the life course in a number of European countries, this book.

explores the policy context and emerging policy agendas;

provides an analysis of how different countries and sectors understand and structure care work;

examines key issues, such as the extreme gendering of the workforce, increasing problems of recruitment and turnover, what kinds of knowledge and education the work requires and what conditions are needed to ensure good quality employment;

considers possible future directions, including the option of a generic professional worker, educated to work across the life course and whether 'care' will or should remain a distinct field of policy and employment.

This groundbreaking comparative study will provoke much-needed new thinking about the current situation and future direction of care work, an area essential to the social and economic well-being of Europe. It will interest students and researchers of social policy, social work and health studies, as well as childcare and social care policy-makers, trainers and professionals.

Contents:

1 Introduction: context and methods 1

2 The care workforce: structure, profile and work conditions 26

3 What is care work about? Understandings and practices 52

4 Education and competence for care work 81

5 Gender issues for male and female care workers 101

6 Quality of employment and job satisfaction 121

7 Conclusions, questions and implications 140.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [157]-165) and index.

ISBN:

0415394473

020394562X

9780415394475

9780203945629

OCLC:

81150169

Online:

Publisher description