Why Macro Practice Matters

ABSTRACT

This article asserts that macro practice is increasingly important in today’s rapidly changing and complex practice environment. It briefly explores the history of macro practice in U.S. social work, summarizes its major contributions to the profession and to U.S. society, and provides some suggestions for how social work programs can expand interest in macro practice among their students and increase the number of students who pursue macro-oriented careers.

Acknowledgments

This article was originally commissioned by the Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice in Social Work established by the Association of Community Organization and Social Administration in 2013. It is an outgrowth of the commission’s outreach to macro social work educators and practitioners who were asked to respond to Why Macro Matters in 2014.

For further information about efforts to promote macro practice in social work or to get involved in such efforts, please contact the commission’s co-chairs: Darlyne Bailey, dean and professor of the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College, and Terry Mizrahi, professor at the Hunter College School of Social Work at [email protected] and [email protected].

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Reisch

Michael Reisch is the Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work.