Learning from Bourdieu: social work and leadership

Luke Geoghegan

Chapter 7 in Research Handbook on Leadership in Social Work and Social Care, 2025, pp 89-100 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Drawing on Bourdieu's theorising on ‘habitus’, ‘capital’, and ‘field’ (Bourdieu 1986, Bourdieu 1988, Bourdieu 1996), the author argues that these concepts provide a key analytic tool for understanding leadership, how leadership develops within professions, how this applies to professional social work, the barriers to social workers who wish to exercise leadership skills, and how their leadership repertoire might be developed. The chapter argues that these conceptual tools give granular insight into social work leadership through the application of specific forms of capital (educational, economic, social, and cultural), and understanding habitus and field in social work settings. Proximity can be complementary to objectivity and distance (Glasby and Beresford 2006), and the author illustrates these theoretical models with his own experiences in, and observations of, leadership. The chapter concludes with five actions for social workers, those seeking to foster and develop leadership skills in social work, and social work educators and researchers.

Keywords: Bourdieu; Habitus; Social work; Leadership; Profession (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035314485
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