Abstract

EXPLORING SOCIAL INCLUSION IN PRACTICE:
PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FIELD

M. Anthony Hutchinson and Dr. L. William (Bill) Lee

In recent years, social inclusion has evolved as a valued ideal for policy development and community practice in Canada. Despite its increased importance, it has remained a peripheral evocation rather than a core directive. As such, related social inclusion agendas have primarily been championed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community service agencies. This is in stark contrast to the manner in which social inclusion has evolved and been implemented in the European Union (EU) where it has been adopted across jurisdictions as a core policy imperative. However, despite its peripheral status in Canada, social inclusion has been making substantive in-roads as a practical policy option and practice objective. Subsequently, it is important to examine the extent to which social inclusion is understood and utilized in community work and social development practice. This paper presents findings from a qualitative research project with community workers and social development practitioners in the Greater Toronto Area. The authors explore how participants understood social inclusion in the context of their respective day-to-day practices. Analysis suggested at least four main concepts: social inclusion as a familiar but elusive concept; it is more connected to local processes than large-scale outcomes; it is related to issues of equity and access; and, it is linked to participation of state residents in societal decision-making.

Bios

Anthony Hutchinson is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for Studies in Social Inclusion, Toronto, Canada. The institute is a cross-disciplinary think-tank that incorporates the participation and research ideas of academics, social activists and community residents to address and promote issues of access, equity and participation in Canadian life across respective social, economic and political domains. Mr. Hutchinson teaches Research Methods at Ryerson University’s School of Social Work as well as Statistics and Data Analysis at Wilfrid Laurier University. From March 2001 through June 2002, Mr. Hutchinson was a Lead Researcher for the Hemispheric Social Inclusion Index Project at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, York University. The first report, Measuring Environmental Inclusion in the Western Hemisphere: Does Economic Growth Foster a Sustainable Environment, written in collaboration with Daniel Drache was released in November 2001 and is available for download at http://www.robarts.yorku.ca. In May 2002, Mr. Hutchinson was a lead presenter at the Experts Working Day on Social Inclusion held at York University. Mr. Hutchinson has a broad career in anti-poverty work, human rights advocacy and social policy analysis with organizations such as Low Income Families Together and the Ontario Social Development Council. Mr. Hutchinson holds a B.Sc. (Toronto), B.S.W. (York), and M.S.W. (McMaster). Currently, he is completing his Ph.D. in Social Policy at the School of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University.

Dr. Bill Lee has been a community organizer and university instructor for more than twenty-five years. Currently he an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and holds a cross-appointment at the School of Social Work at the University of Toronto as well. He has worked and continues to work in areas of child welfare, First Nations development, international social development and housing co-operatives. He is the author of Pragmatics of Community Organization (3rd Edition), Mississauga: CommonAct Press (1999). Dr. Lee holds a B.A. (St. Thomas, Texas) as well as an M.S.W., Adv. Dip. S.W., and his Ed.D. all from the University of Toronto.

Back to Papers