Main description:

Basic Groupwork is a simple, practical guide to the processes of groupwork. This new edition has been extensively updated and revised to reflect the changes which have taken place in society and social behaviour since it was first published in 1978, but in essence it remains an accessible and friendly text for the novice practitioner.
In logical sequence the book follows the progress of one group from inception to close and exposes how groups work. Basic group processes explained include:

how individuals bring their personal habitual responses to situations into a group
how group constraints enhance or restrain group behaviour and achievement
how a group is affected by the way in which it has originated
how leadership and membership roles interact.

Basic Groupwork provides students with a sound and solid basis for any kind of groupwork, in any context.

Contents:

PART I How groups work 1 A very diverse family: the range of group forms 2 Beginning at the beginning: group members 3 Small groups and bigger groups: the constraints 4 What happens in groups: group processes 5 Guidance, enabling and direction: leadership acts PART II Basic groupwork, 6 Turning ideas into action: getting started 7 The more important steps in working groups 8 Where responsibility lies 9 Going on, changing direction or ending 10 The development of knowledge and skill