Today issues of family policy and in particular the high divorce rate are increasingly matters of social and political concern. This book presents the first complete analysis of the history and development of marriage guidance in England. Drawing on the insights of both history and sociology, the authors set the subject in the context of changes in marriage itself, as well as changes in the wider society. They examine the relationships between the changing construction of the problem of marriage and divorce and the changing approaches of the marital agencies, and give an in-depth case study of the National Marriage Guidance Council (now renamed Relate) in order to examine the dynamics of survival and change within a voluntary organization. In Part one David Morgan explores the theoretical issues raised and identifies a number of important themes, such as the shift from movement to agency, and transformations in the institutional and relational aspects of marriage. Part two, by Jane Lewis, gives a detailed account of the early ideas surrounding marriage guidance and the subsequent organizational history of the NMGC. In Part three David Clark looks closely at the theoretics.
This book should be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners of social policy, social work, social history, and counselling.
- ISBN10 0415055539
- ISBN13 9780415055536
- Publish Date 5 December 1991
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 8 November 2009
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Imprint Routledge
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 272
- Language English