ANGELA EVERITT is Reader in Social Welfare Sudies at the Social Welfare Research Unit at Newcastle Polytechnic, and has been in social work education for many years. She is particularly interested in practitioner research and engaging with practitioners in collaborative research and evaluation projects. PAULINE HARDIKER is Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Work at the University of Leicester. She has undertaken research and published in relation to probation, chronic illness, child care and social work theory. JANE LITTLEWOOD is Lecturer in Social Policy and Administration at the Loughborough University of Technology. She has conducted research in social work issues for a number of years and has contributed to a variety of publications in this ara. She is the author of Aspects of Grief: Bereavement in Adult Life. AUDREY MULLENDER is Director of the Centre for Applied Social Studies at the University of Durham. She is a qualified social worker, with a background in social services. She has maintained a practice involvement during her teaching career, particularly through links with the advocacy movement. She has a special interest in empowering service users, and is the co-author, with David Ward, of Self-Directed Groupwork: Users Take Action for Empowerment.