SEMINAR_02_Defining Social Work, Core Principles of Social Work

8/22/2019 SEMINAR_02_Defining Social Work, Core Principles of Social Work

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Seminar 2

Defining Social Work, Core Principles of Social Work and the Training You Need To

Become a Social Worker

Social workers give advice, support and counselling to people who are facing difficulties in their lives, such as

depression, disability, homelessness or alcoholism.There was no unanimity as to what social workis. We may conclude that:

There are competing definitions of social work Social work has a number of wider social functions The function of social work is highly contested Social work plays an important function in social integration Social work may fulfil a social control function Social work is expected to address the failure of social policies

As a social worker you would usually specialise in either working with children and families, or working tosupport adults. If you work with young people and families, you may be based in the community or in achildrens care home.

Your work would involve: helping parents who cannot cope with bringing up their child

protecting children believed to be at risk

arranging foster homes or adoption for children who cannot be cared for by their own families

settling children into their new home

working with young offenders in the community

supporting young people leaving care

helping families stay together, perhaps by giving advice on parenting, or drug and alcohol abuse.

The activities of a social worker supporting adults can include:

visiting hospitals and care facilities to asses the social and emotional needs of patients and their families helping clients adjust to living with an illness or disability

assessing needs of people in the community

creating care plans to help people remain living safely and independently at home

working with other health professionals to decide how best to care for people with mental health

problems.

For both types of social work your main aim would be to help people overcome barriers to communication andachieve their goals. You would also need to decide whether it was best for people to remain in their own home,or move into a care setting.

Core Principles Of Social Work

A number of core principles have been identified as underpinning social work, but are in reality easilyreclassified as definitions:

It is a problem-solving activity The focus is on the whole of a persons/familys life, their social support network, their neighbourhood

and community The value system is based on human and civil rights

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The social model is the framework for practice Social workers work with individuals, families, groups or communities to define together the outcomes

they are seeking The process and the relationship are a core part of the service and can represent a service in itself The purpose of social work is to increase the life chances and opportunities of people using services by

building on their strengths, expertise and experience to maximise their capacities.

A recent review ofThe tasks and roles of social workers carried out for the Scottish Executive, ( Asquith et al,2005) concluded that social work has been seen to incorporate all of the following tasks: counsellor or caseworker; advocate; assessor of risk and of need; care manager; agent of social control.

Social work is a problem-solving activity, carried out by the worker through relationships with the individual,family and community. Social work is usually needed when individuals, families or groups are facing a majorand often life changing problem or challenge. Social workers help individuals and families to achieve theoutcomes they want in the ways they prefer.

Social work has a specific focus on: promoting peoples ability to maximize their own capabilities and life options, including participation ineducation, training, employment, social and leisure activities; developing peoples ability to form positive relationships within their family and their social network; helping people to create and maintain independence, and, when this is not possible, to benefit from alternativeforms of support that protect their dignity, rights and choices; and protecting peoples human rights, and promoting the exercise of their rights and responsibilities as citizens

One common characteristic of all the above examples is an explicit acknowledgement of theinterrelationship between social work and the context in which the task of social work is carried out. All theseselective, but typical examples illustrate the impossibility of reaching one comprehensive, uncontesteddefinition of social work. However social works capacity for adaptability and responsiveness can be seen as apowerful strength. In contrast to many other professional groups, social work has always sought to adapt to thesocial and individual needs of a rapidly changing demographic, economic and social structure.

We have summarised below the key characteristics of conceptualisations of the social task into sevencore components. These are now briefly described and discussed.

Seven Core Components

a) Understanding the dynamic between the individual and the socialb) Social work and social justicec) The transformatory significance of the relationshipd) The enabling role of social worke) The therapeutic role of social workf) The management of risk to both the community and the individualg) The evidence base for social work practice

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The Training you need to become a social worker

During social work training you will divide your time between university and supervised work placements.Social work degrees usually take three years' full-time to complete. On an approved course, you will study areassuch as:

principles of equality and social justice

understanding discrimination and oppression

social structure and social policy

legal framework of social work

human growth and development

communication skills and partnership working.

You will also have the opportunity to observe qualified social workers, develop your skills with clients, andreflect on your own practice. Many approved courses train you to work with all service user groups, whichgives you the flexibility and skills to meet employers' needs.

Part-time social work degree courses are often only available to you if you are working in a relevant job. In asimilar way, distance learning social work degree courses are also usually only open to those already in a socialwork setting, who have the support of their employer. However, you should check with course providers asentry criteria may vary.

As a qualified social worker, you can specialise in working with children and families, or adults.Working within a local authority social services department, you are likely to have the opportunity to work witha wide range of clients from a variety of backgrounds. Working within the private sector, or with a charity orvoluntary organisation, your work is likely to be more specialised and focused on supporting a specific group.

The Social Work ProfessionTrue or False

1. Social work as a profession is of a steady size. Although some positions are being eliminated, just as manyare being created.

True | False2. People who pursue social work careers should plan on being happy but poor all their lives.

True | False3. According to some surveys, the highest paid social workers are those who work for the federal governmentand in the U.S. military.

True | False

4. Social work is one of the smallest professions in the United States.True | False5. Computers have changed social work.

True | False6. Not all counselors are social workers, but many social workers are counselors.

True | False

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7. Although social work is an enjoyable and rewarding profession, those that become social workers shouldexpect to live at very low levels because social work salaries are extremely low compared to fields such asteaching, law enforcement, and psychology.

True | False8. Social welfare history can be traced for at least four hundred years. Probably, social welfare services haveexisted for as long as human society.

True | False9. It is a contradiction for a social worker to be a political conservative.True | False

10. It is not important for American social workers to learn foreign languages.True | False

11. Most social workers are employed by one agency throughout their careers.True | False

12. Professional liability insurance of some kind is important for all social workers to have.True | False

13. For many social workers, the important part of the job is organizing people to solve larger social problems.True | False

14. Social workers play a vital role in addressing the many forms of violence in society, which range frombullying to physical and emotional abuse through to torture and war.True | False

15. Anyone who has a kind heart can be a social worker.True | False

16. Social workers enhance individuals' mental health by helping them participate more fully in relationships,work and community life.

True | False17. The role of social work is well understood and does not need to be promoted with members of the public,employers and colleagues in other fields of practice.

True | FalseAnswers:

1. FALSE According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, social work is one of the most rapidly growing of allprofessions. Each year, many more social work jobs are created. The net increase between now and 2005 islikely to be about 25 percent.2. FALSE Although social work jobs are not the highest paying in the United States, they are solidly in themiddle. Beginning social workers can expect to earn over $20,000 per year with bachelor's degrees, and over$30,000 per year with master's degrees. Many social workers earn over $100,000 per year after several years ofexperience and work in a field that is relatively high paying, such as social administration. Of course, socialworkers do not ordinarily have the ability to earn extremely large amounts of money through business efforts, assome entrepreneurs may. However, social work salaries are comparable to those of professionals in similarfields.3.TRUE A survey of National Association of Social Workers members shows that social workers who areemployed by the federal government and the military are the highest paid in the profession.4.FALSE Actually, there are over one half million people who are called social workers by the Bureau ofLabor Statistics. That number is expected to grow by another 100,000 by 2000. There are also hundreds of otherpeople in fields such as human services work, who are also often social workers.5. TRUE Social work agencies almost all use computers to keep their records, plan their work with clients, and,in some instances, to conduct interviews through automated systems. Computer literacy is an importantqualification for social work students.

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6. TRUE Social workers all learn some principles of counseling or direct practice with individuals, families,groups, and couples. Many social workers qualify for membership in counseling and therapy organizations suchas the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.7. FALSE Social work salaries are solidly in the middle range of payment for those who work with people.Sometimes they are lower and sometimes higher but social work salaries are competitive with the salaries insimilar kinds of work for people with similar credentials and educations.

8. TRUE The 1601 Elizabethan Poor Laws are clear forerunners of modern-day social welfare programs.However, traces of much earlier social welfare programs can be found in the history of England and most othernations and societies. Social welfare is a natural outgrowth of human society.9. FALSE Social workers believe in helping people overcome their problems. However, there are many ways to

do so and conservative political thinkers propose ways that are different than liberal thinkers. However,all kinds of solutions to several problems can work and, therefore, social work is not identified with anypolitical party or ideology, as a profession.

10. FALSE Many social work clients speak Spanish, French, and various Asian languages. A social worker whocan use languages other than English may be qualified for more specialized employment than othersocial workers might be.11.FALSE Most social workers usually change jobs at least once or twice--and many more often than

that--during their social work careers.12. TRUE Professional liability insurance provides legal representation and help in paying damages, ifone is sued for professionally improper work or behavior. Some kind of coverage--malpracticeinsurance, liability coverage with one's automobile or homeowner's policy, or some other kind ofsupport, are all important for a social worker in any field of practice.

13. TRUE Grassroots organizing is often an important role for social workers, especially those who are workingfor social improvement. Helping people organize to help themselves is part of the basic tradition ofsocial work.

14. TRUE15. FALSE. Social workers are highly skilled professionals who have a university degree in social work at the

bachelor's, master's or doctoral level.16. TRUE.17. False. The role of social work is generally not well understood.

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SEMINAR_02_Defining Social Work, Core Principles of Social Work