Social work

Social work is a profession and a social science committed to the pursuit of social justice, to quality of life, and to the development of the full potential of each individual, group and community in a society. Social workers draw on the social sciences to solve social problems. They may work in research, practice, or both. Practitioners will usually possess a degree or registered license in the discipline, dependent on national law. Social work research is often focused in areas such as individual and family therapy, social policy, public administration and development. Social workers are organized into local, national, continental and international Professional bodies to further the aims of the profession.

History

Social work has its roots in the struggle of society to ameliorate poverty and the resultant problems.

Contemporary professional development

Social Work education begins in a systematised manner in universities, but is also an ongoing process that occurs though research and in the workplace.

International Federation of Social Workers states, of social work today,

"social work bases its methodology on a systematic body of evidence-based knowledge derived from research and practice evaluation, including local and indigenous knowledge specific to its context. It recognizes the complexity of interactions between human beings and their environment, and the capacity of people both to be affected by and to alter the multiple influences upon them including bio-psychosocial factors. The social work profession draws on theories of human development, social theory and social systems to analyse complex situations and to facilitate individual, organizational, social and cultural changes."^[1]

A hopeful development for bridging this gap is the compilation, in many practice fields, of collections of "best practices" which attempt to distill research findings and the experience of respected practitioners into effective practice techniques.^{[citation needed]} Although social work has roots in the informatics revolution, an important contemporary development in the profession is overcoming suspicion of technology and taking advantage of the potential of information technology to empower users.^[2]

Qualifications

Professional social workers are generally considered those who hold a masters (MSW) in Social Work. Often these practitioners must also obtain a license or be professionally registered.

In some areas of the world, social workers start with a Bachelor of Social Work (BA, BSc or BSW and some university conduct Diploma in Social Work Programme) degree. Some countries offer post-Graduate degrees like the master's degree (MA, MSc or MSW and Post Graduate Diploma in Social work) or the doctoral degree (Ph.D or DSW).

In a number of countries and jurisdictions, registration or licensure of people working as social workers is required and there are mandated qualifications.^[3] In other places, a professional association sets academic and experiential requirements for admission to membership. The success of these professional bodies' efforts is demonstrated in the fact that these same requirements are recognized by employers as necessary for employment.^[4]

Professional associations

There are a number of professional associations for social workers. The purpose of these associations is to provide ethical guidance, and other forms of support for their members and social workers in general. The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) are among the professional associations that exist to enhance the profession of social work. Network of Professional Social Workers is a fast growing professional network of Social Workers across the globe. Network of Professional Social Workers aims to connect social workers beyond their local and national associations across the globe. Network of Professional Social Workers effectively uses Social networking media such as Linkedin, Face Book etc to network with Social Workers across many countries and initiate discussions on various issues affecting Social Work Profession. Network of Professional Social Workers Group list serve, NPSW.^[5] A large, national group in the United States is the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). In addition to providing ethical guidance and support, it also provides accreditation opportunities and a current listing of employment opportunities.^[6]

Role of the professional

The main tasks of professional social workers can include a variety of services such as case management (linking clients with agencies and programs that will meet their psychosocial needs), counseling (psychotherapy), human services management, social welfare policy analysis, policy and practice development, community organizing, international, social and community development, advocacy, teaching (in schools of social work), and social science research.

Types of professional intervention

There are three general categories or levels of intervention. The first is "Macro" social work which involves society or communities as a whole. This type of social work practice would include policy forming and advocacy on a national or international scale.

The second level of intervention is described as "Mezzo" social work practice. This level would involve work with agencies, small organizations, and other small groups. This practice would include policy making within a social work agency or developing programs for a particular neighborhood.

The final level is the "Micro" level that involves service to individuals and families.

Currently, there is a great deal of concern among some in the profession that it has left behind its historical roots and is focused overwhelmingly on the practice of micro, primarily psychological, interventions.

There are a wide variety of activities that can be considered social work and professional social workers are employed in many different types of environments. The following list details some of the main fields of social work.

Social Work Perspectives

Perspectives are ways of viewing and thinking about practice. They are used as a framework to assist clients in therapy or other social work settings^[7]

In US, there are four main perspectives social workers employ: Ecosystemic/Ecological System, Feminist, Generalist, and Strengths Perspectives.

Ecosystemic/Ecological System - This perspective honors the mutual relationship between individuals and their environment. It looks at the goodness of fit between the individual's capacities and the environment's resources and capacities.^[8]

Feminist - This perspective examines the impact of societal beliefs, stereotypes and practices as the related to gender and sex roles. It values the feminine attributes of clients and attempts to address societal patriarchy, androcentrism and sexist practices which seek to oppress and exploit women.^[9][10]

Generalist - An approach to practice that involves a holistic understanding of the client on multiple levels - individual, family, community, organizational. This approach integrates various models and theories to help understand the client's situation and uses an eclectic mix of interventions and techniques. Inherent in this perspective is a collaborative process in which the client and the worker have mutual responsibility.^[11][12]

Strengths - This perspective focuses on what the client is already doing that is successful. The goal of all interactions is to identify and augment the client's strengths and resources. There is an expectation that strengths exist both in the client and in their larger environment and that the clients know best how to utilize these resources. It also assumes that nobody knows the upper limits of an individual's capacity to grow.^[13]

Areas of social work

See also

	Book:Social work
Books are collections of articles which can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Sociology
• Social research
• Social theory
• Social change
• Social development
• Social justice
• Social movement
• Social planning
• Human Rights
• International Development
• Social care UK

References

External links

Find more about Social work on Wikipedia's sister projects:

Definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity

• The New Social Worker Online
• Definition of Social Work Adopted July 2000 by the International Federation of Social Workers. German translation also available at: Austrian National Federation of Social Workers
• Social Work & Society - Online Journal for Social Work and Social Policy. Open Access and Non-Governmental

Further reading

v - d - e Social work and related concepts Primary concepts Social work · Qualifications for professional social work · Role of the professional social worker · Social work knowledge building Education Bachelor of Social Work (BA, BSc or BSW) degree · Socionom · Master of Social Work degree (MA, MSc or MSW) · Doctor of Social Work degree (Ph.D or DSW) · International Association of Schools of Social Work · Council on Social Work Education · Schools of social work Social workers American social workers · British social workers · Canadian social work academics · Unclassified social workers Professional associations International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) · National Association of Social Workers · British Association of Social Workers · Australian Association of Social Workers · Professional Social Workers' Association Types of social work Medical social work · Social work with groups · Social planning · School social worker · Barefoot social work · Forensic social work · Caseworker · Child protection · Social work in the military Other terms of interest Community practice · Community organizing · Settlement movement · Charity Organization Society · Jane Addams · Social justice These articles are supported by the Social Work WikiProject