Introduction to Social Work

Introduction to Social Work

The term social work is a combination of two words which simply refers to a work for people, for group, for community, for society and overall for humanity. It can be defined as human nature which is performed by professionalism for humanity in seek of human rights to fulfill the existence of human. Social work is the service performed by professionally trained social worker who has scientific knowledge and skills to help people or to support people to address their marginalization, deprivation and to connect them to resource and justice.

A historical service that has practically solved social problems and is followed till now on the context of humanism through different scientific methods is called social work. It is a professional performance that deals with evil psychological behavior that arises in society which can be solved through a person or an organization.

Definitions of social work

Social work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and well-being of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research policy, community organizing, direct practice and teaching on the behalf of those affiliated with property or any real or perceived social injustices and violations of their human rights .Research is often focused on areas such as human development, social policy, public administration, psychotherapy, program evaluation and international community development. Social workers are organized into local, national, continental and international professional bodies. Social work, an interdisciplinary field includes theories from economics, education, sociology, medicine, philosophy, politics, anthropology, and psychology. In many jurisdictions, clinical social workers are licensed mental health problem.

• According to J.P. Anderson, 1945 "Social work is the profession service rendered to people for the purpose of assisting them as individuals or in groups to attain satisfying relationship and standard of life in accordance with their particular wishes or capacities and in harmony with those of community".
• According toW.A Fried Londer,1963 "Social work is the professional service based upon scientific knowledge and still in human relations which assists individual alone are in groups to obtain social and personal satisfaction and independence".
• According toArthur E. Fink, 1942 "Social work is a provision of service to acid (help) individuals singly or in group in copying with present with future social and psychological problems that prevent them from effective participation in society".
• According to NASW "Social work is a professional activity of helping individuals, groups or communities to enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and create societal condition favorable to their goals".

Concept of Social Work

We are social being and we love to be within social relationship. But with the phases of time the relationship keeps on changing. Since society is the complex was of relation most of often time people cannot go hand in hand with the dynamics of society. This creates a lot of problem and requires professional knowledge based and sustainable solution. This situation finally helps to emerged social work.

It is helping profession fundamentally aims to assist and individual group or community to cope with complex bio, physo, socio, spiritual through enabling themselves so that they can solve their problem by themselves.

Ethical concerns of social worker

• Social workers conduct and behavior as a social worker

• Social workers should act is accordance with height standard of personal conduct as a social worker loyalty, honesty, politeness, truthfulness, dress code, regularity, punctuality etc.

• Social worker should strive to achieve a high level of competence and proficiency in the practice of the profession.

• Social worker regards the service obligation as the primary responsibility of the social worker profession.

• Social worker should act in accordance with the highest standards of professional integrity and impartiality.

• The social worker should engage in study and research and should be guided by scholarly enquiry.

• Social workers primary responsibilities are best interest towards client.

• Right and prerogatives of the client. It means clients has given all the right to make its decision.

• Confidentiality and primary.

• Social workers ethical responsibilities to the colleagues

• Dealing with colleague’s client.

• Social workers ethical responsibilities to the employers and employing organization

Social workers ethical responsibilities to social work profession

• Maintaining the integrity of the profession.

• Social workers should anist the profession in making social service available to general public.

• Social worker should take responsibilities for identifying, developing and fully utilizing knowledge for professional practice.

• Social workers ethical responsibility to society.

• Promoting general welfare.

Philosophy of social work

Philosophy is more than viewpoint or belief. According to the Oxford advance learner’s dictionary (2010), philosophy is the study of the universe and human life. It is a set of beliefs or an attitude to lie that guides somebody’s behavior (p.1136). Social work practice is emerged as s profession guided by values, belief and philosophy of humanitarian, liberalism and democracy.

Nature of the individual

• Social work believes that every individual is unique and special.
• Social work believes that human suffering is the result of weakness of social system.
• Individual should be understood in terms of psychological, physical, economic, social and other factors.
• Man develops rational act and constructive manner on the basis of personal learning and life experience. It means, a man is neutral at birth neither moral nor immoral.
• All individuals are different and important. Individualization must be respected and accepted.

The relations between groups, groups and individuals and between individuals

• Social work rejects the notion of survival for fittest. The unfit person has the same basic needs, desires and rights as other fit person. It is not that rich and powerful person fit, while poor and weak person in ‘unfit’. Each individual should be given the fullest opportunity to live better life in his/her environment.

• Social work believes that every individual should be given equal opportunity for personally socially constructive development

• Community should utilize its resources to solve the problem to prevent spreading the problem to other parts.

• Community responsibility have to give distribute equal resources and opportunity to its entire members without discrimination.

• Government has duty to provide welfare program likes: employment, education, housing, health, insurance programs, government program should be based need of people or community. The individual and community needs must be assessed and examined scientifically.

Mary Richmond (1961-1928)

She was born in 1861 in Belleville, Illinois and lived until 1929.Her parents died when Mary was very young, which forced her to live with her grandmother and aunts in Baltimore, Maryland. Her grandmother was an active women’s suffragist and radical. She grow up being constantly surrounded by discussions of suffrage, political and social beliefs and spiritualism. This meant she was handed down with good critical thinking skills and caring attitude towards the poor, needy and disabled. Richmond was home schooled until the age of eleven, and then entered a public school. She had to be home schooled because her grandmother didn’t believe in the traditional education system. When she was home schooled she decided to read by herself and she was very dedicated towards her study. She graduated high school at sixteen and went to live with one of her aunts in New york until her aunt became very ill and left Mary to fend by herself, leaving her in poverty for two years in New York. Then Mary returned to Baltimore and worked for several years as a book keeper, and became extremely involved with the Unitarian church and developed good social skills. In 1888, she applied for a job as assistant treasures with the charity organization society (COS). This organization to develop structured services to the poor, disabled and needy. Her involvement in this organization led her contribution in social work.

Reference-

Shrestha, S. K. (2013). the concept of social work. Kathmandu: Taleju, Prakashan