Social work

Social work is a professional and academic discipline committed to the pursuit of social welfare and social change. The field works towards research and practice to improve the quality of life and to the development of the full potential of each individual, group and community of a society. They may work in research, practice or higher education. Research is often focused on areas such as social policy, public administration, program evaluation and international and community development. Social workers are organized into local, national, continental and international professional bodies. Parts of social work overlap with other disciplines including economics, education, medicine, politics, psychology, and sociology.

History

Main article: History of social work

Social work has its roots in the struggle of society to deal with poverty and the resultant problems. Therefore, social work is intricately linked with the idea of charity work; but must be understood in broader terms. The concept of charity goes back to ancient times, and the practice of providing for the poor has roots in all major ancient civilizations and world religions.

Contemporary professional development

Main article: Social work knowledge building

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."

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. 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.

Qualifications

Main article: Qualifications for professional social work

Professional social workers are generally considered those who hold a degree in social work. Often these practitioners must also obtain a license or be professionally registered.

In some areas of the world, social workers education begins with a Bachelor of Social Work (BA, BSc, BSSW 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. 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.

Professional associations

There are a number of associations for social workers, which exist to provide ethical guidance and other forms of support for their members and social work in general. These associations/organizations are distinguished in international, continental or semi-continental, national and regional. The main international ones are the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW).

Role of the professional

Main article: Role of the professional social worker

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 research.

See also

• Relationship Education
• Sociology
• Social research
• Social theory
• Social change
• Social development
• Social justice
• Social movement
• Social planning
• Human Rights
• International Development
• Social care
• Gerontology: Social Work with Older Adults

External links

• 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

• Agnew, Elizabeth N. (2004). From Charity to Social Work: Mary E. Richmond and the Creation of an American Profession. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252028759. OCLC 51848398.

• Axinn, June and Mark J. Stern (2008). Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 9780205522156. OCLC 86038254.

• Balgopal, Pallassana R. (2000). Social Work Practice with Immigrants and Refugees. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231108567. OCLC 43323656.

• Barker, Richard (2009). Making Sense of Every Child Matters - multi professional practice guidance (1st ed.). Bristol, UK: Policy Press. ISBN 1847420117.

• Barker, Robert L. (2003). Social Work Dictionary (5th ed.). Silver Spring, MD: NASW Press. ISBN 087101355X. OCLC 52341511.

• Butler, Ian and Gwenda Roberts (2004). Social Work with Children and Families: Getting into Practice (2nd ed.). London, England; New York, NY: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 1417501030. OCLC 54768636.

• Davies, Martin (2002). The Blackwell Companion of Social Work (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK; Malden, MA: Blackwell. ISBN 0631223916. OCLC 49044512.

• Fischer, Joel and Kevin J. Corcoran (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and Research: A Sourcebook (4th ed.). Oxford, UK; New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195181906. OCLC 68980742.

• Greene, Roberta R. (2008). Social Work with the Aged and their Families (3rd ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9780202361826. OCLC 182573540.

• Grinnell, Richard M. and Yvonne A Unrau (2008). Social Work Research and Evaluation: Foundations of Evidence-Based Practice (8th ed.). Oxford, UK; New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195301526. OCLC 82772632.

• Mizrahi, Terry and Larry E. Davis (2008). Encyclopedia of Social Work (20th ed.). Washington, DC; Oxford, UK; New York, NY: NASW Press and Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195306613. OCLC 156816850.

• Popple, Philip R. and Leslie Leighninger (2008). The Policy-Based Profession: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0205485928. OCLC 70708056.

• Reamer, Frederic G. (2006). Ethical Standards in Social Work: A Review of the NASW Code of Ethics (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press. ISBN 9780871013712. OCLC 63187493.

• Richardson, Virginia E. and Amanda Smith Barusch (2006). Gerontological Practice for the Twenty-First Ccentury: A Social Work Perspective. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 023110748X. OCLC 60373501.

• Sowers, Karen M. and Catherine N. Dulmus.; et al. (2008). Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0471752223. OCLC 155755265. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)

• Specht, Harry (1994). Unfaithful angels : how social work has abandoned its mission. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0029303559. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Statham, Daphne (2004). Managing Front Line Practice in Social Work. New York, NY: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 1417501278. OCLC 54768593.

• Thyer, Bruce A. and John S. Wodarski (2007). Social Work in Mental Health: An Evidence-Based Approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. ISBN 0471693049. OCLC 65197928.

• Turner, Francis J. (2005). Canadian Encyclopedia of Social Work. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 0889204365. OCLC 57354998.

• Wittenberg, Renee (2003). Opportunities in Social Work Careers (Revised ed.). Chicago, IL: VGM Career Books. ISBN 0071390480. OCLC 49959266.