THE PHILIPPINE SOCIAL REALITIES AND SOCIAL WELFARE
Social work is concerned with the interaction between people and their environment
SOCIAL REALITIES
Conditions in the macro level that has significant impact in the lives of the people in the
society
MACRO LEVEL
Compared to Micro, Macro refers to a larger system. Micro may be defined as a system
involving Individuals, Domestic Unit, and Small Groups. On the other hand, Macro is
wider in scope compared to the former which scope may cover Organizations,
Communities and Policy.
SOCIAL REALITIES
It affects a person's total social functioning, and it is important to understand that people
incorporate their social and cultural environment, cultural patterns influence the manner
and the degree of self-expression and life satisfaction of people.
SOCIAL WORK
Social work includes all the voluntary attempts to extend benefits in response to the
needs which are concerned with social relationships and which avail themselves of
scientific knowledge and methods. Cheyney, 1926
The provision of services designed to aid individuals, singly or in groups in coping with
the present or future social and psychological obstacles that prevent or are likely to
prevent, full or effective participation in the society. Fink, 1942
Boehm, 1959
Social Work seeks to enhance the social functioning of individuals/groups by activities
focused upon their social relationships which constitute interaction between individuals
and their environment. "The focus is enhancement of social functioning."
SOCIAL FUNCTIONING
The expression of the interaction between man and his environment; the individual's
manner of coping with the demands of his environment. De Guzman, 1987
Pincus & Minahan, 1978
which affects the ability of people to accomplish their life tasks, alleviate distress, and
realize their aspirations and values.
The individual in his adaptive capacity in relation with his environment tries to achieve a
state of equilibrium for maximal social functioning.
Any change in the environment therefore, whether social, cultural, physical or
physiological which produces stress, may disturb this equilibrium.
Eg. Stress due to illness or unemployment, changed family roles, effect of migration,
urbanization, and industrialization
R.A. 4373, 1965
Social work is a profession that is primarily concerned with organized social service
activity aimed to facilitate and strengthen basic social relationships in the mutual
adjustment between individuals and their social environment for the good of the individual
and society, and by the use of social work methods.
PASWI, 1977
Social work is the profession which fosters, facilitates, and strengthens basic social
relationships in order to achieve full development of the individual and society by the use
of social work methods.
IFSW & IASSW, 2014
Social work is a practice-based profession and academic discipline that promotes social
change and development, social cohesion and empowerment and liberation of people.
Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for
diversities are central to social work... Social work engages people and structures to
address life challenges and enhance wellbeing.
The study of social reality in social work includes government and law and the political
system, its relation to custom and morality, the legal framework of social provisions, and
the social problems that affects the people of the society.
"When the social reality is harsh and hostile, social work has to address itself to the need
for improving social reality rather than have the client system adjust to the reality."
SOCIAL SITUATION
Emergent configuration of people, culture, specific meanings, time and space, dynamic
processes such as social control, readjustment and interaction
SOCIAL PROBLEM
- A social condition that is perceived to be harmful to more than just a few people.
- A situation in the society that is a result of an impact
Both an objective reality and a subjective perception.
AS AN OBJECTIVE REALITY
The social problem is intrinsically real in that it possesses a harmful quality that can be
verified by the experience of some people.
The harmful nature of this experience is universal, existing all over the world.
Eg. Suicide, poverty, violence, alcoholism, terrorism, human trafficking and many others.
AS A SUBJECTIVE REALITY
Whether something that constitutes a social problem depends on how people see it. If
people perceive something as a social problem, it is a social problem; if they view it
something else, it will be Something else. Eg. Abortion
To people who oppose it, abortion is murder and thereby a problem. But to those who
support it, abortion is a solution to being pregnant with an unwanted child for whom the
pregnant individual cannot provide care.
Reab and Selznick (1961) shares their definition of what Social Problem is,
"A problem in human relationship which seriously threatens society or impedes the
important aspirations of many people."
McKee and Robertson (1975) offered Several Ideas that explains what social problem is:
1. Social Problems involve the subjective perception of an objective condition of
such problem
For a social problem to exist, there must be a real, objective condition, such as crime,
drug abuse or poverty. But that mere existence of such condition is not enough to make it
as a social problem. According to him, there must be a subjective response in people's
minds; they must perceive the condition as presenting a problem.
2. Social problems involve a gap between social ideals and social reality
All social problems involve a widespread perception of the difference between the real –
what is- and the ideal – what ought to be. The ideals of society are based on the values
and attitudes of its people.
3. Social problems must be perceived as problems by a significant number of
people or by a number of significant people. No matter how undesirable a social
condition may seem to a few people, it cannot be regarded as a social problem until it is
subjectively perceived as such either by a significant proportion of the population or by a
number of people who occupy positions of power and influence in society.
4. Social problem must be regarded as capable of solution through collective
action
All societies experience social conditions that they recognizę as undesirable, such as
disease, war or fume. But it is only when people believe that they have the capacity to do
something about these conditions that the conditions are regarded as social problems.
VALUES
Shared ideas about what is desirable.
ATTITUDES
Predispositions to respond favorably toward particular people, events or situations.
"Because social values and attitudes are continually changing, the gap between
particular social ideals and particular social realities also changes - it results to
emergence of new social problems and the disappearance of old ones."
Theories and Research in Analysis of Social Problems (3/19/2022)
METHODS IN RESEARCHING SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Research is both a gathering of facts and testing of hypotheses to determine whether
they fit the facts.
SURVEY
A research method that involves asking people questions about their opinions, beliefs or
behaviors
Population – the entire group of people to be studied
Sample - a relatively small number of people selected from a large population
Random Sample - a sample drawn in such a way that all members of a population must
have the same chance of being selected.
Structured Interview - an interview which the researcher asks standardized questions
that require respondents to choose from several standardized options.
Unstructured Interview - an interview which open-ended questions are asked and
respondents are allowed to answer freely, in their own words.
OBSERVATION
Rely on one's self to go where the action is - and to watch what is happening.
Detached Observation - a method of observation in which the researcher observes as
an outsider from a distance, without getting involved.
Participant Observation - a method of observation in which the researcher takes part on
the activities of the group being studied.
Ethnography - an analysis of people's lives from their own perspectives.
EXPERIMENT
A research operation in which the researcher manipulates variables so their influence can
be determined.
SECONDARY ANALYSIS
Searching for new knowledge in the data collected earlier by another researcher.
Content Analysis - searching for specific words or ideas and turning them into numbers.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS
"When one attempts to analyse and interpret a social problem, different ways may be
used. One can look at the "big picture" of society to see how it operates. This one calls
for a macroview - focusing on the large social phenomena of society. One can also take
the microview- zeroing in the immediate social situations in which people interact with
one another. From these two views, different perspectives emerged which each sets a
general assumptions about the nature of society."
There are three well-known perspectives in studying social problems:
O Functionalist Theory
O Conflict Theory
O Symbolic Interaction Theory
FUNCTIONALIST THEORY
According to Functionalist Theory, "Every part of society - the family, the school, the
economy, the government, and the other social institutions and groups -performs certain
functions for the society as a whole."
All parts of society depend on each other to bring about social order.
Dysfunction - The failure of some parts of society to perform their functions and the
resuilting disruption of the network of interdependence among all parts.
There are 2 Kinds of Functions:
Manifest Functions - a function that is intended and widely recognized.
Latent Functions - a function that is unintended and unrecognized.
CONFLICT THEORY
According to Conflict Theory, "social problems arise from various kinds of social conflict.
Common to this incudes class conflict, racial or ethnic conflict and gender conflict."
Karl Marx - class conflict involves conflict between 2 classes:
Bourgeoisie (capitalist) – own the means of production; and,
Proletariat (laborers) – do not own the means of production
Capitalism – an economic system where the means of production are largely in the
hands on the hands of private persons whether as individuals, groups or corporations,
with minimum government interventions.
As Balkan, Berger & Schmidt (1980) shares, "Economic marginality leads to a lack of
self-esteem and a sense of powerlessness and alienation, which creates intense
pressures on individuals. Many people turn to violence to vent their frustrations and strike
out against symbols of authority, and others turn this frustrations inward and experience
severe emotional difficulties."
Racial or Ethnic Conflict can further be a source of social problems.
Racial Conflict typically appears in the form of prejudice and discrimination held and
practice by the dominant group.
Eg. Whites against the minorities (Africans, Hispanics, Asians and other ethnic/racial
groups)
Gender Conflict can also be a source of social problems.
Gender conflict appears in the form of prejudice and discrimination by men against
women.
Patriarchy - a system of domination in which men exercise power over women.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION THEORY
Symbolic Interaction Theory views a social problem as, a symbolic interaction between
individuals without the problem and others with the problem, leading the former to behave
like the latter."
Symbolic Interaction is the interaction between a person and others that is governed by
the meanings that they impute to each other's action and reactions.
2 Ways a Social Problem can arise from the Attachment of Positive Meanings:
Differential Association - the process of acquiring through association with others.
Labeling - labeling individuals as deviants, usually by convicting or imprisoning them as
criminals or treating them as disreputable characters.
In Addition to Perspectives in Analyzing and Interpreting Social Problems:
● Social Disorganization
● The disruption or breakdown of a social system.
● Value-Conflict
● Differing values and attitudes among various social groups.
● Deviance
● Any conduct that violates social expectations.
"One social problem leads to another.. This does not mean, that one problem may not
exist without another. This means, the presence of one problem makes probable the
presence of the other."
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS 3/31/2022
“Social Problem is a condition of social changes, disorganization and deviation that
affects a substantial number of people in ways considered undesirable from the point of
view of value judgment applied to it, and it is recognized that a solution of the situation
requires social action."
"Social Problem arise in the matrix of social change and they involve some form of
malintegration of society."
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Norms - refer to any standard or rule that states what human beings should and should
not think, say or do under given circumstances.
Prescriptive Norms - are those which the individual is told to do spelling out the forms of
behavior to which a person must conform.
Proscriptive Norms - are those which the individual is supposed to "not do this", to avoid
and desist from all forms of behavior such as those forbidden in the Ten Commandments.
Social Values - are simply those things to which a society or cultural group attaches
value, worth or significance.
Social Action - refers to a concerted effort or movement in the field of social welfare.
When the forces of government or the community are mobilized to achieve certain
objectives, these efforts are regarded as forms of social action.
Social Change - is change in the social structure and social relationships of the society.
Social Deviation - is any failure to conform to customary norms.
Social Disintegration - represents the deviation or departure from societal norms.
Social Disorganization - refers to disruptions which are brought about by social change.
Social Integration - is the degree to which there are common ends and values toward
which people are oriented and in terms of which the life of the community is organized.
MAJOR SOCIAL CHANGES
“All societies are constantly changing - some rapidly and some very slowly. Modern
society is dynamic, constantly changing, and either progressing or regressing. It is
passing through a period of extensive transitions that have far reaching social and
cultural consequences. Old foundations and established structures have become
unsettled. Social institutions, norms of behavior and many other phases of social order
are undergoing social change."
INDUSTRIALIZATION
"Innovations of machine technology have had and are continuing to have, a
revolutionizing influence on economic and socio-political systems everywhere."
URBANIZATION
"Numerous ethical and religious systems compete, offering many alternatives in conduct
and belief to formerly homogenous societies, especially along ethnic frontiers and in
urban centers."
MOBILITY
"What some future generation may call "industrial nomadism" has set in, with individuals
and small family units moving to where jobs take them."
HETEROGENEITY
"A significant result of the increasing concentration of population in the cities has been a
corresponding multiplication of contact among people of different ethnic, religious,
regional and cultural backgrounds."
Social Integration, Disintegration, and Disorganization
*An integrated social order implies a relatively stable system of organization that is
capable of making adjustments to changing conditions and that enables the group
members to carry on the generally accepted tasks without undue disruptions."
SOCIAL STABILITY AND INTEGRATION
"According to Farris (1955), a successful society is one which constitutes a relatively
stable system of coordinated activities among the members and which achieves a
satisfactory adaptation to the physical environment."
PROCESSES OF DISORGANIZATION AND DISINTEGRATION
"In a dynamic society, both the structural and functional aspects of group life are
continuously changing and often seriously disrupted."
Social Disorganization - implies a disruption of a previously existing condition of
organization which generally cannot be established.
"Society's inability to order relationships among people is often explained as the result of
social disorganization. This order depends not on police power but on the common
acceptance of certain rules of relationship among people."
2 Major Ways in which acceptance of prevailing rules of relationship is undermine:
➔ Breakdown of Traditional Groups
Social disorganization refers to the weakening of the groups and institutions such as the
family, the school, the church, the community and the law which transmits official values.
➔ Conflict of Rules and Aspirations
When the traditional groups in society begin to lose their function and the allegiance of
members, their ability to transmit their values is impaired.
"If a substantial number of individuals in a group have personality problems, the group is
affected by this condition. Contrariwise, in a disorganized society, personalities tend to be
heterogeneous, and individuated and often disintegrated."
Social Deviation and Deviant Behavior
● Deviations grow out of rules or norms of a society
● Deviations vary in the intensity of the reaction to the deviation, as well as in the
direction of approval or disapproval.
● Deviant behavior is essentially violation of certain types of group norms.
MERTON'S 2 TYPE OF DEVIATION
1. Aberrant Behavior - such crimes where individuals violate the norms in pursuit of their
own ends and do not seek to change the norms.
2. Nonconformity - examples include beatniks, hippies, and often political offenders
"The presence of deviation in a society does not constitute social disorganization."
Societal Factors and Risk Conditions of Social Problems
Socialization - the process by which persons learn and incorporate cultural meanings
and values.
Places where Values and Aspirations are most Significantly Learned and
Personality Traits are Developed:
1. Society at Large
a). Official Society - contacts with community and societal forces and pressures exert a
considerable influence in shaping attitudes and behavior.
b). Common Customs - accepted and visible practices in community life, even when not
enforced by law or official action, are just as effective in transmitting values.
c). Mass Media -the mass media are carriers of cultural patterns and behavior norms.
2. The Neighborhood - the neighborhood has no formal laws and no effective mass
media, but it can bring potent subcultural influences.
3. The Peer Group -a peer group -persons of similar generations or ages - tends to take
up the individual where the family's influence ends, even though the family's status and
influence condition the choices of peer group relations.
4. Other Associations - the ability of these groups to transmit or support social values
depends in each case on the relation of the individual to the group.
5. The Family - the family is the basic unit of society and always deserves special
examination.
Cultural Differences and Conflicts
CULTURE
"The distinctive way of life of a people, whatever that might be."
Social Problems and Social Controls
"All societies and groups develop ways of dealing behaviors which fall outside the range
of tolerance of given societal or group norms." This is when social control takes in.
CATEGORIES OF SOCIAL CONTROL:
NEGATIVE SANCTIONS - Penalties imposed on those whose behaviour has
transcended the range of tolerance of the norms.
POSITIVE SANCTIONS - Consists of positive rewards such as praise, recognition, or
prestige, which are bestowed on persons whose behaviour has conformed, or has
exceeded conformance to prescribed norms.
SOCIAL CONTROL MAY BE CLASSIFIED INTO TWO:
FORMAL CONTROLS
● Official actions of a group or society in response to the behaviour of group
members.
● Involves organized systems of specialized agencies and standard techniques.
INFORMAL CONTROLS
● Consists of unofficial group actions.
● Includes acts such as gossips or ostracism, ridicule, reprimands, praise,
criticisms, gestural cues, and many other methods.
● These controls are extremely important in any society for they bulwark the more
formal controls of law.
TWO MAIN TYPES:
1. THOSE INSTITUTED BY AGENCIES OTHER THAN THE STATE:
● Includes business concerns, professional, religious or social groups.
● Usually do positive sanctions which is done through giving of rewards more than
penalties.
Eg.. promotions, bonuses, or some token of merit. a will also resort to imposing
penalties, some of which may be more severe than punishments imposed for crimes
2. THOSE IMPOSED BY THE POLITICAL STATE
● Exercised by the state through its political and legal institutions.
● Opposite to aforementioned, usually do negative sanctions such as imposing of
penalties and punishment.
"In a broad sense, all social problems turn out to be problems of personal and social
control."
PERSONAL CONTROL
➔ Defined as the ability of an individual to refrain from meeting the needs in ways
which conflict with norms and rules of the community.
SOCIAL CONTROLS
➔ The ability of the social groups or institutions to make norms and rules effective.
"Some social problems result when there is a relative absence of internalized norms and
rules governing behaviour in conformity with the norms of the social systems to which
legal penalties are attached, a breakdown in previously established controls, and/or a
relative absence of conflict in social rules or techniques for enforcing such behaviour in
social groups or institutions of which the person is a member."