What is a Social Worker?

Social workers are practitioners who strive to promote overall well-being and support communities and
individuals in fulfilling basic and complex needs. Social workers deal with a wide range of cultures and
people, with a special emphasis on the poor, disadvantaged, and impoverished.

A social worker may be expected to engage in policy procedures that frequently result in the
formulation of social programs, depending on their profession, job description, and place of
employment. To carry out their practice, they rely on social work values and beliefs, as well as academic
study.

Social workers are educated and qualified to resolve social injustices and obstacles to the greater well-
being of their clients. Poverty, unemployment, inequality, and a shortage of accommodation are only a
few examples. They also assist clients and families who have disabilities, drug abuse issues or are
involved in domestic disputes.

What are the Social Worker Licensure Exams?

The Professional Regulation Commission, or PRC, is the official committee in the Philippines in charge of
all licensing examinations, with the exception of the Philippine bar exam. As a consequence, it is in
charge of conducting the Social Worker Licensure Board Examination.

To take the Social Worker Licensure Exam, candidates must have a Bachelor in Science in Social Work
from a well-known school, university, or college.

These conditions are mandatory for the qualifications of applicants and soon-to-be passers who have
taken a licensing exam in order to protect the reputation of the workforce.

Requirements for the Occupational Therapy Board Examinations

Before applying to take the Social Worker Licensure Board Exam, all of the following requirements must
be met:

Passport-sized image of the applicant with a white background and collared attire;
A valid NBI Clearance;

Transcript of Records accompanied by a scanned image and the remarks “For Board Review Purposes”;

A copy of the applicant’s Birth Certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA);

A copy of the Marriage Contract from the NSO or the PSA (applicable to married female applicants only);

Documentary stamps;

Certificate of 1,000 case hours of supervised field practice signed by the faculty supervisor and/or head
of the social work program, with updated Professional Identification Card (PIC);

Project Feasibility Study (hard & soft copy)

An examination payment of Php 900.00;

Social Worker Licensure Examination Registration Procedure

A simple database schema for every license exam is included in the PRC LERIS online portal – which
makes it super convenient for all applicants to schedule an appointment. The PRC advises all aspiring
professionals to check online appointments before submitting documents of their choosing to a regional
or PRC Satellite Office.

Should you not be able to enroll because you are unsure of the protocol, our step-by-step method will
help you arrange your registration – or head straight to the PRC LERIS website for registration if you
already have a good understanding of the method.

Social Worker Board Exam Coverage

The Social Worker Licensure Examination will cover the following subjects, for which you must plan
months, if not years, in advance. The following are the subjects that will be covered along with their
corresponding weight:

Human Behavior and Social Environment – 20%

This subject in the board exam will mostly cover the main hypotheses and stages of personality
development; historical viewpoints and various influences affecting the Filipino family; social structures
related to the group and the cultural; community influences shaping group behavior; and the
complexities of psychosocial issues.
Personality Development

Theories of Personality

Psychoanalytic theories

Freud

Erikson

Behaviorist theories

Piaget

Skinner

Humanistic theories

Maslow

Rogers

Phases of Personality Development

Steps in human growth and development and corresponding characteristics

Oral sensory

Muscular-anal

Locomotor-genital

Latency

Puberty and adolescence

Young adulthood

Adulthood

Maturity

Developmental tasks

Infancy and early childhood (birth to 6 years)

Middle childhood (6 to 12 years)

Pre-adolescence and adolescence (12 to 18 years)

Early adulthood (18 to 35 years)

Middle age (35 to 60 years)

Later life (60 years and above)

Determinants of behavior

Heredity

Environment

Training

The Filipino Family

Historical perspectives on the Filipino family

Pre-Spanish period

Spanish period

American period

Post-American period

The contemporary Filipino family

Socio-cultural factors influencing the Filipino family

Family patterns and changing roles

Types of family structures

Functions of the family

Authority in the family

Institutions (schools, church, media, etc.)

Cultural variables

Folkways

Moores

Folklore

Costumes
Language

Values

Physical factors influencing the Filipino family

Environmental changes

Ecology

Population growth

Industrialization/modernization

Courtship and Marriage

Courtship

Marriage and human sexuality

Parenthood

Child-rearing practices

Decision-making pattern

The Filipino Family in Crisis

Sources of Disfunctioning

Family disorganization

Generation gap

Role pressures and strains

Social Processes in the Group and Community

The Social Process: definition

Basic social processes

Competition

Conflict

Cooperation

Derived social processes

Accommodation

Amalgamation

Assimilation

Acculturation

Understanding Group Behavior

Group qualities

Properties of group

Communication pattern

Values

Composition of the group

Group goals

Standards or code of ethics

Atmosphere or social climate

Structure and organization

Procedures of getting things done

Sociometric pattern or relationship of friendship and antipathy

Participation patterns

Manner of forming groups

Deliberate formation to accomplish objectives

Spontaneous formation

External designation

Types of groups deliberately formed

workgroups

problem-solving groups

social action groups

mediating groups

client groups

Functions of group members

Group building and maintenance

Encouraging

Mediating

Gatekeeping

Standard-setting

Following

Relieving tension

Group tasks in achieving goals

Initiating (suggesting new ideas)

Information seeking (asking for relevant facts)

Information or opinion giving (stating pertinent facts or beliefs)

Classifying (probing for meaning and understanding)

Elaborating (enlarging on previous comments)

Coordinating (showing relationships)

Orienting (defining the progress of discussion)

Testing (checking readiness for action)

Summarizing (reviewing the content of past discussion)

Non-functional roles emanating from self-centered behavior of group members

Blocking (interfering with the progress of the group)

Aggression (showing hostility)

Seeking recognition (calling attention to one’s self)

Special pleading (introducing ideas related only to one’s own concern)

Withdrawing (acting indifferently)

Dominating (asserting authority)

Group Cohesiveness

Incentive property of the group

Motive base

Group solidarity

Consequences of group cohesiveness

Leadership and performance of group functions

Traits of leaders

ole performance

Types of leaders

Power and influence in groups

Agent exerting influence vs. the persons subjected to influence

By-products of power

Influence of groups on individual behavior

Social control

Theories of collective behavior (Smerlser’s)

Structural conduciveness

Structural strain

Growth and spread of a generalized belief

Precipitating factors

Mobilization of participants for action

Operating of social control

Community Forces Influencing Group Behaviour

Physical environment
Environment cycles which relate to 3 systems

Air

Water

soil

Ecosystem (major types)

Terrestrial

Aquatic

Technology

high capital intensive

low labor-intensive

intermediate (less capital, more labor)

Urbanization

Problematic urban community relations: superficial, anonymous, transitory, overload (system’s inability
to process inputs from the environment)

Adaptive response to overload

Industrialization

Attitudes toward nature as an object to be exploited

Emphasis on quantity as a key measure of the good

Valuation plays upon knowledge as a source of power

Dynamics of Psychosocial Problems

Deviations in Human Behavior/Social Dysfunctioning

Theoretical perspective

Typologies/classification (psychiatric disorders)

Economics-related problems: psychosocial implications

Poverty

Unemployment
Middle-class and social mobility maladjustments

Irresponsible affluence

Strikes and social unrest at the workplace

Health-related problems: psychosocial implications

Malnutrition

Common medical disorders

Mental illness

Alcoholism

Drug abuse

AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening diseases

Physical disabilities/accidents

Family breakdown

Wife battering

Child abuse and neglect

Abuse and neglect of the elderly

Solo parenting/stepfamilies

Marital conflicts

Armed conflict/Natural disasters

Trauma

Evacuation/refugee phenomenon

Violations of human rights/child rights

Child exploitation, sexual abuse

Discrimination against ethnic or cultural minorities

Discrimination against women

Performance-related problems
Inadequate job performance

Inadequate school performance

Crime and juvenile delinquency

Neighborhood/community apathy and deterioration

Squatting and homelessness

History, Philosophy and Ethics, Social Welfare Policy and Social Welfare Programs, Research, Social
Agency Administration and Supervision – 20%

Historical Evolution

Social Welfare

Public Welfare

Social Work

Theoretical Framework

Philosophy and Ethics

Conceptual Definitions

Social Work

Social Welfare

Social Service

Social Development

Social Welfare Programs

Social Work Strategies

Social Welfare Agencies by auspices, target population, geographical coverage

Client/Client categories

Primary and Secondary Settings for Social Work Practice

Objectives and Functions of Social Welfare

Institutional

Remedial
Residual

Restorative

Rehabilitation

Preventive

Developmental

Social Welfare Programs

Major Fields

Public Assistance/Emergency Assistance

Family Welfare

Child and Youth Welfare

The welfare of Disabled Persons

Women’s Welfare

Community Welfare

The welfare of Special Categories: squatters, slum dwellers, refugees, displaced immigrants, victims or
armed conflict, rebel surrenderees, etc.

History, Philosophy, and Ethics, Social Policy, Etc.

Specialized Services

Medical Social Services

Psychiatric Services

School Social Services

Industrial Social Service

Crisis Intervention

Social Policies

Social Welfare Policies

Philippine Constitution – 1987

R.S. #4373
R.A. #5416

Child and Youth Welfare Code

Family Code in the Philippines

Local Government Code

Updated Laws, Executive Orders, and others

Contemporary Challenges for Social Welfare

National Development Plans

U.N. Strategies

Philippine Realities

Functional Competencies

Policy Formulation and Policy Analysis

Social Planning

Program Development

Social Action and Advocacy

Auxiliary Methods in Social Work

Research

Principles and Basic Concepts

Process

Social Agency Administration

Principles and Basic Concepts

Administrative Functions

Supervision

Principles and Basic Concepts

Rules and Functions

Social Work Method (Primary) – 30%

Social Case Work (10%)

Value Orientation and Scientific Foundation of Social Casework

Concepts and Principles

Concepts of Social Casework

Basic Concepts Relevant to Casework

Concepts of Stress

Professional Communication

The Casework relationship

Components of relationship

Principles of the casework relationship

Workable-Client-Worker Relationship

Scientific Method of the Helping Process

Components of the Problem-Solving Process

Process

Assessment of Clients Workability

Tasks and skills required in the Helping Process

Emerging trends in Social Casework Practice

Social Group Work (10%)

Historical and philosophical foundations of social group work.

Basic elements of social group work

the group or client

types and composition of groups

dynamics of individuals in the group and the group as a whole (group life)

Helping process in group work

goals and objectives

group information

program development

program media (values attached to various media forms)

the group and the community

federated groups (inter-group relationship)

use of community resources

understanding conditions in the community that affect group life

Agency functions, programs, services

The helping relationship

the social group worker – function, responsibilities and roles

workers- professional knowledge and competence; use of professional self

indigenous leader

individual members

the group as a whole

Emerging trends in social group work practice.

Community Organization (10%)

The Conceptual Framework of Community Organization

Definitions

Theories/Concepts

The Philosophical base of Community Organization

Values

Assumptions

Principles

Goals and Objectives of the Community Organization

Models of Community Organization

Community Development

Social Planning

Social Action

The Community Organization Process

Pre-helping Phase

Helping Phase

Roles, Functions, Strategies of Community Organization Worker

Emerging Process

People Empowerment

Disaster Management

Field Practice – 30%

Case Situation – demonstrating beginning skills in case analysis and problem-solving in casework
practice.

Case Situation – demonstrating beginning skills in case analysis and problem-solving in group work
practice.

Case Situation – demonstrating beginning skills in case analysis and problem-solving in community
organizing or community organization. A single/comprehensive case situation may be used (instead of
three separate case situations; work with an individual, group, and community) to give the examinee the
opportunity to demonstrate the application of social work knowledge and skill in case analysis and
problem-solving in an integrated manner.