Disciplines of

Social Work
 Introduction :
• This module demonstrate a high level of understanding
of the basic concepts of social work through a group
presentation of a situation in which practitioners of social
work collaborate to assist individuals, groups, or
communities involved in difficult situations (e.g., post
disaster, court hearing about separation of celebrity couple,
cyberbullying).
• Objectives:
• In this lesson, you are expected to:
• 1. Define social work;
• 2. Explain the context and the basic concepts of the social
work;
• 3. Describe the goals and scope of social work;
• 4. Discuss the principles of social work; and
• 5. Explain the core values of social work.
• What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase
“social work”?
 ACTIVITY 1: Think and Share:

• This activity to share to express social concerns on social

work or issues on what they think and feel. With that, the
student will describe what they have engage in and determine
what makes it social work. An opportunity to explore wide
imagination to share thoughts on verifying your insights by
reading ahead about the concepts, goals, and scope of social
work..
• Discipline of Social Work

• Discipline of social work is closely associated with government welfare

and social programs aimed at achieving social justice, fairness and
attainment of social equilibrium.
• “The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in
human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to
enhance well-being. Utilizing theories of

human behavior and social systems, social works intervenes at the points
where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights
and social justice are fundamental to social work. “(International Federation
of Social Workers 2013).
• Aims to protect vulnerable people from abuse, neglect, or self harm and
to help enhance their well being and quality of life. Operates within legal
frameworks for protecting an supporting vulnerable people. Work closely
with other professional, often known as inter-professional working.
• Social Care to Social work
• Social work has evolved from being a domestic
common sense care to professional service. A wide
variety of people in the community, from friends to
parents, relatives, volunteers to all people of goodwill
participate in providing social care. This includes
providing personal care, supporting individuals with
daily living, and supporting people to engage with their
communities and involve more direct contact with people
 Definition of Social work

• The policy, ethics, and human rights committee of the

British association of social workers (2012) provides the definition
of social work: “The social world profession promotes social
change, problem solving in human relationship and the
empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being.
Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems, social
work intervenes at points were people interact with their
environments. Principles of human right and social justice and
fundamental to social work.”
• It is understood here the social work is a profession
that fulfills the social work mandate to promote well-being
and quality of life. As such, it encompasses activities
• directed in improving human and social conditions and
alleviating human distress and social problems through
enhancing people’s competence and functioning, ability to
access social support and resources, creating human
responsive social services, and expansion of the structures
of the society that provide opportunities for all citizens
(DuBois & Miley 2008)
 Context and the basic concepts of social works
• To appreciate the context and the basic concept of social
work, one has to look into its professional history (Segal,
Gerdes, & Steiner 2005). The aim of social work is to help
individuals fit better into their environment and change
concept, Segal, Gerdes, & Steiner (2005) Locate the history of
social work in the history of social welfare in America. They
particularly link social work history to the charity organization
societies founder 1877 with the aim of discovering the causes
of poverty among individuals, eliminate the causes, and
eliminate poverty from society.
• Poverty was then seen as a character defect of an individual. This
perspective is half true, as evidence of social science showed that
there are multiple external forces and structures that account for
poverty and individuals.

• The next movement that emerged as if to complement the first

wave of social work was called settlement movement which began
1877 (Segal, Gerdes, & Steiner 2005). The settlement movement
operated on the assumption that an individual’s well-being was
directly linked to his or her external surroundings therefore, that to
help and individual changing the environment where that the
individual lives. Such include advocating for better neighborhood
services, public health programs, and employment conditions.
• This two movement efforts of solving poverty of individuals by
helping the individuals fit better in their environment and
changing that environment serve as today’s basic concept of
social work and its all various forms and services.

• The context of social work is a place that requires

professionals to direct their service on needs of empowerment
of people who experience some forms of vulnerability,
oppression, and living in poverty.
 Goals and scope of social works
DeBois and Miley(2008) highlight the following goals and scope of social
works and calling them tenets.

• Empower people, individually and collectively, to utilize their own problem-

solving and coping capabilities more effectively.
• Support a proactive position with regard to social and economic policy
development to prevent problems for individuals and society from occurring
period.
• Uphold the integrity of the profession in all aspects of social work practice.
• Establish linkages between people and societal resources to further social
functioning and enhance the quality of life.
• • Develop cooperative networks within the institutional
resources systems.
• • Facilitate the responsiveness of the institutional resource
systems to meet help and human service needs.
• • Promote social justice and equality of all people with regard
of full participation and society.
• • Contribute to the development of knowledge for social work
profession through research and evaluation.
• • Encourage exchange of information in those institutional systems in which both
problems and resources opportunities are produced.
• • Enhance communication through an appreciation of diversity and through
ethnically sensitive, non-sexist social work practice.

• • Employ educational strategies for the prevention and resolution of problems.

• • Embrace a world view of human issues and solutions.

• The goal and scope of social work has laid down here is a noble and broad-to help
and individual being included in society and to transform the very society that
creates structures the marginalize individuals from full participation in the
enjoyment of social services and resources of community. Change sought is one
that makes and individual and the community a better place for everyone.
 Principles of social work
• The policy, ethics, and human rights committee of the British association of
social workers (2012) has the following principles that apply in general to all the
professionals in the social work profession
1. Upholding and promoting human rights and well-being

2. Respecting the right to self-determination

3. Promoting the right to participation

4. Creating each person as a whole

5. Identifying and developing strengths

Principles Relative to Personal Integrity
 
 Core Values of Social Work
• The core values of social work serve to provide consistency in the fulfillment of
the social welfare delivery and in the general promotion of the well-being and
quality of life of all people. However, special attention or priority is given to those
who supper some forms of exclusions from receiving social services. Therefore ,
the core values in the pursuit of social work include compassion, service, social
justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationship,
integrity, and competence (Du Bois & Miley, 2008; Segal, Gerdes &
Steiner,2005).
1Compassion can be considered as an important values for all humankind but in social work, it
occupies a special impetus to the functioning of the profession. It is the basis for
someone to go out and become a voice to the voiceless and a friend to the people who
need it most
2.Service as a value, direct social workers to go beyond performing a service for a pay and
allow them to be generous with their time. Their work borders on charity and
professional service. Without a special interest in pure service, much of the social
work could not be properly accomplished.
4.Social justice as a value for social workers, is a basis of their understanding of the need to ensure that
everyone get serviced and that everone get a share of what the community possesses in
material and non-material assests.
5.Dignity and Is a value that provides the determination and drive for social workers to seek the
worth of the marginalized in all forms without much regard as to whethere such problem is self-
person inflicted or socially imposed.At the heart of social work is the belief that all human have
dignity and worth regardless their acts and status in life.
5.Importance of human as a value, makes it possible for soc workers do their job as most
relationships human situation they seek to address require collaborating with
so many others professionals and individuals with a stake the
issue. It is about relationships. After all, it is in the context of
relationship is the context of social marginalization and
inclusion.
6.Integrity is necessary in all human endeavors. In social work, nothing can be
  accomplished without integrity. A social worker will have
difficulties to be accepted by the people to receive services and by
those he/she needs to collaborate with facilitate problem solving and
empowerment of an individual or a group.

7.Competence is a very important value for social work because it separates social
  care giving from social work professional practice. Through special
training, a social worker becomes separated from all common sense,
culture and religious-based care.