Discipline And Ideas
Applied Social Science
Discipline of Social Work
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).
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.
Activity 1: Think and Share:
This activity encourages social sharing to express social
understanding on beliefs and point of view concerns on
participation in primary and secondary group of socialization. What
comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “social work”?
Write your answer in a separate sheet of paper.
ACTIVITY 2: 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 and supporting vulnerable people. Work
closely with other professional, often known as inter-professional working.
From 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 WORKS
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
founded 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 effect 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 in 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, helping an individual
change the environment where he lives.
Such include advocating for better neighborhood services, public
health programs, and employment conditions. These 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 sculp 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
Principles Relative to Respect for Justice
1. Challenging discrimination - Social works have a
responsibility to challenge discrimination on the basis of
characteristics such as ability, age, culture, gender or sex,
marital status, socio-economic status, political opinions,
racial or other physical characteristics, sexual orientation, or
spiritual beliefs.
2. Recognizing diversity. Social workers should recognize
and respect the diversity of the societies in which they
practice,taking into account individual, family, group, and
community differences.
3. Distributing resources. Social works should ensure that
resources at the disposal are distributed fairly, accordingly to
need.
4. Challenging unjust policies and practices. Social
workers have a duty to bring attention to their employers,
policy makers, politicians, and the general public the
situations where resources are inadequate or where
distribution of resources, policies, and practices are
oppressive, unfair, harmful or illegal
5. Working in solidarity. Social workers, individually,
collectively, and with others have a duty to challenge social
conditions that contribute to social exclusion, stigmatization
or subjugation, and work toward and inclusive society.
Principles Relative to Personal Integrity
Upholding the values and reputation of the
profession
Being trustworthy
Maintaining professional bounderies
Making considered professional judgement
Being professional accountability
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 suffer 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).
1. Compassion 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.
3. 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 everyone get a
share of what the community possesses in material and non-
material assets.
4. Dignity and Is a value that provides the determination and drive for social
worth of the workers to seek the marginalized in all forms without much regard
person as to whether such problem is self-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 relationship as a value, makes it possible for soc workers do their job as most human
human situation they seek to address require collaborating with so many others relationships
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
Think-Pair-Share
What new learning did you develop about the discipline of
social work? Take your time to come up with new insights to
share. Write your answer below.
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ELABORATE
Go online and search for “social work in the
Philippines”. Read the available literature. Choose one
specific practice of professional social justice, and
professional integrity are lived out. Share your findings
through writing.
Discuss each of the following core values in terms of how they influenced professional social
worker
1. Compassion__________________________________________________________
2. Service______________________________________________________________
3. Social Justice_________________________________________________________
4. Dignity and worth of a person____________________________________________
5. Importance of human relationships_______________________________________
6. Integrity_____________________________________________________________
7. Competency__________________________________________________________
8. Self-determination _____________________________________________________
9. Diversity ______________________________________________________________
10. Social care__________________________________________________________
