UNIT - I

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION

BRIEF HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION IN

UK, USA AND INDIA

CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL WORK: SOCIAL SERVICE, SOCIAL INEQUALITY,

SOCIAL WELFARE, SOCIAL SECURITY, SOCIAL ASSISTANCE, SOCIAL
POLICY SOCIAL PLANNING, SOCIAL ACTION, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
AND SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives

1.1 Brief History of Social Work

1.2 Social work Profession in UK

1.3 Social work Profession in USA

1.4 Social work Profession in India

1.5 Concepts in Social work

Let us sum up

Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model Questions
OVERVIEW

The concept and practice of social work is as old as the human race itself.
Community living was the pattern, naturally t o help the need, sick and the unfortunate
has been the responsibility of the society. Some had an aptitude to take up such work.
Buddha and Jesus emphasized the necessity of taking care of the sick and destitute.
Gradually religious institutions developed social work as part of religion. The idea grew
that service rendered to the community is service rendered to God. With the process of
development and expansion of Urbanization and the growth of Industrialization, ancient
social security and welfare system started changing its role in relation to these needy
individuals, families, groups, and their environment. These problems compelled the
society to create social welfare agencies. Later on when it was observed that these
problems required scientific outlook for proper and permanent solution, a new system of
scientific assistance came into existence, i.e. social work. Social work, unlike an early
charity practice, attempts to help the problem that strengthens their ego to face conditions
as reality and try to improve them. At the same time social work attempts to mobilize
social forces to resolve those social and economic situations that lead to ill health, Mental
suffering frustration and social behavior.

Learning Objectives

 To appreciate the history of social work

 To gain understanding about social work and related concepts

 To provide information about evolution of social work in west and in India and its
emergence as a profession

 To understand social work as a profession- its values principles and beliefs

 To gain understanding about the social work methods

 To recognize the need for professional social work practice

1.1 Brief History of Social Work

The desire to help other people is stressed by the major religions, especially
Judaism and Christianity. The Bible tells of ways in which religious individual’s assisted
the needy. For example the ancient Jews paid a tax for the benefit of the poor. The tax
amounted to a tenth of a person’s income. During the middle ages, from the late A.D.400
to the 1500 A.D. various religious groups devoted themselves to healing the sick and
feeding the hungry.

Great changes took places in society during the Industrial revolution, a period of
many new inventions and great industrial development that began in the 1700s’. The
growth of populations and industries, together with the movement of from rural areas to
cities, brought such problems as overcrowding, unemployment, and poverty. Growing
number of people began to depend on others for help. During the 1800s’ many private
agencies were established in order to aid their people.

Working with needy became a distinct profession in the late 1800’s. One agency,
the Charity of Organization Society, helped the needy in Great Britain, the United States,
and Canada. Its counselors, called “Friendly Visitors” went to peoples’ home and
performed services, some of which were similar to those of present day social workers. In
the early efforts of the Charity Organization Society one sees the roots of many present-
day programmes and practices. Among these are the Social Service Exchange, the case
conference, and social action and planning. By the end of nineteenth century the charity
organization societies began to employ paid workers. Many of these societies established
training courses for their workers. The New York Charity Organization Society
established the first school for training social workers in the year 1898. It was called the
New York School of Philanthropy and now it is known as the New York School of Social
Work, Columbia University.

During the first -two decades of the twentieth century major social welfare
programmes were developed in the fields of health, education, and science, and
international peace, social and civic improvements. Special war time programmes which
were developed during First World War (1914-1918).

The term “social service”, ”social work”, and “welfare service” and such related
phrases as “social administration” and most of the policies and programmes involving
these terms are essentially formation and practices of the 20th century. Admitting in some
form or other, most of the things done today done by individuals, charitable societies or
governments as social and welfare services have been done in the past in many societies.
The mosaic law, socio-political systems of classical Greece and roman empire, the edicts
of Asoka, the simple rules of early Christian communities, and the institutions of family,
village and caste in India , to mention only a few incidents contained elements of what
are today called social and welfare services.

The Victorian reformers who were distressed poverty, child neglect and other
social ills were pioneers in many of today’s social welfare services, although they too had
called such services by various other names such as “organized charity”, “philanthropic
work”, or “relief of distribution”. Broadly speaking, there have been two rationales’ for
social work and social welfare services. In some Eastern countries there are various
social work projects in the areas of education and health, groups that are socially,
economically physically or mentally handicapped or special groups like children youth or
the aged. Social work is necessary function of any society not only to provide for unmet
needs but to serve individuals and groups positively so that they may develop and achieve
to the fullest extent possible.

Social work is an entity representing three clearly distinguished but interrelated

parts; a network of social services, carefully developed methods and processes, and social
policy expressed through social institutions and individuals. Social work is that process
which deals directly and differentially with persons who have problems relating primarily
to their social situation and which endeavors individual to individual to understand what
help is needed and to assist the individual to find and utilize the help indicated. This
helping the helpless is social service, helping the helpless to help themselves is social
work.

1.2 Social Work Profession in U K

I. Before 1200A.D

It was called the primitive stage. During this period there was nothing of social
work or social welfare. It was a curse from god. So they have to face the problem
willingly and there is no other way of escape from it.

II.1200-1500A.D

It was really a Christian period. It had a wide effect on all over England. Many
were dedicated to charity work. In the church large number of missionaries, schools,
parishes, dioceses, hospitals and social welfare agencies came into existence

III. 1500 A.D

This period was the intervention of Monarch to the charity work. The first
constructive measure taken by the government for relief of the poor was the statute of
Henry VIII in 1531. It provided that mayors and justices of the place should investigate
applications of the aged and papers of those who were unable to work and were
maintained by the parish. They were to be registered and licensed and were allowed to be
in an assigned area. This law was beginning of recognition of public responsibility for the
poor and needy. Nationalization of churches and charity institutions were also made.

IV.1600-1800A.D

Lot of changes took place in this period. Elizabethan poor Law came to existence
in the year 1601. This was the first social legislation and under these legislations and
under this legislation lot of provisions for social welfare was made. Some are as follows:
(a) Residence

It provides for rendering services to the poor people who were born and brought
up in a particular area. Those who have immigrated were not supposed to get residence
and at least three years staying in a place was necessary for getting the benefit of services.

(b)Relatives

If there is an earning member in a family of the destitute then he or she is not

eligible for any social services, because it is the duty of the relative to take care of him or
her

(c)Able -bodied Homes

There were some people who were physically able but they found begging an
easy way of living. For such people work homes were made and small work is given to
the people according to his or her ability and their needs were supported. Children of the
destitute were given shelter. Thus, mere charity work was very much discouraged.

V. 1800-1900A.D

In this period, when the members started working for the welfare of the people,
many social scientists gave their theories.

(a)Adam Smith Theory

According to this theory the government should minimize its involvement in any
field for any purpose, as it will lead to much dependency.

(b) Malthusian Theory

He told that if there were lot of free services this will lead to desire for more
children. So he told to stop charity work.
 Taking all these things in account a Royal Commission in the year 1832 emerged
and the committee recommended the amendment of Elizabethan poor law. Consequently ,
new poor law came into existence in the year 1834. According to this law able-bodied
homes and better help for slum-dwellers were provided. Later a Slum Public Health Act
came into force. In 1833,Factories Act came into existence. Under this Act a minimum
welfare facilities ought to be provided to the industrial workers in the factories. Towards
the end of the 19th Century many charity organization movements emerged. This was
very much related to professional social work. They started to provide training to their
own social workers. In each city this organization started extending their services to the
children, women and destitute. Taking all this account they started a special kind of
training for professional social workers. Thus, the social work became professional,
consequently the first school of social work started in the year 1910.

VI. 1900 Onwards

In 1941, there were major changes that has taken place .A committee has been
established under the chairmanship of William Beverages Known as William Beverages
Committee. He submitted a report taking comprehensive health and old-age services. In
1948, social security was given to all industrial workers. Compensation was also given
for industrial workers. It was the core of the committee's suggestion that special grants
shall be given at every important states of life.. In all these areas professional social
workers were employed. They were given much importance. Thus, every kind of social
service were implemented by professional social workers only. Professionalism is a
gradual process and everything is the result of industrialization.

1.3 SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION IN USA

I. Before 1800A.D

Social work was discovered in USA as a result of 1776 war of independence.

 By then USA was ruled by British Government. During this period church was the
main agency for social work services. Able-bodied homes were established for the able
beggars of the country. Such were the main activities done by the church at that time.

II. 1800-1900A.D

During this period there emerged a lot of voluntary association’s. But these
associations were not sincere to their course. Duplication and exploitation of services
were common. The end of the 18th century saw the rising of different charity
organizations throughout the country. They raised funds jointly and distributed it among
different agencies. There were also joint survey in the field of social welfare and other
trainings in the field of social welfare. From 1898 trainings program me started for the
members engaged in social work activities. The first school of social work was
established at New York in the year of 1898. It was called New York School of Social
Work .It was established with the purpose of imparting training to the members who were
engaged in the field of welfare services.

III.1900-1935A.D

The main event during this period was the economic depression in 1929. There
were lot of people who lost their jobs and lot of crisis started, therefore FERA-Federal
Emergency Relief Act in 1933 was passed and it emphasized upon the appointment of
trained social workers to work in the field of social relief, like family counseling, case
work, etc. Thus the professionalism of social work was experienced. The government
passed 1935 then FERA and social security Act. Thus, the professional social work UNIT
found a prominent place in this period.

IV. 1935- Onwards

From 1960 Anti- poverty program me started in the urban and rural areas. There were
lot of people, during that time. Martine Luther King, the leader of the congress along with
other leaders pressurized the government to give equal rights to every citizen irrespective
of black and white collars. At present, three professional associations are working in that
field of social work. People who want to practice social work are required to get the
licensee and without it no person can practice social work in voluntary as well as
government agencies.

1.4 SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION IN INDIA

1. Pre-British Period to 1800 A.D

Pre- British system was dominated by caste system. They were four main castes,
which had some merits and demerits in the society. There was no interference for giving
and receiving services. Upper caste protected lower caste people in time of some
difficulties. Some of the important aspects are as follows:

Joint family

It is like a trust sharing common property. In difficult situations the members are
given protection. It protected the aged, children and women. It served as an social trust.

Village Community

In every village there were communities. Indian villages were independent in

matters of food, clothing, and shelter. And there were less chances of poverty. The whole
community used to take care of each other.

Village Temple

In every village there were temples. People donated money to the temple and under
this system socially backward people were protected. Beggars and other people used to
go to religious places and beg and pray for rest of the world. People in the city were taken
care by kings, especially in times of natural calamities and problems.
II.1800to1900A.D

It is called as social reforms movement. British rule was main inspiration for social
reform movement. Christian missionaries spread education, brought the theory of
equality, which in turn helped the special reforms to attack the evil customs and
inequality. There was no property right for Indian women. Early marriage, inequality and
lack of education were the main problems, which were leading India into a barbarian
culture. Many social reformers came up to indicate these social evils. Raja Ram Mohan
Roy started the Brahma Samaj, Pandit Ramabhai started the Arya Samaj, Swami
Vivakanand Established Ramakrishna Mission and Annie Besant started Home Rule
Movement against Britishers. They were not only practicing ideas but also practicing
ideas but also started rendering social welfare services to the needy people.

III.1900 Onwards

During this period those who were engaged in social welfare activities found the
need of trained social workers. Thus, in the year 1905the revolts of the Indian Society
started by Gopal Krishnakant. The emergence of Mahatma Gandhi and the rise of
Sarvodaya Movement in 1915 made lot of constructive works in Indian politics. But these
Gandhian social workers were not trained and it was not a professional social work.

The first school of social work was started in 1936 by Clifford Marshal, who was a
protestant missionary and worked in Nagpada. He came to India in 1925 and felt the
need of trained social workers. He established the Sir Dorabji Tata school of social
sciences in Bombay which offered professional training in social work. The appointed
workers were not professional workers , they were Gandhians . However, later on many
officially trained social workers emerged and praticed in various government and non-
government welfare offices. Later on different schools of social work came into existence
in Delhi, Calcutta , Lucknow Varanasi, Baroda, Agra , Indore, Udaipur, etc. which
imparts professional training ibn social work services. Government has realized the need
of trained professional social workers to work in area of welfare and has also made
statutory liabilities to welfare officers in industries.. Thus in India social work is
gradually emerging as a socially oriented profession.

1.5 CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL WORK

Social work posses its own distinctive body of knowledge, evolved overa long period
of time. The current

1.5.1 Social Service

Social services are those organized activities that are primarily and directly
concerned with the conservation, the protection and the improvement of human
resources. One mean by it (social services) those efforts to restore, maintain, and
enhance the social functioning of individuals and families through (1) enabling social
resources (e.g. day care and a home-maker services)and (2)processes that enhance the
capacity of individuals and families to cope with stress and with then normal demands of
social life. The ideal goal of the social services is the enhancement of social competence.
Changes in the individuals are not brought directly to modify their behavior but through
modification or alternations in their social environment.

Social services are essentially “people changing institutions (developmental,

remedial, supportive or substitutive). T heir main aim is to equip individuals with the
competence and resources essential for effective social participation. Social work fulfills
the objectives of social services.

1.5.2 SOCIAL INEQUALITY

1.5.3 Social Welfare

The term social welfare expresses a changing concept. It means not only to provide
financial assistance and other services to the poor and the disadvantaged but it also refers
to the collective responsibility to meet the needs of all the people in general. Elizabeth
Wickenden defines social welfare as “Including
those laws, programmes, benefits, and services which assure or strengthen provisions for
meeting social needs recognized as basic to the well-being of the population and the
better functioning of the social order. Social welfare is concerned with all those forms of
social interventions that have a primary and direct concern with promoting both the
wellbeing of the individual and of the society as a whole. Social welfare includes those
provisions and processes directly concerned with the treatment and prevention of social
problems, the development of human resources, and the improvement in the quality of
life. It involves social services to individuals and families as well as efforts to strengthen
or modify social institutions

1.5.4 Social Security

Social security can be understood as the security that society furnishes through
appropriate organizations against certain risks to which its members are exposed. Social
security means a program me of protection provided by society against certain
contingencies of life. These contingencies include sickness, unemployment, old-age
dependency and accident etc., which the individual cannot be expected to protect himself
and his family by his ability or foresight. In other words social security can be
understood as the security that society furnishes through appropriate organizations or
through public assistance, social insurance, health and social welfare services etc,,
Social work consists of social security in its program me activities so that individuals
may lead a happy life Social workers are supposed to know the social security
programmes so that he use them in helping the client.

1.5.5 Social Assistance

Social work and social assistance are also used as synonymous terms. Therefore,
social work is sometimes confused with social assistance which is provided to the people
at the time of natural calamities such as floods and famine. During such calamities,
social workers also provide assistance to the needy people. But such help cannot be
regarded as social work.
 It is because assistance to the needy is purely temporary affair while social is a
permanent service. It is a permanent program me of assistance with the help of
professional relations The social assistance schemes mostly established after 19 th century
give an expression to a different attitude towards poverty It is a means to satisfy the needs
of an individual according to recognized standard.

The creation of services of social assistance schemes is gradually relieving the

genera scheme of poor relief of its responsibilities, which was vast in extent and vague in
intent. Until about 1920 almost the only examples of social assistance were to be found
in the field of medical care and especially hospital care. Central and local governments
co-operate to establish general and mental hospitals, accessible to all classes and
institutions for the care of mental and physical defectives. Some of the programmes
includes: Old age and invalidity pensions, mothers’ pensions, unemployment assistance,
medical assistance, and rehabilitation of disabled persons.

1.5.6 Social Policy

Social policy is that written course of action which is formulated and implemented
by government to achieve the pre-determined and well defined objectives. It is the
settled course of action adopted and followed by government or political party and is a
part of planning process and social administration. Social policy is an instrument for
bringing about structural and functional changes in the society so as to reach the desired
goals.

Social policy may be defined as a process involving social, political and economic
system in the governmental and non-governmental institutions to achieve the desired
objectives. Social policy specifies the goals, the resources and the manner of their
utilization to the attainment of these goals. The functions of social policy are in relation
to developmental objectives and those meant to remove social and economic obstacles to
development.
1.5.7 Social Planning

1.5.8 Social Action

Social action touches the very core of society and shapes its destiny. Indeed,
social action is an aspect or phase of social action and appropriately like it to the process
of social work. Sociology defines social action as “any expenditure of effort by a group p
as such all conscious or unconscious concerted or collective endeavor”

It is an organized effort to change social and economic institutions as distinguished

from social work or social service, theoretically cover essential changes in established
institutions. Social action covers movements of political from industrial democracy
social legislation, racial and social justice religious freedom and civil liberty, its
techniques in propaganda research lobbying.

Organized effort towards social change is involved in social action. During

calamities groups or communities should come together assemble their resources and
energies and direct these towards meeting the emergency. The technique and process of
achieving this is social action.

Walter A. Friedlander explains social action more satisfactorily “social action”, he

says is an individual, group, or community effort within the framework of social progress
to modify social policies and to improve social legislation and health and welfare services

1.5.9 Social Development

The concept of social development as a long history. It has been part of Western
social thought for more than 2500 years. Even in India the ideas of social change and
development have been presented in rudimentary forms at least from the Buddhist period.

Social development is defined in several different ways—in different usages to get

at the core of its meaning. It is comprehensive concept which implies major structural
changes--- political, economical and cultural which are introduced as part of deliberate
action to transform society. At a general abstract level, the goal is to create a new society
in place of the present, where living condition of the people are improved so that they d o
not suffer from hunger and they are not denied the basic necessities of life. Social
development aims at removal of the rural-urban and regional imbalance. It aims at
meeting the basic needs of the people at all levels, especially those who constitute the
poorest and deprived segments of society.It order to achieve these goals economic
development is essential which means increase in production leading to a high rateof
growth as measured by GNP and which also provides for substantial increase in
opportunities for employment.

1.5.10 Social Empowerment

Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic

strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing
confidence in the capacities.

Marginalized" refers to the overt or covert trends within societies whereby those
perceived as lacking desirable traits or deviating from the group norms tend to be
excluded by wider society and ostracized as undesirables.

Sometimes groups are marginalized by society at large, but governments are often
unwitting or enthusiastic participants. For example, the U.S. government marginalized
cultural minorities, particularly blacks, prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Act
made it illegal to restrict access to schools and public places based on race. Equal
opportunity laws which actively oppose such marginalization, allow increased
empowerment to occur. It should be noted that they are also a symptom of minorities' and
women's empowerment through lobbying.

Empowerment is then the process of obtaining these basic opportunities for

marginalized people, either directly by those people, or through the help of non-
marginalized others who share their own access to these opportunities. It also includes
actively thwarting attempts to deny those opportunities. Empowerment also includes
encouraging, and developing the skills for, self-sufficiency, with a focus on eliminating
the future need for charity or welfare in the individuals of the group. This process can be
difficult to start and to implement effectively, but there are many examples of
empowerment projects which have succeeded.

One empowerment strategy is to assist marginalized people to create their own

nonprofit organization, using the rationale that only the marginalized people, themselves,
can know what their own people need most, and that control of the organization by
outsiders can actually help to further entrench marginalization. Charitable organizations
lead from outside of the community; for example, can disempowering the community by
entrenching a dependence on charity or welfare. A nonprofit organization can target
strategies that cause structural changes, reducing the need for ongoing dependence. Red
Cross, for example, can focus on improving the health of indigenous people, but does not
have authority in its charter to install water-delivery and purification systems, even
though the lack of such a system profoundly, directly and negatively impacts health. A
nonprofit composed of the indigenous people, however, could insure their own
organization does have such authority and could set their own agendas, make their own
plans, seek the needed resources, do as much of the work as they can, and take
responsibility - and credit - for the success of their projects

Social refers to human society or its organization. Although the term is a crucial
category in social science and often used in public discourse, its meaning is at times
vague, suggesting that it is a fuzzy concept. An added difficulty is that social attributes or
relationships may not be directly observable and visible, and must be inferred by abstract
thought.

Thus the sociologist C. Wright Mills used the expression "the sociological
imagination", which referred to the need to think imaginatively beyond what an
individual can empirically observe in order to grasp the social domain in all its
dimensions — connecting, for example, "private troubles" and "public issues".
 The term "social" is used in many different senses, referring among other things
to:

 Attitudes, orientations or behaviors which take the interests, intentions or needs of

other people into account the characteristics of people or descriptions of
collectivities, relations between people (social relations) generally, or particular
associations among people; interactions between people; membership of a group
of people or inclusion or belonging to a community of people;co-operation or co-
operative characteristics between people;relations dependence;

 The public sector or the need for governance for the good of all, contrasted with
the private sector;

In one broad meaning, "social" refers only to society as "a system of common life",
but in another sense it contrasts specifically with "individual" and individualist theories
of society. This is reflected for instance in the different perspectives of liberalism and
socialism on society and public affairs.

Let us Sum Up

Glossary

Answers to check your progress Model Questions

UNIT II

RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

IN INDIA

CONTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL, RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS

IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION
IN INDIA
2.1 Religious foundation of social work practice in India

2.2 Philosophical foundation of social work practice in India

2.3 Contribution of social, religious and political movements in the development and
growth of social work profession in India

Let us Sum Up

Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model Questions

UNIT III

SOCIAL WORK: DEFINITION, OBJECTIVES, BELIEFS, VALUES, GOALS,

FUNCTIONS, PHILOSOPHY, ETHICS, PRINCIPLES, AND SCOPE

SOCIAL WORK AS A PROFESSION. SOCIAL WORK AS A PROCESS OF

PLANNED CHANGE

OVERVIEW

In the yore days the poor, joint families, castes, communities and religious institutions looked after the
handicapped and the weak. But with the process of development and expansion of urbanization and
growth of industrialization, ancient social security and welfare system started changing its role in relation
to these needy individuals. Industrial revolution created problems that were different in types and were
threatening to society having social and political significance. Malfunctioning appeared in the area of
interaction between the individuals, families, group, and their environment. These problems compelled
the society to create social welfare agencies. Later on when it as observed that these problems required
scientific outlook for proper and permanent solution, a new system of scientific assistance came into
existence, i.e. social work. Social work, unlike an early charity practice, attempts to help the individuals,
groups and communities to get a clear insight into the problems that strengthens their ego to face
conditions as reality and then try to improve them. At the same time social work attempts to mobilize
social forces

3.1 Definitions of social work

CHEYNEY,ALICE(1926)

Social work includes all voluntary attempts to extend benefits in response to need
which are concerned with social relationships and which avail themselves of scientific
knowledge and method

WITMER,(1942)

The prime function of social work is to give assistance to individuals in regard to

the difficulties they encounter in their use of an organized groups service or in their
performance as a member of an organized group.

FINK(1942)

Social work is the provision of services designed to aid individuals, singly or in

groups in coping with present or future social and psychological obstacles that prevent or
are likely to prevent, full or effective participation in society.

ANDERSON(1943)

Social work is a professional service rendered to people for the purpose of

assisting them, as individuals or in groups, to attain satisfying relationships and standards
of life in accordance with their particular wishes and capacities and in harmony with
those of the community.

CLARKE,(1947)

Social work is a form of professional service comprising a composite of

knowledge and skills, parts of which are and parts of which are not distinctive of social
work ,which attempts on the one hand to help the individuals satisfy his needs in the
social milieu and on the other to remove as far as possible the barriers which obstruct
people from achieving the best of which they are capable.

FRIEDLANDER(1951)

Social work is that process which deals directly and differentially with persons
who have problems relating primarily to their social situation and which endeavors,
individual to individual to understand what help is needed and to assist the individual to
find and utilize the help indicated.

STROUP(1960)

Social work is the art of bringing various resources bear on individual, group and
community needs by the application of a scientific method of helping people to help
themselves.

3.2 Objectives of Social Work

Objectives are statement or formulations of what we are trying to do in social

work. Brown19 has mentioned four objectives of social work to people physical help,
help in adjustment, to solve psychological problems and make availability of
opportunities to the weaker sections for raising their standard of living. Friendlander has
mentioned three objectives of social work-change in painful social situations,
development of constructive forces and provide opportunities, for experiencing
democratic and humanistic behavior.

According to Witmer21 social work has two objectives-to give assistance to

individuals in removing difficulties which they face in utilizing the society’s services and
utilization of community resources for their welfare. Youngdahl22 explained two
objectives of social work-economic well-being and self experience.

According to Social Commission, Economic and Social Council of the United

Nations23 Social work(i) seeks to see and assist individuals, families and group in
relation to the many social and economic forces by which they are affected, and differs in
this respect from certain allied activities, such as( I ) health, education and the like, (ii)
social work seeks to perform an integrating function for which no other provision is made
in contemporary society, (iii) social work seeks to maximum the resources available in
the community by promoting social well-being.

The emerging purpose of social work, Katherine Lenroof, Chief of the Federal
Children’s Bureau, listed as follows:

1. Material security through economic and political organization that will assure every
individual and every family the means of satisfying basic material wants.

2. Emotional security through personal and social adjustment.

3. Social justice through fair and ordered relationships between groups, with adequate
opportunities for all groups.

4. Social achievement through collective Endeavour.

5. Spiritual power through philosophical or religious thoughts.

Generally social work has the following objectives.

1. To solve psycho-social problems,

2. To fulfill humanitarian needs,

3. To solve adjust mental problems,

4. To create self-sufficiency,

5. Strengthening and making harmonious social relations,

6. Make provisions of corrective and recreation services,

7. Develop democratic values,

8. Provide opportunities for development and social progress,

9. Conscientize the community,

10. Change the environment I n favors of individual’s growth and development,

11. Bring change in social system for social development,

12. Provide socio-legal aid.

3.3. Beliefs in social work

3.4 Values of social Work

The basic values of social work do not spring up like wild flowers by the wayside;
they are instead, rooted in the deep fertile beliefs that nourish civilization Values may be
defined as a conception of standard, cultural or merely personal by which things are
compared and approved or disapproved in relation to one another, held to be relatively
desirable or undesirable, more meritorious or less more or less correct. Values are
socially approved desires and goals that are internalized through the process of
conditioning and learning, socialization and that become subjective preference, aims and
aspirations, It is seen as an intellectual, emotional judgment… of an individual group or
society… regarding the worth of a thing, a concept a principle, an action or a situation.

Every profession of human behavior has some values and on the bais of these
values it achieves its objectives. Social values have significant role as they maintain
social equilibrium, unity in behavior, psychological foundation of life, determination of
role and evaluation of social events and problems.

Kohs has divided the values of social work into primary and secondary. He
described ten values as the primary values of social work, these are:

1. The worth and dignity of man.

 2. The capacity of human nature to achieve full human potential.

3. Tolerance of difference.

4. Satisfaction of basic human needs.

5. Liberty.

6. Self-direction.

7. Non-judgmental attitude.

8. Construction social cooperation.

9. Importance of work and constructive use of leisure.

10. Protection of one’s existence from the dangers caused by man and nature.

BASIC VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK

The basic values of social work do not spring up like wild flowers by the wayside; they are instead, rooted
in the deep fertile beliefs that nourish civilizations. Values may be defined as a conception of a standard,
cultural or merely personnel, by which things are compared and approved or disapproved in relation to
one another, held to be relatively desirable or undesirable, more meritorious or less, more or less
correct. Values are socially approved desires and goals that are internalized thought the process of
conditioning learning, socialization and that become subjective preferences, aims and aspirations.

Konopka has enumerated only two primary values of social work:

1. Respect for every person and the right of each person to the fullest development of his/her
potential
2. Mutual dependence of individuals and responsibility towards each other according to their
abilities.

Friedlander has enumerated four primary values of social work:

1. Conviction of the inherent worth, the integrity and the dignity of the individual
2. The right to determine himself, what his needs are and how they should be met.
 3. Firm belief in equal opportunity for all, limited only by the individual’s capacities.
4. Social responsibilities towards himself, his family and his society.

1. VALUES RELATING TO INDIVIDUAL

The dominating concepts in early years of social work development were individualization and the
friendly visitors. Individualization was applied not only to the charity organization worker, but showed up
in many other areas of social work. The division of the larger boy’s club into small groups, the
abandonment of barrack method in homes and hospitals and reformatories, and the creating of new
institutions with many small houses instead of one big one, illustrate the present tendency.
Individualization was thought essential as it was believed that “ healing comes by the touch, that men
are saved not in masses, but one by one, and that every one saved must be saved by an individual whose
own heart is filled with love, and who is able to communicate to another the grace which he himself has
received.

American Association of Social Workers identified the following values in connection with the individual:

i. Firm faith in the dignity, worth and creative power of the individual.
ii. Complete belief in his right to hold and express his own opinions and to act upon them, so long
as by so doing he does not infringe upon the rights of others.
iii. Unswerving conviction of the inherent in alienable right of each human being to choose and
achieve his own destiny in the framework of a progressive, yet stable, society. On the basis of
the different thoughts discussed above we find the following main values in relation to
individual:

a. Every individual has his worth.

b. He has every right to get respect.
c. Individual reacts in totality
d. Internal and external conditions of each individual are different, therefore, their
behaviors differ.
e. Individual has right to develop his personality according to his choice.
f. Individualizations is essential for his concrete help.
g. Personal values i.e. thoughts, feelings, beliefs, are important to be studied.
h. Individual has right of self-determination
i. Individual rests with total environment.
 2. VALUES RELATING TO PROBLEM:

Problems ar needs not being adequately or acceptably met by the needs-meeting facilities of our society.
An imbalance is apparent in the person’s relationship with the world around him. Meaning of the
problem has three dimensions: personal, group and cultural meaning – in both objective and subjective
terms. It is important to acknowledge these dimensions since problems come not so much because of
their severity, but because of the degree of social disturbance created within these dimensions. It is as
much the interactions effects which trouble people as the ‘problem’ as such.

Problem should be viewed not only as the effect of a sequence of preceding events and conditions but
also as live cause of emerging problems. Like the person in himself, his problem is not merely the
product of the past. Because it is making itself felt now, in transactions with other persons and objects,
experienced as stress with in the persons’ physical, psychological and social system, it is an active factor
in shaping the next hours and days of the person’s life… a problem coped with today or set on the way to
resolution - raises the person’s level of hopefulness in regard to his chances of coping and being satisfied.
These explain why helping a person identify and center on some problem that he feels, sees and
experiences in its present immediacy may cut into the problem’s vicious spiral and offer him incentive to
invest further problem-solving effect.

Social work believes in the following values relating to problem:

1. A problem arises when an individual fails to reach his objective through the learned habits and
methods. Therefore social work believes in the changing of the behavior patterns ad methods of
approaching the objective.
2. Problem either effects social functioning or is affected by social functioning. Social worker
believes in the improvement of or strengthening social functioning of the client.
3. Problem has many side effects and creates many other problems
4. Problem has multifarious effect on human life
5. Internal and external factors of the problem not only happen together but may be a cause of one
another.
6. Everybody feels problems. The person, who solves these problems, does not become ‘client’..
Therefore, social work believes that the problem solving capacity may be increased in the
individual.

3. VALUES RELATING TO RELATIONSHIP

Relationship is the social worker’s responsible and disciplined use of himself in working
with an individual or a group. In this relationship, he applies his professional knowledge
and skills guided by the ethical principles and by his ability to develop empathy and trust.
The psychological understanding of his client as an individual or a group gives him
necessary sensitivity and inventive capacity to make this relationship constructive.

Hollis distinguishes two types of relationship the basic and the special; the basic being
the warmth, concern, etc. the worker brings all relationships coupled with our confidence
in our ability to help and function as worker. This basic relation may have certain
similarities in quality with some social relationship; but the special relationship has a
particular therapeutic element which we bring to bear in cases where there is needed.

Social work believes in the following values in connection with the relationship:

1. The person who comes for help to the agency is accepted by the worker as

an individual, not as a ‘case’. The relationship is established on this basic

assumption.

2. Client is accepted as he is. Social worker does not have subjective feelings

about him.

3. The relationship is established in such a way that the feelings of the client

are not hurt. He has right of self expression.

4. The relationship is established on the basis of equality. There is no feeling

of subordination in the client.

5. The basis of relationship client is stimulated and insight is developed.

6. Relationship is considered positive or therapeutic when communication

begins on the emotional and intellectual level between the client and the
worker.

7. relationship is considered positive or therapeutic when communication

begins on the emotional and intellectual level between the client and the
worker
3.8 Ethics of social work

A social worker operated in terms of certain basic assumptions:

1. Respect for human personality

2. Dignity of each human being, be he a prince or a pauper

3. Matching resources with needs;

4. Stimulating change calculated to enhance democratic values

5. Accomplishing change through co-operation on both intellectual and emotional

levels; and

6. Serving as a change –agent from behind the science, so that eh individual or the

group of the community may emotionally feel that the change was not imposed
from outside but was autonomously sought by the individual, groups or
community. The social worker gives respect to each client and believes in his
creative power. He has full faith in the client and believes in creative power. He
has full faith in the client’ freedom of expression and self-judgment. He always
operates on the democratic principles and values. He does not believe in any type
of discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion etc.

3.9 Principles of social work

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK:

A principle is verbalized statement of an observed uniformity relative to some class of objects. Principles
that is, general rules or laws, concepts, fundamental truths, generally accepted tenets are the means by
which we proceed from one situation to another. The objective of social work can be fulfilled only within
the framework of principles. Therefore, it seems necessary to deal with the basic principles which are
guiding force for social work practice.
Konopka has described the following principles of social work common to case work, group work and
community organization:

1. The social worker’s goal is to enable clients or group members or groups as a whole to move
toward greater independence and capacity for help.

2. The social worker must use the scientific method to prepare for action; fact finding
(observation), analysis, and diagnosis in relation to the individual, the group, and the social
environment.

3. The social worker must form purposeful relationships: this means a conscious focusing on the
needs of his clients, group members, and communities, on their avowed purpose incoming for
help; and on the implied- sometimes not fully conscious – purpose.

4. The social worker must use himself consciously. This includes self-knowledge and discipline in
relationship but without the loss of warmth and spontaneity.

5. the social worker must understand the origins of his own value system and be able to handle it
in relation to the value system of others

6. The social worker must accept people as they are, without condemning all their behavior. This
involves deep understanding of his clients or group members as well as knowledge and
identification of values regulating human/society.

7. The social worker allows people to develop at their own pace and to choose their own point of
departure without immediately imposing outside demands. However, he has the responsibility
for stimulating change.

8. Because of his infinite respect for the individual every social worker must help each individual to
feel that he is an important and unique person who can contribute in some measures to the
whole society or to a part of it.

In general, social work is based on the following principles.

1. PRINCIPLE OF INDIVIDUALISATION

The principle of individualization is fundamental for effective social work practice since the betterment
of the individual is the primary purpose of social work. Indeed, a belief in the uniqueness of the
individual and his inherent value lies at the heart of social work practice. Boethius defines person as “an
individual substance of rational nature.” Each person’s nature is capable of integrating and directing its
own forces in a way that is different from that of every other individual nature. As we move from
understanding him simply as a human being to understanding him as this particular human being, we
find that with all his general likenesses, to others, he is as unique as his thumb print, by nuance and fine
line and by the particular way his bone and spirit are joined, he is born and grows as a personality
different in some ways from every other individual of his family, genus or species.

The social worker views the problems of each client as specific and helps the client move forward finding
the most satisfactory means for him to deal with his particular problem situation. The client needs the
worker’s undivided attention, privacy and help in discussing the topic of the greatest interest to him
namely, his situation and request. The social worker incorporates into his value system he belief that
clients are distinct individuals who posses an inherent worth. The need of the client to be regarded as an
individual exists even if he is not aware of it, and it is the task of the social worker to help the client
perceive of himself as an individual.

In working with the client a as person the social worker involves him in the characterization of action and
experience. It is this approach which individualizes the client so far as the relationship is concerned.
Individualization takes place in three ways; in the present, through the personal relationship between
client and social worker in which the social worker’s actions structure the client’s experience, in
description of the past, in which the client describes and may enrich his biography as an individual
person; and last, in discussing future action with the client, in which the worker is also contributing to his
identity as a person.

2. PRINCIPLES OF MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP.

This is the principle which differentiates social work and some other professions like surgery, medicine,
law. In these professions a good interpersonal relationship is desirable for the perfection of the service,
but it is not necessary for the essence of the service. But in social work, a good relationship is necessary
not only for the perfection, but also for the essence, of the service in every setting. The quality of
relationship is the corner stone of helping in social work.

The relationship is the medium through which the client is enabled to state his problem and through
which attention can be focused on reality problems, which may be as full as of conflict as emotional
problems. With in the democaratic farame of reference the professional relationship involves a mutual
process of shared responsibilities, recognition of other’s rights, acceptance of difference, with the goal,
not of isolation, but of socialized attitudes and behavior stimulating growth through interaction. A good
relationship in social work is the professional one – one that serves the purpose (problem-solving) and
includes those elements which will assist the purpose and exclude those elements which will not.

There are five ways in which the professional relationship differs from other social relationship. Social
relationship are open ended in duration but he professional relationship ends when the needs of the
clients and the objectives of professional involvement. Clients are seen in institutions or in their home;
they are not invited for tea or dinner. The focus of professional relationship is not mutual, but the client’s
needs. Wide aspects of client’s life and feeling are examined and brought into play. Rather than mutual,
the relationship in social work is the helper and the helped.

Helping relationship id developed in social work by demonstrating the interests in client. Client is
perceived a as a ‘real’ person with spontaneity and capacity for responsiveness. He is convinced of the
social work’s warmth as an individual, and conveys respect and caring for him. Social worker tries to
understand what is happening in his mind. He tries to share the situations on an emotional plane. He
helps the client to trust in his objectivity

and feel secured as a worth while individual.

3. PRINCIPLE OF SELF-DETERMINATION:

Social responsibility, emotional adjustment and personality development are possible only when the
person exercises his freedom of choice and decision. Today, one of the basic convictions of the social
work profession is the client’s right of self-determination. Under the ethics of the profession, the social
worker must learn to accept others’distinct personalities with their own right of self-realization and self-
determination to be very important, although there has been serious disagreement among social
workers as to the interpretation of this principle. But the general opinion is that if this principle is not
followed in its spirit, the social work practice will not be effective. S

Social work believes that through the experience of the client worker relationship, the client will become
mature and thus be able to deal with his life situation better. Obviously, when once the client has
experienced thinking through a problem situation and arriving at a decision, he will become a less
dependent individual. Social worker always tries to stimulate the client to think independently and
rationally about his own problem situation and arrive at a decision for himself. It is social worker’s
responsibility to asses each client’s ability to understand and analyses the forces operating in his
problem situation and, on the basis of such analysis, determines what course of action he would like to
follow. If the client wants stems from lack of knowledge, then it becomes the responsibility of the social
worker to help the client to change his ideas. The goal and responsibility of the social worker is to help
client move away from superstitious beliefs and primitive concepts. Social worker must guide the client
to avail the facilities and opportunities available them. He should not remain inactive and thereby fall to
accomplish this task under the guise of misconceived notion of the principle of self-determination.

Social worker, following the principle of self-determination, helps the client see his problem clearly. He
makes him acquainted with the resources available to deal with his problem. The client, using his inner
resources and the resources of the community, grow in the potential to work out his own problems, to
move along at his own speed and in his own way.

4. PRINCIPLES OF ACCEPTANCE:

Social work accepts the individual as he is and with all his limitation. Not out of personal friendship but
as a quality of life, it offers warmth, acceptance, and understanding, in quiet illustration of quality of
human relations that might have values everywhere. Social work believes that acceptance is the crux of
all help. It embraces two basic ideas- one negative and one positive. Social worker does not condemn or
feel hostile toward a client because his behavior differs from the approved one. He feels genuine warmth
to form a bridge across which help may be given.

Acceptance is essential for the relationship. Except in social work service, the client becomes the subject
of various social control mechanisms like legal condemnation, ostracism, avoidance, beletting, nagging
by others or by his own conscious. These methods have failed. Therefore, social work offers the new
approach of acceptance and it is out of his that a useable relationship grows.

The principle of acceptance implies that social worker must perceive, acknowledge, receive, and
establish a relationship with the individual client as he actually is , not as we which him to be or think he
should be. It means that no matter how much the client may have distorted reality, no matter how much
our perception of it may differ from him, we much acknowledge and accept him as he is we are to help
him. This does not mean that we do not hope to effect change in him, but rather that the art of helping
like any other art, depends on exists, with its limitations as well as its potentialities. This principle could
be restated by saying that in social work one begins where the client is and, at every stage in the helping
process, relates one self to the client as he is at each given moment.

5. PRINCIPLE OF COMMUNICATION

Communications a two –way process. Most of the problems that give pain are precisely the problems of
communication.. When the communication is inadequate or insufficient, the problems appear either
automatically or because of misunderstanding. There are three ways in which social worker conceives
that clients may have problems of communication of feeling

i. The client may be confronted with a difficult practical problem which arouses such strong feeling
in him that he is unable to cope effectively with the problem.

ii. The client may have certain feelings of apprehension or diffidence about asking for help.

iii. The client’s feelings may be the main problem about which he is asking for help. Social worker
always takes the responsibility of letting the communication culminate wholesomely between
himself and the needy ( individual, group or community).

Communication of feeling is not only important to diagnose the problem but most of the maladies which
befall a man may be removed by re-establishing full and goal directed communication between the
sufferer and the social worker.

Communication is a royal road to the identification of social worker with his client. The function of social
worker is principally to create an environment in which the client will feel comfortable in giving
expression to his feelings. Client should feel that he can tell his story in his own way, and he may think
that he is given due importance. The atmosphere includes the client’s trust and confidence in worker
and the worker’s acceptance of the client.
Each of the communication for the client depends on his physical comfort by his emotional comfort will
be crucial. Some of the elements of emotional comfort are

a. Time

b. Warm

c. A focus on client

d. Skill to meet particular communication needs.

Towle remarks that since we deal with people in time of trouble when they are ‘ in the midst of emotions
that come from the major upheavals in life’ it is important that we help them as they talk to us to
express their emotions and that we try to understand the meaning which their problems have for them
with two fold purpose; first that as they give expression to their feelings they may be relieved of
pressures and tensions which have made the problem deeply disturbing.. And second, through
understanding the person’s feeling we, as representatives of an assistance agency, may though by
sharing his problem afford each individual relationship which strengthens him.

6. PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL FUNCTIONING

The principle of social functioning has been amply elaborated by Bartlett who thinks that in social work it
is frequently used to refer to the functioning of people in their social roles and relationships, with
emphasis on their relation to the environment it focuses not on the behavior of people, but on the
exchange between them and their environment.. the concept of social functioning involves two sub-
concepts- task and coping. Task implies the demands made upon the people by various life situations.
These demands may pertain to issue of daily living, family life, entry into the world of work or inability to
do so, marriage and divorce, illness or financial difficulties and so on. The concept of coping’ emphasizes
the conscious, cognitive, and rational aspects of behavior also. In such behavior there is usually a direct
engagement with the situation and coping can then be described as relative mastery of the tasks in the
situation. When the environmental demands outweigh the coping capacity of the individual he feels
helpless and overwhelmed. Poverty, racial discrimination, lack of access to jobs, and other societal
problems subject large segments of the population to stress anxiety, deprivation, and alienation. Here, of
course, major efforts for social change must be directed at environment. The common base of social
work consists in a central focus on social functioning, an orientation towards people involved in the
social situation, use of social work values and the combined body of social work knowledge for working
with individuals, group. Social organizations directly and through collaborative action.

7. PRINCIPLE OF TUNNING BEHAVIOR

Man has body, mind and intellect as three instruments of experiences through which life constantly
pulsates. Though the physical body he perceives the world of objects; through the mind he experiences
the world of feelings and through the intellects he comprehends his world of ideas. These three
instruments have their own distinct characteristics in each person. Hence each person has unique
personality. There is a need of tuning these instruments regularly so that he may have the proper
experience of the world fully. Medical sciences and other sciences have gained the proficiency in tuning
up the body and intellect of the human being but our modern society has not developed and
popularized the science for tuning the mind. This is the basic draw back in our scientific developments
and achievements. This vacuum is fulfilled by social work profession.

When one sees a challenge which is too much for him, he has a natural tendency to run away from
facing it but this is not the solution of the problem. Wherever he will go, the same problem in another
form will arise and obstruct him with challenge. At such moments of mental agony. He always discovers a
set of defenses apparently eloquent and seeing convincing he knows that his action is cowardice; but his
own thoughts supply him with weak excuses, slim reasons and false arguments to justify his actions.
Thus, he goes through the convulsions of a psychologically broken personality.

It is not on one occasion that he misses the chance in life, fails in attempt and incurs disappointment but
after some time every day-to-day problems seem threatening to him. If on that crucial moment he
knows how to remake the inner personality whole and strong he could with a newly found confidence
meet the problem successfully. He must learn how to unload himself, how to remove these crushing
weights of his conscience. He must find a way to liberate his heart form unsuited chains gathered from
the past, so that he may feel really free to live courageous life. Social work believes that through the
tuning of the behavior of an individual his problems can be minimized if not wholly solved and he feels
and realizes a new strength running in his body and mind.

8. PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL LEARNING.

Social learning is a pre-requisite to the changes that are inevitably involved in problem solving. Change in
individual, group or community will depend on their capacity to learn new facts, attitudes and ways of
behaving (capacity for social learning). Social learning is an essential part of social work practice whether
the change is initiated by social action of individual therapy.

Goldstein identifies six stages of problem solving:

i. Need of difficulty felt of observed,

ii. Formulating, locating and defining the need or difficulty

iii. Surveying the information required around the need/difficulty

iv. Formulating possible solutions, appraising the consequences of possible solution,

v. Testing, accepting the internalizing the solution.

9. PRINCIPLE OF CONFIDENTIALITY
Clients have the right of personal information about themselves in their relationship with a social agency
during and following the process of obtaining service, a right which may be superseded in exceptional
situations. Recognition of this right requires adherence to the following principles:

1) The clients should be used as the primary source of information about himself and
information sought from him should be limited to that which is essential to provide
service.

2) Within the agency information regarding a client should be revealed only to those
persons and to the extent necessary to provide service.

3) Other agencies and individuals should be consulted only with the client’s consent and
within the limits of that consent.

4) Only that information should be recorded and these records maintained that are
essential to provide service and the use of records should be determined by agency
function and the consent of the client.

It is a tribute to the reputation that social work has clients frequently assume that they are talking in
confidence and do not very often need specific reassurance about this. Confidentiality is essential for
diagnosis and treatment. If clients feel that they cannot reveal material they think could be damaging,
social worker will never get real picture of the problem. Confidentiality is essential to the development
of truth, which is fundamental to our work and professional relationship. It is the base of having
therapeutic relationship with the client and unimportant part of the model social workers offer to the
clients. The obligation to keep confidentiality is stated in the professional code of ethics for social
workers in these words, “respect and safeguard to the right of the persons served to privacy in their
contacts with the agency and to confidential and responsible use of the information they give.

3.10 Scope of social work

SCOPE IN SOCIAL WORK

The functional philosophy of our modern century has been manifested in terms of social
work. Its principle aim is to solve the psycho social problems which obstruct the individual and social
advancement but its scope is gradually expanding. It is now international and inter racial in scope. Its
methodology is useful in solving the human problems of the unhappy. In the present society social work
provides many services for the people especially children, women, disabled, handicapped, destitute and
dependents. The various programmers of social work are carried out through the following services.

 PUBLIC ASSITANCE:

Public assistance is kind of help which is provided in accordance to economic and social needs of the
applicant. It depends upon certain conditions and legalities. Therefore public assistance is granted on the
basis of means test. In some countries, certain amount of public assistance is given to old, blind, disabled
and destitute persons. Some times, institutional care is also provided to the needy persons.

 SOCIAL INSURANCE:
Like public assistance, social insurance also covers certain contingencies such as old age,
unemployment, industrial accidents and occupational diseases. It does not insist upon means
test. Benefits are granted to only those arsons to pay certain amount of contribution. It is partly
faced by the state. In its practical shape, social insurance covers certain risks such as medical
care and in times of illness, medical care and cash allowances during employeement injuries,
pension in olgage after retirement, cash allowance to wife and children are depencedent in case
of death and allowances during the period of employment.under social insurance, the benefits
of applicants are pre determined. They are based on legal provisions.

 FAMILY SERVICES;
Family represents both an institution as well as an association. It is the oldest as well as enduring
among all social institutions. As a primary group, the family is the first and most universal of all
forms of associations. Social work render a great role is the sphere of family organizations. It give
assistants and counseling towards family and individual relations, marriage, health and economic
problems. In this field, the social worker beers the responsibility establishing harmonious
relationship between individual and family. Thus by the way of assistants and advice, the stoical
worker has to plat very important role in the sphere of family organization.

 CHILD WELFARE SERVICES:

Social workers also provide many welfare services for children. These include residential
institutions for the car, protection, education, and rehabilitation of socially handicapped
children, via orphans, destitute, foundings, waifs and strays, children of unmarried
mothers. Child welfare also includes templorary homes for children, day care centers,
recreational and cultural centers and holiday homes for children of low income family.

 WELAFRE SERVICES FOR WOMEN:

Under these services residential institutions and reception centers are established for
the care and protection training and rehabilitation of destitute women andthose in
distress and rescued women. Further women welfare services also include maternity
centers condensed course of training hostels for working women and family counseling
agencies.

 WELFARE SERVIOCE FOR HANDICAPPED;

These services includes institutions for the care and rehabilitation of the physical and
mentally handicapped, a small production units for thew handicapped, specialo sxhools
 for the mentally retarted and infirmaries for the chronic ill. Nowdays handicapped
persons also called as differnetally able persons .

 COMMUNITY WELFARE SERVICES:

Community welfare services include establishment of urban services of community centers including
welfare aspect of slum improvement, clearance, employment dormitories and night shelters, holiday
homes for children do community welfare services in rural areas .

 MEDCIAL SOCIAL WORK;

Under medical social work, welfare sevices are provided to patients in hospitals and
medical institutions. Medical social works help in such services to the familys in clinicls,
hospitals and other health care services. These workers assist doctors by providing
informations about the social and economic background of patient. Many medical social
workers specialize in a particular type area. These includes child care the care of dying
patients and counseling victims suffering from certain diseases such as cancer or kidney
failure etc.

 INTERNAITONAL SOCIAL SERVICES:

Social work is also international is scope. At the intenrtionall level it includes the
direction. Supervision and administration of welfare services. The organizations
rendering social services at the international level are the world health orgnisations the
un technical assistance programme the interntional conference ofsoical work the world
federation of mental health and the international red cross committee besides the I.L.O
supervises the welfare programmes for industrial labours.

3.11 Social work as a profession

Social work is a professional service based on scientific knowledge and skills in human
relations, which assists individuals alone or in groups to obtain social and personal
satisfaction and independence. In recent years, there has been some appreciation of the
fact that tackling social problems and heloing individuals in the contemporary society
demand special knowledge and skills in addition to personal qualities of sympathy,
understanding and self-sacrifice that are usually associated with social work. It is felt that
the necessary knowledge and skills can be acquired through training. Also, it is
considered that since the work of helping people is an essential social function, those
performing it should be paid for their service.

MEANING OF PROFESSION

A profession is an occupation, which requires a higher educational qualification – degree,

diploma or certificate. Sometimes it is though of as on occupation involving a degree of
ethical responsibility. A profession is characterized by a specialized body of knowledge
and skills, an area of operation, a code of ethics, and a certain degree of organization
among the members of the profession.

The following most frequently concerned traits in a profession;

1. Skills based on theoretical knowledge,

2. Provision of training and occupation,

3. Tests of the competence of members,

4. Organization,

5. Adherence to a professional code of conduct,

6. Altruistic service.

CODE OF ETHICS:

The Association of Schools of Social Work in India was established in 1960 to work for
the promotion of social work education. The association is concerned with

1. Laying down and maintaining proper standards in professional social work

education and promoting the profession on scientific lines,

2. Providing opportunity to faculty members to meet and exchange their ideas,

3. Arranging seminars and refresher courses for faculty members

 4. Encouraging and coordinating researches and promoting publication of literature

on different subjects relating to social work

5. Disseminating information pertaining to social work education,

6. Working as a national forum on all matters concerning social work education.

Inspite of the best efforts by the association, a code of ethics for social worker has not
been developed so far. There is no clear cut definition of role of social work in many
fields an hence social workers find themselves in great difficulty in justifying their
presence in agencies and organizations. There is confusion in minds of most people
about the meaning of the term social work.

3.12 Social work as a process of planned change

In India as in most developing countries social work is tackling the problems of

changing society and problems of industrializing countries differ from industrialized
countries. The major problems of many of these societies are due to lack of
industrialization and problem of poverty cannot be regarded as importance of
industrialization.

The problems of industrializing societies are raising population, land-man ratios,

low produce and low per capita income. There are also social problems like lack of equal
opportunity to backward and to women. The problems of castes and sex inequality are
the problems of changed social and political values and they appear as problem’s because
changing values is not uniform at all levels.

The changes are not easy to bring about but as a part of changes through
education, offer of special facilities, institutional services. The most important problem is
housing and water supply good roads, education and health services are to be provided in
society sudden changes in technology affect the people at all stages.
 There are also other problems of psychological strains and stresses in life, crime,
pollution, hypertension heart disease, asthma etc among the people.

The newly problems arise in society are as :

Poverty

Ill health

Ignorance

The problems of industrialization and urbanization:

Bad housing, overcrowding and slums

Family breakdown, old age

Juvenile delinquency, crime and social defense

Psychological strains and breakdowns

Problems of individual handicaps

Physically handicapped

Mentally handicapped and mental ill

Role of Social Work

In these countries, social workers have to play the dual role of providing voluntary
leadership to meet the problems, make services basis pressing upon the government to
use resources to plan for effective and national white programs.

Values and Planned Change

According to Watson, Lippitt and Westley, social work is the process of living
services to the people who must change in order to improve their functioning. Social
workers should have responsibility to clients of works with individuals, families and
groups and representatives of organizations. The social workers aim is to bring change in
their clients so that they will make changes of institutions around them with all social
workers.

Pre-Requisite for Planned Change

Before bringing the changes in their clients the professional social worker should
have knowledge of nature process component and consequences of personal and social
change both historically and dynamically.

Bases for differentiation among change Agents

Differentiation among change agents is their functions. Both the psychiatrist and
socialworker may regard as cange agent but they are professional different functions
They may be overlapped in their respects and their functions sanctioned by society, their
methods and knowledge. Another differentiation among change agents is the value
orientation by which they are guided.

Values of Clients in Relation to Planned Change

Clients have values predispositions towards changing or being changed. The issue
us bit a professional skill to be considered and if the client don’t accept the change then
the social workers should have the function of convincing poor and encouragement to
bring changes in them.

Valuation of Idea of Change

Clients should be highly motivated to change and their responses to the suggestion
be psychologically derived. Clients may afraid of different ways of the situation but the
social worker practically motivate him and should take the afraid of changes in their
mode of functioning and social worker must evaluate their own professional choices
regarding change so clients have some kind of value to the idea of change

Valuation of Self-determination
 Social workers in their turn must clarify their value in relation to clients and each
human being should achieve his own destiny.

Valuation of Planned Specific Change

Clients should consider the social workers planned changes important, valuable
and have confidence in him that planned change will be thought to them.

Valuation of the Agent of Change

The client should value the social worker as a agent of change. So, the social
worker should be sensitive and should not have overconfidence that people will accept us
as a social worker.

Valuation of Timing of Change

Clients may value the prospect of change they may prefer a different timing It is
the timings of client whether the clients ready to adopt the changes for him or he will say
that after some months or time changes can be given to him.

LET US SUM UP

Earlier poverty was known as distress and the material help was given to the people who did not have
food or money or sufficient clothing and shelter. But in the early twentieth century, the distress was
redefined and was known as intrapersonal and interpersonal discomfort, with this shift from poverty to
psychiatric discomfort(problem of living), the will to help was assessed inefficient and the helpers
needed training to provide the proper help. This occurred first in medicine and later on in social work..
People find that they do not express the most desirable potential of their being and thus there is no
authenticity in living. They are forced into concretization which seems to be justifiable to their parents,
spouses, employers or society as such who are powerful than they. For this struggle to relieve stress and
tension social work comes to their rescue.

Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model Questions
 UNIT IV

INTERVENTION IN THE BASIC UNITIS OF SOCIETY: INDIVIDUALS,

FAMILY, GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES.

INTRODUCTION TO METHODS OF SOCIAL WORK: PRIMARY METHODS

[SOCIAL CASE WORK, SOCIAL GROUP WORK,
COMMUNITYORGANIZATION] AUXILIARY METHODS [SOCIAL WORK
RESEARCH, SOCIAL WELFARE ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL ACTION] -
EMERGING TRENDS

Overview

Social work is scientifically oriented in the knowledge and methods it uses, but it also
involves certain element of skill which makes it akin to an applied or practical art, As a
subject, social work is scientific; as practice it is an art. The best way to understand the
meaning of social work is to analyze the way it helps the individuals, groups and
communities

Learning Objectives

To acquire knowledge of the intervention of social work with individuals groups

and communities

To understand the primary and auxiliary methods of social work

4.1 Intervention with Individuals

4.2 Intervention with Family

4.3 Intervention with Groups

4.5 Introduction to the methods of social work

4.6 Primary Methods

4.6.1 Social Case Work

4.6.2 Social Group Work

4.6.3. Community Organization

4.7 Auxiliary Methods of social work

4.7. Social work Research

4.7.1 SOCIAL RESEARCH

Social Work Research is an indirect or enabling method. Social research means a careful, critical
and systematic inquiry into or investigation of a problem; an effort to find fresh information by
experimentation and study, and a process by which we try to find answers to problems of social
work.

In order to assess social problems of the community, the type of the people affected by the
problem and the methods used in trying to solve this problem, social research can be one of the
important tools. Social planning would be ineffective without proper research, which will enable
the planners to assess the needs of the community. It is not always possible to
compartmentalize social services and social research as the programme provides necessary data
of social research and social research enables social workers to make their programmes very
effective, useful and worthwhile. It helps them to modify techniques and methods in solving
certain problems.

TYPES OF SOCIAL RESEARCH:

There are two types of social research.

1. Applied or action research, and

2. Pure research

Pure research is designed without reference to practical result, whereas applied research is
action-oriented. It is the social work research or applied research with which social workers are
concerned.

The welfare agencies running various programmes should be interested in applied research in
order to provide data to the research workers and the agencies in order to implement their
programmes more effectively.

CONCPETS UNDERLYING RESEARCH;

 1. Research focuses on broad areas of the problems of the agency.
2. Research requires a healthy mental attitude towards research workers.
3. As a co-operative process, research is suited to study a group process in administration.
4. Research enables workers to observe and record the relationship of individuals and
group in actual operating situations.

AREAS OF RESEARCH

Research may be useful in the following areas:

1. Personnel practices in welfare agencies.

2. Extent, adequacy and usefulness of services provided by the welfare agencies.
3. Study of administrative process in welfare agency.
4. Availability of financial resources in the community for certain welfare programmes.
5. Methods of fund-raising and their allocation.
6. Techniques and methods for solving certain problems.

Thus social research focuses upon the usefulness of the programmes and effectiveness of the
techniques used as measurements of results achieve and dynamics of relationship between the
individuals and the groups in the agency in order to enable the social worker and administrators
to have proper planning and complete coordination.

PROCEDURE:

Various stages in the procedure for research include selection of a topic or a subject,
formulation of hypothesis, preparation of design for research, to test and verify the hypothesis,
collection of data and fact finding, analysis of data, interpretation of data collected and to arrive
at conclusions either to prove or disprove the hypothesis and then presentation of facts,
analysis, interpretation and conclusions in the form of a report.

TOOLS OF RESEARCH

The following are the tools of research:

1. Schedule.
2. Questionnaire
3. Interviews and visits
4. Records.

4.7.2 Social welfare Administration

4.7.2 SOCIAL WELFARE ADMINISTRATION

The next process of social work is known as ‘Social Work Administration.’ Social work
Administration is the process by which we apply professional competence to certain goals and
transform social policy into social action.

“ Administrative process is also applied to achieve certain results through professional skills and
competence. Therefore, in various professional fields like medicine education, law, industry, etc,
administration plays a vital role in rendering effective service to the needy. Educationists, in
charge of educational institutions, physicians and surgeons in charge of hospitals, require
certain sets of persons and administrative practices to assist them in the administration of their
programmes. Similarly, in the field of social work, it is necessary to have adequate machinery of
social workers in order to properly utilize philanthropy for the treatment of maladjusted adult
the provision of preventive services.

Some one has compared administration to an instrument with two blades, like a pair of scissors-
one blade represents the body of knowledge of the subject-matter of the programme and the
field of services and the other blade is the understanding of techniques of planning, organizing,
staffing, directing, co-coordinating, budgeting, accounting etc. it is necessary that both the
blades should operate effectively and in a co-coordinated manner so as to make this tool very
effective and useful. It not a tool or method which is important but the goal to achieve success
is equally important.

In the context of present-day complex social problems, size of the social welfare services and
large number of welfare organizations, a sound administration is vitally important in all types of
organizations. Whereas the purpose of social work is to render services to the society with
certain techniques, administration is the business of social work. Effective administration and
efficient welfare services are therefore, supplementary. Thus, effective social welfare services
and sound administration are the heart and head of effective social work.

FUNCTIONS OF ADMINISTRATION:

The following are some of the functions of sound administrative process:

1) Determining the purposes, aims, and objects of the organization.

2) Establishing the structure of the organization and keeping the organization strong.
3) Directing the work of the organization, selecting and developing efficient and adequate staff.
4) Working with boards and committees.
5) Evaluating accurately the results achieved in relation to established purposes
6) Looking ahead and forecasting, so that services are kept consistent with changing needs and
resources.
7) Providing financial administration securing and handling finances.
8) Maintaining effective public relations and proper cooperation with other agencies.

AREAS OF ADMINISTRATION:
The following are the major aspects of administration:

1) Planning and policy making

2) Organization and machinery
3) Constitution and functions of the executive board
4) Personnel policies
5) Supervision and leadership
6) Programme development and sound methods and practices
7) Specializations and coordination
8) Reporting, evaluation and research
9) Public relations.
10) Mobilizations and maintenance of resources, budgetary and fiscal control and concept of
accountability.
11) Maintenance of proper records.

PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION:

1. Those concerned with administration of programmes should have adequate

understanding of human behavior and knowledge of skills and techniques necessary to
tackle social problems.
2. A well throughout and clearly defined procedure should be laid down and followed
uniformly
3. The administration of programmes should be entrusted to trained and efficient staff who
have warm understanding of the problem he agency intends to tackle.
4. a sound administration should aim at giving responsibility and should encourage
participation by the staff in the administration of programmes on the basis of sound
principles of group process. The administrative process should be based on democratic
process of responsibility.
5. Each member of the staff should be made to feel that the work entrusted to him is very
important and vital to the purpose for which the agency is established.
6. Administrative practices are means to achieve the goal and that is well-being of the
community serviced by the agency. The procedure and practices should be changed
depending upon the needs.
7. Adequate arrangements should be made for periodical assessment for the procedure
and practices and the results achieved.

THE ADMINSTRATIVE PROCESS:

The following are some of the steps indicating the administrative process:

1. Collecting facts relating to agency’s programmes and objectives analyzing these facts for
making estimates and planning for the programmes of the agency.
 2. Recruitment, orientation and training of workers and planning and division of work
among the staff in order to execute the plan.
3. Laying down administrative and financial practices in order to achieve the objectives and
programmes of the agency.
4. Maintenance of proper records, collection and utilization of facts during the course of
administration of the programmes for future planning.
5. Laying down definite financial practices in order to ensure economical use of funds.
6. Establishing effective community relationship and coordination with other agencies by
adequate public relations. “ Thus, social welfare programmes could be compared to a
vehicle intended for the treatment and preventions of social ill. Social work
administration can be compared with wheels of this vehicle, which provides power,
speed and efficiency to these programmes. The executive of the agency is comparable to
the driver of the is vehicle and by virtue of his efficiency, skill and resourcefulness, he
moves the vehicle of social welfare towards achievement of agency’s goal and it speeds
up towards the fulfillment of certain welfare programmes.

4.7.3 Social Action

SOCIAL ACTION

Previously, social action was considered as a tool within the field of community organization,
but now it has been considered as a separate technique of social work as such a fourth process.

“ Social action is a logical outgrowth of the fundamental belief of the social work profession. The records
of casework agencies, for example, abound with illustrations of problems of the clients which are due to
external conditions beyond the ability of the individual or of the agency to modify. In the face of such
obstacles, individualized services must be supplemented with social action to meet the problem.”

DEFINITION

Social action in an organized effort to change or improve social and economic institution as
distinguished from social work or social services, the fields of which do not characteristically
cover essential changes in established institutions social action covers movements of political
reform, industrial democracy, social legislation, racial and social justice, religious freedom and
civil liberty.

It may be described as organized group effort to solve mass problems or to further socially
desirable objectives by attempting to influence or change basic social and economic conditions
or practices. It always involves public pressure in one form or the other, short of physical
coercion or violence. Promotion of legislation is regarded, often erroneously, as the only form of
social action but that is not so, though it is a typical and common form of social action.
“The term ‘Social Action’ refers to organized and legally permitted activities designed to
mobilize public opinion, legislation and public administration in favor of objectives believed to
be socially desirable..

In short, social action is a mass approach in a most peaceful manner used for changing or
modifying existing social and economic institutions, which do not function properly, and which
made social work ineffective. Social Action implies speed.”

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES:

The following are some for the means which make social action possible:

1. Research and collection data

2. Planning solution, and arousing public opinion
3. Meeting key-persons, group agencies
4. Public meetings
5. Social Education
6. Propaganda and Public information
7. Discussions
8. Enlisting public information
9. Coordinating the work of different groups and agencies.
10. Presentation of the proposal to those in authority.
11. Use of Press and meeting members of legislature.
12. Social Legislation
13. Enforcement of legislations.
14. Functional literacy/ Social Education.
15. Case work.

Some of the problems which can be solved through social action are dowry problem, purdah
system, untouchability, prostitution, zamindari system, illiteracy through compulsory primary
education, removal of any major religious dogma, superstitions, prejudices, etc., child marriages
and restrictions on widow remarriages.

4.8 The Emerging trends in social work

Let us Sum up

Glossary
Answers to check your progress

Model Questions

UNIT V

SOCIAL WORK AS A WESTERN CONCEPT- NEED FOR INDIGENOUS

PRACTICE OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORK

5.1 Social work as a Western concept

5.2 Need for indigenous practice of professional social work

5.3 social Work education and Social work curriculum in India

Let us Sum Up

Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model Questions

OVERVIEW

An attempt is made here to look at the Indian social work education and describe its main trends, and
assess the extent to which it has moved towards becoming indigenous in its overall philosophy and goals
on the one hand and in terms of the level of training, curriculum content, use of study material and
methods of working with people on the other. As a part of this study, an attempt has also been made to
determine the extent of international orientation of the American Social Work education as reflected
through the bulletins of several leading schools of social work. At present, there are about one hundred
graduate schools and several hundred undergraduate programmes in America. In India, out of nearly 200
universities which cover about five thousand colleges, only fifteen universities have separate
departments of social work, two institutions are deemed to be universities, and all other social work
institutions are only affiliated to universities.

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK:-

 Social work operates to assist individuals in adjusting to the institutional
framework of society, and attempts to modify the institutional framework itself in
appropriate areas. Social work has four broad functions: curative, correctional, preventive
and developemental. Under the curative function, the following services are provided:
Medical servicews, health services, services relating to psycho-social and mental health,
psychiatric services, child guidance, child welfare services, services for the handicapped
and disabled and rehabilitative services.

Correction social work has 3 broad areas:

1. Individual reform services which include prison reform, probation, parole,

other related services,

2. Services for strengthening and improving relationship – family welfare

services, school social work, industrial social work,

3. Services for social reform – employment services, prevention of prostitution,

beggary, prohibition services and removal of untouchability.

Prevention services include Life Insurance, public assistance, social legislation,

labour welfare. Adult education and prevention of diseases.

Development tasks are socio-economic developmental activities, education and

recreational services, urban and rural development programmes and the programmes for
integration.

THE PROFESSION AS A SYSTEM:

Social work is a profession, as we discussed earlier. All professions can be viewed

as social systems. Because the social work profession is a system within every social
worker functions, whether it is recognized or not, every social worker ought to
understand something about it. The profession through society’s assignment of its
functions, sanction to some extent the work of all people who occupy jobs that are
classified social work positions.

SOCIAL WORK IS A PROFESSSION

Social work differs from the various a social science in that is a profession. The
work profession connotes skill or artistry. Social work has a definite ameliorative and
creative function in society. It uses knowledge to meet human needs; in this sense it is an
applied science as well. The augmenting of skill by knowledge is important for social
work, but it is not the complete story of the development of professional competence.
Knowledge, understanding, and skill – all are parts of the social worker’s background.

NEEDS FOR THE INDIGENOUS FOUNDATION:-

Indian social work education has found a readymade body of formulated concepts,
theories and techniques from American social work literature. For more than three
decades, Indian social work educators and international consultants have admitted the
excessive use of American textbooks and case studies, and have recognized the need to
develop and introduce indigenous study material. It is unfortunate that little has been
accomplished on this front even till today. In this survey, eleven institutions provide lists
of the books suggested or recommended for use in the various courses offered by them.
The teaching material for the courses relating to human growth and behavior, social
casework, social group work, community organization, medical and psychiatric social
work, and social research and statistics is exclusively American, and even for courses on
social work history, social work philosophy, social structure, social problems and social
deviance, most of American publications is so striking that one wonders how students
could integrate any concept, theory or technique based upon American cultural ideologies
with the practice of social work in Indian welfare settings.

Moreover, some of the books used were published before 1960 and most of them
related to the 1970s and before. The all-embracing American characteristic pervades not
only the study material recommended on the reading lists but it is also reflected in the
organization of the education itself. Even these dated books are not available in the open
market and have to be read in the libraries of social work institutions. Thus, we find that
there is a crying need for indigenous scholarship and indigenous study material based
upon Indian social, economic, and political conditions.

Most American scholars who have written about international social work have
usually highlighted the universal elements of American social work education and not
many have ever attempted to examine their application, their acceptance or their
effectiveness in south Asian societies. As a matter of fact, two leaders of the team of
social work consultants who worked in India in the late fifties who had their training
exclusively in social casework had come out for the propagation of social casework had
come out for the propagation of social case work in one form or other as an integral part
of Indian social work education. It is true that American social work education has spread
far and wide beginning from the early fifties and virtually thousands of Asian have been
trained in America. A recent survey conducted by this writer about the international and
cross-cultural elements of the American social work education as reflected in the courses
offered, faculty members’ experience in Asian countries, recruitment of Asians on the
faculty and the faculty members’ publications strikingly reveal that the American social
work educational institutions are woefully ill-equipped to offer training to Asians on
other foreigners which could be used in their native societies in any meaningful manner.
It is not far from the truth that very few American scholars have ever undertaken any
research or published any paper on this subject research concerning the application of
social work philosophy, concepts, principles and methods to Asian societies. Actually,
one social work research centre has completed a few studies about comparative social
welfare in European societies. Moreover, social work institutions generally do not
maintain much contact with other social science departments of their universities which
in many instances have specialized centers involved in research about Asian societies.
Thus, it will be fair to say that American social work education is highly ethnocentric and
its essential elements are in appropriate and irrelevant for Indian and other developing
societies where not only social structures and social problems are different but even
human needs, beliefs, myths, values, traditions, goals, roles, aspirations and human
behaviors itself are so different that they demand different solutions.
The need for indigenous elements of social work education in terms of its
philosophy, approaches, principles, theories and study material cannot be over-
emphasized because working with people, studying social problems and administrating
social welfare programmes call for indigenous orientation and skills. The foreignness of
social work education is so much all-inclusive and pervasive as reflected in its basic
organization, curricula and the teaching material that most social work graduates fail to
pursue careers in professional social work. Moreover, existing training does not prepare
them to assume roles of leadership in the planning, formulating and implementation of
social welfare programmes at different levels of practice and administration. If social
work has to move toward professionalism in any society and has to become effective, it
must have indigenous foundations incorporating dominant cultural philosophies, on the
one hand, and projected goals which are being promoted on the other, recently, based
upon his independent study, a young Indian social educator has concluded that “Social
work education in India has become irrelevant to the needs of Indian society, because
what is needed in Indian society is a primarily preventive and macro based social work.”
Indian social work educators must accept this challenge and forge a new stratergy to
transform the existing social work education to develop an use indigenous study material.
Unless this is done social work as a profession is not likely to establish its roots in
society.

5.3 social work education and social work curriculum in India

SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

Social work education for professional in India began in 1936 when a school of social work was set up in
Bombay by the House of Tatas, one of the largest private industrial and business enterprises. The main
inspiration for its establishment came from America partly because its founding Director was an
American and partly because the American system of graduate social work education was the only
successful model available as compared to other systems elsewhere in some European societies. For
eleven years between 1936 and 1947, this Institute was the only one imparting professional education in
social work. In 1946, the second institution was established in Lucknow under the auspices of the Young
Women Christian Association (YWCA) with a substantial grant from its counterpart in the United States,
and again its founder Director was an American. It was shifted to Delhi and was named Delhi School of
Social Work. After nearly two years of experimentation, it started a formal two-year programme of social
work training in 1949 and was affiliated as a graduate school to the University of Delhi for the Master of
Arts degree. This institution was eventually merged with the university I 1979 and became one of its
departments for administrative matters under the faculty of the social sciences. In 1950, another
institution was started a faculty of social work under the University of Baroda somewhat on the same
general pattern of the American model which was accepted earlier at Bombay and Delhi. During the next
decade 1951-60, fourteen more institution was started in 1971-80. By the end of 1980, thirty institutions
were providing social work education and training at the graduate level. It is now reported that the
number has grown to fifty or more in the mid-nineties.

ORGANISATION OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION:

Social work education is mainly organized at the master’s level because the American Model, which it
copied, was primarily at the graduate level till the end of the sixties. Since then institutions for
undergraduate social work education in America have multiplied but in India less than a dozen
institutions offer the bachelor’s degree in social work even today. Just as in America, social work
education originated outside the established university educational system in India.

At present, there are about one hundred graduate schools and several hundred undergraduate
programmes in America. In India, out of nearly 200 universities which cover about five thousand
colleges, only fifteen universities have separate departments of social work, two institutions are deemed
to be universities and all other social work institutions are only affiliated to universities.

SOCIAL WORK CURRICULUM IN INDIA:

The curriculum of social work basically has three components: classroom courses, research project, and
field work. The courses offered are generally divided into four groups. The first group consists of courses
about Indian society, social structure, history and philosophy of social work and social problems; the
second group related to the studyof human growth ad development; and the third group related to the
study of human growth and development; and the third group includes the courses on methods of
working with people such as social casework, social group work, community organization and
community development, social welfare administration and social research; and the fourth group is
composed of specialized courses usually offered during the second year of training , and students are
expected to concentrate on one of them. The curricula are somewhat similar in all schools and the
original pattern as established bite Tata Institute and the Delhi school in the mid-fifties continues to be
followed. But both these institutions had modified their curricula considerably in the late sixties and
early seventies. Essentially, the main pattern is what existed in American social work education in early
sixties. While at the Tata institute, most courses continue to be labeled on the American model, the Delhi
school has attempted generic terms as methods of working with people instead of the traditional titles
as social casework, social group work and community organization. In most other institutions, the
traditional terminology is widely followed, and even where new terms have been introduced, the basic
teaching material, which is primarily American, has remained the same. In addition to the courses,
almost all institutions either require or provide opportunities to their students to complete an individual
or group research project report based upon some type of field data. Over the years this requirement
has moved from the mandatory level of the optional level especially during the seventies.

5.4 importance of field work and supervision in social work education

FIELD WORK SUPERVISION

“field work supervision teaches the students to integrate theory and practice in the field. It creates an
environment in which professional skills for social work practice can be learnt.”

The word “supervision” consists of two different words super and vision. ‘super’ means over and above,
and ‘vision’ means the art of seeing objects, or perceiving a mental image, or looking over. The
traditional and literary meaning of the term supervision is interpreted differently.

The characteristic of supervision is to see threat the work assigned is accomplished as directed and
expected. If it is not accomplished then the supervisors are help responsible and answerable.

The concept of fieldwork supervision in social work education is dual:

1. Supervision by the faculty members, and

2. Supervision by the practitioners or agency supervisors.

The faculty members guide the students in understanding the concepts and techniques of social work,
principles and philosophies of social work, procedures and methods of practicing social work theories
and the utility value for social work practice. They help the students in preparing themselves to be
theoretically sound and make them conceptually clear to anchor theories in practice for effective
services.

The practitioners or the agency supervisors guide the students in acquiring professional skills,
knowledge, procedure and methods of social work and the use of techniques in the actual field for
rendering welfare services and for solving the problems of the needy, helpless, poor and suffers.

To acquire professional skills following two components are considered very important
 1. The faculty supervisors and

2. the practitioners or agency supervisors. The former assist in the theory and the practice
and the latter in practical guidance, assignment of relevant practical work and overseeing the work from
the social work perspective.

In other words, the term ‘supervision’ in social work education is an “ educational process in which a
person, a supervisor, a more knowledgeable and professionally competent individual imparts designed
concepts, skills and attitudes to students, through various educational tools like supervisory interactions,
supervisory relationships, professional skills and techniques and supervisory individual and group
conferences.” The function of supervision in social work education is to facilitate, accelerate, smoothen
and consolidate the students; learning in practical situations.

IMPORTANCE OF FIELD WORK AND SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION:

Fieldwork is an integral part of social work training. The fieldwork programme generally includes
concurrent activities, block field placement, study tours and an annual rural camp. During the first year
most institutions have observational and unstructured type of fieldwork for about 15 hours a week. The
second year fieldwork is somewhat more structured and is usually related to the student’s specialized
area of interest as chosen at the time of admission. The block fieldwork placement of four to six weeks is
generally arranged after the completion of all other formal requirements of training; in two institutions
however this is done as a part of the fieldwork during the second year of training. This placement
exposes the student to the actual functioning of social welfare agencies and it often leads to this
employment as well. In terms of both emphasis and credit given in the total curricula of different
institutions, the filed work practices do vary considerably. Fieldwork is given the highest credit to the
extent of forty percent in the total curriculum.

METHODS OF SOCIAL WORK:

4.6. Social work methods are classified into six major headings. In fact, these techniques

have divided the social work field into six major areas of activities. These methods
are:
1. Case work – helps an individual

2. Group work - helps individuals through a group

3. Community Organization – focuses on community.

4. Social Action – is used to solve major problems

5. Social Research – provides basic data on social problems

 6. Social Administration - covers business and financial aspects of

social work.
We shall now study these techniques, one by one. The study and understanding of the
basic principles underlying these methods are very essential for social workers and basic
to working with people in order to help them to lead more satisfying lives.

4.6.1 SOCIAL CASE WORK:

Social Case Work, a primary method of social work, is concerned with the
adjustment and development of individual towards more satisfying human relations.
Better family life, improved schools, better housing, more hospitals and medical care
facilities, protected economic conditions and better relations between religious groups
help the individual in his adjustment and development. But his adjustment and
development depend on the use of these resources by him. Sometimes due to certain
factors, internal or external, he fails to avail existing facilities. In such situations, social
caseworker helps him. Thus, social casework is one to one relationship, which works in
helping the individual for his adjustment and development.
Every individual reacts differently to his social, economic and physical
environments and as such problems of one individual are different from those of
another. Case work, therefore, aims at individualized services in the field of social work
in order to help the client to adjust with the environments. Gordon Hamilton has
defined casework as: -
“Social case work (which is both a tool and area of work) consists of those processes
which develop personality through adjustment consciously affected, individual by
individual between man and his social environment.”

According to HOLLIS (1954)

“Social Case work is a method employed by social worker to help

individuals find solution to problems of social adjustment which they are unable to
handle in satisfactory way by their own efforts.”
 According to PERLMAN (1957)

“Social Case work is a process used by certain human welfare agencies to help
individuals to cope more effectively with their problems in social functioning.”

PROCESS:

This process and tool apply in the following situations:-

i. Delinquent children,
ii. Rehabilitation and Diversional therapy for T.B., V.D. or
other patients
iii. Beggary,
iv. Unmarried mothers,
v. Family maladjustments,
vi. Marriage guidance,
vii. Youth Counseling, and
viii. Medical and psychiatric Social work.
STAGES:

Different stages in case work process are:

i. Case study
ii. Diagnosis and
iii. Treatment
COMPONENTS;

The components of social casework are:

i. The person
ii. The problem
iii. The place
 iv. The process
v. The case worker and client relationship
vi. The problem solving work.

SOCIAL CASE HISTORY:

The first step that the caseworker has to take is to collect the social history of the
client. This could be done in various ways. These are:

1. Interview with the client

2. Interview with the relatives, employer, teacher and friends of the client.

3. Visiting the neighborhood and environment in which the client lives.

All these visits will help the worker to know the client in his environment and collect all
the data in respect of the client and his environment i.e. his family, neighborhood,
friendship circle, employer, teacher, etc. as a matter of fat it is not possible to separate the
three stages of case work service i.e. social history, diagnosis and treatment. During the
course of interview, the worker may be able to diagnose and even suggest treatment to the
client but where the problem is very acute; it is necessary to consider the diagnosis in
relation to his own history.

DIAGNOSIS:

The Second stage of the casework process is diagnosis. It is used to hold some sort
of conference with the worker from different disciplines to discuss the person and his
problems and a tentative diagnosis is worked out. If it is a medical case, the medical
persons are invited; it is a case of an educational institution, educationist are invited and
if it is a case of mental illness, psychologist/psychiatrists could also be associated with
the diagnosis. Sometimes other social workers are also invited to this conference.
TREATMENT
Strictly speaking, everything that has been discussed so far is part of treatment. If
the aim of the caseworker is to enable the client to deal with these difficulties, the
treatment has already gone a long way, if at the first interview the client is able to feel
that the worker is a person worthy of consideration, worth listening to and worth being
interested in such treatment. In such a situation, it would be possible for the caseworker
through various interviews to help the client to understand his difficulties and problems.
Unless the client needs therapy, the previous interviews may result in treatment. There
may, however, be a special interview of conference in relation to the treatment, but these
stages, as mentioned earlier, cannot be isolated.

The interviews in all these process are every important and unless the interviews
are conducted properly, it is not possible to expect results. The case worker has, therefore,
not only to understand the theory of interview but also have sufficient training and
experience in interviewing, if he/she wants to be successful in providing service to the
client.

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL CASEWORK

1. A worker should believe in social reality.

i. Every individual has his own different problems because every

personality is unique
ii. Problems do exit and there is no stigma attached to a problem and or
any maladjusted person and a social worker does not believe in social
isolation for the physically, mentally, emotionally and socially sick
person.
iii. Every problem can, therefore, be solved provided we create conditions
for an individual which help to make an adjustment with his social
environment.
 2. The personality of the client is to be respected.

3. Worker should build up purposeful relationship with the client.

4. Worker should build up purposeful relationship with the client.

5. Worker should always have belief in the ability of the human beings to change

and grow.
6. Worker should not involve himself emotionally with the client. There should

not be any over-identification with the client.

7. Worker has to accept and appreciate the individual differences and prejudices

of the client.
8. In the process of helping, it should be observed that the client is as active as the

worker, since the formers’ participation in the treatment is very necessary. The
client should be helped to help himself.
9. Worker has also to look to the interest of the family community ad agency and

as such he has to help the client to adjust with the family and the community
by releasing the immediate resources available in the community, taking family
as a primary institution. The worker has to consider the client as part of the
family, communit6y and society with mutual responsibility.
10. In order to establish rapport with the client, worker should be sincere and

sympathetic towards him and sensitive to the clients’ feelings and problems.

INTERVIEWING IN CASEWORK:

By interviewing, we mean a meeting or conference (may be formal or informal0

between two or more persons for specific purpose. It is an art which is used in every
situation for better understanding and better relationships between the interviewer and the
interview. Interviewing is the foundation on which theory and practice of social case
work is based because without interview, the worker cannot get all the possible
information about the client nor can the client gain any confidence in the worker. The
purpose of an interview is, therefore, three-fold:
 1. To obtain knowledge of the situation.

2. To understand another person.

3. To make the person understand you.

Note: the word client used here means any person who is seeking help or is being offered
specialized service.

RECORDING IN SOCIALW ORK:

1. By maintaining records, a worker can improve his professional

skills and techniques, can learn by his own errors and can thus
make his help more effective and systematic.
2. Records not only help a worker to evaluate his own work, but he

can also improve upon his own methods.

3. Records can create interest not only in the worker but also in the

client and help in building worker-client relationship.

4. Records add to the body of knowledge of social work and also

make this knowledge communicable.

5. Records make supervision and teaching easier and effective.

6. Records can be used for social research and planning.

7. Through records a worker can show his agency what work he has

done.
8. Records ensure continuity of work, if another replaces one

worker.
9. Records are useful for future references.

10. Records help in providing service on a systematic basis.

PRINCIPLES OF CASE RECORDS:

 No hard and fast rules can be laid down for preparing records but the following are
some of the most important points, which should be borne in mind:

1. The contents of the records should be kept confidential.

2. Objectivity, accuracy, simplicity and brevity should be the guiding factors

in preparing records.
3. Records should be written in very simple language and a simple style.

4. Reaction of the Client/group should be recorded beginning and /or ending

in his/their own words

5. Abbreviations should be avoided in records

6. Summary is a good device for organizing and analyzing facts.

7. Narrative is a good style for reporting facts.

8. If possible, notes should be not be noted down before the client but after the

interview is over.
9. Client’s emotions- anger, happiness, irritability, etc., should be suitably

recorded.
10. Records should be supplemented with letters, etc.

4.6.2 SOCIAL GROUP WORK

Social casework is not the whole of social work. Human beings do not live alone. They
grow up in families, tribes, clubs, communities etc. group life is therefore, basic to nay
human being. A group means any collection of social beings that enter into distinctive
social relationships with one another. Group involves mutual and reciprocal ‘give and
take.’ The collection of those individual who are interested in the same pursuit or who
favor the same policy is called a group. Therefore, another important area of social work
is social group work, which deals with individual as members of group.
 “ Social group work is a process and method through which individuals and
groups in social agency settings are helped by a worker to relate themselves to other
people and to experience growth and opportunities in accordance with their needs and
capacities.

In social group work, the group itself is utilized by the individual, with the help of
the worker, as primary means of personality growth, change and development. The
worker is interested in helping to being about individual growth and social development
for the group as a whole as a result of guided group inter-action.

FUNCTIONS OF GROUP WORK:

The following are some of the functions of group work:

1. It always focuses the individual in the group and group itself is a major tool

for furthering socially desirable objectives.

2. it is carried on with voluntary groups in the setting of social agency may be

in educational, recreational or religious fields.

3. it is a helping process with dual purpose of individual and group growth.

4. it has a worker whole role is that of a enabler and a helping person.

So, individual group worker, leader and the agency are the main constituents of group
work process. Group process is used in leisure-time activities, - bal bhavan, holiday
homes, youth hostels, hospitals, institutions, community welfare work, school social
work etc.

PURPOSE OF GROUP WORK:

The main purposes of group work are:

1. To teach the individuals to live and work together and to participate in the

activities of a group for their intellectual, emotional and physical growth.

2. To solve problems of adjustment by development of individual’s

personality through the group process.

 3. To prepare the individuals to learn to share responsibility in the working of

democracy as active citizens.

4. To give opportunity to those who have potentialities of leadership.

5. To make best use of leisure time of the people.

6. To learn division of labor and specialization of roles.

7. To provide a substitute for family in institutions and in industrial towns in

order to get emotional security and an opportunity for adjustment with

secondary group.
8. To widen one’s horizon and social consciousness, create friendship,

preserve hobbies and learn skills.

9. As a remedial role to help the social adjustment of persons, group therapy

helps patients in need of physical, mental and emotional adjustment.

10. To prepare the people for social change.

PRINCIPLES OF GROUP WORK:

The following are the broad principles of Group Work:

1. Group formation should be planned.

2. Group should have Specific objectives.

3. Worker- group relationship should be purposeful.

4. There should be continuous individualization in a group.

5. Inter-action of a group should be guided.

6. . Group should be organized on democratic basis

7. Group should have flexible functional organization.

8. There should be progressive programme development

9. Group should utilize its existing resources.

10. There should be constant evaluation of group work.

EVALUATION OF A GROUP:

In order to study and evaluate the group, the following aspects should be kelp in
mind:

1. History of the group.

2. Group characteristics.

3. Individuals in the Group.

4. Group relationship.

5. Programmes of the group.

6. Individual and group objectives.

7. Level of group development

8. Leaders in the group.

Group Development

The following are the signs of group development

1. Prompt and constant attendance

2. Definite decision of meeting at a certain time and place

3. Willingness to take responsibility (existence of role – feelings)

4. Existence of ‘we feelings’ sense of belonging to the group and desire to

have a name or symbol for the group

5. Enthusiastic demand for membership and wider participation.

6. Existence of informal relations among the group members

7. Desire to have more complex programmes

8. Willingness to extend relations with other groups and agencies

9. Willingness to take leadership responsibility

10. Existence of feeling of dependence in the group.

ROLE OF GROUP WORKER

 The role of group worker is that of an enabler for the group and he is a link
between the group and the agency. He helps the group to

1. Determine its objectives, purposes and goals,

2. Develop group feeling ad consciousness,

3. Identify personal problems and help them solve, and

4. also help the individual to maintain relations with group members.

ATTRIBUTES OF A GOD LEADER

A good leader is one who is an enabler and helps the group to do things with him
and not for him, respects the personality of each individual and the views of the others.
He does not make people dependent upon him and is followed by the group at rational
level but not at emotional level. This is possible only if he is always objective, flexible at
times, democratic and not emotional or authoritarian but gives maximum responsibility to
the group. He should have an integrated personality and should always be sympathetic.
He should have knowledge of the socio – economic background of the group.

EFFECTIVE PROGRAMME CRITERIA

Programme in social group work must meet the following criteria of effectiveness:

1. Programme should grow out of the needs and interest of the members.

2. Programmes should take into account such factors as age of the group

members, cultural background and economic disparities.

3. Programme should provide individuals with experience and opportunities,

which they voluntarily chose to pursue because of their inherent values.

4. Programme should be flexible and varied to satisfy a verify of needs and

interests and to afford a maximum number of opportunities or participation.

5. Programme should evolve from the simple to more complex items with

movement coming as a result of group growth in ability and readiness.

Community Organisation
 In order to study community organization, we have to understand the concept
of community. The term ‘community’ is used in different contexts: a religious
community, business community or caste based community etc., but in the context
of social work, a community is defined as a group of people living in a common
geographical area, sharing common interests and having a sense of belonging.

The term ‘Community Organization is used to refer to a process as well as

field. This double usage is a familiar phenomenon. We refer to the practice of
medicine as a process and to the field of medicine; to the teaching process and to
the field of teaching; to the practice of law, which is a process, and to the legal
field etc. Community organization is carried on within the area of social work and
it is one of the techniques of social work.

Definitions

Different groups at one of the National conferences in U.S.A suggested the

following definitions of community organization:

1. Community Organization is the process of dealing with individuals and

groups who are or may become concerned with social welfare services or
objectives, for the purpose of influencing the volume of such services,
improving their quality or distribution, or furthering the attainment of such
objectives.
2. in the social welfare field, community organization may be described as the

art and process of discovering social welfare needs and of creating, co –

coordinating and systematizing instrumentalities through which group
resources and talents may be directed towards realization of group ideals
and the development of potentialities of groups members. Research,
interpretation, conference, education, group organization and social action
are the principal tools used in the process.
 3. Community organization is concerned with efforts to direct social resources

effectively towards the specific or total welfare needs of any geographical

area. Its performance may involve such activities as fact – finding,
coordination, improving standards, interpretation, developing, welfare
Programmes, changing patterns of social work, and promoting social
legislation.”
STEPS IN COMMUNITY ORGANISATION

1. Informal or systematic survey of the community which should include:

a) History of the community

b) Geographical area and total land available

c) Population:

i. Number of houses and families.

ii. Total number of men, women and children.
iii. Age and sex groups.
iv. Occupations:
d) Average income.

e) Number of dependants, etc.

f) Common places of meetings.

g) Customs, traditions, superstitions, prejudices, folkways etc. of the

community.
2. Identifying the social needs of the community and determining priorities

among them.
3. Finding out methods and techniques of meeting these needs.

4. Discovery of the existing resources to fulfill the needs

5. Trying to find out financial, technical and manpower resources from within

and if necessary and possible outside the community.

6. Elimination and prevention of social ills and disabilities which stand in the

way of welfare Programmes.

 7. Creating consciousness for needs and resources by interpretation, helping

the people to prepare for fulfillment of those needs with the available
resources and helping to find solutions leading to action.
8. co-coordinating the work of various groups and agencies in the community.

9. Staffing and budgeting for welfare.

10. Articulation of needs and resources and constant readjustment of the

resources in order to meet the changing needs.

11. Continuous evaluation of the work done and follow-up of the services

developed in the community.

METHODS TECHNIQUES:

For the purpose of crating consciousness in the community and help the
community to understand its needs, resources and methods to solve its problems, a
community organizer should follow certain stages, methods and techniques for educating
the community and organizing it for a common goral. These steps and methods are:

1. Survey research and maintain of records.

2. Meeting key persons

3. Discussions, group meetings, lectures and debates.

4. Film shows and celebration of local festivals.

5. Dramas, dances, folk songs, puppet shows, kirtan-bhajan mandalis.

6. Use of flash cards and flannel or khadi graph stories.

7. Use of notice boards, bulletin boards, charts, posters, booklets, and

newspapers.
8. Arranging exhibits and demonstration

9. Use of casework and group work techniques, wherever necessary.

10. Literacy and social education classes

11. Inter-group and inter-agency consultation and co-ordination.

12. Promotion of social action and social legislation

13. Visit to places where the programme was successful.

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY ORGANISATION:

As community organization is one of the techniques of social work, the principles

of community organization are therefore, based on philosophy of social work. The
following are some of the basic points in community organization work:

1. Community organization is a means and not an end; the end being the total

welfare of the community. All Programmes should be organized to achieve

the well being of the community.
2. An agency should develop a friendly and trustful relationship with the

members of the community. An organizer should be a friend, companion,

guide and enabler. He should work with the community.
3. The total needs of the community should be taken into consideration, while

organizing any programme of the development. There should be a co-

coordinated approach to all the problems of the community.
4. Felt-needs should be the basis of community organization. No programme

should be organized, save in order to meet the felt-needs of the community.

Nothing should be enforced or imposed on the community by way of new
ideas, unless they are first prepared for it. The agency should be able to
create consciousness among the community for understanding its various
needs. Therefore, the members of the community should have an agreement
on various needs and changes necessary in the community. It is only then;
the community will be able to accept any changes.
5. Any developmental process has to effectively stimulate, help and teach the

people to adopt new methods, learn techniques and to improve their way of
living.
6. The community should be helped to help itself. Self-reliance and sense of

initiative of the community should be fostered rather than making the

community substantially dependent on external assistance. Stimulating
force should come from within.
7. All the Programmes should be in harmony with economic ad cultural

patterns of the community, as we have to work at the level of the

community. Traditions, beliefs and customs of the community must be
respected and taken into consideration for organizing any programme of
development. The process of changing all out-moded beliefs and
superstitions should be very gradual. Therefore, the feeling of the
community should not be the ignored. The agency should be able to
demonstrate to the community the usefulness of the proposed changes in
the economic, social or cultural set-up. The participation of the community
is very necessary for bringing about these changes. The agency has,
therefore, to work with the community rather than for ht community
8. One of the most important features of the community organization should

be psychological preparation of the community for accepting certain

changes. Achieving of certain physical targets, without regard to this
preparation is not as important as the method of achieving these targets.
Any agency may construct roads, drains, wells, schools, dispensaries in the
community, but the ultimate test of success is the extent to which
community uses them. If any of these projects was built, because the
community did not want and did not participate in these projects, the
community will not use them. Sometimes certain roads or wells are
constructed because the government officials want these to be done and it is
found ultimately that these works were not used. Any assistance from
 outside should enable the community to undertake certain Programmes that
the community thinks it needs.
9. in a disorganized community, the organizer should be very cautious in

working with the groups and should not become a party to factions.
Sometimes healthy competition could be used for building the community
by various groups, each working towards the same goal of the development
of the community.
10. The use of various mass media in creating consciousness in the community

about its needs and resources and using those resources for fulfilling these
needs are very important. There are the literacy uses of audio-visual aids
charts, posters, pictures, flashcards, radio, and t.v. Bulletins etc.

The community development programme does not only refer to development in the rural
areas, but community organization is a technique which can be successfully used in
development of all communities- it may be rural community, urban community in a slum
or a congested area, Harijan or tribal community etc. the basic principles are the same but
the Programmes may differ from community according to local needs.