BSWE 001 Introduction to Social Work Assignment Code: Asst- 1/TMA- 1/BSW/2009-10 Note: i) Answer all the five

questions. ii) All questions carry equal marks. iii) Answer to question No. 1 and 2 should not exceed 800 words each. ************************************************************************** 1) Briefly explain the history of social work in United Kingdom. Or Describe the model code of ethics of social worker in Indian context. 20 2) What do you mean by socialization? Describe some of the agencies for socialization. Or Briefly explain the psycho-sexual theory of personality according to Erik Erikson. 3) Answer any two of the following in about 400 words each: 2x10m=20 i) What is the impact of caste system on Indian society? Explain. ii) What do you understand by abnormal psychology? Explain in brief some of the causes of abnormality. iii) Define society. Explain its salient features. iv) Discuss the nature and scope of social work. 4) Answer any four of the following in about 200 words each: 4x5m = 20 i) What is social security? ii) Explain the strategies adopted for empowering women and children during the ninth five year plan. iii) What do you mean by social change? Briefly describe its demographic factors. iv) Write a short note on local governance and public opinion. v) Elaborate the role of heredity in personality development. vi) What is the role of leader in a group? Explain. 5) Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each: i) Schizophrenia ii) Moulding of personality iii) Change in family patterns iv) Social control v) Spirituality and social work vi) Role of voluntary organizations in social welfare vii) Social reform viii)Evolution of social work methods. SOLUTIONS Q1. History of social work in United Kingdom. In primitive society, sometimes referred as the 'folk society', the larger family or tribe took over the support of those whose needs were not satisfied in the normal way. Children deprived of 5x4m=20

parental support were taken into the homes of relatives or adopted by childless couples. Food resources were shared among relatives and neighbor. In course of time, when the feudal system gave way to the wage economy, legislation was enacted to compel the poor to work. Whipping, imprisonment, and even death punished begging. Role of the Church In Europe, in the early Christian era, the folk tradition continued and the faithful considered it a religious obligation to care for those members of the group who could not care for themselves. Religion provided the greatest motivation for charity. The church, especially the monasteries, became the centres for distributing food, medical aid and shelter. Alms were collected in the parish and distributed by the parish priest and other clergymen who knew the individuals and their situation. Welfare Becomes a State Responsibility The shift from church responsibility to government responsibility for relief is seen first in the restrictive legislation forbidding begging and vagrancy. In England between 1350 and 1530, a series of laws were enacted, known as the "Statutes of Laborers," designed to force the poor to work. The decreasing authority of the church and the increasing tendency to shift responsibility to governmental authorities gave rise in England to a series of measures which culminated in the famous Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. The Elizabethan Poor Law 1601 The Poor Law of 1601 was a codification of the preceding poor relief legislation. The statute represented the final form of poor law legislation in England after three generations of political, religious, and economic changes that required government action. Influence of The Elizabethan Poor Law Though there were similar reform plans advocated in Europe; it is the Poor Law of 160 1, sometimes known as 43 Elizabeth, which was most influential in the development of public welfare and social work. There are several important principles in the English Poor Law, which continue to have a dominating influence on welfare legislation four centuries later. The Poor Law Revisions: 1834-1909 In 1834 a Parliamentary Commission presented a report which aimed to revise the Elizabethan and post-Elizabethan Poor Laws. Upon the basis of the committee's report legislation was enacted enunciating the following principles: (a) doctrine of least eligibility, (b) re-establishment of the workhouse test, and (c) centralization of control. The Beveridge Report In 1942, Sir William Beveridge, chairman of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Social Insurance and Allied Services, presented the Committee's Report to the government. The report emphasized four major principles: 1) Every citizen to be covered, 2) The major risks of loss of earning power - sickness, unemployment, accident, old age, widowhood, maternity- to be included in a single insurance, 3) A flat rate of contribution to be paid regardless of the contributor's income, and

4) A flat rate of benefit to be paid, also without regard to income, as a right 'to all 'who qualify. Beginnings of the COS Movement and Settlement House Movement In England, where the problem of competing and overlapping social services in London had been increasing over the years, a group of public-spirited citizens founded in 1869 the London Charity Organization Society (COS). Octavia Hill and Samuel Barnett were two of these founders. In her work as housing reformer, Octavia Hill introduced a system of "friendly rent collecting" as a method of improving slum housing. Octavia Hill communicated to the volunteers certain principles or laws to be followed in their activities, through weekly meetings and 'Letters to Fellow Workers'. She stressed that 'each case and each situation must be individualised. Everyone must be treated with respect for his or her privacy and independence. She advised her workers not to judge the tenants by their personal standards. She believed in the value of dignity of even the most degraded of her tenants. Samuel Augustus Barnett was the founder of Toynbee Hall, the first settlement house, in which wealthy Oxford students "settled" in an attempt to improve living conditions in the slums of Whitechapel. The basic idea was to bring the educated in contact with the poor for their mutual benefit. Realization had dawned on the Christian Socialists that mere distribution of charity does not solve problems. In order to better understand the situation of poverty and underdevelopment, one needed to live with the poor and listen to their problems. Q2. What do you mean by socialization? Describe some of the agencies for socialization Socialization is the process by which an individual learns the lifestyle of his society and adjusts in it. The society in which an individual takes birth and lives, he has to learn the language, lifestyle and behavioural manners and customs and traditions of that society. Without having leaned them, he cannot adjust in that society and cannot become its member. He takes much time in learning it. A few days after his birth, he gins to learn the language, lifestyle, eating and conduct manners of his society, and as he grows, he learns customs and traditions of the society and conducts himself accordingly to adjust in it. Generally an individual is a member of several societies, and in order to adjust in anyone of these societies, he has to learn its language and behavioural norms. This whole process is called by sociologists as socialization. Drever has defined it in the following way: Socialization is the process by which the individual is adopted to his social environment by attaining social conformity and becomes a recognized, cooperating and efficient member of it. Agencies of Socialization The society in which a child takes birth and grows, he learns the language, behavioural norms and customs and traditions of that society d accordingly conducts himself to adjust in it. He learns all this while living in his family, neighbourhood, peer group, caste and community. Such behaviour is moulded or reformed in the schools. All these are led agencies of socialization. We shall discuss the important agencies that effect socialization of the child.

Family Family is the foremost and most important institution that effects socialization of the child. The child opens his eyes in the lap of his mother, after that he comes in the contact of his family members. He imitates the family members to learn their language and behavioural norms. He repeats the tasks that are approved by his family, and he keeps away from doing those that are forbidden in the family, and thus he adjusts himself in the family. These attributes developed in the childhood are very stable. Thus family is the foremost and most effective agency of socialization of the child. Neighbourhood and Peer Groups At the age of two-three years the child walks out of his family to mingle in the families in the neighbourhood. Now his scope becomes larger than the family. He plays and quarrels with the children of his age group. These children sometimes love each other and sometimes quarrel; sometimes cooperate and sometimes hinder in others tasks. Their quarrels are very temporary in nature. They make up immediately and begin to play again. The children learn to defend their rights and do their duties, they learn to behave, cooperate and struggle with others, and learn to bear with their criticism and adjust in different social circumstances. The children with leadership qualities become the leader of the group. These children have their own world, and own unique system of this world. The socialization of the children occurs in a very natural manner in this environment. Caste Caste is also a chief agency of socialization. Family members are bound in the limits of the caste. They adopt the customs and traditions of their own caste. The child takes part in the caste programmes with his family members; he comes to know the behavioural norms and customs and traditions of the caste and accepts them to adjust in his caste. Community Community is a large social group. It comprises of all of family neighbourhood, castes and several other social groups, organizations and institutions. We have already discussed some of them earlier, but it i necessary to discuss community because a community is a whole unit in itself and is the creator of all these groups, organizations and institutions. The socialization of the children in a community of different civilization and cultures and. in a community of one language, one civilization and one culture is different. The children in the community with one language, custom, tradition and culture, come in contact with the members of that community speaking the same language, having similar behavioural norms and customs and traditions, though they come from different families. As a result, the direction of their socialization is same. On the contrary, the children of a community having different languages, religions and cultures find themselves in different environment. It is true that the attributes of family and caste are inerasable, yet different civilizations and cultures of the community have effect on the children. Cultural difference in the community is an impediment in the socialization of the child. The festivals and celebrations of the community play an important role in the socialization of the child. The children come into contact with others on these occasions. The outcome of this contact is both competition and cooperation. A little care in this regard can help inculcate

permanent emotions towards the language, an, literature, history, civilization and culture of one's own community. We should make effort towards it. Only under such circumstances the community can be helpful in the socialization of the children else not. School The agencies of socialization that we have discussed so far, child's socialization in them occurs accidentally and naturally. This socialization is provided ihtel1ectual basis in the schools. Asked truly, whatever socialization that takes place in the family, neighbourhood, peer groups, caste and community; the schools provide it stability by giving intellectual basis to it. The children of different families, different castes, different religions, different economic statuses and different social levels study in schools. There is a difference in the language and behavioural norms of these children. The schools provide an environment in them where children take part in collective activities to learn the language and manners of behaviour as approved by all, and thus adjust themselves in the wider society. The children are trained in controlling themselves and behaving in a socially approved way. A narrow attitude is developed in the family, neighbourhood and caste; the schools transform this narrow attitude into wider attitude. After having passed from schools, the children become able to adjust in any society. The society in which they have to live further, they adopt its lifestyle and adjust with it. Q3 (i) Impact Of Caste System On Indian Society Compartmentalization of Individual Life The influence of caste is reduced in certain areas of the individual's life. Eating habits and social interactions are areas where the influence of the caste system was high but is now minimal. But in other areas, like choice of bride or bridegroom for marriage and social networking caste still plays an important role. Decline of Caste in the Ritual Sphere Ideas of impurity and purity are not given much importance by people today. Not many people believe that touching a low caste person or eating with him will pollute them. Therefore it can be said that the religious justification for caste system has reduced if not totally ended. Caste as a Social Network Earlier caste councils, which were recognised by the government and the people, used to have vast judicial power to control individual behavior. But now these councils use informal power and informal enforcement to settle disputes. Caste Consciousness and Community Consciousness Caste is still the basis for defining .and maintaining the identity of the person. Caste identity of the individual comes in conflict with the individual's identification with the larger community. The caste-based identities adversely affect the unity of the people and at times hinder the people from taking collective action.

Caste Consciousness Leads to Violence Violent incidents have their roots in the unequal conditions prevalent in the area such as unequal distribution of resources the need for the dominant castes to keep lower castes in their place the growing consciousness of the lower caste; Caste has also Lead to Structural Violence Structural violence refers to violence in which pain is not directly inflicted on other but laws and rules are so formed that it hurts the dignity of the person and causes mental pain. Untouchability is the most virulent form of structural violence, which hurts the dignity of the person against whom it is practiced. Caste has Caused Problems in Modern Organisations Caste loyalties cause problems in modern organisations. Very often people are selected on the basis of caste rather than merit. This has had an adverse impact on the performance and productivity of the organisation. The presence of caste interferes in creating an esprit de corps in organisations. Just like the village communities that are divided on the basis of caste, modern organisations are also divided on the basis of caste. Caste has Interfered in Uniform Application of Laws and Rules Modem rules and laws are rationally formulated and apply to all citizens regardless of his or her social background except when exceptions are allowed by it. Such a universalistic application of laws is a major requirement in a modem democracy. But caste considerations are not in conformity with universalism. (iv) Nature & Scope of Social Work NATURE OF SOCIAL WORK Some individuals have personal or family problems. Some times they cannot solve these by themselves. So they need out side help. Such help comes from trained people. The individual seeking help is known a as client and the trained person helping him is known as a social worker. Such helping activities are known as social case work. The client should have some motivation for self improvement. Readiness to accept help is a pre requisite condition in social work. The social worker only adds to the clients own efforts to improve his situation. He does not impose his advice or solution on the client, respecting the client's right to self-determination. Social workers should not feel superior to, or be contemptuous of the clients. They should have empathy i.e. they should try to understand the client's situation by placing themselves in his/her role. But at the same time, they should not feel like the client. The social worker must understand and accept the feelings of the client. During disasters and natural calamities hundred of people donate cash and kind to help the victims. They will not have any direct contact with the victims. This is generally known as social service as it involves providing some help to the helpless. But in social work, face to face interaction of the worker and client is important. In certain instances, in addition to temporary relief, the social worker also helps in improving interpersonal relations and adjustment problems related to disaster and

natural calamities. The kind of involvement needed to deal with deeper issues and other relationship problems is called social work. SCOPE OF SOCIAL WORK The concern of social work's is to help people who are in need so that they develop the capacity to deal with their problems by themselves. It is both science and an art. Social work is science in the sense that the knowledge taken from different disciplines forms the body of knowledge for a social worker and she/he uses this theoretical base for helping people i.e., for practice. Social work research is a systematic investigation for finding out new facts, test old hypotheses, verify existing theories and discover causal relationships of the problems in which the social worker is interested. In order to scientifically initiate any kind of social work programmes, a systematic study of the given situation is necessary, through social work research and surveys. Social action aims at bringing about desirable changes to ensure social progress. Creating awareness about social problems, mobilizing resources, encouraging different sections of people to raise their voice against undesirable practices, and also creating pressure to bring about legislation are some of the activities of the social workers using the method of social action. It seeks to achieve a proper balance between community needs and solutions mainly through individual and group initiatives and self-help activities. Q4. (ii) Strategies Adopted For Empowering Women And Children During The Ninth Five Year Plan: Empowerment of women being one of the major objectives of the Ninth Plan, it tried to ensure and create an enabling environment with requisite policies and programmes. Thus, the following has been the approach in the Ninth Plan: Women An integrated approach was adopted towards empowering women. It underscored harmonization of various efforts on different fronts viz., social, economic, legal and political. Further, earmarking of funds for 'women's component' were also adopted with a close vigil to ensure a flow of adequate share of resources and benefits for women from all developmental sectors both in the centre and states. Efforts were made to enhance her capacity to earn, besides the access to control of ownership of all family community assets. In support of women in the informal sector the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh was strengthened to extend both 'forward' and 'backward' linkages of credit and marketing facilities. Children Following the universalisation of I.C.D.S. and ensured availability of basic minimum services for the overall development of the child, the emphasis was on consolidation and content enrichment of ICDS through adequate nutrition, supplemented with necessary health checkup, immunization and referral services. In this respect priority was accorded to a focussed attention on the child

below two years. To achieve this ICDS continued to be the mainstay of the Ninth Plan, to promote all round development of the young child.

(iii) Social Change The concept of social change was introduced by August Comte, a Frenchman, known as founding father of Sociology. Later on, the concept of social change was further refined and developed by Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx and a number of other sociologists. No human society is static and at the same time it is difficult to predict the forms and directions of social change. The reason is that the factors which cause social change do not remain uniform always. The process of industrialization and urbanization has changed the whole set of social relationships. Slow and simple forms of social change may intersect with quick and intricate forms of social change. Some definitions of social change are: August Comte: Societies progress through a series of predictable stages based on the development of human knowledge. Anderson and Parker: Social Change involves alterations in the structure or functioning of social forms or processes themselves. Davis: By social change it is meant only such alterations as occur in social organization, that is, structure and functions of society. Demographic Factors Demography is the study of human population. 'Demos' is a Greek word which means people. Demographic factors that induce social change are fertility, mortality, migration, changing age structure, sex ratio, age at marriage, patterns of marriage, child bearing age, life expectancy, use of contraceptives, levels and types of morbidity. These factors have a far reaching effect on society with the pressure to produce changes in social and political institutions. (iv) Local Governance And Public Opinion Local Governance Panchayati Raj system becomes very important in the Indians context where almost 80 percent of the people reside in rural areas. Panchayati Raj in India was inaugurated as a consequence of the recommendations of Balwanth Rai Mehta committee set up in 1957, to study the community development programme and national extension service launched in 1952 and 1953 respectively. In 1992, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment was enacted, which gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions. It also makes it obligatory on all the States to have the three-tier system at (a) the village level, (b) the intermediate level and (c) the district level. Public Opinion Public opinion is said to be the basis of democracy. It is the link between the government and the people. The term public opinion is commonly used to denote the aggregate of views the people hold regarding matters that affect or interest them, their community and society. The people's conceptions of political personalities, institutions and ideologies matter in the formulation of

opinion. In democracy the continuance and the fall of the governments depend upon public opinion. Public opinion is created through means like mass media, political parties, pressure groups, elections, debates in the legislature, educational institutions, public meetings etc. The press, radio, television and cinema are some of the several means of carrying political, social and religious ideas to the people. That is why a lot of emphasis is laid on freedom of press in a democracy. (v) Heredity In Personality Development The personality pattern is inwardly determined by and closely associated with the maturation of physical and mental characteristics which constitute the individual's hereditary endowment. Although social and other environmental factors affect the form a personality pattern takes, it is not instilled or controlled from without but evolves from the potentials within the individual. The principal raw materials of personality-physique, intelligence and temperament are the results of heredity. The significance of hereditary foundations in determining the personality pattern has been stressed by many researchers. It is generally held that personality is, formed from the interaction of significant figures (first the mother, later the father and siblings, later extra familial figures) with the child. The child brings to this interaction biological constitution, a set of needs and intellectual capacities which determine the way in which a person is acted upon by the significant figures in her environment. In the course of interaction of hereditary and environmental factors, the individual selects from his environment what fits his needs and rejects what does not. Thus personality pattern develops through interactions with the environment which an individual himself has initiated. Q5 (ii) Moulding Of Personality In the early part of 20th century, Freud emphasized the importance of the early years of life in determining the form the personality pattern would take during adult life. His theory was based on evidence that many of his patients who suffered from personality disturbances had unhappy childhood experiences. These unhappy experiences, Freud postulated, came from the frustration of some of their natural impulses. Bartemeier has pointed out that unfavorable early experiences have a profound effect on personality because the personality pattern is less fully organized than it will be later. The Cultural group sets the pattern for the approved basic personality and expects every member of the group to conform to it. Personality is shaped and changed by the interactions with the culture in which the individual lives. (iii) Change In Family Patterns The structure and functions of families today remain no longer the same as in the past. The forces of development have affected changes in every aspect of society and family, as an institution does not exist in isolation. The consequences of changes in non-domestic institutions have had repercussions on the domestic front. An analysis of some of the factors that have

changed over the last few decades will help us understand the changes occurring in the family in its present form. Economic changes and their effects on the family are significant. In the primitive and f early medieval times, the family or the home was an economic center. With the advent of new and highly specialized division of labor and mass production of goods, changes in economic life have affected family life. The growth of education i and economic opportunities have offered women a chance to make their own living. This has, to an extent, impaired the economic unity of the family as a group, because each member of the family maintains his or her own share of the expenses and lives an independent economic life. (iv) Social Control Social control means the way in which the entire social order coheres and maintains itself-how it operates as a whole, as a changing equilibrium. The means through which people are led to fill their roles as expected - begins with the study of social order within which people interact. For example, Tens of thousands of people take their places and perform their tasks with no apparent direction. Thousands of kinds of merchandise arrive at the proper places in the proper amounts at the proper times. Ten thousand people whom an individual never sees will labor on this day so that meals will be ready for him when needed, drinking fountains will flow, drains will carry off the wastes, bulbs will blink and glow, traffic will part to let him pass, and various conveniences, will meet his other needs. (v) Spirituality And Social Work In Hinduism the Vedas and the Upanishads form the basis for spirituality. They provide a method to control one's own inner forces to realise the ultimate truth. The truth is the key for knowing one's own identity and the purposes of life. It gives a detachment from oneself and helps in controlling one's own emotions. Similarly other religions also help their adherents to reach these ends. Humanitarianism is the basic principle of social work. It respects the human worth and dignity. Social work believes in the creativity and inherent potentialities of the individuals. The social worker will interact with different type of personalities including anti-social personalities. She has to develop a non judgmental attitude towards them accepting individuals and groups as they are.

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