Sources of social support,job satisfaction,and quality of life among childcare teachers

Although literature has suggested a link between social support and well-being, relatively little research has examined the association of social support with job satisfaction and quality of life for employees. This study aimed to investigate whether and how different sources of social support influenced quality of life in conjunction with job satisfaction among teachers. Two-hundred and eighty-one childcare teachers in Korea completed measures of social support, job satisfaction, and quality of life. The results revealed that while director and colleague support predicted job satisfaction, director and family support predicted quality of life after controlling for age and marital status. Furthermore, results showed that job satisfaction mediated the relationship between director support and quality of life. The findings suggest the protecting role of different sources of social support in teachers’ job experience and evaluation of life domains. Suggestions for future research and implications for improving childcare teachers’ quality of life are discussed.     

Social work students and social change: on the link between views on poverty, social work goals and policy practice

This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that are associated with social work students' willingness to engage in policy practice. It examines a model according to which the willingness to engage in policy practice is linked to the importance that students attribute to the goals of social work and to their views on poverty. The sample consisted of 138 social work students in one of Israel's leading universities. The measures consisted of four questionnaires developed specifically for this study. The findings revealed strong relationships between students' views regarding the causes of poverty and their attitudes towards the preferred ways to deal with poverty. In addition, strong relationships were found between the importance that students attributed to the goals of social work and their willingness to engage in policy practice. However, no significant relationships were found between students' views on poverty and their willingness to engage in policy practice. Different explanations for these findings are advanced in the article.     

Globalisation of consciousness and new challenges for international social work

Although the notion of international social work is not new, it is only in recent times that its central premises have been in focus. Considering diverse ongoing globalisation processes and in regard to the weakening of the national welfare state, social work must tackle the challenge of redefining its role and mission if it is to remain true to its professional commitments. The emergence of new global regions and the globalisation of local social problems make the consolidation of democracy and human rights, the prevention of conflicts and the promotion of solidarity and peace through global cultural integration some of the main concerns of international social work. In this article, international social work is discussed as a project of partnership between diverse social actors such as practitioners, universities and local governments cooperating beyond the boundaries of the nation-state.     

Relationship between quality of work life and organizational commitment among lecturers in a Malaysian public research university

Committed employees are known as a fundamental and vital resource for the success performance of organizations. In this regard, quality of work life is being as one of the interest subject as a fundamental issues on fostering employees’ commitment. By the same token, this study aimed to investigate the level and relationship between quality of work life and organizational commitment amongst academic staff in a public research university in Klang Valley, Malaysia. This study was designed based on quantitative methods. The population of current research was consisted about 2,902 lecturers of the examined university according to the university's official website. For the purpose of data collection, 330 sets of questionnaire were distributed among the academic staffs of all faculties and a total of 315 questionnaires were used for statistical analysis. The obtained results via correlation and linear regression showed that there is a high significant relationship between quality of work life and organizational commitment. This study contributes to the existing literature and suggests some human resource development strategies on how the related ministry and universities could improve their employees’ commitment.     

论社会工作介入社会福利政策的必要性与方式

在我国民政福利体系的改革过程中,最引人注目的是低保制度的出台。低保制度实施过程中所出现的新情况和新问题使专业社会工作的介入成为必要。通过倾听弱势群体的声音,反映弱势群体的政策诉求;参与低保制度的实施过程,作政策与政策对象的调解人;对社会政策的实施进行跟踪调研,提出政策的修订建议;以及专业助人行动,协助低保对象实现自助,社会工作将发挥其他专业不可替代的作用。     

Correcting misconceptions about the development of social work in China: a response to Hutchings and Taylor

Hutchings and Taylor, in their article entitled ‘Defining the profession? Exploring an international definition of social work in the China context’[International Journal of Social Welfare 16: 381–389], no doubt had good intentions in offering their account of the development of social work in China, as the opening and concluding sections of the article show. Within the text, however, their critique of contemporary social work in China is, in my opinion, unfair in relation to, among other things, (i) the undemocratic nature of the Chinese political system, which they say hinders the development of social work in China; (ii) the ideology of the Communist Party, the government, and traditional Chinese culture, which they say are at odds with Western social work's value system and methodology; thus concluding that (iii) it is doubtful whether social work development in China could integrate with that of the international community. In this response, I comment on (i) the information base of the authors; (ii) the disconnection between their conceptualisation and historical facts; and (iii) their use of the international definition of social work.     

Public Policies and Services for the Aged in Japan

No abstract available for this article.     

Social service systems for vulnerable children and families in low‐ and middle‐income countries: Establishing definitions and key components

Systems strengthening in low‐ and middle‐income countries has long been a topic of concern in global health. By comparison, until very recently, little attention has been paid to the importance of strengthening social service systems to provide a holistic perspective of children's and families' multifaceted strengths and vulnerabilities. This study has reviewed existing literature on the definitions and components of social service systems and provides an analysis of data from key informants in the field of global social welfare. Based on this information, a set of key components is presented and compared, derived from the literature and expert interviews. Existing challenges for the field include establishing consensus on terminology and critical components, implementing and documenting critical components, and linking these components to client outcomes.