Education for the Group Worker's Reality: The Special Qualities and World View of Those Drawn to Work with Groups

SUMMARY

Within the social work profession, one's world view, one's beliefs and values based on one's experiences, strongly influences one's practice and comfort with groups. This paper will examine some of the different ways of viewing the world held by practitioners and students in relation to the likelihood that they will be able to work effectively with groups. Such examination, and the identification of the differences among social workers that results from it has implications for both teaching and supervision in social work. These implications will be discussed and specific principles and techniques for teaching social workers, in education and in supervision, based on their world views will be described. This paper aims to enrich education for group work so that the community of social group work practitioners can grow and continue to thrive.     

Spiritual Assessment and Latter-Day Saints: Establishing the Preliminary Validity of Spiritual Eco-Maps

ABSTRACT

Few spiritual assessment approaches have been validated with Latter-Day Saints (LDS), in spite of the importance of religion to this culturally distinct population and its burgeoning growth. Drawing on the concept of social validity, this mixed-method study validates a qualitative spiritual assessment approach—spiritual eco-maps—using a geographically diverse sample of social workers (N = 100), all of whom had at least 5 years of direct practice experience with LDS clients. These individuals were asked to identify: a) the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the spiritual eco-map at a conceptual level; and 2) how the questions designed to operationalize the approach might be improved to be more valid, relevant, and consistent with LDS culture. The results suggest that spiritual eco-maps are consistent with LDS culture as long as they are operationalized appropriately. Toward this end, a culturally valid question protocol is provided along with suggestions for administering the instrument in a culturally competent manner. Spiritual eco-maps may be particularly useful in settings where a quick, visually oriented assessment that focuses on clients’ present relationships is indicated. Future research might build upon the present study by assessing the validity of spiritual eco-maps with both community and client samples.     

Religion and parenting: ignored relationship?

Even though the social work profession has been increasingly sensitized to the spiritual needs of those that they are working with, recent history has demonstrated that professionals lack the knowledge and skills needed for understanding those who are subscribing to strong religious beliefs. The research reported in this paper draws on a qualitative study that examined the perceived caregiving practice of parents from the Seventh‐day Adventist faith community associated with the conservative Protestant sub‐culture. Twenty‐five participants aged 20–50 were invited to recall their experiences of being reared by practicing Adventist parents in the UK. An integrative phenomenological analysis yielded a number of themes that shed light on the relationship between religion and parenting. This paper will focus on the three key ideas that emerged: parenting was influenced by beliefs that parents held; a combination of warm and strict parenting was found with some evidence of stricter upbringing amongst black respondents; responses to parenting reported varied between acceptance and discomfort. The study gave valuable insight into individuals' experiences of a religious upbringing received within a secular environment.     

A Study of MSW and BSW Students' Involvement with Group Work in the Field Practicum

ABSTRACT

Over six hundred students from ten schools of social work participated in a study designed to determine the extent to which they were involved in group work in their field practicum and their attitudes towards this intervention. Results indicated that the majority of the students felt they understood group work, even though they had actually had relatively little academic preparation and limited experience with groups in their field placement. In addition, the findings suggest that actual experience with group work in the field placement may decrease students' desire to lead groups in their professional practice, unless this experience is accompanied by appropriate support and guidance.     

Social Workers' Use of Spiritual Practices in Palliative Care

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined client use of spiritual and/or religious practices to cope with illness and adversity. This study explores social workers' use of spiritual practices as reflected in their work with palliative care clients. Survey results (n = 327) indicated significant relationships of spiritual practices such as yoga, prayer and meditation to working with palliative care clients. The total number of these approaches is predicted by factors such as theoretical orientation and the social workers' own struggles with palliative care and other issues. Our study supports the need for additional investigation of spiritual issues in practice.     

文化多元与民族敏感——西方民族社会工作中的东方思想

本文分析了全球化背景下社会工作回应文化多样性与民族敏感的发展历程,西方社会工作对东方宗教、精神性议题、信仰社区、社会结构、民族敏感性社会工作等议题的关注,以及在社会工作实务应用的得失。反观西方社会工作对文化多元性的回应,对中国社会工作本土化特别是多民族中进行社会工作实务有着重要的借鉴价值,多元一体的理念与社区为本的社会工作,应该成为社会工作本土化的重要取向。     

Political insecurity,social chaos,religious void and the rise of Protestantism in late nineteenth-century Korea

This study offers a systematic historical sociology of the genesis and initial expansion of Protestant Christianity in Korea, thereby bringing into sharper relief the determinant nexus of social and political circumstances that set the stage for the new religion's subsequent rise to prominence and power in South Korea. It is argued here that structural strains, such as dire poverty, a rigid status system, corrupted officialdom and an oppressive social system, as well as political instability, proved eminently favourable for the initial acceptance of Protestant Christianity in Korea. The article also shows how the prolonged decline of traditional religions served as another contextual factor that facilitated the early success of the imported faith in Korea. What this study confirms is that the early Protestant success in Korea was not solely due to the appeal of the doctrine, nor did it involve an 'intellectualist' conversion or an exclusivist change of religious affiliation, requiring the repudiation of traditionally held beliefs. The impressive initial growth of Protestantism in Korea rested heavily on, among other factors, minimizing the contradiction between the new doctrine and Korean values and reducing the conflict between the new religion and Korean traditional religions.     

Purpose: A Misunderstood and Misused Keystone of Group Work Practice

SUMMARY

This paper examines the use of Purpose in social group work practice. It identifies and discusses six common mistakes that practitioners often make in regard to this central concept. A group example is used to illustrate the paper's content. The paper's intent is to enhance workers' understanding of and ability to use Purpose skillfully in their work with groups.     

Evangelical Christianity, Secular Humanism, and the Genesis of British Social Work

Correspondence to Dr Graham Bowpitt, Department of Social Sciences, The Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU, UK. E-mail: graham.bowpitt{at}ntu.ac.uk Summary This paper is a reappraisal of the Christian origins of socialwork and, as such, is a contribution to writing the profession'shistory. It examines the competing ideological roots of theconcept of ‘social work’ which emerged in late nineteenth-centuryBritain, and the extent to which they are derived from the Christiancharitable tradition or its secular transformation. Two featuresof early social work are examined in particular depth: its moralpurpose in relation to the Evangelical belief in charity asan instrument of spiritual revival; and its rational methodsin relation to secular beliefs about the possibility of personaland social change. Much of the paper focuses on the ideological and institutionalrelationship between the emerging activity of social work andEvangelical revivalism which formed the context for most latenineteenth-century philanthropy. The crisis of faith experiencedby Victorian intellectuals is a significant motif throughoutthis period. This is not an attempt to rewrite the history of social work,but to re-examine neglected features in its origins: EvangelicalChristianity and its secular humanist transformation. In doingso, it is hoped to throw light on the recent revival of interestin the importance of religion to social work.     

Assessing Child Welfare Agency Practices and Attitudes that Affect Father Engagement

ABSTRACT

The importance of fathers' involvement in their children's lives is irrefutable. Supportive, warm, and positive involvement of fathers leads to children being well-adjusted. Indeed, involved fathers positively influence their children's cognitive ability, social behavior, psychological well-being, and educational achievement. For children in foster care, when fathers are involved they have significantly shorter stays in foster care than those whose fathers are not involved. For parents to demonstrate fitness to parent they must show the successful completion of goals specified in a case plan that promotes safety and permanence of their child. This cross-sectional study investigated how fathers' perception of social workers' attitude and practice skills was associated with fathers' understanding and confidence with regard to completing the case plan goals. A purposive sample of 56 child welfare-involved fathers completed the Child Welfare Father Involvement Questionnaire. The findings indicated that the more positive fathers perceived social workers' attitude and skills, the greater their understanding about the case plan goals and greater confidence to complete case plan goals. The results were statistically significant. These results have implications for child welfare training to build the social worker-client relationship in a compassionate manner while maintaining a rigorous assessment and monitoring of fathers' parenting capabilities.     

The Soviet 'wife-activist' down on the farm

Parties independent of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) were not formally permitted and non-party groups and movements needed the CPSU's approval to be allowed to form and survive. This was the situation up to Gorbachev's process of democratization. However, the CPSU had occasionally allowed the existence of social organizations which served the party and socialism and were perceived as ideologically non-threatening. One such was the 'movement of wives' ( dvizhenie zhen ) formed in the 1930s but not part of the party structure, but at best the wives could work within the boundaries of party policies. They tried to make daily life better for themselves, their husbands, children and the local community. Analyses have focused mainly on the movement as an urban phenomenon but they spread to farms and the rural sector. This article discusses their role in this context.     

Religion and Spirituality as Defined by Older Adults

ABSTRACT

This exploratory qualitative study examined the intrinsic definitions of spirituality and religion across three different religious or ethnic groups of older adults – Jewish, African American Protestants and Caucasian Protestants. The study explores how older adults from these various backgrounds self-identify with the terms religion and spirituality. Because both African-Americans and Jewish older adults are underrepresented in the research on spirituality and religion, their inclusion lends insights to this topic and helps to anchor the findings in a cross-cultural context. Focus groups were employed to understand how these groups characterize their relationship to spirituality and religion. Social work professionals can utilize these findings to work more effectively with the diverse and complex issues of older adults.     

Social Workers and Policy- Practice: The Role of Social and Professional Values

ABSTRACT

Although policy practice is regarded as an essential component of social work, the actual involvement of social workers in policy practice is apparently very limited. This article presents the findings of a study that seeks to explore the role of social and professional values in support by social workers in Israel for engagement in policy practice and their actual involvement in this type of practice. The findings indicate that socioeconomic orientations and professional values have an impact on social worker's perception of policy practice and the degree to which they are actually involved in the social welfare policy process. In particular, it was found that attitudes toward social justice played a major role in the social worker's perceptions of, and involvement in, policy practice.     

Spirituality in Social Work Groups: Practitioners Speak Out

ABSTRACT

The attitudes of experienced clinicians regarding the inclusion of spirituality in social group work practice and education are examined. Using a focus group format, practitioners concurred that wholistic treatment of clients must embody spiritual issues and that spiritual content should be covered in group work courses. Clinicians identified additional issues including: (a) need for spiritual assessment; (b) necessity of practitioner self-awareness; (c) usefulness of spiritual beliefs and communities as resources; (d) creation of a safe environment; (e) promotion of spiritual diversity in groups; and (f) collaboration with clergy and spiritual leaders. Implications for practice, research, and education are discussed.     

The Sacred and the Search for Significance: Religion as a Unique Process

Although many social scientists have assumed that religion can be reduced to more basic processes, there may be something unique about religion. By definition, religion has a distinctively meaningful point of reference, the sacred. Empirically, studies also suggest that religion may be a unique: form of motivation; source of value and significance; contributor to mortality and health; source of coping; and source of distress. These findings point to the need for: theory and research on the sacred; attention to the pluralization of religious beliefs and practices; evaluation of individual and social interventions that address spiritual problems and apply spiritual resources to their resolution; and collaboration between psychological and religious groups that draws on their unique identities and strengths.     

How Creative Group Work Helps Adolescents Create Relations with Self and Peers

ABSTRACT

Practitioners often face questions about how to approach adolescents to join a group where they can develop healthy relationships with themselves and their peers. A growing number of practitioners and researchers value creative—nondeliberative—forms of working with such groups. This article discusses the artful, actional methods the authors use in their work with time-limited small groups of adolescents (age 14–17) who experienced behavioral challenges. These creative methods were used in settings such as secondary schools, counseling centers, and nongovernmental organizations in Lithuania during social skills training groups facilitated by the social workers.     

Retrospective Book Review: Teaching a Methods Course in Social Work with Groups

SUMMARY

Eight years after its publication, Teaching a Methods Course in Social Work with Groups serves as a reminder to social workers of group work's historic roots and its value as a method of practice with diverse populations. The author shares her experiences in utilizing the teaching text in her work with MSW students and students of the arts who facilitate activity-based groups in community settings. Citing examples of students' experiences in group work facilitation, the author touches on the constraints emerging group workers face in translating social work skills and values to practice. The author's retrospective review of the teaching text underscores its continued importance in the field of social group work instruction.     

Religion and relief: the role of religion in mobilizing civil society against global poverty

Abstract

Although global poverty is one of the world's most pressing contemporary problems, there is a lack of political will to address it, and much of the work is left to non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-many of which have religious connections. However, religion's role in this area is surprisingly understudied. In attempting to fill the gap, this study explores what makes religion effective in mobilizing civil society actors to engage in transnational poverty relief and development. The paper examines the salience of religious actors in the field, before developing a theoretical framework to explain this prevalence, employing sociologically based theories of religious social capital, content, and cultural power. Finally, these issues are investigated practically through case studies of two religious NGOs, World Vision New Zealand (WVNZ) and TEAR Fund New Zealand. The findings corroborate the theoretical framework, demonstrating the considerable potential of religion to mobilize civil society in the fight against global poverty.     

The Perception of Organizational Issues of Social Work Practitioners in Saudi Hospitals

ABSTRACT

Health care has evolved rapidly in Saudi Arabia, based upon a Western model of service that incorporates multidisciplinary professional teams. Social work practice forms part of patient care. This study explores how Saudi social workers perceive their role and how they describe their practice within the hospital context. A quantitative methodology was employed using a self-administered questionnaire. Analysis revealed that 219 social workers perceived formidable limitations to their daily work practice. The study identified factors relating to the hospital's organizational circumstances where a) organizational structural aspects, b) organizational resources, and c) hospital management and interprofessional teamwork impacted best practice. Future research and recommendations for further study are outlined.     

Developmental impact of combat exposure: Comparison of adolescent and adult Vietnam veterans∗

Abstract

This study was undertaken to find whether differences existed between two age groups of Vietnam veterans with PTSD, in terms of their social readjustment. A group of 57 men were divided by two age ranges to reflect two distinct periods of identity formation‐adolescence and early adulthood. The social readjustment measures which were examined included: (1) Substance abuse history; (2) history of legal infractions; (3) work history; (4) interpersonal relationships; and (5) peer relationships.

It was found that the younger soldiers have had a more difficult post‐Vietnam readjustment than their older cohorts. The results lend support to the idea that unsuccessful completion of Erikson's developmental phase of identity vs. role confusion may create problems with one's capacity for love, work and relationships. Specifically, when developmental tasks of late adolescence are not completed because of events such as war, one may suffer difficulties in handling adult responsibilities later in life.