Dual Relationships: Personal and Professional Boundaries in Rural Social Work

Social workers in rural areas often live and work in the communitiesthat they serve. Consequently, they may have, or later develop,dual relationships with service users. These ‘out of hours’connections raise some complex issues about how social workersconduct their practice and comport themselves socially withinthe wider community. This paper reviews the notion of dual relationshipsand assesses the schema proposed for assessing their ethicalprobity. Its conclusion is that the practical realities of ruralpractice challenge absolutist conceptions of confidentialityand undermine assumptions of objectivity and neutrality in professionalstance.     

Social Work Students' Perceived Knowledge of and Preparation for Group-Work Practice

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to identify factors relevant to social work students' perceived knowledge of and preparation for group-work practice. In addition, the experiences of students in the classroom and in the field are discussed in relationship to these variables. Although classroom and field experiences were significant, exposure to group in the field placement was a much stronger predictor of group-work knowledge. Students reported feeling most knowledgeable about the concepts of mutual aid, diversity, group culture, and group phases. Reported gaps in learning were related to research and legal issues associated with group work.     

Social Work Practice for Social Development in Bangladesh: Issues and Challenges

Social work addresses social issues that constrain the betterment of a community. However, social work practice is struggling to deal effectively with the development challenges of Bangladesh. Based on a literature review and the experiences of the authors, this paper explores the emerging issues where social work practice is anticipated as a promising alternative for bringing sustainable social development in Bangladesh. Simultaneously, the paper discovers the limitation of social work practice in Bangladesh addressing these challenges.     

Social Work Education as Professional Socialization

Abstract

Professional socialization in social work is the subject of the panel study described in this article. It focuses upon the impact of different social work education programs upon the professional preferences of students in the United States and Israel. The findings indicate that significant change with regard to some of the variables did occur between the beginning and completion of studies. This generally took the form of a declinein preferences though a number of cross-culture differences were observed. The implications of the findings for the issue of professional socialization in social work are discussed.     

Embedding Social Justice within Micro Social Work Curricula

Social work struggles with the dichotomy between social and economic justice and micro practice. A large percentage of United States social workers (65%) practice in micro practice settings, yet the profession is challenged to commit to its social justice roots. This article reviews the history of social and economic justice within the social work profession, examines the role of distributive justice, and outlines strategies to integrate social and economic justice into micro social work courses. The article details implications for strengthening a social and economic justice perspective in micro curricula.     

A Definition of Social Work for Practice

Australian and international discussions of the broad mission of social work, of its underlying premise that the personal is political, that it is responsive and able to take a leadership role from a clear value base, are sophisticated debates that demonstrate the vitality, dynamism, and enthusiasm of a profession cognizant of changes and challenges occurring outside it. However such developments and considerations are possibly most meaningful for those social workers who are either very clear about what social work is or who are not daily confronted with challenges to explain or account for their profession in performance-driven agency contexts. This article proposes a simple definition of social work which, while cognizant of the theoretical developments occurring both in and outside the profession, presents the profession in a way that clearly articulates what it is that social workers do.     

Volunteerism Among Social Work Students During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Abstract

This study examined volunteer activities and predictors of volunteerism among graduate and undergraduate social work students (N = 416) from four universities in the Gulf Coast area following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The convenience sample drawn from all social work students at these universities included 89% females, and 52% of the students were in a master's level program. Sixty-one percent of the respondents were African American and 31% were non-Hispanic white. The majority of students volunteered (97%) despite experiencing a range of hurricane-related stressors. Multivariate analyses yielded a regression model that best predicted heightened volunteerism, which included age, school site, previous volunteer experience, hurricane-related stressors, altruism, and increased commitment to social work values (R ² = .35). The strongest predictors of volunteerism were stressor, increased commitment to social work values, and altruism (betas = .30, .26, and .21 respectively). The findings are consistent with previous research on volunteering in times of disaster and with current thinking about posttraumatic growth .     

Group Work and Social Justice: Designing Pedagogy for Social Change

In this article the authors explore the gap between education and action in putting the social work core value of social justice into practice. Describing how their School of Social Work has taken up this challenge, the authors analyze how a new social action course helps bridge this gap and draw on student reflection on their experiences and assignments in the course to show how students concretize and interiorize the meaning of social action and social justice. Learning by doing social action through a case study, group work becomes the vehicle through which students act on social issues and work for social change.     

The Faculty Meeting: Practicing Social Justice-Oriented Group Work

Social group work scholars and practitioners have begun to locate and recognize important sites for thinking about and practicing social group work as increasing evidence demonstrates its diminishing importance. This article identifies faculty meetings as a significant site for integrating social group work more fully into departments and schools of social work and helping to achieve the profession's social justice mission. Challenging the meaning of the faculty meeting and thinking of it as a faculty group is a necessary prerequisite to realize this goal. A set of principles is presented and next steps explored to reclaim and reinsert the value of social group work for the profession today.     

Social Work Advocacy in Singapore: Some Reflections on the Constraints and Opportunities

One central concern of social work is advocacy for social justice. This is a lofty ideal but a difficult ideal to achieve in view of social work being delivered in sociopolitical contexts with varying degrees of tolerance of advocacy. This discussion is based on a case study from Singapore and considers some of the particular constraints and opportunities in that context, while also making the point that those similar constraints and opportunities exist in all contexts. A model that combines principles of advocacy and collaboration is proposed as a means of embracing social work advocacy in Singapore and other contexts.     

Socratic Dialogue and Self-Directed Group Work: Strengthening Ethical Practice in Social Work

Socratic dialogue is a practical method of philosophical inquiry used to develop ethical and critical thinking among participants. On the other hand, self-directed group work is a practical intervention model based on social justice principles aimed at empowering service users and clients in social work and community work contexts. This conceptual article aims to reflect on a combination of the two models, arguing that group work interventions inspired by Socratic dialogue and self-directed group work may represent a way for social workers to develop a better ethical stance in their practice.     

Exploring Social Justice for Clinical Social Work Practice

This article explores social work practitioners' understanding of social justice and how understanding facilitates or impedes the pursuit of social justice within the practice field of mental health. Existing confusion and ambiguity regarding what social justice is poses a barrier to social justice pursuits. Analysis of qualitative interview data from practitioners resulted in a multidimensional conceptualization of social justice as social systems, resources, and transformative respect. Clinical social workers in the field of mental health with an enhanced understanding of social justice may be better prepared to meet the profession's social justice aims.     

IASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups: Development,Application, and Evolution

This article focuses on the International Association for Social Work with Groups' Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups. It begins with an overview of the Standards and their significance. It reports on three integrated studies conducted by the authors. First is a review of the literature that examines how human service organizations approach the construction of standards. Second is a 2009 study of how the Standards are known, used, and assessed by respondents to an online survey. The findings of this survey inspired the third study, conducted in 2010 utilizing a focus group approach to explore how the Standards could be more applicable in a global context. The article concludes with implications and recommendations for future evolution and dissemination of the Standards.     

社会工作理论与实务课程设计建议——以某大学社会工作系大四学生的研究为例

本文主要通过定量研究的问卷法和结构式访谈法分析某大学社会工作专业4年级学生关于如何将社会工作理论与社会工作实务联系起来的调查,在其中寻找到存在的一些问题,同时也试图运用整合教学模式为该系的课程设计提出一些自己的见解。     

诠释取向的个案工作

社会工作实践需要理论的指导,而理论同样在实践中不断发展。为推动我国社会工作理论研究,本刊下半月拟从2007年12期开始,开辟"理论前沿"专栏,发表有关理论研诠释学是一门有关"理解"的古老学科,其"双向理解"的观点,对个案社工实务有着重要的影响。在诠释架构下从事个案工作实践,其强调社工的价值介入,在辅导过程,社会工作者与案主的关系是平等的,社工要不断的反思自己的视角,与案主的理解角度进行调和,遵循一种灵活性辅导方式。     

The Importance of Adult Guardianship for Social Work Practice

Abstract

Guardianship is a legal intervention used to protect incapacitated adults through the appointment of a surrogate decision maker. Demographic trends and improvements of medical technology suggest that gerontological social workers ought to be particularly concerned about guardianship as more people live into older ages with some degree of impairment. This article presents an overview of the guardianship decision-making process and of the roles social workers can have in promoting social justice through this process.     

社会工作督导反思:学习成为有效的社会工作督导老师

有效的社会工作督导老师是社会工作实习教育成败的关键,但也成为内地社会工作实习教育发展的一大瓶颈。本文从这一历史现实问题出发,综合考察了有效的社会工作督导老师的职责、角色、素质要求及其发展基要,从成为有效实习督导的发展阶段的视角,着重从承担督导职责、澄清督导目标、建立督导关系、发展督导模式以及勇于督导反思五个方面探索了如何做一名新的专业实习督导老师及其持续发展。     

Social Exclusion, Inequality and Social Work

This paper sets out the environment of inequality in which social work and the poor have recently operated. It explores pragmatic and idealist arguments concerning whether or not the poor need social work. Finally, policy solutions developed in consultation with social service users and carers are suggested in relation to poverty and social exclusion. Social exclusion can be linked to relative poverty as exclusion from economic and social norms. However, there is a wider brief in our own government’s publications and those of Europe, of examining how people are excluded from actions and policies of agencies who are there to support them. This paper will retain the concepts of poverty as lack of material income, and inequality as the gap between the rich and the poor, while being aware of the policy implications for social service users and carers of the more comprehensive process of being shut out partially or fully from social, economic, political and cultural systems. The debates around social work, social exclusion and inequality that follow establish: that some of the poor do need social work; that the poverty of social service users is related to policies that have restructured welfare in Britain; that the reason for individuals approaching or being referred to social services are complex but are likely to include financial deprivation as a key contributory factor; that if the poor do need social work, advocacy is essential rather than social work being seen as concerned only with social control—taking children into care, mentally ill people into hospitals, and advising the DSS on the suitability of claimants for benefits. Finally, the discussion turns to new policy agendas on social exclusion instigated by the Labour government. What positive difference can such policies make for social service users, their carers and social workers?.