ПРЕСТИЖНІСТЬ ФАХІВЦЯ З СОЦІАЛЬНОЇ РОБОТИ В УКРАЇНІ : ПРОБЛЕМИ ТА МОЖЛИВОСТІ ПІДВИЩЕННЯ

Abstract

This article states that social work occupies a leading place in modern Ukrainian society, thereby determining the relevance of this scientific and professional issue. It is shown that social work is increasingly developing in various industries, acquiring a global scale and is an important component in solving many social and personal problems of a person. Based on the results of the analysis of scientific research, the foundations of the origin and development of social work are revealed. Recently, professions of the socionomic type have gained special importance in society. The authors show that the activities of specialists in socionomic specialties are directly related to the person, to the relationships between the person, social groups, society and the state and are aimed at the implementation of the process of socialization of the person. Being aimed at improving the quality of a person’s life, the realization of his aspirations, the profession of a social worker is also found. In the center of attention of the authors is the problem of the prestige of the professional activity of specialists in the social sector. The article is devoted to the analysis of society’s understanding of the profession of social work, as well as the determination of factors influencing the formation and maintenance of the image of social workers. In the article, the authors reflect a fairly wide range of issues: objective and subjective difficulties that prevent the formation of the prestige of the profession of social workers. In addition to structural problems that prevail due to the natural and historical formation of social work, there are also internal restrictive barriers to the development of social work in Ukraine. The authors note that the current challenges facing social work include low public awareness of its specifics, lack of professional distinctions and demarcations, as well as difficulties associated with the process of its status determination and professionalization. The article reflects the main conclusions and results of the research, as well as recommendations for improving the image of a social worker.