Linkages: Settlement houses, summer camps, and the origins of social group work

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article shares historical research relating to the intersection of social group work, settlement houses, and summer camps. It discusses how settlement houses in the early twentieth century worked to nurture social group work approaches in their clubs and summer camps. By developing an understanding of group process, examining the impact of the physical environment, implementing collaborative models, and operationalizing democratic living; these pioneer social workers created and applied concepts for working with small groups that continue to be relevant today. Graduate schools of social work gradually accepted social group work as a method of interpersonal practice and engaged faculty who had honed this approach in settlement houses, community centers, and summer camps. Social science research was soon incorporated into the method. Spotlighting multiple examples, the article seeks to show how group work’s distant past can serve as a highly pertinent inspiration for present and future social workers and students.