Social Work Goals Research Articles

CONTENT AND FORMS OF SOCIAL WORK WITH THE FAMILIES OF MILITARY SERVANTS

The review article is devoted to highlighting the results of scientific research on finding out the content and forms of social work with the families of military personnel, because it is this category of people today that faces many difficulties and therefore needs special social, psychological and pedagogical support. Social work with the families of military personnel is an important area of social work, as it is aimed at support and assistance in solving problems that arise in the families of military personnel as a result of their service. As a result of the search, it was found out that the main problems and needs of families of military personnel determine the content of social work with this category of clients and include: post-traumatic stress syndrome; economic difficulties; problems in family relationships; medical and psychological assistance; access to education and professional training, etc. The key goal of social work with family members of military personnel is comprehensive support of their well-being, providing access to various services and resources aimed at improving the quality of life. Each family of a military man has its own unique needs, so approaches to the use of various forms of social work should be individual. The main forms of support for the mental and social well-being of family members of military personnel include psychological support (various types of psychological therapy, counseling, training in coping and self-regulation, development of communication skills, psychological work with traumatic experiences) and social support (provision of information and resources, social services , support programs, legal advice, creation of communities for communication). The perspective of further research on the topic of the article is a further theoretical and empirical study of the achievements of domestic and foreign scientists and the substantiation of the scientific foundations of social work with the families of those military servicemen who took part in the armed military conflict.

“My Anxiety Was Through the Roof”: The Gendered Nature of Financial Stress and Its Impact on Mental Health and Well-Being for Women When Undertaking Social Work Placements

Social work practice is not a highly paid or high-status occupation. The historical roots of social work lie in charity work directed toward social needs and poverty, with much of this work previously women's unpaid work. This set the stage for a norm of unpaid labor in the predominantly female occupation. Women who are mature-aged, lone parents, carers and on low income have continuously been the numerical majority within social work. As such, the unpaid field placement disproportionately affects women. This article provides a gendered analysis of qualitative data obtained from women participants in a national survey of social work students from five Australian universities ( n = 409) following 1000 h of field education placement. Open-ended questions aimed to explore the experiences of financial stress from lengthy unpaid placements on the mental health and well-being of social work students. The findings contribute to a growing body of feminist literature critiquing the current field education model and argue for significant reflection, flexibility, and change. To meet the collective social work goals of social justice and dismantling systemic oppression, a new placement model is needed that is both inclusive and sustainable.

Social Work and Sustainable Development Goals: A Human Rights Common Agenda

Social Work and Sustainable Development Goals: A Human Rights Common Agenda

Evaluating the Integrative Framework for Practice Teaching with social care educators and students

This paper outlines an evaluation of the Integrative Framework for Practice Teaching (McGarr and Fingleton, 2020), a tool developed to support practice teaching within social care education in Ireland. A mixed methods approach was utilised, which included focus groups with 5 educators and a survey of 168 social care students from the City and Tallaght campuses of TU Dublin. Both educators and students reported the framework to be useful in supporting the integration of knowledge and to explain the context, role, and goal of social care work. Recommendations were made in relation to strengthening the representation of the workers’ ‘self’ on the framework visual to reaffirm the pivotal role of the personal and professional self in social care practice. The evaluation also identified wider pedagogical application beyond applied subjects, in particular potential to use the framework to integrate learning within practice elements of the programme.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Grand Challenges: Tackling the Climate Crisis Using Multisolving

ABSTRACT Developing social workers’ capacity and engagement in collaborative community-based innovations to climate-driven and other environmental hazards better ensures progress on the Grand Challenges. Such inclusive solutions value community leadership and are culturally responsive and justice-centered. Multisolving, pioneered by Dr. Elizabeth Sawin, offers a framework to pair social work goals from the Grand Challenges with climate-responsive interdisciplinary solutions by tackling multiple problems simultaneously with a single investment of resources. Exploring multisolving case studies that align closely with the Grand Challenge to create social responses to a changing environment, the authors consider collaborations and share experiences teaching courses and workshops that integrate multisolving into the social work curriculum and align with professional ethics to achieve these goals.

Strategy to Improve KPM’s Start-Up Business Creativity in the Context of Social Entrepreneurship Program

Purpose: The aim of this research was to investigate strategy to improve KPM’s start-up business creativity in the context of social entrepreneurship program. Theoretical framework: The primary goal of social work is to improve a society's overall well-being, especially for the most vulnerable populations. It's not just corporate responsibility where social workers can help businesses and strengthen entrepreneurship (Zastrow, 2017). Design/methodology/approach: The method used a qualitative approach by interviewing 3 informants of KPM, and the data was analysed by using SWOT analysis to helping identify competitive opportunities for improvement. It was designed to assess strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) as internal capabilities, while opportunities (O) and threats (T) are posed by the external environment. Findings: KPM was in incubate profile of creativity and need to empower their business skill to be sustainable, and needed the intervention of social work in giving some business education and to strengthen social entrepreneurship of KPM by using case work method should be improved. Research, Practical & Social implications: This research is urgently needed to break KPM's dependence on public assistance and increase their sustainable income through business startups and strengthen their entrepreneurial spirit. Originality/value: This research related to social work intervention in business and industry to strengthen KPM start-up through social entrepreneurship. KPM showed that they still rely on public assistance to meet their daily needs.

Is indigenisation a social justice risk? Exploring indigenisation of social work in Africa through the lens of universalism versus relativism of social work ethics and values

With the indigenisation of social work gathering momentum, the lens of universalism and relativism can highlight some critical social justice concerns. Sociocultural beliefs around human rights and gender equality, reproductive health and traditional fostering, among others, pose unprecedented dilemmas for social workers in Africa and indigenous societies globally. Furthermore, the blind pursuit of indigenisation can reinforce discriminatory and oppressive beliefs and practices. To rectify this, developing ethical decision-making screens and additional research promoting indigenous cultural competency within the social justice goal of social work is needed.

Sports, the Great Equalizer: Influencing Future Sports Professionals View of Disabilities: Sports Professionals View of Disabilities

Human services, social work and sports have shared goals of improving the quality and the meaning of life for individuals. Educating young adults about the intersection of the goals of sports and the goals of social work is one intervention to help influence positive change in our culture. This study represents one example of an intervention to affect change within college students who are sports management majors and taking a sport sociology class. These college students participated in sporting activities with adults with intellectual disabilities on a college campus. At the end of the activities, the students were asked to critically reflect upon their experience specifically related to their sociological understanding of people with intellectual disabilities in sport. The data was analyzed with respect to the concept of the "other." The results of this study provide insights for exposing future sport professionals to diverse populations. The results also reinforce the goals of social work to develop and enhance a more inclusive world for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

From Abortion Rights to Reproductive Justice: A Call to Action

As aggressive cultural and legislative attacks on abortion rights and access continue, we call upon social workers to pursue the liberatory aims of the reproductive justice (RJ) movement. We argue that the RJ framework, rooted in feminist theory, aligns with social work's social justice ethos and goals, appropriately guiding advocacy and intervention. After outlining the central aims and tenets of the RJ movement, we consider policies that impair RJ and those that could promote RJ, focusing on enhancing body sovereignty, childbearing, and parenting. We conclude with concrete recommendations for how social workers can pursue RJ professionally and personally.

SOCIAL WORK WITH SERVICEMAN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN THE CONDITIONS OF LONG CONFLICT IN EASTERN UKRAINE

The purpose of the article is to study the current state, features, content, methods, and technologies of social work with the military and their families amid the current conflict in eastern Ukraine.
 In line with the activities of the Information and Social Center for IDPs of Kharkiv Humanitarian and Pedagogical Academy of the Kharkiv Regional Council, the authors conducted a pilot focus group survey to determine the quality of social assistance to the servicemen and their families using a proprietary questionnaire “Assessing the quality of social service for the servicemen and their families members.”
 It has been found that social work with servicemen includes social protection, social support, social services, and adaptation work. The following major areas of social work with the military have been identified: social, socio-legal, socio-healthcare, socio-economic, financial, and socio-labour. However, it is necessary to develop socio-psychological, socio-pedagogical, socio-informational areas that will ensure a person’s adaptation in society, personal growth, and self-improvement. Development and implementation of ways to promote public and professional awareness of servicemen's social problems and their families are also relevant in current conditions along with constant scientific and practical search, and effective assistance to this social group in solving their problems in practice.
 The article proves that the goals of current social work are to preserve the physical and mental strength of servicemen, adjust their attitudes, and enhance their development in society.
 The article outlines the need for enrichment methods and technologies (individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, counselling, and support) of social work with servicemen. It establishes that optimization of present-day technologies of social work with war veterans is possible under the following conditions: expansion of the range of services in the state network of social services, creation of alternative centres for social services; availability of social work professionals trained to work in the military environment and solve the problems of the military; organization of self-help and mutual assistance for the families of servicemen; formation of an effective social policy of the state in general and in the field of social protection of war veterans in Ukraine in particular.
 The article also includes practical recommendations for social workers on improving mechanisms of regulation of social protection for servicemen and families members.

Impact of pandemic containment measures COVID-19 on social work research with older people

Researching people's everyday lives, exploring and working out answers together with people are fundamental processes of social work, whether working with individuals, different groups or communities. Without research, we cannot possibly know what specific tasks we can undertake or what social work goals we can achieve when it comes to helping situations. In recent decades, social work with older people has directed research toward the area of exploring the needs of people in long-term care, which has been shaped primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures taken to contain the pandemic have limited or even prevented opportunities to research the real-life situations of people in long-term care. Social work research with older people was limited in its ability to determine the impact of the pandemic on the lives of older people, which was a violation of fundamental ethical values in providing tailored care in the new life situations of the most vulnerable, frail, and needy members of society. This paper highlights the importance of social work research that addresses the immediate living environment in order to fully understand people's life situations that impact the development of both the profession and the science of social work. However, the barriers to research due to pandemic containment measures have impacted the profession and the development of social work science.

VARIETIES OF GROUPS OF MASS BEHAVIOR FORMED IN THE PROCESS OF GROUP SOCIAL WORK

The key goals of social group work are to set a group climate that makes group members feel confident enough to share problem-solving experiences; supporting the initiative of group members, developing communication skills, awareness of self-worth; restoration of self-esteem. The purpose of the study is to update the skills of psychological protection of clients, which helps to develop them with the help of a group, to find different options for functioning, through the dialogue of the individual with the environment. The study used theoretical methods, namely analysis, abstraction, generalization, explanation and classification. Group social work is defined as a method of psychosocial work and as a form of social work when criterion is the number of objects of socio-psychological influence. In the scientific literature, social work with a group is traditionally defined as a method of social work. Clients who are included in the group process are considered as an object of social work. In fact, the development of psychological approaches, techniques, activities of such groups occurs in the framework of psychotherapy and practical psychology. The group process is built according to psychoanalysis, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, humanistic psychology and other psychological theories and directions. Clients of group social work are people with problems of social adaptation and integration, victims of adverse socialization conditions, those who have problems of psychological and emotional state as a result of life crises of different ages and social status. One of the central in the sociology of social work is the idea of creating support networks for clients, as well as the activation of the community, the development of its social capital as a means of mitigating or solving social problems.

SOCIALINIO DARBO PERSPEKTYVA PROBACIJOS SISTEMOJE

The article looks into the prospects of social work in the probation system. The probation system provides convicts with the opportunities of social integration in the conditions of freedom. The system is currently under intense development, projects appear, and the need for different professionals emerges. The goal of social work is to empower individuals to help themselves and their immediate environment by activating internal and external resources and promoting empowering collaboration. The article presents the discussion of the conceptions of the probation system in the convict resocialisation process. On the basis of empiric research, the opportunities of social work as a supporting profession and its place in the probation system in the pursuit of convict resocialisation is designed.

Racial Equity as a Human Rights Issue: Field Agency Practices and Field Instructors' Knowledge and Attitudes.

Racial equity which, at minimum, is defined as the state in which health, social, and economic outcomes are no longer predicted by race has become a critical issue for social workers who work with and advocate for the rights of marginalized communities. Despite its importance, it remains to be seen if field instructors and the agencies they work for understand racial equity as a human rights issue. Through an anonymous survey, we assessed field instructor’s racial equity awareness, knowledge, and understanding and examined actions agencies have taken to address and advance racial equity. It was hypothesized that field instructors who view racial equity as a human right would report promoting and advancing these important concepts with their students and organizations. A total of 170 field instructors accessed the survey through an emailed link in this exploratory effort. Descriptive analyses found that field instructors believe that racial equity is a significant human rights issue and that their agency’s culture views racial equity as important; however, issues with time, resources, funding, and expertise to promote racial equity initiatives create obstacles to bring about change. The discussion emphasizes the importance of building capacity among field educators to address racial equity through a human rights lens, which is integral to advancing the collective social work goals of social justice and dismantling systemic oppression.

The Impact of Social Business on the Development of Communities’ Social Capital

There have been a lot of interest in social economics development in Europe, and social business has stood out for its social impact, having a potential approach to such societal problems as social exclusion, poverty, unemployment. The creation of social capital and social entrepreneurship are related by positive social change and economic benefits, which are achieved through personal and community bonding, innovation, and social initiatives. Social business has stood out for its social impact, having a potential approach to such societal problems as social exclusion, poverty, unemployment. The aim of the present article is to reveal social entrepreneurship impact on building social capital in Lithuanian communities. For this reason, a qualitative study was conducted based on social business activities related to community change, as well as identifying the interrelations between social business and social capital. This article introduces the theoretical approach of concepts social capital and community, followed by discussion of social business benefits and impact on the growth of community’s social capital. The results of the analysis of the research data were analytically coded based on grounded theory methodology and reveals the potential and perspective of social business in creating social change in the community following by building new relationships, trust and values, and new norms for community development. The positive changes initiated by social business are relevant to the goals of social work and reveal the need of further research in this field.

Mainstreaming Gender: An Examination of Feminist Methodology in Social Work Research.

Despite gender being central to any given social issue and the profession of social work's commitment to social justice, gender and gender inequality remain tangential to mainstream social work goals as partially indicated by the Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative led by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Feminist methodologists prioritize the investigation of gender inequality by elevating the voices of oppressed groups, particularly women, using qualitative and mixed-methods studies, focusing on structural social change, and emphasizing the need for intersectional inquiry. Feminist and other critical methodologies frame structural inequality as central to the examination of all social issues and research questions. This study investigates the extent to which gender and gender inequality are investigated in mainstream social work research. Specifically, drawing on 404 research articles from three mainstream social work journals, this research relies on content analysis to demonstrate the dearth of studies examining gender and gender inequality in mainstream social work research. This work also presents opportunities for social workers to position gender as central to understanding persisting structural inequalities of the 21st century and work toward a more equitable social order.

Rediscovering social work leaders through YouTube as archive: The CASW oral history project 1983/1984

The Rediscovering Social Work Leaders Project undertakes the digitization of 6 oral histories from an extensive, cross Canada, oral history project undertaken by Karen Hill (Principal Investigator) in 1983/1984. By sharing digital versions of these materials online via the McMaster School of Social Work Digital Leadership Archive (a YouTube channel developed to facilitate experimentation), open-access online sharing of archival materials is considered. The project preserves and shares the personal narratives and experiential knowledge of retired social workers identified as “pioneers” of the profession by Canadian regional social work associations. These oral histories are reframed as sources of subjugated social work leadership knowledge and as contributing a much needed scholarship to the profession. This article considers digital archives and open-access online sharing as resources for promoting social work goals and objectives. Approaches to analysis and preliminary findings stemming from the 6 oral histories suggests contemporary social workers can benefit from access to the knowledge and wisdom of historical social work pioneers.

Attitudes toward guardianship, social work goals, and perspectives of disability among social work students

Purpose: Guardianship of people with disabilities has been under growing scrutiny, leading some welfare states to offer supported decision-making as a legal alternative. This study examined the attitudes of Israeli social work students toward guardianship and supported decision-making and the relationship between these attitudes and the perceived importance of social work goals, as mediated by perceptions of disability.Materials and methods: Participants were 414 undergraduate and graduate level social work students from Israel. Participants completed a structured questionnaire that measured: attitudes toward guardianship and supported decision-making, importance of social work goals, and perception of disability.Results: Although social work students tended to support limiting the scope of guardianship, they did not clearly oppose it. Individual model perspective of disability mediated the association between the social work goal of social control and attitudes toward guardianship. Social model perspective of disability mediated the association between the social work goal of social justice and attitudes toward guardianship.Conclusion: To reduce guardianship appointments, social work educators should educate students better regarding current supported decision-making trends, emphasize the importance of social justice goals, and discuss critically the necessity of social control. Further, educators need to embrace the social model of disability, in particular its view of autonomy and interdependence.Implications for rehabilitationThe UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has urged limiting guardianship practices, and developing instead less restrictive alternatives, especially supported decision making.In order to fully implement the Convention’s vision, efforts must be placed in social work training programs on discussing the limitations of guardianship, the dilemmas it raises and the advantages of other less restrictive alternatives, including that of supported decision-making.Social work educators should also emphasize the importance of social justice goals and discuss critically the necessity of social control.Similar emphasis should be placed on exposing students to the social model of disability, including its view of autonomy and interdependence.

Youth Transitioning Out of Residential Care in South Africa: Toward Ubuntu and Interdependent Living

Informed by the qualitative method and the descriptive-interpretive design, this study, which was underscored by radical humanist goals of structural social work, reflects the voices of 16 youth who had transitioned out of care. The results show that emerging adults, transitioning out of care, are vulnerable and in need of support. This article discusses three main themes derived via an inductive approach: the influence of sociocultural networks, connecting with family, and the multiple risk factors associated with getting into and out of care that compromise youth’s quest for security. The neoliberal discourse on independent living needs to shift to interdependence and Ubuntu. It is interdependence, not independence, that gives a human face to care leavers as service providers respond to their past trauma, present vulnerability, and future risks, while promoting family preservation and resourceful, caring communities.

SOCIAL WORK IN THE SYSTEM OF PUBLIC PROFESSIONS

Nowadays, in this dynamic world, the need for help and support is increasingly highlighted. This is where the role of social work intervenes. Its task is to enhance the personal and social functionality of the people so as to cope with all kinds of everyday problems and hardship they encounter and to highlight the opportunities for realization and socialization in the society.The goal of social work is to reduce the number of people who suffer and need help, thus lessen the disbelief in coping with problems and highlighting the hope for the best. Such people can be children, adolescents, young people, adults and people with special needs.Sometimes in the family environment or in the wide circle of acquaintances, people fail to overcome the difficulties, and then a consultation with a specialist from the social sphere should be made. This need confirms once again that social-pedagogical intervention is not lacking, contributing to adequate and professional work to help address problems and deficits.For this type of realization, graduates of this major must have dedication and humanity to their work with people and their problems. They also need to know well the relevant risks in each occupation.Still, there is hardly any other profession that is so varied and versatile. This profession has many benefits as well as risks. The work of the Bulgarian social worker is the lowest paid among the helping professions and yet the one with highest efficiency and effectiveness expected. People working in the social sphere - the social workers, perform a wide range of functions and responsibilities in accordance to the nature of the assistance they have to provide.