Social Work Study Research Articles

On welfare pluralism, social policy and the contribution of sociology: Revisiting Robert Pinker.

On occasion it makes sound sense to undertake a retrospective review of a late colleague's contribution to his or her subject area. This applies to Robert Pinker, Professor of Social Administration at the London School of Economics, who died at the age of 89 in February 2021. Over a long life he made a major impact on working for press freedom and to social work studies, but this article concerns his work on social policy, and particularly on the idea of welfare pluralism, a many-faceted idea the exploration of which powered two pathbreaking books Social Theory and Social Policy (1971) and The Idea of Welfare (1979). In the twentieth century many states including the United Kingdom had greatly expanded their welfare provisions for their citizens, and, in some, an academic subject area, often called social administration or social policy had grown in response. Pinker started writing in the 1960s, dissatisfied with the conventional approach of Richard Titmuss and others, almost exclusively concerned with the state and welfare. He made the case for a radical rebalance toward including everyday experiences of obligations and how familial informal welfare practices are strengthened, weakened or modified by formal social services. However, ahead of his time, Pinker was arguing for an enhanced sociological imagination in the study of social policy and on the very idea of "welfare". This article has sections reflecting the facets of Pinker's thinking about welfare pluralism, including "social policy's past", "exchange and stigma", "taking informal welfare seriously", "divergent views of altruism", "comparative studies", "on a mixture of means to welfare" and "aspects of Pinker's legacy". The idea of welfare pluralism is now familiar. But Pinker's crucial pioneering role, depth of understanding of the issues and grasp of their intertwining is seldom recalled. This article should help to meet the need for his contribution to be reinserted into the mainstream of sociological thought on welfare, so enriching new research.

Preferences and perceptions of students about the degree in Social Work

ABSTRACT The Social Work Degree prepares students for their future professional practice. Considering the students’ point of view helps to gather their impressions. It also makes it possible to improve and make teaching and institutional decisions. The aim of this study is to explore the perceived quality of the students of the Degree in Social Work taught in the Public Universities of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (Spain). For this purpose, we have chosen to carry out an exploratory study with a qualitative approach. A non-probabilistic sample of 73 participants made up of students from various courses was used. The instrument used was a questionnaire of open questions elaborated in Microsoft Forms and distributed telematically. The results show a high level of satisfaction with the Social Work studies received. The opinions have made it possible to extract categories of analysis on overall satisfaction, methodology, content, teaching staff, and the link between training and professional practice. The study show which dimensions they consider to contribute quality to their studies, showing a preference for practical issues. They emphasize their interest in participatory teaching methodologies, updated content and teaching staff who are involved in their teaching practice that will enable their future professional practice.

Technological approach as the basis of practice-oriented models of social work with the elderly and the disabled

The Department of Social Work at the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of Kostroma State University actively develops and updates scientific approaches in the practice of organizing social activities, focuses on the need to expand the potential of regional practices in promoting popular areas of social support for citizens, the elderly and the disabled. Scientific meetings held at KSU do not just summarize the existing experience, but consider social work as a comprehensive, helping direction that organizes its work in the context of the strategic vector of state development, aimed at mitigating risks, disadvantages and unlocking the potential of these categories of the population. As a result of six scientific conferences (2020-2022), one can see a trend in the formation of a technological approach as a scientific direction for the study of social work with the elderly and disabled, carried out by teachers of the Department of Social Work of the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of Kostroma State University. The teachers of the department scientifically generalize, systematize the best practices of social, pedagogical, psychological activity, methodically accompany the introduction of relevant technologies of social activity, form an emphasis on the inclusion of a wide range of young people in scientific understanding of the processes of social development of the country, region, municipality. Scientific meetings make it possible to unite the leading scientific schools of social work, formed both at the universities of the Russian Federation and abroad.

Spitting at Jim Crow

Spitting at Jim Crow

Humanitarian discourse in a situation of war

The research is aimed at identifying the features of humanitarian discourse of modern times in the critical conditions of war. The author's task is to clarify the dependence of the dominant themes, that this discourse presents, and the dynamics of their changes in Ukraine, in Western democratic countries, and its articulation by the aggressor country. To achieve the task, a set of philosophical and general scientific methods is used: empirical - to collect and describe actual material; phenomenological - for the objectification of humanistic discourse in terms of concepts and phenomena; dialectical - regarding the general understanding of the tendencies of the unfolding of historical processes; analytical - regarding the identification of the causes of complex phenomena of social existence (war, multiculturalism, glocalization, genocide, conflict, patriotism, etc.); contextual - regarding the identification of the historical and cultural context of the existence of the mentioned phenomena; commemorations - regarding the study of social memory and work with traumatic experience, etc. Thus, the Ukrainian humanitarian discourse of wartime is characterized by a growing sense of national/civilizational identity, political subjectivity, and patriotism; for Western democratic discourse – rationalized caution and post-non-classical rhetoric; for the discourse of the aggressor country – ideological and propagandist involvement in the desire to justify the moral deviations and crimes against humanity of the invaders. Despite all the traumatism of the war experience, it must be worked out and understood, because otherwise it will be repeated in new inhumane manifestations and forms.

The dilemma and strategy analysis of medical social work practice—A case study of medical social work in city B

The dilemma and strategy analysis of medical social work practice—A case study of medical social work in city B

Social workers and safeguarding adult reviews (SARs)– an exploration of the stories that are told and the narratives that they hold

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to explore the contribution of safeguarding adult reviews (SARs) to the contemporary stories of what social work practice is and what social workers should do. Evidence of this contribution is sought by analysis of SARs as publicly available documents capturing contemporary social work alongside considering social worker’s views of these reports.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents two components of the wider research study as follows: documentary analysis exploring discussions of social work practice held within a sample of SARs xD;xA; and analysis of focus groups and semi-structured interviews established to explore the knowledge, experience and views of front-line social workers in relation to SARs.FindingsIt is suggested that social workers locate the value of SARs within the arena of learning and development often celebrating the SAR processes in bringing agencies together more so than the actual report. This paper argues that SARs hold considerable power in their ability to present a narrative about contemporary social work in England, and that social workers themselves can be wary of this power.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited by the scope of the data which includes a sample of SARs from one geographical area and data collected from social workers who volunteered to participate.Practical implicationsThis paper draws on the evidence gathered and presents some recommendations to support the potential for SARs to positively enhance social work identity and practice.Social implicationsThis paper explores the stories about social work that are found within a sample of SARs and seeks to explore how these stories fit with the stories that social workers themselves share about SARs.Originality/valueThere has been considerable research interest in SARs; however, to date there has not been a research exploration of the impact of SARs on professional social work and front-line social workers in practice. This paper presents early findings and analysis from research in progress as part of a Doctorate of Social Work Study at University of East London who provided ethical approval and supervisory support.

Social pedagogy and social work relations in Greece: autonomous trajectories

This article explores the relationship between social pedagogy and social work in Greece. The search begins with the identification of their philosophical roots, which, although they are common and start from the Ancient Greek philosophers, have led the course of each discipline in a different direction. What follows is the presentation of the most important defining elements of the development of the studies of social work and social pedagogy in Greece, which include features and historical landmarks. The different trajectories can be seen from the development of studies, where social work has a long tradition as an academic discipline, whereas the academic tradition of social pedagogy is much shorter. A similar differentiation is found in the professional frameworks of social work and social pedagogy in Greece, that is, in the institutionalisation of the profession of social worker and social pedagogue. Indicative data from the field of research of each discipline are then presented. Despite the differences and the autonomous trajectories, remarkable commonalities and similarities between social pedagogy and social work in Greece are identified, such as some basic principles, priorities, epistemological and methodological dimensions and some common areas of interest and action. Therefore, the autonomous trajectories of these disciplines do not separate them, but as potentially complementary, are able to make interdisciplinary connections between them, so that prevention and intervention programmes, especially in the fields of education and the community, can be developed.

The Association Between Work Environment, Work Attitudes, and Turnover Intentions Among Geriatric Social Workers in China

ABSTRACT The psychological state of geriatric social workers affects the intention to leave and thus the quality of services provided to older adults. This study explored the relationship between the work environment, work attitudes, and turnover intentions of geriatric social workers. This study obtained an analytic sample comprising 999 geriatric social workers from the 2019 Longitudinal Study of Social Work in China. Multivariate regression techniques combined with a mediation analysis was performed to explore the relationships. The study results provided preliminary evidence on the complex associations between and among work environment, work attitudes, and turnover intentions of geriatric social workers in China. We demonstrated that perceived organizational support reduced the turnover intentions of geriatric social workers through increased collective psychological ownership and reduced burnout. Regular inter- and intra-agency communication between social workers and their supervisors and colleagues have important roles in reducing turnover by enhancing support and emotional commitment to organizations. Policy decision-makers are suggested to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of geriatric social works to release their administrative burdens, which may help to reduce their burnout level and improve the stability of the geriatric social work force.

Socio-Economic Inequalities in Namibia: A Qualitative Social Work Study

Social work in Namibia is practised in a context marked by extreme levels of poverty and socio-economic inequalities. These interrelated challenges remain deeply entrenched despite several development efforts at national, regional and international level. As a social justice and human rights-oriented profession that has a global footprint, social work pledges to promote socio-economic equalities in view of realising a just and equal world. Such a structural emphasis on tackling socio-economic inequalities is a radical departure from the micro-level centred approaches that have historically dominated social work practice in Namibia. In this qualitative study, we explored 10 purposively selected Namibian social workers’ perceptions of socio-economic inequalities through semi-structured one-on-one interviews. The findings indicate that social workers are intricately aware of the socio-economic inequalities that characterise the Namibian society, but that their focus on micro practice restricts them to deal with the structural causes that retain socio-economic inequalities. Adopting a developmental approach as policy framework for social welfare and social work will enable social workers to bridge micro and macro practice, challenge oppressive structures and contribute to social transformation and a just and sustainable world.

Social Action Is More Than Necessary Today

In the middle of Rotterdam stands Ossip Zadkine’s sculpture, The Destroyed City, as a symbol of the faded center in World War II (Figure 1). It is a human figure from which the heart has been snatched, raising the hands to heaven with a cry of fear. On Sunday, after church, I play around the sculpture on an almost barren city plain while my parents watch. Within their memory the bombing of their company. My playground is their pain. Sunday church attendance is primarily a sacred event. Vatican II is turning things upside down in my hometown. Suddenly, the ecclesiastical dogma of the 1950s is replaced by a passionate social debate. The church must be at the center of society. Stand up for the oppressed. I am excited at that huge revolt. Here, I am fascinated by social change.I remember my first steps in social work in a neglected and underprivileged district of Rotterdam. It is the early 1970s; the neighborhood develops into a multicultural one of native residents, activist students, and first-generation immigrants. I get involved in supporting local residents against the demolition policy of the neighborhood by the city council. People do not want to leave their old houses; they want a toilet, and a shower. No rats in the house. They want to maintain the social cohesion, the beating heart of the district.I start my studies in social work, initially sociotechnologically oriented, but later Marxist–Leninist ideas increasingly take root. Again, I feel trapped in dogma. I oppose ideological ideas. Until I read Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Human experience as a starting point. Freire sees liberation as a collective matter based on dialogue. It becomes a source of inspiration in working with people in disadvantaged situations. I shake off my last dogmatic feathers.My introduction to Gestalt therapy is in the mid-1980s. The approach has a powerful effect on me. The attention to the (body) process is liberating. But I miss the orientation to social action. The Gestalt movement has become unilaterally focused on personal development.I happen to be involved in the founding of a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Northern Ghana. We work with local groups to reduce poverty by improving access to education, water, microcredit programs for women. The Gestalt principle of the dialogical relationship can be found here in the age-old tradition of local village communities: “I am because we are.”The 9/11 attacks in New York are again a turning point. In response to the attacks, the European Association of Gestalt Therapy (EAGT) establishes the Human Rights and Social Responsibility Committee. Here, I meet an international group of dedicated colleagues who want to reconnect with the sociopolitical roots of Gestalt therapy. All are active beyond the therapy room. We initiate a first committee project with Peace Brigades International (PBI). PBI sends volunteers to areas of the world where human rights are at stake. With their presence, PBI protects hundreds of organizations and individuals, their families, and communities. Our committee supports these human right defenders by online “human accompaniment” for any difficulties they encounter during their fieldwork. A volunteer writes: “I had violent panic attacks after being held hostage for 24 hours by an armed rebel group. The accompaniment has helped me to reconnect to my body, the team, and my fieldwork. It was essential to know that someone was taking care for me from a distance.”A modern city center has arisen around the “Destroyed City.” The sculpture is not only a permanent symbol of the atrocities of World War II but also a cry of horror at the dramatic events in the world today: the destruction of the earth and its democracies, the fate of refugees worldwide. Social action is more than necessary today.

Social Action Is More Than Necessary Today

In the middle of Rotterdam stands Ossip Zadkine’s sculpture, The Destroyed City, as a symbol of the faded center in World War II (Figure 1). It is a human figure from which the heart has been snatched, raising the hands to heaven with a cry of fear. On Sunday, after church, I play around the sculpture on an almost barren city plain while my parents watch. Within their memory the bombing of their company. My playground is their pain. Sunday church attendance is primarily a sacred event. Vatican II is turning things upside down in my hometown. Suddenly, the ecclesiastical dogma of the 1950s is replaced by a passionate social debate. The church must be at the center of society. Stand up for the oppressed. I am excited at that huge revolt. Here, I am fascinated by social change.I remember my first steps in social work in a neglected and underprivileged district of Rotterdam. It is the early 1970s; the neighborhood develops into a multicultural one of native residents, activist students, and first-generation immigrants. I get involved in supporting local residents against the demolition policy of the neighborhood by the city council. People do not want to leave their old houses; they want a toilet, and a shower. No rats in the house. They want to maintain the social cohesion, the beating heart of the district.I start my studies in social work, initially sociotechnologically oriented, but later Marxist–Leninist ideas increasingly take root. Again, I feel trapped in dogma. I oppose ideological ideas. Until I read Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Human experience as a starting point. Freire sees liberation as a collective matter based on dialogue. It becomes a source of inspiration in working with people in disadvantaged situations. I shake off my last dogmatic feathers.My introduction to Gestalt therapy is in the mid-1980s. The approach has a powerful effect on me. The attention to the (body) process is liberating. But I miss the orientation to social action. The Gestalt movement has become unilaterally focused on personal development.I happen to be involved in the founding of a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Northern Ghana. We work with local groups to reduce poverty by improving access to education, water, microcredit programs for women. The Gestalt principle of the dialogical relationship can be found here in the age-old tradition of local village communities: “I am because we are.”The 9/11 attacks in New York are again a turning point. In response to the attacks, the European Association of Gestalt Therapy (EAGT) establishes the Human Rights and Social Responsibility Committee. Here, I meet an international group of dedicated colleagues who want to reconnect with the sociopolitical roots of Gestalt therapy. All are active beyond the therapy room. We initiate a first committee project with Peace Brigades International (PBI). PBI sends volunteers to areas of the world where human rights are at stake. With their presence, PBI protects hundreds of organizations and individuals, their families, and communities. Our committee supports these human right defenders by online “human accompaniment” for any difficulties they encounter during their fieldwork. A volunteer writes: “I had violent panic attacks after being held hostage for 24 hours by an armed rebel group. The accompaniment has helped me to reconnect to my body, the team, and my fieldwork. It was essential to know that someone was taking care for me from a distance.”A modern city center has arisen around the “Destroyed City.” The sculpture is not only a permanent symbol of the atrocities of World War II but also a cry of horror at the dramatic events in the world today: the destruction of the earth and its democracies, the fate of refugees worldwide. Social action is more than necessary today.

Ethics as a Moral Duty: Proposing an Integrated Ethics Framework for Migration Research

AbstractThis article interrogates the assumptions and moral values underlying social research ethics frameworks and practices applicable to migration studies. Based on a review of forced migration literature and on empirical observations I identify three tiers of research ethics that generally guide ethical conduct in this field: procedural, relational and reciprocal ethics. I suggest that these tiers are traditionally conceptualized as a hierarchy in which certain ethical demands are considered morally superior to others. Looking at each of the three tiers the article shows that procedural and relational ethics demands are often based on unclear moral values and problematic notions of migrants’ vulnerability. To address this shortcoming, I draw on deontological ethics and on Levinas’s notion of unconditional responsibility to argue that our duty as researchers is based on our particular relationship with our research subjects rather than on their status as migrants. Moving away from a hierarchical understanding of research ethics I then propose an integrated ethics framework that allows researchers to conceptualize and address the various ethical demands in an interconnected and holistic way. This framework presents an original contribution to research ethics discourses and practice in migration studies and other fields of social inquiry with a political and moral ambition such as human rights, social work and childhood studies.

Integrating Policy into School Safety Theory and Research

Multiple fields including social work, public health, psychology, and education have been researching school safety issues for the past 40 years. Findings from research and intervention have been a driving force in school safety policy change. Likewise, policy and funding patterns created have dramatically altered how and what school safety researchers study. Yet school safety policy has not been the focus of empirical studies in social work or other research fields as either independent or dependent variables. Based on prior work and current school safety policy issues, the authors created a new theoretical ecological model to generate a conceptual policy-focused model of school safety. They identified thematic, conceptual, methodological, and analytic gaps in the school safety literature using the new model as a guide. Examples from policy and empirical work are given to elucidate the conceptual model. Suggestions are made for researchers and universities to close the gap between school safety research and policy.

The role of 360º virtual reality in social intervention: a further contribution to the theory-practice relationship of social work studies

ABSTRACT This pioneering study in Spain in this specific area of knowledge, social work and social services, is framed around the incorporation of Virtual Reality (VR) in the social work teaching-learning process using 360º videos during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to the impossibility of face-to-face interaction, in order to put theory into practice, a VR simulation application—the Innovation Social Work App (iSWAPP) – was developed (intellectual property registration number 04/2021/491). In order to study the factors that determine the predisposition of social work students to use VR as a complementary pedagogical tool in the theory-practice learning process to acquire professional skills, a quantitative analysis was performed using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The study was performed in May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic with a sample comprising 42 social work undergraduates at the University of Cádiz. The most significant results were the opportunities and potential of VR in the teaching-learning process, especially in teaching practice. The conclusions of the study show that 360° VR enables progress to be made in response to the structural need to build positive bidirectional synergies between theory and practice in social work in order to improve the quality of professional intervention.

Ethics in Qualitative Study in Social Work: Systematic Review

For most of the research process, participants of humans are essential. When a human is participating in research, the main person who handles the study or the person managing the investigation is responsible for protecting the rights of those participants. By following standard ethical guidelines, a researcher can protect the rights of those participants. Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent, Anonymity and Confidentiality, Communication done through telephones, Session Implementation and Triangulation of the Environment for interviews, Analysis of data and distribution of the results, Obstacles of a Cultural and Linguistic Nature and Managing and Handling Anxiety During an Interview is the elements which have been considered in this paper. This study investigated entirely based on secondary index journal articles adopted a systematic review as a method. Moreover, when a researcher joins people from diverse cultures in the interview process, it is essential to enhance their awareness of those cultures and build flexibility within the review process. This study contributes to social science and remarkable Social work linked qualitative inquiry to provide a good data collection process to find new insights.

The Benefits of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Community-Engaged Research: Insights From a Study of Digital Storytelling With Marginalized Youth

This article draws on qualitative data from a long-term partnership to exemplify the unique advantages of interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches in community-engaged research. We demonstrate how the differing foci and intersecting concerns of our scholarly fields, social work and media studies, benefited our work with marginalized communities to promote youth voice through digital storytelling. This effort was grounded in the shared view that digital storytelling offers an excellent opportunity to engage creatively with young people’s memories and experiences and that such storytelling can support young people in their healing, identity formation, agency development, and engagement with the public. By working together across disciplines, we were able to surface and address concerns related to vulnerability, privacy, and advocacy among young people experiencing marginalization in ways that would not have been possible in a project involving only social work or media studies. We illustrate this process by describing three critical incidents that exposed our disciplinary overlaps and differences in ways that helped us navigate complex issues related to young people shared their stories with the public. Our findings therefore have implications for others working with vulnerable communities to amplify counternarratives with the goal of bringing about positive systemic change.

Exploring the potential of ethics of care for a transformative perspective of sustainability in social work education. Implications for supervision

ABSTRACT As in other areas, sustainability has gained increasing attention in the field of social work education. Nevertheless, various voices consider that perspectives of sustainability are needed that are more radical than those inspired exclusively by the 2030 Agenda. In this context, the paper explores the specific potential and implications of ethics of care for adopting a transformative perspective of sustainability. To this end, the study first proposes an original framework, drawing on key ideas on the ethics of care, which can be useful in order to explore its implications in social work education. Second, it empirically explores the case of social work studies in the University of València (Spain). Specifically, the research addresses how ethics of care is or can be adopted in the supervision of the final end-of-degree projects or dissertations (Trabajo Final de Grado). This exploration draws on interviews with experts and managers from the University and on two discussion groups with teachers from the Social Work Department. The results show that the implications of adopting ethics of care in social work teaching may relate with very different aspects, from political commitment and the construction of identities to relations with peers, teachers, the community and the natural environment.

Frequency of Communication among Mothers and Adolescent Girls Regarding Physical Changes during Pubescence: A Social Work-Study in Ballari, Karnataka-India

Physical changes and growth during adolescence are vital phenomena; adolescent girls go through many imbalances and problems in such passing situations. It is necessary to transfer the relevant and requisite information to teen girls on physical changes during pubescence, and the mother is the core source of delivering information, knowledge, and practices to adolescent girls on physical changes. The present article has made an empirical effort to understand the frequency of communication about Reproductive and sexual health and the Frequency of Communication on physical changes during pubescence. The study was carried out in two blocks of Ballari District of Karnataka-India. The sample size for the study was 260, and respondents were adolescent girls aged between 14-17 years; data was collected by using a semi-structured interview tool.

Interdisciplinarity of Sociology and Social Work – Experiences and Perspectives

The paper discusses the need for an interdisciplinary approach in the study and understanding of society as a whole. An interdisciplinary approach through the study of sociology and social work is a necessity for both scientific approaches in the 21st century. In the first part of the paper, we talk about society and man, as well as the subject of study of sociology and social work. We emphasize that both scientific approaches, sociology, and social work, are relatively young in the context of their establishment. The basic conceptual determinants of sociology and social work are given, as well as the places of meeting and perspectives for both scientific approaches. The first part of the paper also talks about the Chicago School as a meeting place for sociology and social work, and about the causes and consequences of divergence, between sociology and social work, within the Chicago School. In the second part of the paper, we talk about the challenges in the demarcation of sociology and social work, where we emphasize the problem of partialization of scientific fields and processes present in the so-called „identification confusion“ and „jurisdiction“ of scientific fields. The content on the dialectical understanding of sociology and social work is thematic, with special reference to the branches of sociological theory – social spheres, spiritual life, and management. We emphasize that there is an inseparability in understanding between social work and sociology, especially in areas such as marriage and family, gender, age, education, deviant behavior, leisure, socialization, personality, social groups, lifestyle and health, youth, regulatory mechanisms, etc. We conclude our paper with special reference to the relationship between sociology and social work from the perspective of Bosnian society.