A critical review of Chinese and international social work: Walking a tightrope between local and global standards

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282096342
Author(s):  
Qian Meng ◽  
Mel Gray ◽  
Lieve Bradt ◽  
Griet Roets
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Urban Bias ◽  
Global Standards ◽  
Liberal Individualism

This article presents a critical analysis of the challenges global social work standards present for mainland China (hereafter China) with its authoritarian political ideology that is in tension with the profession’s universal values grounded in liberal individualism. China is caught between the Scylla of universal standards and Charybdis of indigenisation seeking to adapt social work to its unique sociocultural contexts. Based on our extensive literature review, we identified four challenges for Chinese social work: (1) balancing personal social services and social development, (2) negotiating global standards and local realities, (3) responding to poverty and other national social development issues and (4) pressures towards indigenisation, while remaining in step with social work’s global standards. China favours the continued adaptation of imported knowledge and practice interventions within local and national sociocultural, economic and political realities. This study also highlights social work in China’s urban bias and limited attention to rural issues, acknowledging this is a concern for social work even in Western contexts.

A Process Model of Social Development Supervision in Social Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mpumelelo Ncube
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Supervision Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
Dialectical Relationship ◽  
Development Approach

Supervision practice in social work is understood as the mainstay of the profession. However, various studies have pointed to the inadequacies of supervision to facilitate quality service provision. Previous studies have reflected a general misalignment between the approach to supervision practice and the approach to social work practice as one inadequacy leading to the failure of supervision practice. Although there are numerous supervision models in the profession, some of which are aligned with certain practice approaches, none is directly identifiable with the social development approach, which should be at the core of social work orientation in South Africa. Thus, this article provides a process model of supervision in social work that aims to establish a dialectical relationship between supervision and the social development practice approach. The study was underpinned by Thomas’ research and design process, which was used to design and develop a social work supervision model mirroring a social development approach. The paper concludes with recommendations related to the use of the developed model.

Peculiarities of improving interbudgetary relations in conditions of authorities’ decentralization

2020 ◽  
pp. 46-54
Author(s):  
Zenoviy Siryk
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Social Services ◽  
The State ◽  
Major Objective ◽  
Formal Approach ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Local Areas ◽  
And Control ◽  
Different Levels

Ukraine is a unitary state, yet historically various regions, oblasts, districts, and local areas have different levels of economic development. To secure sustainable economic and social development and provide social services guaranteed by the state for each citizen according to the Constitution, the mechanism of redistribution between revenues and expenditures of oblasts, regions, and territories through the budgets of a higher level is used. The paper aims to research the peculiarities of improving interbudgetary relations in conditions of authorities’ decentralization. The paper defines the nature of interbudgetary relations. The basic and reverse subsidies to Ukraine and Lvivska oblast are analyzed. The advantages and disadvantages the communities face at changing approaches to balancing local budgets are determined. Regulative documents that cover the interbudgetary relations in Ukraine are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the problem of local finances reforming, including the development of interbudgetary relations. The scheme of the economic interbudgetary relations system in Ukraine is developed. The ways to improve the system of interbudgetary relations in Ukraine are suggested. The negative and positive aspects, advantages, and disadvantages of the system of interbudgetary relations in Ukraine require the following improvements. 1. It is necessary to avoid the complete budget alignment in the process of budgets balancing by interbudgetary transfers as the major objective. 2. The interbudgetary transfers should be distributed based on a formal approach. 3. The changes have to be introduced to the calculation of medical and educational subsidies in terms of financial standard of budget provision to avoid the money deficit for coverage of necessary expenditures. 4. There is a need to improve interbudgetary relations at the levels of districts, villages, towns, and cities of district subordination. 5. Improvement of the mechanism of targeted benefits provision, their real evaluation, and control for the use of funds.

Modes of Relational Agency among Welfare-reliant Mothers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagit Sinai-Glazer ◽  
Boris H J M Brummans
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Human Agency ◽  
Relational Agency ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract How do welfare-reliant mothers enact their agency in relationships with social workers and social services? The present article addresses this question by investigating how twenty Israeli welfare-reliant mothers expressed different modes of human agency in in-depth interviews. Results show how research participants enact agency through (i) expressing anger, (ii) seeking help, (iii) resisting and (iv) engaging in non-action. By highlighting the multidimensional and situational nature of agency, this article offers a new relational lens for conceptualising and empirically studying human agency in social work.

scholarly journals Impacts of Electricity Outages in Urban Households in Developing Countries: A Case of Accra, Ghana

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3676
Author(s):  
Paul Nduhuura ◽  
Matthias Garschagen ◽  
Abdellatif Zerga
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Large Family ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Urban Households ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Family Setting

Many developing countries in Africa face a “double tragedy” when it comes to electrification. Electricity access rates are low, while those who have access to electricity face frequent outages. There are ongoing efforts aimed at increasing access to electricity on the continent. However, the need to improve the reliability of electricity supply receives limited attention. Unreliable electricity impacts users by limiting electricity utilization and the benefits that should accrue from having an electricity connection. Using data from 496 household survey questionnaires, this study examines the impacts of electricity outages in urban households in Accra, Ghana. The study applies correlation and regression analyses to identify which household characteristics are associated with or predict households reporting outage impacts. Outages were found to impact household safety/security, access to food, and access to social services and were found to cause appliance damage as well. Factors that are significantly correlated with reporting certain outage impacts include respondent’s annual income and employment status, frequency of electricity outages, and household size. Significant predictors of reporting outage impacts are socioeconomic disadvantage, high exposure to outages, and living in a large family setting. The study’s findings underscore the need for interventions to eliminate, or at least minimize, electricity supply interruptions in developing countries if sustainable social and economic development is to be achieved.

scholarly journals About a Third of Nursing Home Social Services Directors Have Earned a Social Work Degree and License

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Mercedes Bern-Klug ◽  
Kevin M. Smith ◽  
Amy Restorick Roberts ◽  
Nancy Kusmaul ◽  
Denise Gammonley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services

scholarly journals Negotiating Quality for Social Work: A Participatory Research Project in South Tyrol

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 505-514
Author(s):  
Walter A. Lorenz ◽  
Silvia Fargion ◽  
Urban Nothdurfter ◽  
Andrea Nagy ◽  
Elisabeth Berger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
South Tyrol ◽  
Starting Point

Purpose: The measurement of quality in social work practice has become an area of growing interest and relevance in the social services field. Our starting point is that quality in interventions with human beings has to be defined in ways that incorporate the multiple perspectives of all the subjects involved. Methods: The study, adopting qualitative and quantitative methods, explored issues of quality in social services provision in South Tyrol in Italy from the point of view of the main stakeholders. Results: It was possible to identify four dimensions of quality that stakeholders considered important: the political role of practitioners, the ability to take an active role in the organization, the capacity to connect with other professionals, and the quality of direct relationships with users. Conclusions: Results provide an understanding of the common and differing expectations evident in stakeholders’ perspectives and ideas for better quality systems

Global standards for social work education and training

2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 493-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishanthie Sewpaul (IASSW Chair) ◽  
David Jones (IFSW Co‐Chair)
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Global Standards ◽  
Work Education ◽  
And Training

The relevance of Global Standards to social work education in Australasia

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
David John McNabb ◽  
Marie Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Equity Issues ◽  
Global Standards ◽  
Regulatory Bodies ◽  
Work Education

Underpinned by the Global Standards published for the promotion of quality social work education, and as a benchmark for social work education at national levels, a qualitative content analysis is conducted to explore the alignment of national standards of the Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia regulatory bodies with the Global Standards. A number of equity issues are identified: service users and student participation, student representativeness, indigenous rights and political action, gender and cultural equity, and equitable access. The implications for social work education internationally are considered, including a possibility of the role of the Global Standards in democratizing social work education.

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