scholarly journals Social Work in a Developing Continent: The Case of Africa

10.18060/223 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Chitereka
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Qualified Personnel ◽  
The One ◽  
Development Paradigm

Social work is a professional approach to ameliorating social problems. It is generally understood as a helping profession that utilizes professionally qualified personnel who use its knowledge base to help people tackle their social problems (Mupedziswa, 2005). Nevertheless, in developing countries, social work is a relatively young profession which was influenced by colonialism in its formation. The type of social work practiced in these countries largely mirrors the one that is being practiced in Britain, France and Portugal among others. Utilizing the continent of Africa as a case study, this article argues that social work practice in Africa tends to be curative or remedial in nature and is not adequately addressing people’s problems. It therefore proposes a paradigm shift from remedial to a social development paradigm if it is to make an impact in the 21st century.

scholarly journals Exhaustion and possibility. The wor(l)dlyness of social work in (G)local environment worlds during a pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 54-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona B Livholts
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Life Writing ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Writing Genres

Exhaustion is not about being tired. It is an intense feeling of restlessness, of insomnia, and awakening when I ask myself: have I exhausted all that is possible? Such a state of restlessness and wakefulness represents a turning point for having enough, and opens for new possibilities to act for social change. This reflexive essay departs from the notion that the language of exhaustion offers a wor(l)dly possibility for social work(ers) to engage in critical analytical reflexivity about our locations of power from the outset of our (g)local environment worlds. The aim is to trace the transformative possibilities of social change in social work practice through the literature of exhaustion (eg. Frichot, 2019 ; Spooner, 2011 ). The methodology is based on uses of narrative life writing genres such as poetry, written and photographic diary entrances between the 4th of April and 4th of June. The essay shows how tracing exhaustion during the pandemic, visualises a multiplicity of forms of oppression and privilege, an increasing attention and relationship to things, and border movements and languages. I suggest that social work replace the often-used terminology of social problems with exhaustive lists to address structural forms of racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, which has been further visualized through death, illness, violence, and poverty during the pandemic. I argue that the language of exhaustion is useful for reflexivity and action in social work practice through the way it contributes to intensified awareness, attention, engagement, listening, and agency to create social justice.

scholarly journals The Art Of Social Work In Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Asmar Husein ◽  
Santoso Tri Raharjo ◽  
Eva Nuriyah Hidayat
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
New Model ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
The Relationship

Social work is a unique relief profession as unique as individuals, groups and societies. Social relations as the main media in performing the art of social work practice. The art of social work practice is an expression of intuition results that creates creativity in dealing with social problems. In this century, it is necessary to show a brand new model of social work practice along with the emergence of contemporary social problems. So that in the Indonesian context, a unique character and characteristic are needed. This journal is a literature review from various sources that aims to present the new concept of the art of social work practice in Indonesia. So far, the science of social work has not been sufficient in dealing with social problems. Here is the urgency and connection between science and the art of social work practice. Thus, the relationship between the two cannot be separated. Because, basically, within the practice of social work lies an art. 

scholarly journals Social Innovation and Social Work: A Case Study of the Early Intervention Support Service

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Winter ◽  
Laura Neeson ◽  
Daryl Sweet ◽  
Aimee Smith ◽  
Sharon Millen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Support Service ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Child And Family Services ◽  
Set Up

Abstract In a national and international context where there is a concern about the effectiveness of social care services for children and families to address chronic, enduring social problems and where there are finite resources available, the concept of social innovation in social work policy and practice to address need in new ways is receiving increased attention. Whilst an attractive term, social innovation in child and family services is not without its challenges in terms of conceptualisation, operationalisation, implementation and evidencing impact. This article reports on the development and evaluation of the Early Intervention Support Service (EISS), a newly designed family support service in Northern Ireland set up as part of a government-supported innovation and transformation programme that aims to deliver a voluntary, targeted, flexible and time-limited service to families experiencing emergent problems. Using the EISS as a case study, the challenges, benefits in terms of addressing policy imperatives and future direction of social innovation in social work practice are reflected upon.

Pride and shame in the creation of the ‘appropriate’ organisation

2019 ◽  
pp. 77-102
Author(s):  
Matthew Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Emotion Work ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Emotional Safety ◽  
The One

This chapter outlines how the different representations for social work practice provide conflicting sets of standards, ideals and goals for social work organisations. Some ‘institutional logics’ are imposed on social work services by politicians and through the media, which set the boundaries for public praise and shame for an organisation, thereby directing and shaping its identity. Within this context, this chapter introduces the idea of organisational emotional safety, in which organisations are constructed to avoid organisational shaming and rejection, on the one hand, and attract pride and acceptance, on the other. In an attempt to manage its image and reputation, organisational leaders engage in this form of emotion work to create and maintain a consistent set of organisational actions which ensures that it is safe from episodic shaming, while evoking pride within the organisation and acceptance without. A case example is provided to illustrate this argument that pride and shame are strategically used to create ‘appropriate’ organisations as defined by those with the power of definition.

Guidelines for Responding to Clients Spontaneously Presenting Their Poetry in Therapy

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rich Furman ◽  
Kathryn Collins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Practice Guidelines ◽  
Work Values ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Poetry Therapy ◽  
Social Work Values

Poetry therapy has become a valuable adjunctive tool in social work practice, as well as an important discipline in its own right. What has not been previously presented in the literature are intervention strategies designed for when clients spontaneously present their poems in treatment without prompting from the clinician. This article provides just such practice guidelines for clinicians, especially clinicians who do not normally use poetry in therapy. First, the article explores the uses of poetry in social work practice. Second, it presents general guidelines for how to handle the introduction of poetry by clients through the lens of essential social work values and principles. Third, a case study is presented to amplify these guidelines.

Scaling Up Social Problems

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Y. Rodriguez ◽  
Laysha Ostrow ◽  
Susan P. Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Progressive Era ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Meaningful Engagement

The Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative aims to focus the profession’s attention on how social work can play a larger role in mitigating contemporary social problems. Yet a central issue facing contemporary social work is its seeming reticence to engage with social problems, and their solutions, beyond individual-level interventions. Social work research, we contend, must more consistently link case and cause, iteratively developing processes for bringing micro-, mezzo-, and macrostreams of information together. We further argue that meaningful engagement with the initiative requires social work scholars and practitioners to actively scale up practice and research inquiry. We detail two key strategies for employing a scaled-up social work practice and research ethos: (a) employing a critical economic lens and (b) engaging with diverse publics. As proof of concept for these arguments, we offer an early example of progressive era social workers scaling up responses to a pressing social issue: infant mortality.

scholarly journals The Power of One: Why auto-ethnography, solo service-user voice and reflective case study analysis are useful strategies for researching family-centred social work practice

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Service User ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Study Analysis ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Auto Ethnography

Family-centred social work practitioners often reflect upon and talk about their everyday work with families, but they rarely write about it, other than in case notes or for formal reports. If social work practitioners were to adopt a range of easy-to-use research strategies that focus on either one service-user, or one family case, or one practitioner experience, then they may be empowered to write and publish more about their work. This may then lead to a series of practitioner pieces aimed at improving knowledge and methods in family-centred social work practice. This article explores three ‘One Voice strategies’: those of auto-ethnography, solo service-user voice and reflective case study analysis, and their usefulness to researching family-centred social work practice. It argues that using such strategies are valid in everyday social work and that practitioners can make a difference to our knowledge of effectiveness in practice by telling us about just one story – the power of one!

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