scholarly journals Human Well-Being and Pandemic Crisis: Implications for Social Work Practice from Kerala Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Elsa Mary Jacob ◽  
Arya Chandran L ◽  
Dr.Abraham Francis
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Nipah Virus ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
The People ◽  
Critical Social Work ◽  
Political Struggles

Nipah virus, the consecutive 2018 and 2019 floods, the internal social, economic, and political struggles have had a significant impact on the lives of people in Kerala, India.   While the state of Kerala was trying to get back to some form of stability, Covid-19 slams into, in an unprecedented way, drastically disrupting the lives of many. It has shaken the interconnectedness and interdependence of families and placed communities in a state of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. This article is about the vulnerabilities, experiences, voices, and untold stories of courage and resilience among people in Kerala. Authors present a reflective analysis of the multidimensional impact of Covid-19 on the ordinary lives of the people of Kerala.  The deleterious impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the entire humanity reckons the attention of governments, economists, educators, social scientists, medical and allied professionals, including social workers, to make concerted efforts to preserve and promote human well-being. Taking into consideration the structural inequalities in society, the present paper utilises a critical social work theoretical lens to analyse how it has impacted the well-being of people, especially the marginalised and vulnerable communities in Kerala.

Financial capabilities development: essential discourse in social work

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1234-1246
Author(s):  
Lambert K. Engelbrecht ◽  
Abigail Ornellas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vulnerable Households ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose Within a neoliberal environment, financial vulnerability of households has become an increasing challenge and there is a requirement of financial literacy education, a necessary activity to facilitate sustainable development and well-being. However, this is seldom a mainstream discourse in social work deliberations. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach First, introducing the neoliberal impact on financial well-being and capability for vulnerable households, the authors’ postulation is substantiated on a seven-point argument. The contexts of financially vulnerable households are sketched. Second, a conceptualisation of financial literacy is offered, and third, perspectives on and approaches to financial literacy as a fundamental capability are presented. This is followed by a theoretical foundation of community education as a practice model in social work to develop financial capabilities. In the fifth place, prevailing practices of Financial Capabilities Development (FCD) programmes are offered. Subsequently, the implications of a neoliberal environment for social work practice are examined. Findings The revised global definition of social work encourages the profession to understand and address the structural causes of social problems through collective interventions. As a response, it is argued that community education towards FCD of vulnerable households within a neoliberal environment should be an essential discourse in social development. Originality/value The authors reflect on the significance of FCD, highlighting its contribution towards human security and sustainable development. Although this paper draws on Southern African contexts, the discourse finds resonance in other contexts across the world.

Calling Social Work to the Movement for Educational Justice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annahita Ball
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Educational Justice ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Conditions For Learning ◽  
History Of

Abstract The persistent and systemic inequities within the U.S. public education system have grave implications for children’s and youth’s outcomes, yet these inequities go far beyond academics. Marginalized and vulnerable students experience injustices across the educational system, including disproportionality in school discipline, unequal access to advanced courses, and poor conditions for learning. Social work has a solid history of addressing issues that intersect across families, schools, and communities, but the profession has had little engagement in the recent educational justice movement. As educational scholars advance a movement to address educational inequities, it will be increasingly important for social work researchers to provide valuable insight into the multiple components that make up youth development and support positive well-being for all individuals within a democratic society. This article encourages social work researchers to extend lines of inquiry that investigate educational justice issues by situating social work practice and research within educational justice and suggesting an agenda for future social work research that will advance equity for all students.

Radical Hope

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Krumer-Nevo
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Critical Social Work ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

This book describes the new Poverty-Aware Paradigm (PAP), which was developed in Israel through intense involvement with the field of social work in various initiatives. The paradigm was adopted in 2014 by the Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Services as a leading paradigm for social workers in social services departments. The book draws from the rich experience of the implementation of the PAP in practice and connects examples of practice to theoretical ideas from radical/critical social work, critical poverty knowledge, and psychoanalysis. The PAP addresses poverty as a violation of human rights and emphasizes people’s ongoing efforts to resist poverty. In order to recognize these sometimes minor acts of resistance and advance their impact, social workers should establish close relationship with service users and stand by them. The book proposes combining relationship-based practice and rights-based practice as a means of bridging the gap between the emotional and material needs of service users. In addition to introducing the main concepts of the PAP, the book also contributes to the debate between conservative and cultural theories of poverty and structural theories, emphasizing the impact of a critical framework on this debate. The book consists of four parts. The first, “Transformation”, addresses the transformational nature of the paradigm. The second, “Recognition”, is based on current psychoanalytic developments and “translates” them into social work practice in order to deepen our understanding of relationship-based practice. The third, “Rights”, describes rights-based practice. The fourth, “Solidarity”, presents various ways in which solidarity might shape social workers’ practice. The book seeks to reaffirm social work’s core commitment to combating poverty and furthering social justice and to offer a solid theoretical conceptualization that is also eminently practical.

scholarly journals Degrowth for transformational alternatives as radical social work practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-433
Author(s):  
Meredith C.F. Powers ◽  
Komalsingh Rambaree ◽  
Jef Peeters
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Ecological Justice ◽  
The World

Historically, and in modern times, social workers have been culpable in perpetuating the very systems of oppression that we seek to eliminate. This happens as we are part of cultures and economies that operate out of the growth ideology. Acting in accordance with the growth ideology does not lead to the outcomes that we strive for as professional social workers. Rather, the growth ideology results in growing social inequalities and increasing ecological injustices around the world. Social work can, instead, embrace an ecosocial lens and promote degrowth approaches for transformational alternatives. Rather than reinforcing the existing systems of injustice and oppression, radical social work can take an activist role and bring about urgent and radical changes to promote ecological justice through social and ecological well-being. Examples from radical social work in local and international communities demonstrate the possibility of degrowth for transformational alternatives as radical social work practice.

Social Work and Its Complexity in Aotearoa New Zealand

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-36
Author(s):  
Shahul Hameed ◽  
Anthony Raman
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Chaotic Nature ◽  
Developed World

The Social workers need to call on a broad range of sources of bodies of knowledge and respond to the complexity and its chaotic nature of situations arising in social work profession. There appears to be dire need to consider the use of (a) the theoretical knowledge into practice by being more caring and supportive with the aim of (b) disentangling the various elements of a complex system and enhancing the resilience both of the people involved and the social and organizational systems that they are inter-twined with people lives. The current acknowledgement of the bi-cultural framework by the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) is no doubt a positive move towards infusing indigenous practice frame work into dealing with the chaotic nature and complexity of the social work profession in New Zealand but still remains to be seen in actual social work practice .The purpose of this chapter is to attempt to explore the potential of infusing Indigenous bodies of knowledge into practice against the background of the complexity nature of the social work profession in a developed world like New Zealand.

scholarly journals An analysis of inclusion gaps in sustainable development themes: Findings from a review of recent social work literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 864-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M Bexell ◽  
Jessica L Decker Sparks ◽  
Jacqueline Tejada ◽  
Andreas Rechkemmer
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Human History ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Health And Well Being

Recently, humans have negatively altered ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any other time in human history, contributing to gains in well-being and economic development for some, while threatening the security of most, particularly oppressed populations. We comprehensively reviewed recent social work literature (2010–2015) to examine gaps in environmental sustainability themes relevant to social work practice. Peer-reviewed manuscripts, dissertations/theses and white papers were examined. A total of 71 papers (less than 1% of social work literature) met inclusion criteria. Although our call is to protect human health and well-being, recent literature does not account for sustainability even with evidence that environmental issues directly impact clients, hindering practice efficacy.

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