scholarly journals COMMUNICATIVE POTENTIAL OF FUTURE SOCIAL WORKERS

Author(s):  
Vitalii Zaika ◽  
Alla Heta ◽  
Yevheniia Vyshar

The article highlights the topical issue of communicative potential of future social workers in their professional activities. Modern requirements for a social worker require ablity to interact with various groups of clients: children, adolescents, youth, the elderly or people with special needs, deviant or delinquent behavior, addicted to psychoactive substances, victims of violence, war, natural disasters. disasters, prisoners, etc. Social workers must be able to communicate effectively with representatives of various target groups in the social sphere, in order to provide social services. They are become skilled for conflict-free communication, self-control, capable to empathize, to listen and prove point of view. All these professional competencies can be reflected as the communicative potential of a social worker. For the purpose of empirical research of communicative potential psychodiagnostic methods were applied: Diagnosis of the need for communication (U.Orlov), Can you listen? (E.Rogov), Study of the level of communicative control (M.Schneider), Identification of communicative and organizational skills (B.Fedoryshyn), Determining the behavioral style in a conflict situation (K.Thomas). Based on psychodiagnostic methods, it was found that future social workers have high indicators of communication needs, listening skills, level of communication control, level of communication skills and the predominance of average level of organizational skills. Among the styles of behavior in a conflict situation, the dominant are cooperation and compromise, which indicates a desire to meet the needs of the communication partner. The data indicate a high level of development of the communicative potential of future social workers and their readiness for professional activity in the chosen field.

Author(s):  
Maryna Lapina ◽  
Yelyzaveta Boiko

The article is devoted to the topical problem of psychosocial assistance to people with addictive eating behavior, which is common among teenagers and young people, leads to tragic consequences, but still lacks a sufficient scientific basis and a comprehensive solution. The purpose of the study is to determine the place of social work and the content of the social workers’ activity in the system of assistance to persons with addictive eating behavior. Theoretical analysis of research of the food deviations problem, the concrete definition of terms «dysfunctional eating», «eating disorders», content and comparative analysis of professional functions of social workers in the context of helping people with addictive eating behavior are used as methods to achieve the goal of the research. It is determined that the professional activity of a social worker with persons with dysfunctional and disordered eating takes place in medical institutions, social services and secondary schools. The most common task of social work with persons with food addictions is the prevention. Special functions of a social worker in an inpatient (medical) institution are administrative and organizational work with eating disorders patient. Educational, social support and rehabilitation function are predominant in the activities of a social worker in social institutions. Instead, the specialist carries out for the most part diagnostics and monitoring, formation of eating habits, socio-pedagogical support of young people with dysfunctional eating in educational institutions. The leading role of a social worker at all stages of intervention and the need for a multidisciplinary approach in the prevention, correction and rehabilitation of people with addictive eating behavior are identified.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-60
Author(s):  
V. V. Kostina

Background: The publication highlights the features of experimental research on the use of cyberspace as a resource for training future social workers to implement social initiatives on a voluntary basis during the risks associated with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Possibilities of using virtual space in the social sphere are analyzed. Purpose: To determine the possibilities of using cyberspace for the implementation of social initiatives and training of social workers in the context of the spread of social risks. Materials and Methods: The study used methods of observation and oral questioning of higher education students, as well as content analysis of the activity of users of virtual space. Results: Important components of the professional characteristics of a modern social worker who provides social services in the context of the spread of social risks in modern society are identified. Emphasis is placed on the content characteristics of the created virtual space and the possibilities of its application in the social and educational activities of a social worker with various vulnerable groups (orphans and children deprived of parental care, people with special educational needs, single elderly and senior citizens, also young people in conflict with the law, families in difficult life circumstances, etc.). The need to take into account when creating an adaptive professional-oriented space features of different age and social characteristics of both recipients of social services and their providers significantly increases its socio-cultural capabilities and contributes to the preservation and strengthening (social, psychological and spiritual) components of the health of all actors who interact in this space. Conclusions: Provided are the results of the study of the impact of cyberspace on motivation of the interest of future specialists in the social field to carry out the relevant professional activity, as well as opportunities to ensure the development of their professional competence in this area of professional activity.


Author(s):  
Viktoriia Stepanenko ◽  

The article reveals the main means, forms and possibilities of using information and communication technologies in preventive social work with various categories of the population. It is noted that the need for the use of information and communication technologies by social workers in the prevention of negative social phenomena is due to the informatization of society, the strategic importance of ensuring free access of various categories of the population to information, the need for personal information culture, healthy lifestyle. It is noted that the most common mass, informational, methodological and research measures for the prevention of negative social phenomena in the activities of social workers today cannot do without the use of information and communication technologies. Information and communication technologies of professional activity of a social worker are defined as a technology of designing and creating an information product for social and socio-educational purposes. The advantages and disadvantages of using information and communication technologies in preventive social work are considered. The essence of the social services of prevention, information support of the system of providing social services, social advertising in the context of the use of information and communication technologies in the professional activity of a social worker has been determined.


Author(s):  
Maryna Lekholetova

The article presents an analysis of different approaches of domestic scientists to the interpretation of the concept of «social work management». The author surveys the features of management as an object of governance in the activities of a social worker. Features include the social nature of management information; the need for motivation methods that effectively influences and motivates professionals to better results in social work; availability of social workers' professional competence; the presence of problems with forecasting the results of management in the social sphere; the importance of current and final management results. The author proves the necessity of social workers' self-management skills (time management, motivation, stress resistance and recuperation, development of emotional intelligence) for the effective performance of management tasks in professional activities.  The article highlights the principles that should be followed in solving organizational and managerial tasks in social work management (purposefulness, ability of realization, adaptability, efficiency). The researcher presents the structure of social work management methods in the study (economic, administrative, social counselling, psychological and pedagogical influence, social influence). Research characterizes the methods of social work management while working with recipients of social services (methods of individual social work, methods of group social work, methods of community work, methods of social service design).


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Kateřina Glumbíková

Social work in the Czech Republic is confronted with the impact of global neoliberalism, which is manifested by privatisation of social services, individualisation of social risks and economisation. Reflexivity of social workers working with vulnerable children and their families has the potential to lead to a higher quality of social work, strengthening of social workers' identity, and empowering social workers to promote changes in everyday practice. Meeting this potential requires an understanding of constructing reflexivity by social workers, which is the objective of this paper. We used a qualitative research strategy, particularly group and individual interviews with social workers and their analysis using current approaches to grounded theory. Concerning data analysis, we found out that constructing reflexivity (nature and subject of reflexion) derives from the perceived roles of social workers (social worker as an ununderstood artist, social worker a as mediator between social and individual, social workers as an agent of a (society) change, social workers as an agent of normalisation and reflexive professional). The acquired data, within the situational analysis, was inserted into a position map on the scale of holistic and technical reflection. The conclusion discusses the implication for practice and education in social work.


Author(s):  
Kirsi Juhila ◽  
Johanna Ranta ◽  
Suvi Raitakari ◽  
Sarah Banks

Abstract This article focuses on how clients’ self-determination is accomplished in social worker–client conversations when discussing choices of clients’ future services in a low-threshold outpatient clinic in Finland targeted at people who use drugs. Self-determination is approached from the point of view of relational autonomy, meaning that choices are never made completely independently but within certain societal and interactional contexts. The article applies interactional analysis to data from ten social worker–client conversations, which include forty-eight instances of ‘choice talk’. The results demonstrate how social workers work hard to promote clients’ self-determination, and how this is carried out with different emphases within the frame of relational autonomy. Social workers do not perform ethically questionable manipulation practices. Quite the reverse, their contributions in the conversations can be interpreted as endeavours to increase clients’ self-confidence and autonomy competencies. However, a concern from an ethical point of view is that real service options are rather scarce for the clinic’s clients. This considerably reduces the clients’ capacity for self-determination. Furthermore, it also reduces the autonomy of social workers, who have limited opportunities to organise the services their clients desire and that the social workers themselves consider are the best options.


The growth in the number of the country’s charitable organizations, transformation of one-time humanitarian actions (charity) into regular social work with veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war (since 2014) and internally displaced persons from Donbas, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea have put on the agenda a study of the relationship between charitable activities and social work. The expansion of social work aimed at the elderly, which is often performed by the employees of territorial centers of social services beyond their job descriptions, also determines the relevance of this topic. The task of the study was to substantiate the place of charity in social work, based on the analysis of the activities of the Ukrainian charitable foundations, and employees of six territorial centers of social services in Kharkiv region. It was found that the All-Ukrainian social program “Home Care” of the International Charitable Foundation “Caritas Ukraine” represents social work with people who are not clients of territorial centers of social services. The Regional Landscape Park “Feldman Ecopark” (the flagship project of the International Charitable Foundation “Aleksandr Feldman Foundation”) is often used for social work, particularly with the elderly. It has been substantiated that the charitable activity of these foundations creates conditions for conducting systematic daily social work, in particular, with the elderly. The results of the expert survey of 16 social workers and 21 social workers of the territorial centers of social services of Bohodukhiv, Izium, Krasnokutsk, Lozova, Chuguiv, and Kharkiv districts of Kharkiv region show that charity occupies the leading place in their activities, creating conditions for social work. Charitable activities such as volunteering, social services of public/charitable organizations for the elderly are rightly regarded by experts as social work. The types of social work with the elderly in rural areas, carried out in spare time, such as helping in vegetable gardens, nature rides (in particular, to Feldman Ecopark), group communication on topical issues are referred by the experts to charitable activities. There is a partial overlapping of the subject areas of social work and charity, as well as a common goal – to help. Social workers and officials of the territorial centers of social services in Kharkiv region, performing daily social work with the elderly, often carry out charitable activities, too. It has been proved that charity helps to increase the efficiency of social work, solving many social problems of the territorial community.


Author(s):  
Iryna Surovtseva

The article is devoted to the partnership of social workers and ombudsmen as an influential tool for the citizens' rights protection. The common aspects of professional activity of social workers and ombudsmen in the citizens' rights protection of Ukraine and European countries are analyzed. Analyzed the annual reports of the National Ombudsman, clarified the dynamics of the receipt of citizens' reports about violations of their rights. There is a growing number of human rights violations in the field of social protection. The ombudsman has the right to make recommendations to the central executive bodies, which are ripe after the monitoring visits. Through the activities of social workers and the ombudsman, the state assumes the main functions of ensuring human rights in the social sphere. Foreign experience on the significant role of «natural allies» (social workers and ombudsmen) in drafting a formal protocol of strategic and tactical cooperation to optimize the residents' interests based on a friendly advisory approach have been highlighted. Most often, social workers and ombudsmen are forced to act as intermediaries between people and the state or other bodies to uphold justice and provide protection in cases where measures taken by the state in the interests of society as a whole threaten the rights and freedoms of individuals or groups. There is a need to intensify cooperation between the ombudsman's offices, social protection departments and social service providers (for example, through the joint Commissions on the quality of social services establishment, joint investigations into unsatisfactory social or medical care complaints). It seems relevant to expand the positions of specialized ombudsmen (for social protection (security), military ombudsman) as independent officials in communities (municipalities) for Ukraine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-241
Author(s):  
Gabriela Ježková Petrů

Further education of the employees in the field of social work is one of the future challenges. The goals of further education are constantly changing with regard to the changes in society and the requirements of the clients of social services. Social work represents a multidisciplinary conception of the performed work and a continual need for further education. In organizations, further education is implemented through various educational methods, which are also evolving. The article aims to identify which educational methods in the field of social work are preferred, both within the leading managerial positions and within the ones of social workers, and to describe the goals of further education in both groups. The goal was achieved through the quantitative research conducted in both groups – i.e. the managers and the social workers. Using the Survio platform, the research addressed organizations providing social serviced according to the Register of Social Service Providers of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. The results were processed using descriptive statistics, and conclusions were drawn based on the results. The results showed different preferences of educational goals for managers who prefer the expansion of competencies and for social workers who prefer development. Research into the preference of educational methods has found that managers and employees prefer professional lectures, self‑education and Internet resources.


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