Who I identify as, including identifying as a social worker once I graduate, will have some level privilege and power attached to the chosen identities. Gelfand, Sillivan, and Steinhouse (2002) noted that there are may dimensions that influence our personal and professional relationships with others, and these dimensions shape how we see and interact with, include or exclude them, and ways that we oppress or discriminate against them. As a social worker whose clients share my same identity, we may benefit by my having a shared understanding of cultural norms and expectations to reach a common goal. For clients who share commonalities with me, we may benefit by being able to work more collaboratively and possibly a more trusting relationship than one that must be built over time. However, just as similarities can be empowering, I must remember that the client knows best despite our shared identities that may speak otherwise.
Macro social work promotes human development and social justice through work with communities and organizations. It comprises of a wide variety of knowledge and skills that enables workers to lead and contribute to highly performing public and private sector organizations that focuses on the critical social issues with diverse population. As such “diverse population is a variety of people which include several characteristic against what one may deem as the norm or majority.” Macro social work is centered on investigation of larger scales to social problems and for the development and implementation of social interventions that aim at effecting positive change at the community, state, and national levels (Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger 2007).
Introduction Integrating theory into social work practice is essential in defining why social work is needed and how to practice it effectively. This paper will discuss two theories; intersectionality and life course theory, as I believe that these two theories are collectively suitable and effective in interrupting the cycle of oppression. I will draw upon both my own experiences and literature to analyze the strengths and limitations of intersectionality and life course theory. This discussion will exemplify how intersectionality and life course theory enhance each other and can work synergistically to inform my social work practice. Intersectionality Intersectionality is a macro theory, which looks at the complexity of an individual’s identity
Anti-oppressive practice is also an approach of work in the social work that gives great emphasis to social change, empowerment, and partnership. Through anti-oppressive practice the problem of the individual is seen in a greater context: the individual, cultural, and societal and structural aspects are taken into consideration in the understanding of the problem and in its potential solutions. (Thompson 2002) developed the PCS model in other to fully grasp the full understanding of the individual, cultural and society which should influence the way social workers work with people of Black and ethnic minority and other oppressed groups. Intervention in the lives of the client should not only take place at the personal level but also cultural and structural in many cases all this level are interwoven. Power and Empowerment
Also, communication is very important because it is through effective communication skills that social workers are able to gather information about service users, undertake assessments, interviews, engaged in problem solving and decision making (Trevithick, 2012). I was able to communicate with Peter in an anti-oppressive manner and make him feel relaxed and at ease to open up and talk to
The application of observation methods informs social work processes and provided a reflective learning tool to my own SW values, ethics and anti-oppressive practice. Moreover, it provided ‘in action’ and ‘on action’ reflections from watching others and allowed for greater scope for reflections whilst observing. This method made me aware and observe the behaviours in others and how those behaviours are incongruent SW values and AOP. As an observer, you see things in others, things in yourself that you may not be aware of if
Practice based on empirical knowledge helps reduce bias, enables workers to study interpretations, perspectives or alternative solutions, and makes social workers more accountable for their decisions JD Hudson (1997). The dialogue between theory and practice In the past and present, there is hesitation among practitioners in social work to adapt theory and research because they feel that the reference to theory is the loss of connection with reality when practicing social work. In order for the social worker to be an effective practitioner, man must have a sound theoretical basis and this is not easy to achieve.
Marx highlighted the struggle between the powerless and powerful which resulted in different societal classes (Fook, 2002). Thompson (2006) states that society is made up of diverse people who make up societal structures and these structures determine and control the destitution of power and opportunities which results in layers of inequality and oppression to people who are marginalised. Radical social work is interested in the examining structures of personal problems, focusing on oppressive practice and self-emancipation and social change (Adams et al, 2005). For this to be achieved professionals need to recognise that individual knowledge might display reality but could also be constructed by society through language, values and beliefs. In order to identify this it is vital for social workers to be able to self-reflect (Adams et al, 2009).
Introduction Person-in-Environment Framework In our practice as social workers, we are urged to view and understand human behavior as a set of complex interactions between individuals and their environment. This is known as the person-in-environment framework. This framework encourages us to acknowledge the influence of environment on our lives and provides a beneficial framework to think about and understand human behavior (Hutchinson, 2017). Understanding our work from this perspective allows us to approach our clients from a multi-dimensional stance, taking into consideration how various factors, including but not limited to, race, class, age and gender create individual identity and shapes an individual’s experience in the context of
Erasmus Mundus Master in Social Work with Families and Children 4th edition - 2016-2018 1st Semester Name: Rojika Maharjan 1. Social work has evolved with different “theories in social work”; either concepts derived from other social sciences such as psychology or sociology or “theories for social work” which are the core philosophy of social work practice specified to give a professional purpose and approach to practice (Healy, 2014). a) Regarding the context of children and families, system theory and strength theory are appropriate. i)
Modern social workers are frequently tasked with certain objectives by their agencies, which leave little room for any work beyond specific treatments and timeframes (Gitterman & Knight, 2016). Although social workers are bound to the set of ethics put forth by the NASW, practitioners are often limited to focusing on the issues of the individual rather than the larger societal issues that may be behind those concerns. Additionally, many social work students end up working in direct practice, rather than macro work. There is a need for social workers to engage at the macro level in order to facilitate community organization and empowerment. Critics suggest this theory may not take into account the unique experiences of each individual and perhaps key characteristics of the individual or group are not taken into consideration (Sadan, 1997).
In this paper, I will assess my identity and my personal history and how it relates to social work professions. I first address my personal history and cultural background, where I came from, as well as my experience in working in the community. I then talk about my overall strengths, both in personal and professional lives. My strengths are listening skills, open-mindedness, respect for diversity and eagerness to learn and improve my weaknesses. Afterward, I discuss my weaknesses, such as nonassertive communication skill and low self-esteem problems, and how I plan to address these issues.
Social work practice has been altered, revised, and rewritten as society begins to acknowledge the acceptable oppressions and attempts to change the current circumstances. Every situation, when working with a service user, is different. Therefore, a plethora of theories, practices, and perspectives must be considered. There is not a definitive way to practice social work; multiple theories are considered per case to best accommodate the service user in the least distressing and oppressive way possible. A practice that has recently become popular in social work is anti-oppressive practice.
This is as to how the social worker and the population interact. It involves the people making sense in their interaction. This theory enables the social worker to study the behaviour of the people he or she is involved with. This is demostrated on her role as a consellor and educator.
As social work professionals, we have a commitment to advocate for our clients. Because of our advocacy commitment, we also should be committed to social justice. Change cannot happen overnight; however, it also cannot happen if people are not willing to speak up about the things they are passionate about. Additionally, social workers must ensure that they are empowering their clients. As social workers, we should be committed to using a person first approach.
