Defining Social Work
The International Association of Schools of Social Work and the
International Federation of Social Workers define the social work profession
as a promotion of “social change, problem-solving in human relationships,
and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being.”
Synonymous to and often used interchangeably with social work is the
term social welfare. Zastrow, 1996, stated that social welfare encompasses
social work and that they are primarily related at the level of practice.
Social welfare institutions are thus established with the goal of
preventing, alleviating, or resolving social problems to directly improve the
well-being of individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.
These institutions are created through policies and legislation, and their
programs and services may be provided by voluntary (private) or
governmental (public) sectors of the society.
In an academic sense, social welfare may be defined based on its role
as an academic discipline- the study of agencies, programs, personnel, and
policies that focus on the delivery of social services to individuals, groups
and communities. Schools therefore emphasize the importance of studying
social welfare to ensure societies value social justice and equality.
Goals of Social Work
Social Services are the programs, activities, and help provided to
address the needs and problems of the members of the society. Social
service has three main goals and these are the following:
Humanitarian and Social Justice
This goal deal with the most vulnerable individuals, groups and
communities, and makes them the priority for the provision of services and
resources. Further, this goal strengthens the belief that it is right and just for
man to help man. In addition, social welfare is based on the democratic ideal
of social justice: “people with less in life, should have more in law.” Thus, the
more vulnerable man is, the more social services she or he must have.
Social Control
Nonconformist groups, juvenile and adult offenders are some of the
clients of social workers. They are the audience of the social control goal of
social welfare. This goal focuses on the needs of the deprived individuals and
groups to address issues of what separates them from the society. Social
control aims to achieve the balance between safety and security in the
society and those who threaten this security because they feel deprived of
sources and access to have satisfying lives.
Economic Development
This goal prioritizes programs that are designed to increase the
production of goods and services, and other resources that will contribute to
economic development. The immediate beneficiaries of such programs may
be the able-bodied, relatively better-off members of the community.
Functions of Social Work
1. Restorative/ Rehabilitative Function
This aims to make normal or healthy a person’s social functioning by
determining the factors which have caused the breakdown in his equilibrium.
An example would be helping a child in conflict with the law (CICL) who has
multiple involvement with incidences of theft in the community and to
change his ways through individual and family counseling.
2. Preventive Function
This is the discovery of factors that may cause an issue or a problem.
Early detection may prevent and totally eliminate the problem. For instance,
to prevent early marriages and sexual abuse, the youth can be made as
audience for a forum or lecture addressing the said issues. Social workers
may also lobby for enactment or amendment of laws for the welfare of solo
parents, protection of women and children from violence.
3. Developmental Function
This social work function makes use of education and information to
equip the clients in developing her or his potentials and capabilities and
access to resources in the community to help her or him solve a problem or
improve her or his living conditions. Skills development and the provision of
livelihood trainings for the heads of the families to improve their chance at
employment.
Principles of Social Work
1. Acceptance of people as they are. Acceptance means recognizing that
people have strengths and weaknesses, capacities and limitations.
2. Participation of the client in problem-solving. The client and the
worker is in a professional helping relationship while in the problem solving
process. The client participates in providing necessary information about
herself or himself and her or his situation, in determining her or his
problems, in planning ways of solving the problem, and acting in relation to
the necessary steps in solving the problem.
3. Self-determination as the right of the client. This principle adheres
to the belief that the client has the right to identify her or his problems and
needs and to determine the ways to address or find solution to the problem.
4. Individualization of clients. Every person is unique and must be
treated a s a human being with her or his personal differences. Although
man is like all other man because of her or his anatomy and biological needs,
or that she or he belongs to a same culture, ethnic group, occupation or
social role; she or he is different because she or he has a unique sequence of
experiences that no other person had gone through.
5. Confidentiality. This is an important principle in the practice of social
work to ensure functionality and professionalism in the helping process. This
signifies the trust between the social worker and the client. How effective
their helping relationship would turn out depends on the trust of the client on
the social worker.
6. Self-awareness. The social worker must always be aware that she or he
is in a professional helping relationship in which the goal is for the benefit
and development of the client and not her or his own. She or he must realize
she or he must not impose her or his beliefs, feelings, or attitudes to
influence the client. The social worker must remain objective.
7. Client-worker relationship. The social worker enters into the client-
worker relationship having in mind that she or he is in such position because
of identified mutual agreement for approaching an issue or problem. That
the relationship is directed to reach a certain goal through the helping
process.
