Intoructiontosocialworkandphilosophyofsocialwork by Imranahmadsajid 120103205628 Phpapp02

8/12/2019 Intoructiontosocialworkandphilosophyofsocialwork by Imranahmadsajid 120103205628 Phpapp02

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Introduction to Social Work

Profession and Its

Philosophical-Base

Im ran Ahmad Saj id

18 Feb 2011

Ph.D. Research Scholar,Department of Social Work,

University of Peshawar.Email: [email protected]


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Social Work is an enabling profession,

which empowers people to change theway of their lives.

Social Work is a Professional Activity that

aims to assist people in overcoming

serious difficulties in their lives by offering

care, protection and counseling. (C. Henry

and Philpot.[e.d.1994])

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Answer these Questions?1. Do you imagine any society without human

sufferings?2. Do you imagine any society where all members

are young and there is no old-age problem?

3. All members are healthy and wealthy?

4. All members have their needs satisfied?

5. A society where there is no stratification?

6. A society where there is no discrimination and

prejudice?

7. A society where there is no poverty?

8. Where every body is rich?

9. Where everybody is educated? 3


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Definitely

NO

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Because,

Human Societies are not Perfect

Social Problems emerge in human

societies which require humane solution.

&

Human Needs arise that must be satisfied.

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Now Answer these Questions?

1. Are you offended when you see poor picking

their food from garbage?2. When you see poor fighting over a bag of

floor or rice?

3. When you see illness and disease gountreated because health care is notaffordable and efficient?

4. When you see children addicted to drugs?

5. When children beg in the streets, chowksand parks?

6. When the deserving candidates do not getjob?

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1. Are you willing to confront realities of

social problems and human needs?

2. Are you concerned with the plight of themany who experience hardships of

poverty and the tears of hunger and pain?

3. Do you want to be involved in shaping asociety that strives to ensure a high

quality of life and social justicefor all

social members?

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If YES, then

WELCOME TOTHE PROFESSION OF SOCIAL WORK

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Social Work Profession is charged with

fulfilling the Social Welfares mandate of

promoting well-being and quality of life.

Thus,

Social work encompasses professional

activities directed towards improving

human and social conditions and

alleviating human distress and social

problems.

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IFSW and IFSSW 2000

Social Work Profession promotes social change,

problem-solving in human relationships,

the empowerment and liberation of people to enhancewell-being.

Utilizing theories of human behaviour and socialsystem.

Social work intervenes at the point where peopleinteract with their environment.

Principles of human rights and social justice arefundamental to social work.

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Philosophical-Base of

Social Work

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Social Work is said to be a Helping

profession, BUT?

Why do we help people?

Why do we social workers care for people?

Why do we rehabilitate drug addicts,alcoholic addicts?

Why do we work for poverty alleviation?

Why we promote social policy and socialchange?

Why do we empower people?

Why do we work for peoples well-being? 12


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Answering these quest ion w i l l lead you to your

phi loso ph ical base of social work.

Because,

What makes us do all what we do as a

social worker?

What are our fundamental beliefs and

principles which guides our behaviour and

makes us do what we do?

Why do we strengthen peoples social

functioning?

Why do we enhance social environment?

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Philosophy is,

1. the beliefs and principles underlying any

department of knowledge [Oxford

Dictionary].

2. Philosophy is the study of truths and

principles of being, knowledge, or

conduct [Quartz Hill School of Theology].

3. A belief (or system of beliefs) acceptedas authoritative by some group or school

[Princeton University WordNet].

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Thus it is clear that the concept of

philosophy is grounded in the

understanding that there are truths ( ) and pr inc ip les

() of our existence and that these truthsare accepted by us as well as others.

We can have a set of truths and

principlesthat guide us in how we

conduct ourselves and define what we

expect from others.

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Philosophical-Base of Social Work

Social Work as a discipline focuses on theoreticaland philosophical positions such as Social Justice,Equality, and Empowerment.

These can be described as Philosophies of SocialWork.

BUT,

Are these really philosophies of social work ortheories and conceptsthat guide the field, actions,and behaviours?

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Lets Investigate My

Philosophy of Social Work My philosophy of social work is grounded

upon the concepts of [and I work toward]

Social Justice, Empowerment, and Equal

Access to all societal members.

BUT, to do so I need to employ effective

knowledge, techniques, and strategies.

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1. Social Justice

Rawls Theory of Justice

The concept of Veil of Ignorance

From under the VOI, a person wouldchoose two (2) central principles;

1.All people are entitled to basic rights; &

2.It is unjust to maintain inequalitiesbetween people.

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All social primary goods are to bedistributed equally unless an unequaldistribution is to the advantage of

everyone (Rawl: A Theory of Justice). . If I found inequality leading to further

disadvantage of some members of thesociety, this is where I feel I must beginmy work.

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I ask my self, what would be the socially

just approach to meeting the needs of

people worst-off among us?

How do I create equality?

How do I foster understanding and

acceptance?

But having a sense of what social justice is and

how to promote it still fails to provide those in

need of a mechanism to facilitate power within

and among them.

There needs to be a process whereby action can

be taken. 20


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2. Empowerment

[Empowerment is] the process of

increasing personal, interpersonal, or

political power so that individuals, families,

and communities can take action toimprove their situations (Gutierrez, 1994).

To empowermeans;

To give somebody greater sense ofconfidence and self-esteem [Encarta].

And to Authorise somebody [Oxford].

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Askheim says,

Although empowerment is a main

objective for social welfare policy and

practice, it is also a complicated mix of

granting power to service consumersandat the same time, retaining power as

service providers.

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To understand empowerment, Note

that

To empower is to Relinquish Power.

Social Workers are criticized for being

both,

1. Social Advocates and

2. Social Controllers.

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As Advocates

We focus on Power Issues and

Argue that social problems are largely

borne out of inequitable distributions of

authority.

We see the lack of power as the culprit of

oppression.

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As Controllers

We focus on deviance and seek to

maintain harmony between groups in

society, thereby enforcing power we

maintain.

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The Issue of Power

It seems the issue of power is embedded

in both the Society and the Social Work

Profession.

How do we relinquish power when we

recognize that sometimes, service

consumers are unable to manage power

granted to them?

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The clients right to self-determination has

to be balanced against securing them

against risks and dangers and their right to

have an optimal quality of life.

So, Social Workers must recognize that

they hold power and sometimes it must beretainedgranting full power to

consumers is neither reasonable nor

possible.

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There is conflict between

how to retain power and

how much to empower? To empower, I must identify my own level

of power and how to apply it?

Over-empowerment is also a possibility(which can lead to disempowerment of

others).

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3. Michel Foucaults Parrhesia

Parrhesia means,

Fearlessness, or boldness of speech.

The concept of Parrhesia focuses on the question

of, Who among us has the right, duty, and courageto speak the truth?

Fundamentally, we all do. But, many do not

concretely recognize this as their right.

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Social Workers are bound by the duty to

speak out for people not empowered to

speak for themselves. If you do not have the right to free speech,

you are unable to exercise any kind of

power. Without Parrhesia, you can not oppose

power structure.

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How can social work be effective if people

cannot exercise their right to free speech?

Therefore, it is we, the social workers, whohave a responsibility to educatepeople

who are oppressed in the action of

parrhesia. Without parrhesia, the concept of justice,

equality, and empowerment remains just

those conceptsand lack concrete

application in the real world.

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So, Educationis our tool to achieve this

goal of moving positive forces of justice

and equality forward.

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From this position,

Social Work is viewed as EDUCATION,

and education becomes power.

We do not tell a client what to do.

We inform, empower and educate.

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BUT EMPOWERING IS HARD

WORK Although the intention is good, but the

process of empowerment often fails due to

being long-term process.

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Conclusion

John Rawls Veil of Ignorance protects us

from bias and against making decisions

about others we would not otherwise want

to be made about ourselves.

Askheims Empowerment provides an

understanding about how and when to

Grant and Retain power.

Michel Foucaults Parrhesia provides a

practical guide as to how to empower and

promote social justice.35


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My principles are social justice, equality

and empowerment.

And to translate these principles into

reality, I use Parrhesia as a tool of

practice.

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Intoructiontosocialworkandphilosophyofsocialwork by Imranahmadsajid 120103205628 Phpapp02