• Subject Name : Social Work

Foundations of Practice

What would society be without social work practice or social work practitioners? It would be a range of complex visions or imagination. Social work practice has been a part of our culture for over 300 years now. Commencing with charitable institutions and shelter for persons, social workers has been tasked with proving services, to make people from varies diverse communities live a much comfortable life in the same environment even if they may share different cultural background and lifestyle choices. During the 1800’s a new system synchronized as a method in effort to help the vulnerable members in society. Of course this method was beneficial as it serve to alleviate the poverty and social strain generally amongst persons in society. People who were suffering from social lag and setbacks experience significant change as the democratic system aim for positive social change.

 In the 1800’s one of the most influential professionals in social work profession made a huge impact. “Jane Addams was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House Movement to establish settlement houses in poor urban areas for volunteer middle-class social workers to reduce the poverty of their low-income neighbors.” It is pleasing to know that at least one person thought of a master plan to shelter minorities in society. If this initiative was never in place to date lots of individuals and families would be homeless where nowhere to live. There would have had significant amount of ‘interdisciplinary approach’ in order to gain success in this project, but before we get into what ‘interdisciplinary approach’ is, in the 20th century the efforts for social reformation continued to progress for a much better quality of life. This is where many schools of social work was established. Many person questions whether or not the social work profession was legitimate, to date person in our society still ask that same question.

A doctor by the name of Dr. Abraham Flexner contented in 1915 that social work was not a profession mainly because it was lacking particular application of theoretical knowledge in solving human issues in society. Social circumstances began to change as the professionalization of social work begun by focusing on casework and the scientific method. The American Association of hospital Social Workers was established in 1819 to boost formal education opportunities in social work Applying ‘field theory’ for organizational change and consulting requires an acceptance of its central premise. People and their surroundings and conditions depend closely on each other.

“In Lewin’s words, ‘to understand or to predict behavior, the person and his environment have to be considered as one constellation of interdependent factors’ (1946:338). Thus, the notion of ‘field’ refers to: (a) all aspects of individuals in relationship with their surroundings and conditions; (b) that apparently influence the particular behaviors and developments of concern; (c) at a particular point in time.”

Expert work

In order to develop a proper, holistic approach for social problems, the perspective must be broadened. In the sense, an all expansive overview must be gained and this is what is stated by Lewin’s field theory rule. It states that – “analysis starts with the situation as a whole”. Social scholarly practioners can engage with the characteristics of the environment and understand the atmosphere. This helps them understand the nature of the challenges and opportunities faced by the clients. It also helps them understand the amount of freedom that exists in any given situation and various other facets like the emotional tone, atmosphere, etc. Lewin has highlighted how characterizing the environment can help the practioner gain invaluable insights.

The comparison between field theory and system theory and its significance in social work.

 Primarily, Lewin emphasized on the importance of personality motivation and other pre determining factors to understand how the individual interacts with the environment. The field theory helps in understanding this interaction as it starts with the acceptance of the central premise that people and environment depend on each other. Lewin postulated that a human being will always try to maintain a certain level of equilibrium. This theory by Lewin was incorporated into social psychology through his theory of group dynamics.

Field theory is useful in the field of social work as it gives the psychological interplay of a situation and helps the scholars in understanding the push and pull reactions in problem areas. When developing resourceful approaches for organizational development, lewin’s field theory helps scholars in creating more innovative ideas. Through the overview generated they are able to avoid repetitive solutions.

Similary systems theory is just as important in social work as it helps in relating the system with a larger, much more complex system. Theory takes a look at the gamut of systems at work and helps in rationalizing and compartmentalizing what each system brings to the table.

Systems theory helps in the comprehension of problems or characteristics that arise in complex systems. This is a reaction that’s exists within the system as whole. Systems theory helps in expression of this emergent behaviors. With regard to social work it can help practioners understand how a system at large could influence the constituents of the systems. This deeper understanding can be helpful in development of approaches. For eg- system theory can be employed to understand problems like child abuse or community dysfunction. The evidence of which can be seen in the personality of the child, how they are in an environment and their relationship problems,

Remember, at the center of any academic work, lies clarity and evidence. Should you need further assistance, do look up to our Social Work Assignment Help

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