Savaya, Gardner and Stange discussed in their paper of stressful encounters with social work clients and provided insights and suggestions as to how social work students can resolve these conflicts. For social workers to successful cope under stressful environments, they must feel a sense of competence and mastery of various set skills (Savaya, Gardener & Stange, 2011). They further expand on the need to train and help social workers to anticipate and identify aversive behaviours to handling situations (Savaya, Gardener & Stange, 2011). This view of social work situates them at a professionalized setting where they are to be experts in handling all scenarios (Savaya, Gardener & Stange, 2011). Contrary to this approach, Palumbo’s participants …show more content…
They elaborate that the development of a learning plan invests students in the learning processes when engaging with clients (Friedman & Neuman, 2001). To map out the learning experiences helps focus the students and supervisors to a common language in identifying the needs, capabilities and interests (Friedman & Neuman, 2001). In a sense, Friedman and Neuman views highly of social work’s facilitation of students learning processes within the educational system and expected them to perform them having fully mastered the concepts taught in class. Palumbo’s participants were split in their views of education practices. Some participants expressed that social work education gave them language for deep questioning; whereas other participants believed that the educational environment does not elicit deep questioning practices since they are operating under the neoliberal system (Palumbo, 2014). However, all participants came to a consensus that social work education must rest alongside other sites of informal education and seek alternatives. When comparing both papers, the binary of having to prove yourself as professionally competent and ensuring practitioners are competent to reduce oppression creates an opposition to the approach in the educational system (Palumbo, …show more content…
She opposes the single narrative that can only exists and celebrates the diversity in perspective and experiences. In the same sense, doing several comparative analysis has help me understand the dangers of believing in only one narrative. I am reminded that each individual has come from a different background, experiences, oppression that has all cultivated their understanding of reality. It is not only inevitable to have different perspectives but it is also necessary. The allowance of different perspectives helps challenge and encourage deep questioning in whether we might be unknowingly marginalizing others.
As well, to believe that there is only one ‘right way’ results to dangers in privileging my own experiences over others and implementing my own assumptions upon others. As Palumbo sought for diverse perspectives to enrich knowledge for both social workers and activists, it was an experience for me to interpret my own assumptions and to not implicate my own thoughts that interrupts or alter others
Morales, A., Sheafor, B. W., & Scott, M. E. (2012). Social work: a profession of many faces. (12th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
In this article, the author, Esther Urdang, shows the readers how self-awareness is a necessity in the field of social work. She notes that being more self-aware protects social workers from things such as inappropriate relationships, burnout and not following necessary ethics. Urdang explains how specific casework, similarities between the client and worker, mental disability, involvement in a client’s personal life and self-disclosure can aid in developing inappropriate relationships. Towards the end of her article, she further emphasizes how social work education should focus on helping students become more secure in themselves and their experiences so they know how this affects their work (Urdang, 2010).
Social Workers are very important to everyday life. They are the ones that help people in need when they have nobody else to turn too. Also, they provide resources and better understanding of predicaments that you could be experiencing. I will reflect on how the class has affected me, my own experiences and how some theories have connected to my life experiences, and lastly, if the class helped toward my major. This class is important for someone that wants to become a social worker and wants to learn about the different theories used. Also, learning about me during this process of completing this class is fun and a way to see if the social work profession is right for me. There was many theories explained throughout this class but many will not be said because it wasn’t the main points that I was trying to get across. There are two tools that are used that can help a social worker organize a client’s life: Bubble map and Briefcase exercise. There are so many different ways a social worker can help a client deal with their problems and come up with a solution. It is up to that social worker to identify the client’s problem and see what theory fits.
Social workers should be able to define and describe main social work paradigms, philosophical and ideological approaches and appreciate their implications to practice, policy and research. Social workers should be also able to identify interrelations between social work paradigms, social policy and social
As a social worker, I have never interrogated my theoretical orientation, in part because I considered that common sense, agency´s directions, and social policies guided social work interventions. In fact, Mullaly (2010) discusses that social workers do not see the relation between theory and practice, and social work is perceived as a performance of practical duties. This was my perception until now, in particular, because I have been analyzing anti-oppressive principles and I realized that my experience has many nuances of those principles. Therefore, my past interventions have some commonalities with the anti-oppressive perspective, and then some strengths and limitations compared to the Canadian social work. (1) One of these strengths is empowerment. Power is an important element of
Thompson, N (2005) Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Palgrave, MacMillan (Second Edition) Hampshire (Supplementary Course Reader)
I first became interested in social work when I took a human rights course as part of my political science major requirements. Throughout the course, I was fascinated and disturbed by the historic oppression of many large groups in society, and I realized my interests lie outside of the political arena; thus, I double-majored in social policy & practice because of my desire to learn more about how to enhance human well-being, fight social injustice, and pursue social change. I soon realized I wanted to pursue graduate social work education in order to gain a more holistic understanding of social problems and human ailments and, in turn, better understand the best ways to fix them. My background in political science and social policy gives me a unique perspective on the field of social work, as I have gained immense knowledge on social issues, the law, and public policy that will be useful in my graduate school and professional endeavors to fight for social justice and human rights.
Coulshed, V and Orme, J. (2006). Social work practice. (4rd ed). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Advocating for vulnerable persons creates emotions and feelings that could lead to inappropriateness amongst clients. As social workers, we walk a very thin line sometimes in the aspects of helping a client. This makes it easy to stray away from policy and procedure and go with our own personal feelings. The consequences which can result from not establishing appropriate boundaries can be detrimental to my career as a social worker and to a client.
Working with others and improving own learning and performance are highly essential skills in social work. In this essay I will reflect on how well I have developed these two skills and what I need to do to improve them.
As the police adapt to the social climate, teachers try new learning methods and those in the medical profession use new medicines, social workers must too adapt and develop with the times. Everything was once an experiment, and there cannot be progression if Social Workers are not prepared to alter their mind-sets and practice according to new evidence and research. Being research minded, and able to question yourself and the things you are taught is integral to being a good social worker, and one who will be able to enable and protect the service users they work for through an ever changing, developing society.
One must consider the nature of oppression and how it is present within social work. The nature of oppression infiltrates all aspects of life. Social work theorist, defines oppression as “relations that divide people into dominant or superior groups and subordinate or inferior ones. These relations of domination consist of the systematic devaluing of the attributes and contributions of those deemed inferior, and their exclusion from the social resources available to those in the dominant group”. When humans experience a perceived threat to their personal identities and lack the ability to maintain and affirm a unique identity, they exclude others by contrasting themselves against a constructed, and inferior, identity of the other. To better
Over the course of the semester, I have learned a variety of many things regarding social work. These things vary from learning how to help oneself to understanding how to help others. Not only were the textbooks very useful, but also the materials that furthered this textbook learning. The in class presentation, activities, and guest speakers gave us insight and a different perspective on the material we were learning. I feel like this course has given me a good foundation and prepared me as a future social worker (1).
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen
The work of a social worker is complex and all encompassing. Social workers work in many capacities seeking justice, liberation, and equality. There work is global, as they work to put policies in place to govern practices. To keep up with societal shifts and generational changes there learning is continuous. As new questions rise so does the need for the continuation of research, not only to answer these questions but to implement into