CHAPTER 3

LESSON 1
 THE
DISCIPLINE
OF SOCIAL
WORK
 DEFINITION,
GOALS, AND
SCOPE OF SOCIAL
WORK
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
OF SOCIAL WORK
DEFINITIONS:
 The National Association of Social Workers
(NASW) defined social work as the professional
activity of helping the individuals, groups or
communities enhance or restore their capacity for
social functioning and creating societal conditions
favourable to the goal.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
OF SOCIAL WORK
DEFINITIONS:
 UNESCO considers social work as a field within
human services and a part of services of the
government.
 IFSW defines social work as a practice-based and
academic discipline that promotes change and
social development.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
DEFINITIONS: OF SOCIAL WORK

 AASW recognizes that social work is a practical profession

designed at helping people address their problems and
matching them with the resources they need to lead healthy and
productive lives.
 Barker describes social work as an “applied science” of helping
people achieve an effective level of psychosocial functioning and
effecting societal changes to enhance the well-being of all
people.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE

GOALS: OF SOCIAL WORK

 The principal mission of social work

profession is to develop human beings
and assist other institutions in attaining
the basic human needs of the people and
empowering the lost, the least, and the
last.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
OF SOCIAL WORK
GOALS:
 MORALES AND SHEAFOR specified 3 distinguishing
goals of social work:
 1. THE GOAL ON CARING
 Caring refers to the heart of social work and it
focuses on the well-being or the welfare and
comfort of the individual and community.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
OF SOCIAL WORK
GOALS:
1. THE GOAL ON CARING
 The goal on caring involves the enhancement of the
quality of life in prisons, the upgrading and
humanizing services in nursing homes and juvenile
facilities, and the constant advancement of care
given to populations in need.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
OF SOCIAL WORK
GOALS:
1. THE GOAL ON CURING
 Curing refers to the aspect of treating people
with problems in social functioning.
 This covers a range of aiding techniques for
individuals, families, and groups.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
OF SOCIAL WORK
GOALS:
1. THE GOAL ON CHANGING
 Changing refers to the active participation of the
social workers in social reforms.
 This goal comes from a perspective that there is a
persistence of poverty, environmental destruction,
and social disintegration.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
GOALS: OF SOCIAL WORK

1. THE GOAL ON CHANGING

 It recognizes that the political, economic, and social
structures add in the worsening of social conditions.
 It is therefore vital for the social workers to be aware and
be actively vigilant in identifying structures that
exacerbate the situation and deepen social destruction.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

The scope of social work includes child

development, medical social work, clinical
social work, administrative and management,
social work, international social work, social
work in acute psychiatric hospital, and social
work as community organizer.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

Morales and Sheafor identified and described the fields

included in the area of social work, which are as follows:
1. SOCIAL WORK AS A PRIMARY DISCIPLINE
• In terms of child welfare, social work offers adoption and
services to unmarried parents, foster care, residential care,
support in own home, and protective services
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

1. SOCIAL WORK AS A PRIMARY DISCIPLINE

• In terms of family sevices, social work offers family
counseling, family life education, and family planning.
• In terms of income maintenance, social work offers
public assistance, social insurances, and other income
maintenance programs.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

2. SOCIAL WORK AS AN EQUAL PARTNER

• In terms of aging, social work offers support for
people in their own homes and support for people
in long-term care facilities.
• In terms of community services, social work offers
community organization, community planning, and
community development.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

2. SOCIAL WORK AS AN EQUAL PARTNER

• In terms of youth and group services, social work offers
recreational and educational facilities such as YMCA and
scouting and settlement houses.
• In terms of mental health and retardation, social work
refers to institutionalizing of the victims through
individual treatment in hospitals.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

3. SOCIAL WORK AS A SECONDARY DISCIPLINE

• They provide counseling and serve as link to
the outside world.
• In terms of industry, social workers act as a
support to both the managers and employees
of the companies.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

3. SOCIAL WORK AS A SECONDARY DISCIPLINE

• In terms of medical and health care, social
workers attend to the social and psychological
factors that are contributing to the medical
condition of the patients.
 DEFINITION, GOALS, AND SCOPE
SCOPE: OF SOCIAL WORK

3. SOCIAL WORK AS A SECONDARY DISCIPLINE

• In terms of schools, they:
• Facilitate the provision of direct educational and social services
• Act as a pupil advocate
• Consult with school administrators major problems
• Consult with teachers about techniques
• Organize parent and community groups
• Develop & maintain liaison between the school & fields of social work.
• Provide leadership
 DEFINITION,
GOALS,SCOPE, AND
CORE VALUES OF
SOCIAL WORK
 DEFINITION,
GOALS,SCOPE, AND
CORE VALUES OF
SOCIAL WORK
 CORE VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK
The following concepts are implied in these
values:
1. Concept of human potentials and capacities- This is
premised on the belief that a person is inherently
endowed with potentials and capacities.
2. Concept of social responsibility- an individual has the
obligation to contribute to the common good and
society.
 CORE VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK
The following concepts are implied in these
values:
3. Concept of equal opportunities- this is premised on the
ideal of social justice, two elements of which are
fairness and equality.
4. Concept of social provision- this is based on the
premise that there will always be everywhere with
unmet needs or problems which are beyond their own
capacity to solve.
 PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL WORK

3. Self-determination- the idea behind this principle is

that the clients who are in need have the right to
determine their needs and how they should be met.
4. Individualization- this involves recognizing and
understanding the client’s own unique characteristics
and using different principles and methods for each
client.
 PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL WORK

5. Confidentiality- this means that the client should be accorded

with appropriate protection, within the limits of the law, for
any harm that might result from the information he/she
divulges to the worker.
6. Woker self-awareness- this means that the social worker is
conscious about his/her role in making use of his/her
professional relationship with the client in a way that will
enhance the client’s development rather that his/her own.
 PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL WORK

7. Client-worker relationship- the purpose is to

help the client in some area of his/her social
functioning, in which, at the present, he/she
is experiencing some difficulty, and where
the worker is in the position to offer help.