Social Work is a Profession Based on Knowledge, Skills and Values - Term Paper Example

? Social Work is a Profession Based on Knowledge, Skills and Values. al Affiliation Social work is described as a profession which seeks to help and provide care to social problems to the individuals, communities, groupings, and families. The social workers do so by focusing on the clients’ problems, while maintaining their identity in offering service. The workers encounter different problems, and may work with different age groups, depending on the working environment and specialization. The profession requires the workers to offer excellent service, while dealing with clients’ problems, hence the need for increased competence through combination of knowledge, skills, and values. In this document, six values, which are integrity, service, social justice, individuals’ worth and dignity, importance of human relationships, and competence in relation to social work are discussed. Extensive knowledge in law, sociology, social policies and social administration, philosophy and psychology are elaborated as the core foundations of the profession. Finally, the importance of skills application to enhance competence, which different social workers roles rely on to deliver service effectively are discussed. Keywords: Social Work, Social Worker, Competency, Knowledge, Skills, Values, Client, Social Sphere, Problem, Social Policies, Society, Evaluation Introduction The normal life that people lead in this modern society is characterized by different problems in the distinguished situations, ranging from violence, corruption and other irregularities with both adults and young children involvement. The government alone cannot be able to handle and calm the situations arising deep in the homes and social life of individuals. Hence, the social workers may act on behalf of the governments or privately through organizations. Social work needs attention and proper understanding, before evaluation to provide a care plan, which would improve the lives and better the situation henceforth. Social Work is a profession providing care within the social sphere; engaging to intervene in social problems experienced by groups, communities, families or individuals, with an intension of helping them, either formally or informally to regain control of their situation (Dominelli, 2009, p. 6). It is therefore a career, which requires intense training, considering the difficult decisions involved while dealing with the client. A social worker would encounter different individuals, either adults or the young individuals in the service, which lead them to specialize in one of them. Values in the Profession The field of social work shows respects to every human being and puts into consideration the rights of social workers, and how they also respect other peoples’ rights in life. Basically, values represent the firmly held beliefs on how the society should conduct itself, as an individual or a collective gathering, indicating the preferred condition of life, and how the world should practically be. The social workers are guided by the profession’s values, which reflect those of the society in recognizing their rights to free choice and opportunity, and the preferred condition of life, which give a better perception in the way they should view and treat people in the society (Hepworth et al., 2010, p. 6). The social work profession should demonstrate increased sensitivity towards others, setting aside centered personal attitudes, but projecting into the peoples conditions without losing their identity, and the purpose to deliver in accordance to their role in the situation. For the members to reach their goals, they have to use the humanistic and religious values, which merge to match the societal values (Friedlander, 1976, p. 87). It is definitely not an easy thing, since the social worker may tend to deviate from the social understanding, being overwhelmed by impersonal judgment and attitude. It therefore needs the social worker to have a proper understanding of him or herself, and the social work professional values integrated to uniquely define social work from other occupations. Below are major core values of the profession. Individuals’ worth and dignity: This value ensures that social workers understand the uniqueness and inherent worth of each single individual client they relate with, in the profession. In the NHSW code of ethics, “social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person,” (Hepworth et al., 2010, p. 6). As the social worker interacts with different people, they have to consider the people’s dignity and individuality, while establishing the roots of the conflict and deciding on the best possible alternative. Social workers have to use another dimension of approaching the problem, while enhancing the client’s dignity and personality to cope well with the situation, and enhance their competence in the occupation. Through this, they prove to work in a trustworthy manner, in line with the profession’s mission, and ethical standards. Social justice: Some people in the society suffer from inequalities posed by classifications with respect to the communities, gender, age, and races among others. Social workers place the role of bringing in justice to the oppressed and vulnerable in the society. “Social workers promote social change with, and on behalf of vulnerable populations—groups such as women, Racial and ethnic minorities, children, and people with disabilities” (“Social work,” n.d, p.15). Often the social workers have to familiarize themselves with the situation, people’s cultures and their diversity, as they come up with more informed programs and policies to deliver social justice without violating individuals’ dignity. The clients seek justice, which they feel denied in their social and economic environments. Therefore, the social worker investigates the cases, to determine the reasoning of the offender and the offended, cause and impact of inequality, before helping them reach a fair agreement. Social justice is critical for peaceful co-existence in any social sphere, while the people get to freely access their rights. Service: The service values coincide with the main purpose of the profession, which aims at giving priority to assisting others. The workers may be faced by different challenges in service, which may carry them in emotions or make them disregard their clients, based on their previous performance. Of course, the social worker is human and may feel disgusted at times, but they have to focus on the client’s needs, even if their personality attitudes differ. The service value is for all. According to Barsky, “Social workers believe that all people deserve help, regardless of their ethnicity, culture, religion, social economic status, or even history of the criminal, immoral behavior” (2010, p. 22). Offering service to others is considered more significant, and relies on altruism. Importance of human relationship: The social workers recognize the need for therapeutic relationships with the clients as an integral effort to help the client in the crisis they are facing. It is considered as a helping process for the social worker to understand the situation better. Referring to Barsky, “social workers help clients by developing affirming relationships with them,” which increases the chances of the clients being more free and open with the problem, and willing to be involved in the change process, as the social workers get a wide perspective of the problem they are trying to solve (2010, p. 23). Human relationships make people have a sense of belonging; this is why the social workers have to interact with the clients to encourage free will, and change within the settings of a community, families, and in an individual. Integrity: The behavior of the social worker should be consistent in accordance to the purpose of the profession, and enforce trustworthy character in dealing with the clients. NASW requires that social workers be constantly aware of the profession’s mission, values, ethical principles, standards, and practices to encourage honesty, and promote ethical practices on the part of the organization, which they are associated (n.d, p. 2). The performance of the social workers depend their intelligence and association with the clients, to respond effectively to the situation with ease. Hence, they should have control of their association, while helping their clients, and avoid damaging the image of the profession, or the organizations they work with. Any intention, character or action that may violate the clients, professional code or affiliated organization should be avoided by the social worker. Competence: This value infers to the need of the social workers to practice in fields which best fit them, and work towards enhancing their professional expertise (“Social work,” n.d, p.15). Social work is a wide scope of occupation; the workers have to choose whether to work in adults or young individuals domains. Some of them would opt to work within educational institutions in colleges, schools or employed by child welfare agencies, while focusing on under 18 individuals or collective cases. Others may work in federal and provincial departments, social planning councils, rehabilitation centers, in hospitals, as lectures in universities, parole officers and community developers among others (“What is social work,” n.d). Socials workers need to understand themselves first, before deciding which area to focus in, and assess whether they can be able to offer the service without bias. To enhance competency, social workers need to use critical thinking to inform and communicate professional decisions, recognize human rights in social and economic justice, make use of research practices, appreciate diverse world views, engage to policy practice, and react to contexts that shape practice, while adhering to all the above stated values. The fact is that, where the social worker has experience and proves competent; there it is where he or she can best perform in restoring confidence, and helping the clients acquire justice, while regaining control of the situation. Knowledge in the Profession It is quite difficult to separate importance of knowledge with skills in social work occupation, since it serves as the major foundation of the career. Even though, to enhance competency, one would need the general combination of skills, knowledge, and values. To acquire knowledge, the social worker has to be educated on certain principles in line with the career. Some of them change with time, while others have remained from history. According to O’Hagan, “competent practice will depend upon knowledge of law, social policy, philosophy, sociology, social administration, organizational policies procedures and guidelines, numerous theories and differing social work methods” (1996, p. 8). The information acquired from this broad spectrum contributes to the know-how, essential in applying to situations in the career. Much of these are information acquired from classes through training and research, and cases studies. More often research on social work is being carried out, and information published, all to add to the knowledge base of the profession. Knowledge in law: it is a major contribution to comprehend the rights of the groups and individuals the social worker deals with, recognizing their freedom of choice and expression without discriminating. “Competence in practice, requires both an acknowledgement of the relevance and applicability of the law and also assessment skills inspired by social work values, theoretical knowledge and practice wisdom” (“Legal Context,” n.d, p. 4). The social worker then understands the reasons for clients’ information confidentiality, and their duties and power, even though faced with problems. Similarly, certain acts in the law may be amended and the profession has to practice in accordance to the legal requirements. Recently, the United States amended their Health act, commonly referred to as Obama Care. Such change in law has required the social workers in the nation, especially those working within the health sectors of the society to adjust their problem solving in accordance to the health act, if it altered their services, as one way to increase competence in the profession. Sociology and social policies and administration: Sociology equips the worker with knowledge as to why people behave the way they do, understanding the cause before the consequence, providing a wider perspective of the social life and its changes. By instigating individuals or groups interaction in a social setting, the worker generates new ideas that could be applied in social situations, while establishing a platform to critically analyze the existing problem. For the social policies, the worker has to adjust to their difference in distinguished communities, to reasonably deliver the service. The knowledge of social policies is wide and the different social rules can be understood easily, through research and association. Human behavior and social organizations knowledge expound the knowledge on social administration, community organization, and their history based on research. Philosophy and Psychology: Philosophers have put across academic thoughts in matters related to social work in cultural, political, and economical perspectives. The fundamental problems in the social sphere are encountered as case studies, which equip the social workers with knowledge that can be applied in the realm of such similar problems. Most people understand social work through counseling procedures. They minimize the profession purpose and knowledge to offering advices and rehabilitation process. While this true, the counselors study on leading humans to a proper mental balance, manage anger and their association to others, but also ensure they get the healthy and positive thinking in life. In hospitals, and children, and elderly care units, social workers need knowledge of psychology to understand human needs and behaviors, and apply the knowledge and principles in human problems. Skills in the Profession It’s acquisition of practical skills that makes social work meaningful, and act as the backbone of effective social work practice. Depending on the field of application, slight variations in using skills may exist. A social worker dealing with children may use different tactics to help the child, than the one dealing with adults. While the former may use behavior therapy, the latter would use ego psychology as a theoretical approach. Different specializations in the profession are what actually make it interesting. In social work, there exist distinguished roles for workers to use depending on levels of practice; micro, mezzo, and macro systems or the 3 generalist practices (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p. 46). Hence, depending on where the social workers are employed, they have to help the groups or individuals to develop skills and resources. The skills social workers need are many, but the essential ones are as follows: Critical thinking: Social workers take the role of evaluating and being the judges of what they practically view, while considering what the situation ought to be. They evaluate clients’ needs after interviewing them; assess their mental and health stability or check to see the effectiveness of the counseling and social service (Human Resource and Skills Development Canada, 2012). For the later situation, they depend on critical thinking to decide whether they would recommend a revision of the service. Again, without critical thinking skill, workers may not be able to recognize the presence of abuse in a social setting, or conclude on the effectiveness of a therapy. The great need for this skill enhances chances of comprehending a problem, while criticizing the various alternatives to approach the issue. The skills best apply to the roles of the negotiator and the mediator, as the former tries to gain something from another group, while the latter resolves conflicts (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p. 46). Through it, social workers can assess the performance of other co-workers, past problems and their solution, before reaching to a justifiable conclusion. Problem solving: It is a complex skill, which require the social worker to have back up plans to approach and tackle a situation. They may face hostility and rejection in the social setting or deal with violent groups. Sometimes the resources that clients need are not available, and may have to develop other contingency plans, as they wait for the resource to be available (Human Resource and Skills Development Canada, 2012). Regardless of whomever the client is and his situation, the skill is beneficial and increases competence as the social worker tackles different problems, and delegates others by directing the clients to agencies that would help them in their problem. Social workers who play the role of advocates may recommend a course of action on behalf of individuals, or collective group. Oral communication: The workers use the skill to deliver clear information to the clients, and when holding discussions to interview the clients, and enquire from other social workers. Failure to this, they are bound to express themselves wrongly, and may lead to failure in reaching out to those who need help. Educators, who give information and teaching skills to clients, and a facilitator who guides and directs a group gathering rely on the communication skill to enhance communication, and pursue their goals in social work (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p. 47). The ability to understand clients’ language also helps, as some may have difficulties expressing themselves in amore formal language. The social workers have to explain their services to the clients who seek help, and also share additional information based on research and discussions with other colleagues, without misleading the clients; the delivery of accurate information depends on oral communication. Decision making: It should be an active skill dependent on the problem domain for the social worker to decide the next step taken. However, they should pay attention to the clients reasoning, problem, and know when to intervene. For example, after understanding the clients’ counseling needs, the social worker may choose programs and social service agencies that best match the need of the client, decide when to end the counseling or a resource with client, when to call emergency services, and intervention from other agencies (Human Resource and Skills Development Canada, 2012). All social workers evaluating a situation have to finally make a decision after the detailed research of gathering information, and investigating into the issue. Other skills: Most importantly, any social worker needs to demonstrate their ability to plan, organize, and execute the tasks assigned to support his flow of work. In relation to this, sharp memories of past performance and discussions with the clients also facilitate smooth flow of service delivery. They should be conversant with their profession, the services offered and be updated through research and training, on any change in the profession, to respond effectively to the clients’ queries. Conclusion Social work is based on integrated of knowledge, skills, and values to increase competence in the profession. Relying on one of them alone does not uniquely define social work from other occupations, and may not effectively apply to a wide range of problems in the social sphere. The fitness in the profession could be by specialization in a field or practicing in general, but considering the importance of skills, knowledge, and values to improve social work. Reference List Barsky, A. E. (2010). Ethics and Values in Social Work: An Integrated Approach for a Comprehensive Curriculum. New York: Oxford University Press. Dominelli, L. (2009). Introducing Social Work. Cambridge: Polity Press. Friedlander, W. A. (Ed.). (1976). Concepts and Methods of Social Work. (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs.  Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H., Rooney G. D., Strom- Gottfried, K., & Larsen, J. (2010). Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills. (8th ed.). Belmont: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Human Resource and Skills Development Canada. (2012) Essential skills: Social Worker. Retrieved from http://www10.hrsdc.gc.ca/English/ShowProfile.aspx?v=241#CriticalThinking Legal Context of Social Work Practices. (n.d) .Retrieved from http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/hip_gb_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/M01_BRAM3376_03_SE_C01.pdf NASW. (n.d). The National Association of Social Workers (NASW): Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/docs/resources/nasw_code_of_ethics.pdf O'Hagan, K. (1996). Competence in Social Work Practice: A Practical Guide for Professionals. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Social Work as a Profession. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.pearsonhighered.com/showcase/swcccs/assets/M01_MARX2295_01_SE_C01.pdf What is Social Work? (n.d), Retrieved from http://www.casw-acts.ca/en/what-social-work  Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman K. K. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning: Belmont. Read More