This study explores the meaning of job burnout to social workers within the Salvadoran cultural context using qualitative data from 68 respondents. The themes that emerged during the study suggest that the most widely used three-dimensional conceptualization of job burnout developed by Maslach and colleagues (e.g. emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment) is applicable within the Salvadoran context.
Resilience has predominantly been investigated as an individual’s response to adversity and, at the level of the collective, how communities respond to a direct threat. The social work literature investigating social resilience as a response to the challenge of subtle, pervasive and divisive social threats is limited. This article presents the findings of research conducted in two Australian communities with young people who experienced marginalisation; it investigated how sustained social resilience could be evoked in response to the disadvantage they experienced. Six themes that reflect the expression of social resilience emerged from the data and provide insights for social workers practising with communities facing chronic adversity.
Thousands of Syrian refugees have entered Jordan, which has led to a humanitarian crisis and compounded an already tenuous social and economic crisis in the country. Social workers at the WAQE3 community development centre put in place a Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) methodology, which assesses not only the needs of Syrian refugees but also of marginalized Jordanians. Participatory, bottom-up, and human rights focused, it is effective in assessing needs and is a useful tool for community building and moving towards social development. It is argued this methodology could be used as a template for social workers in other countries where refugee situations have become protracted.
This qualitative study explored how volunteers delivering social welfare to orphans and vulnerable children through a community initiative supported by donors made sense of volunteering during a period of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe. Findings confirm that volunteering in Africa is influenced by a normative value system embedded in Ubuntu. Volunteering emerged as contradictory given the contextual prevalence of the social obligation discourse rather than individual choice as embedded in the European sense of voluntarism. Volunteering masked the cost of participation, thereby potentially making poverty worse for the poor in a context without a formal welfare system.
This study provides a comprehensive literature review of food insecurity in social work. A search of peer-reviewed scholarly articles yielded 1686 abstracts with relevance to food insecurity. While there has been a rapid increase in the number of articles written on the topic of food insecurity since 1955, there has been a disproportionate interest in the issue in the Global North. The authors found that the literature clustered around five key themes: food access, food insecurity for vulnerable groups, food policy, food systems and interventions. Relevance of these findings to social work practice and recommendations for future research are discussed.
This study explores the differences in the financial and psychological satisfaction of three age cohorts and the factors contributing to those satisfaction levels among Korean baby boomers and older workers. The data of 1555 participants came from the Korean Welfare Panel Study from wave 1 (2006) to wave 8 (2013). The Chow test and multiple regressions were utilized to explore whether impacts differed by birth cohort and to identify unique factors associated with financial and psychological satisfaction. The results showed the ‘satisfaction paradox’ – a positive relationship between age and the financial satisfaction. Moreover, working longer played an important role in reducing depression, but not in increasing financial satisfaction.
In this research article, we discuss the social construction of public services within the conceptual and theoretical framework provided by Lipsky. We are interested in what it means if/when street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) have an active role in the construction of a service system. We argue that there are multiple realities in terms of the construction of public services and we approach the question by deploying Lipsky’s notion on SLBs by empirically analysing middle managers’ views on how SLBs act and their role in this construction process. This paper is based on empirical interviews (N=100) collated in 2012 from Barcelona, Den Bosch, Glasgow, Melbourne, Toronto, Vancouver, the Greater London area, and the US state of Vermont. The research collation strategy was to include reform-oriented cities and countries in terms of developing and delivering public services. We found that SLBs have three different kinds of strategies in the construction process: policy-making, working practices, and professionalism. We found that there are no conflicts arising from SLBs’ beliefs, organisational demands, and rules and regulations. Instead, SLBs try to solve conflicts or bridge gaps between policy-making and practical work in the boundaries between SLBs and service users. Based on this research, the role of SLBs and the built-in flexibility and agility of public service leadership and organisations must be addressed and developed further. The role of organisational learning and changing organisational cultures must also be scrutinized in the context of public service systems. The analysis of professional resilience in the context of public services planning needs more theoretical and empirical attention. The resilience of organisations and the capacities of SLBs need to be researched more. Finally, there is the need for better cultivation of the role of the SLBs and service users with regard to accountability aspects (horizontal and vertical).
This article examines the role of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in social welfare provision in addressing the developmental and material needs of orphans in rural China. Data from qualitative interviews with INGO representatives and state officials were combined with documentary analysis to investigate the ways in which the state and civil society respond to orphans’ needs. It was found that while INGOs are actively contributing to the social provision of orphans, in part reflecting the pluralization of welfare, there is an urgent need for the Chinese government to play a more proactive role in safeguarding the care and protection of one of China’s most vulnerable population groups.
After the eruption of the crisis and the imposition of strict austerity measures, a number of grassroots solidarity initiatives emerged in Greece. The growth of Solidarity Clinics (SCs) emerged as an answer to the lack of primary health care for around 2.5 million people who were excluded from the national health system. This article presents and discusses the findings of a research project conducted from May 2014 to September 2014 in Greece. The aim and profile of SCs as well as the involvement of social workers in the initiatives are presented and discussed within the framework of the role of social work.
A period of profound social and political changes, the democratic transition that followed the 1974 military coup in Portugal had an enormous impact on social work. The Revolution set the ideal conditions for social workers to perform alternative forms of intervention, moving away from the assistance-focused practices characteristic of the former authoritarian rule. Incited by the new progressive political agenda, social workers stood at the forefront of the Revolution, working alongside grass-roots mobilisations and experimental participative projects, overtly assuming political stands. This article analyses the agency of social workers in the various political and social fronts during the democratic transition.
Drawing upon the findings of my doctoral research, this article examines social workers’ understanding and interventions related to the promotion of citizenship in Chile. The study involved documentary analysis and 26 semi-structured interviews with social workers who, employed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), implemented state policy for addressing poverty and social exclusion. The findings indicate that social workers understood citizenship as the exercise of individual rights mainly. At the same time, strategies employed by some social workers to oppose resistance to such neoliberal reworking of citizenship were identified. Suggestions are made with respect to the development of Chilean social work from a critical perspective.
Research in inter-country adoption is usually focused on being able to determine whether adopted children have more or fewer behavioral problems than non-adopted children. However, there is not enough to enable us to understand the feelings and bonds of the often complex life situations of being an internationally adopted child. This qualitative study with Nepalese child adoptees in Spain explores their inner world with projective methods. The results show that assessment with projective methods reveals dynamics and feelings experienced by adopted children. This can be a useful tool to better understand their psychological needs and properly design professional interventions.
The aim of this comparative study was to explore how community work is being undertaken in marginalized urban settings in Germany and Sweden, in relation to changing contexts of respective welfare models. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in neighborhoods in Gävle, Sweden, and Paderborn, Germany, and were analyzed by abductive thematic discourse analysis, using Atlas.ti and MaxQData. The results showed that community work in the respective settings is affected by lack of sufficient resources to meet increasing levels of social exclusion, related to ongoing transformation processes of the welfare regimes, and there is a lack of collective empowerment perspectives for social change.
The aim of this study is to assess the relationships between residential satisfaction (RS), sense of community (SOC), and citizen participation in a sample of 740 Spanish adults, and the impact these variables have on their life satisfaction (LS). The results show low levels of participation (social and community) and medium to high levels of LS, SOC, and RS. LS is positively affected by such situations as being in a relationship, being employed, and home ownership. It appears that positive socio-economic conditions favor LS. A regression analysis indicates that 15.2 percent of LS can be predicted by both RS and participation.
The misalignment between economic strengthening opportunities and women’s agency is especially salient given the connection between women’s economic empowerment and household well-being. Using Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2014 data, we examine married women’s agency in household economic decision making. Women who are less likely to characterize abusive patterns of behavior as problematic and women reporting emotional abuse are less likely to report economic autonomy in the household. Furthermore, data indicate little congruence in perceptions of wife’s household economic autonomy between couples. These findings point to the need to understand the interplay among structural factors, gender, marital status, and the financial well-being of married persons.
The current interest in sustainability within international development presents an important opportunity for social work to further promote the often-overlooked social pillar of sustainable development. The dominant paradigm regarding economic systems of development and organisation has influenced not only the scope of sustainable development, but also an increasingly depoliticised vision of social work knowledge and practice. Inattention to structural determinants of social inequalities limits the scope for radical, sustained change. The Capability Approach’s recognition of poverty and development as complex, multidimensional phenomena aligns with social work values, while social work’s well-established and reflexive direct-level practice may provide the applied knowledge needed in the theory.
This article examines the extent to which issues of environmental sustainability are represented in three national social work codes of ethics – the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. These national codes are discussed and implications for social work are analysed with a view to strengthening the profession’s position regarding environmental sustainability. Findings suggest that national codes do not include concern for environmental sustainability as a core professional concern. The authors make recommendations for developing ethical practice and further argue that the international professional body of social work, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), should take a fundamental leadership role in advocating for environmental sustainability.
Social work developed from Christian caring and a eudaimonic desire for a worthwhile life. Although ethics continue to underpin the discipline, contemporary complexities of post-modernism, globalism and managerialism are destabilising the universalist moral intentions of practice and subsequently demotivating eudaimonic drives. Cultural and context-specific relativist influences are promoting an ethics of ‘fitting in’ which, without critical analysis, betrays client best interests by favouring formulaic absolutes. Alternative, relationist theory can support a critically reflective and care-ethics-driven practice that is motivating, clearer and focused on ontological consideration of dynamic client, practitioner and environmental needs. It can thus help social workers to situate themselves and achieve personal and professional transformation.
The notion of ‘shame’ is increasingly being recognised as a tool with some explanatory power to help promote understandings about a range of social problems. Through an exploration of migrant South Asian women’s experiences of domestic violence and help-seeking practices, this article considers the relevance of the notion of shame as a unit of analysis to help contribute to the growing theoretical and empirical literature. The article sheds light on the meanings, events, processes and structures in the lives of migrant South Asian women respondents living in Hong Kong. Within the framework of the discussion on shame and intimate partner violence (IPV), the article also identifies the implications for social work practice.
International service learning (ISL) programs seek to facilitate community inclusion, but such participation can prove elusive. For technical projects, such ventures can undermine local leadership, generate mistrust in communities, and even create an aversion to technological solutions. In this article, we document how social work and engineering students collaborated to bring clean water to rural Guatemala, and demonstrate how we employed social work principles to address the myriad issues encountered in the project. We contend that the inclusion of a social work perspective, with its emphasis on relationships, can help mitigate some of the challenges ISL projects tend to encounter.
We examined the mental health problems of Dutch young adult domestic adoptees (N = 75) relative to Dutch non-adopted peers and Dutch international adoptees. We found small differences in favor of the non-adopted peers (N = 2021), while a minority of male domestic adoptees were at risk of anxiety/depression problems. Domestic adoptees showed somewhat less problems behavior than international adoptees (N = 1331). Domestic and international adoptees differed in search status (non-searcher, searcher, reunited), although this could not explain any differences in mental health problems. Social workers and clinicians should support (male) adult adoptees in coping with possible feelings of anxiety and depression. Future studies should pay attention to gender differences in adoptees.
Our concern in this article is how to transform learning experiences in international field placement into sustainable social work knowledge for future practice. International field placement provides unique experiences that contribute to contextual understanding of social work and prepare students for practice in a multicultural setting. We have used focus group interviews and seen international experiences in light of domestic ones. In analysing the knowledge transformation process of the learning experiences, we use experiential learning theories. We conclude that students’ learning process from experience to theory and from theoretical knowledge to practice would benefit from following a transformation of knowledge cycle through the study programme.
The ‘White Paper of Families in South Africa’ is critically analysed in this article. It is shown that although family diversity is acknowledged in the aforementioned document, certain implications of the document undermine such professed diversity, not all caretakers of children are acknowledged and supported, and financially vulnerable families are not strengthened. Instead, narrow ideals of family life are at times promoted, suggesting middle-class heterosexual values. It is argued here that the realities of family life should be accepted as such and family in different forms should be supported consistently, not subtly pushed to conform to restricted interpretations of what families should be like.
This study uses qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews to explore the adjustment challenges encountered by international graduate students during their study at US universities, and the protective factors most associated with successful adjustment. Nine students from China, Korea, and Taiwan, attending a Midwestern university, participated in the study. Language barriers and discrimination were the primary challenges reported; the factors most associated with successful adjustment were personal perception, social support, strong mentoring relationships, religious belief, and use of campus services. Implications for providing effective assistance for international graduate students are discussed.
The purpose of this research is to understand the barriers that prevent Arab Muslim youth from fulfilling their needs. In total, 1078 Jordanians aged 18–24 years were asked to rate the importance of various barriers via a structured questionnaire. Barriers to economic needs were found to be ranked highest, followed by barriers in the political, social, educational and health domains. Women were more likely than men to perceive barriers, particularly in the economic and social domains. Participants who reported a stronger wish to emigrate were more likely to rate economic barriers highly. A rights-based approach is used to interpret the findings, in order to inform strategies to assist youth to address life challenges and enhance well-being.
The purpose of this study is to critically examine how North Korean defectors adapt to South Korean society and how the South Korean government institutes policies to support their settlement in the perspective of social integration. In particular, economic and psychological support by the South Korean government will be analyzed among the current resettlement support policies. The aim of this study is also to suggest proper remedial actions for North Korean defectors based on empirical research on the actual conditions of North Korean defectors in South Korea.
This comparative descriptive study sought to determine the impact of glocalization on international social work education. Using quantitative methods, this study reports objective findings for a randomly selected, non-probability, purposive sample of 178 faculty members who were geographically distributed among faculties and departments of social work at 22 universities in eight Arab countries. The primary research instrument used was a standardized paper and pencil questionnaire. Data analysis of the responses of the faculty members found that participants’ attitudes were equally weak on the track of glocalization and international social work education. This could be attributed to the variables of faculty members, social work students, university textbooks, quality of library services, methods of teaching, field practicum, and quality of student evaluation. In contrast, the attitudes of the faculty members averaged on the track of glocalization and international social work education, which could be attributed to the variable of social work curricula. The analysis also revealed a marked absence of sustained contact with social work professionals and scholars from other regions and societies of the world.
Social work in the Netherlands is attracting an increasing number of Turkish and Moroccan Dutch professionals, mostly second-generation migrant women from a Muslim background. Inspired by Amartya Sen’s capability approach, this article presents the findings of a qualitative content analysis of 40 interviews with professionals by peers from the same background. The question is, what kind of professionals do these newly started social workers desire to be and what hindrances do they encounter? The professionals challenge the dominance of Western beliefs and values. This becomes tangible in their desires and constraints and especially in the process of choice.
Similar to other countries, the proportion of elderly citizens in Taiwan living with their children is declining, due to a reduced intention and ability to take care of elderly parents. The social life of elderly people is a dynamic continuum, in which their social support is correlated with social networks and social participation. Longitudinal data were used for latent growth curve modeling to estimate changes in social support for the subjects over time. The findings will be presented, followed by a discussion. The last part of the article will provide recommendations for service, research, and limitations of the study.
Pacific indigenous social work has developed across borders reflecting the diaspora of Pacific peoples outside their homelands. It is proposed that the ‘next wave’ of Pacific social work be centred in Pacific homelands to invigorate new approaches that better address well-being for transnational Pacific peoples. The current status of Pacific social work education, professionalization and theory is discussed. It is argued that social justice, locally-led development and cultural preservation will be better realized with an expansion of Pacific social work across borders. The article reflects on decolonization, universalism–relativism, nature of social work, resourcing and collaborations for Pacific social work.
This study examined the reasons for use and the utility of an aging-focused telephone hotline. The most common topic of inquiry was care, followed by referrals for institutional placement and financial queries. Advice from hotline professionals was reported to be useful and helpful. Yet the issue of the query was not resolved in half of the cases. Some queries may be addressed by enhancing hotline procedures, but others reflect general unmet needs that require wider systematic social changes in the information, system, and financial domains. Analysis of hotline calls can be useful for identifying areas, both for improvement for the hotline and for society.
This article questions ongoing moves towards integration into health care for social work with older people in the United Kingdom. While potentially constructing clearer pathways to support, integration risks reducing welfare provisions for a traditional low priority user group, while further extending the principles of privatisation. Integration models also understate the ideological impact of biomedical perspectives within health and social care domains, conflate roles and undermine the potential positive role of ‘holistic’ multi-agency care. Constructive social work for older people is likely to further dilute within aggressive integrated models of welfare, which will be detrimental for meeting many of the complex needs of ageing populations.
The global financial crisis that spread from the United States to Europe severely impacted Greece. This is a study of quality of life (QoL), anxiety, depression, and stress in Greece following the austerity measures imposed after the crisis. A convenience sample of 901 adults completed (1) a brief survey form, (2) the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI), and (3) the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Results indicated higher DASS scores in comparison to other normative populations. Overall, QoL in Greece is lower for women, those who are single, the unemployed, and those with lower incomes. Implications for social work practice and the profession are discussed.
This article proposes theoretical dimensions to examine the intersection of disability and immigration. These dimensions bring together knowledge from critical disability studies and postcolonial theories to inform a social justice orientation to social work practice on issues of immigration and disability. The article describes three interrelated themes that bring these theoretical dimensions together: (a) knowledge production and dominance in terms of North/South power dynamics and relations, (b) the construction and processes of Othering and how these shape the experiences of people with disabilities in immigration and (c) resistance to these constructions of Othering.
Understanding the dynamics of mental health of recently resettled refugees is an essential component of any comprehensive resettlement program, yet establishing the components of a successful and acceptable mental health intervention is an elusive task. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 resettled refugees from five countries who had received treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, or anxiety. Themes generated from the interviews emphasized the need for strong group-based social support as well as a focus on practical needs such as acquiring and maintaining employment, language and literacy training, and access to care.
The article aims to deepen the understanding of structural social work from the point of view of the ecosocial framework. It analyses selected current international literature from the debate on the new wave of various interpretations of ecological social work. The debate shares four main themes: (a) a global perspective, (b) a critical view of professional social work, (c) a holistic ecosocial transition of society and (d) environmental and ecological justice. The ecosocial framework challenges structural social work to follow the principles of sustainable development and considers environmental issues as a crucial part of the goals and practical activities of structural social work.
This article presents candid lessons learned by an ‘outsider’ conducting qualitative research in Northern Ireland over a 15-month period. Former combatant women (N = 14) with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) were interviewed using a critical ethnography framework. The findings include a description of difficulties in conducting such research in the areas of accessing hard-to-reach samples, building trust and credibility over time, having a main gatekeeper, maintaining an apolitical position, modeling non-judgmental attitudes, and at all costs safeguarding confidentiality. These lessons resonated with the core tenets of social work practice which enabled and facilitated the conduct of this study.
In the 1990s, both Australia and Taiwan were influenced by new public management (NPM) and subsequently reformed their public employment services. However, the reforms of the two countries have led to divergent results. This study assumes that the essential differences lay in the mobilization capacity of the disabled rights advocacy organizations and the disability employment benefits. Taiwan’s disability employment services (supported employment), though privatized, are limited to nonprofit organizations (NPOs), while for-profit organizations (POs) remain absent in this area. In Australia, the employment services (open employment services for people with disabilities) have been privatized, and for-profit organizations are encouraged to compete with one another to enhance the service quality and to reduce the costs. By providing job-search benefits for disabled people and implementing workfare policy, the Australian government reforms have resulted in the change of the relationship between the government and the citizens. In contrast, since the Taiwanese government never provided sufficient social welfare benefits for disabled people, they have to actively seek employment not after encouragement from the government, but as a result of their desperate need to earn a living. Despite the two countries’ differences, the force of neoliberalism, along with NPM, ostensibly continues to be a part of their employment policies for the socially underprivileged.
This study highlights social work’s response to socio-cultural diversity by investigating the reality of multiculturalism in social work curricula vis-a-vis the Global Standards debates. Content analysis technique is used from a transcendental perspective to explore the attributes of multiculturalism in social work curricula via the online directory of the International Association of Schools of Social Work. Each curriculum reflects relative attributes of multiculturalism, identifiable as tenets of the Global Standards – a tool for modeling social work education across cultures. A new theory and a practice model for international social work also emerged from the study, and are proposed for testing.
The aim of this mixed-method study was to explore the trajectories of leaving home, and views and experiences among children and youth in the Kagera region in Tanzania, who have lived on the streets or been domestic workers. The main results showed that orphanhood and mistreatment were the main reasons for leaving home: few children lived with their parents before they left, and leaving home was a complex process over several years where three trajectories were identified. The children who had left home showed strong agency and competency but lived in vulnerable conditions, especially young children living on the streets.
This article reports on the findings of a mixed-method study exploring the experiences of supervision within Australian social work. It looks particularly at the ways in which organisational cultures support supervision as a mechanism of practice improvement. The research suggests the need to better understand performance within the practice and supervision sphere, and create ways in which workers can be acknowledged to develop their skills in a supportive organisational environment. It argues that within a neoliberal context, supervision has the potential to assist in the management of competing workplace demands.
In 1989, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a seminal instrument in protecting the rights of children. Uniquely, this convention was the only one to receive near universal ratification, with African countries comprising half of the first 20 to sign the convention. Ghana was first among these countries to ratify the convention. This set off a bandwagon effect of other African countries quickly ratifying the convention. However, a year later, African governments reacted to their low involvement in the drafting process of the UNCRC and also to what they thought to be an inadequate representation of the real experience of the African child in the UNCRC. Consequently, this group adopted their own version of the convention – the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). However, unlike the experience with the UNCRC, African nations were not quick to ratify their own Charter; the ACRWC is hardly discussed in public and policy forums in Africa, and its use among those charged with the protection of children is minimal. Using the lenses of policy diffusion, I assess the influence of coercion and emulation mechanisms on privileging the UNCRC which is used as the main organizing framework for child rights in most African countries. Additionally, I look at how Ghana’s political reputation influenced other African adopters, an effect which was not replicated with the ratification of the ACRWC. Implications for social work research, policy and practice are discussed.
This article presents a model of Australian social work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people which aims to build hope, agency and meaning for the social worker and the young person. Informed by Foucault’s understanding of resistance, the model encourages social workers to pay attention to little practices of freedom through the development of professional relationships which address counselling needs, practical advocacy and social change within complex socio-political, cultural and therapeutic contexts. A case vignette of ‘Ali’ applies the model in practice. The article concludes with an exploration of the model’s potential for international transferability.
The social work profession is committed to the promotion of peace and social justice. It is often assumed that peacetime enables diverting resources and attention to the promotion of disadvantaged groups. However, little is known about the mechanisms. This study of the Israeli experience following the Oslo Peace Accords suggests that one potential mechanism is the development of social change organizations (SCOs) in the wake of peace. Findings indicate growth in SCO establishment in the periphery and small towns, in vulnerable groups, and in the Israeli Palestinian (Arab) citizen minority group. Implications for social work are suggested.
Urban South Africa is a major destination for refugees across sub-Saharan Africa. Based on interviews with urban refugees, this study identified significant barriers to achieving livelihood security for this population, including community violence, crowding, fear of xenophobia, exploitation from officials and oversaturated markets for small businesses. Nevertheless, refugees identified several aspects of service provision from a non-governmental organization which proved helpful, especially through material assistance in helping establish viable, profit-generating small businesses. Recommendations for service delivery to this population include assessing refugees’ level of environmental vulnerability and providing a package of supports that address a clients’ particular living situation.
This article examines the challenges that superdiversity and complexity pose for social workers. Taking an ethnographic approach, we focus on the ‘knowledge-in-action’ of social workers in a small service organization in Belgium in order to access their experiences of being professionals in superdiverse contexts. The reflections of the social workers reveal the prominence of three inter-related issues: the social vulnerability of clients, the tensions that arise in coping with differences between personal and professional frameworks and identities, and the discontinuity that challenges the professional self-confidence of social workers. The findings raise important questions for the professional identity of social work.
The following article revises conditional cash transfers (CCTs) in Latin America, followed by an examination of the history of poverty reduction programs in Chile since the 1960s and the installation of CCT programs in the country with a particular focus on the role of social work in their design and implementation. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges social work faces in actively participating in the redesign and implementation of the new CCT model from a human rights and social justice focus.
This study is an exploratory qualitative examination of two separate non-profit family-style orphanages in Guatemala. The researchers used a grounded theory approach to study semi-structured interviews of caregivers (N = 20). Caregivers mainly consisted of ‘tias’ who lived with the children and teachers who taught the children at the schools associated with the orphanage. The following categories emerged from the data: sense of belonging, hope for the future, and the importance of structure (e.g. organization and schedule). There was also an emphasis on religion in both the sense of belonging and hope for the future categories. This study adds to the emerging research regarding family-style orphanage care and focuses on caregiver perspectives.
As a global movement, neighbourhood houses (NHs) are found in urban communities all over the world. Following the community-building tradition of early settlement houses, NHs have been actively nurturing and mobilizing community assets to serve the local community, but it is not known whether NHs have incorporated these assets in their infrastructure. This article reports the findings of a clearinghouse survey of 15 NHs in Metro Vancouver, Canada, which indicate that they nurtured community assets and incorporated them into their infrastructure as paid staff. Yet at the leadership level, the incorporation falls short of ethno-racial minority members from the community.
In this article, I explore the mechanisms by which Colombian women war survivors, who were internally displaced in Colombia and are now living in Canada as refugees, exercised agency to learn, build knowledge and transcend the limitations of their situations. This article focuses on exploring the learning, knowledge, and types of agency women deploy while living in violent environments as well as in their new homelands.
This article draws on the author’s personal experiences of engaging in ethically driven research and development in the Caribbean and Central America. Specifically, it explores how issues of transnational identity and belonging are constantly being renegotiated within the colonial matrix, and the position the author was accorded by the actors involved. These complex and nuanced processes led the author to reposition herself in relation to the various discourses shaping the encounters, with positive and negative results. It provides insights on how coloniality of power shapes such processes, creating conditions that bring about tensions and struggles.
In recent years, the Chinese government has been transforming from a direct service provider into a regulatory role in the provision of community services. This article aims to understand the recent development of community service provision for older people in urban China by using Guangzhou City as a case example. Through analysing documents, conducting fieldwork and interviewing municipal government officials and service agencies in Guangzhou, the author identifies several changes in the community service provision system in urban China and discusses implications of these changes.
This study was conducted with 12 women and 3 health professionals and employed a qualitative method with case study design. Accordingly, data were gathered through in-depth interviews. Content analysis technique was used to thematically organize the report. The study revealed that women with a diagnosis of cervical cancer experienced physical, psychosocial, and financial problems which resulted in affecting families. Coping mechanisms adopted by women to address the problems included receiving religious services and seeking support from families. The study recommends the provision of palliative care and other social supports. Social work practice implications are drawn from this study also.
This article explains processes of disaporan ‘virtual village community’ (VVC) formation and its moral action. It is suggested that both self-interest and normative aspects of behaviour contribute to the formation of VVCs, centred in the ancestral place. However, social action for development becomes difficult in an evolving socio-economic environment unless core values are refurbished by realigning interests and creating new modes of interaction and communication. The intervention by morally driven members is key to mobilising VVC for development. Members’ links external to the VVC enhance its capacity to contribute to ancestral places. As most of the diaspora from South Asia are rooted in village communities back home, analysis and findings are of wider significance.
This article explores the conceptualization of sex trafficking in social work, through research, theory, and policy. We will view sex trafficking from a macro level addressing the global phenomenon. Theoretical frameworks, perspectives, and models will be utilized to analyze the foundation of current policy and research. To adequately address the challenges that sex trafficking presents, social work needs to move toward a multidisciplinary approach. Social work should focus on empowering the voices of survivors in both policy and research. Survivors of sex trafficking are empowered through the increase in their value as individuals and not commodities.
Strengths-based approaches in social work have been introduced in the West in a number of social work settings including schools. As part of a research study, the authors investigated the overall reception of students, parents and school counsellors to a strengths-based approach in one-to-one counselling in a school setting. We have utilised a grounded theory approach, allowing the data to drive the research process and the findings to naturally emerge. As a result, the outcomes that unfolded at various stages in our research made us unpack the traditional core expectations of school social work, gaining an insight into the role and expectations of social work roles in a predominantly alien working population living in an Arab country. While the school social work literature is predominantly Western, school social work and its counselling component sit well within the cultures that we grappled with. Despite, this, we have cautiously considered the context of social work and the impacts of the application of strengths-based principles in non-Western environments. Implications for improving student engagement within schools; scope of social work counselling in schools and further research that explores social work methodologies in culturally diverse contexts along with the limitations of this study are discussed in this article.
This historical study analyzes the transformation of the concept ‘adolescence’ in post-war Vietnam (1975–2005) and its implications for social work. Government-regulated media documents show that the concept of adolescence has undergone three phases corresponding to the three political-economic shifts in Vietnam over these decades: adolescents as miniature communists (1975–1986); adolescents as growing youths characterized by romantic sentiments, puberty, and identity search (1986–1995); and adolescents as the newly coined ‘teen Viet’ and vanguards of capitalist consumption (1996–2005). Social work with Vietnamese adolescents and families must consider the impact of these conceptual shifts on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of corresponding adolescent cohorts.
In this population-based cross-sectional study of women of reproductive age in Tehran, Iran, the social capital integrated questionnaire and socio-demographic questionnaire were used. The highest mean scores were related to social cohesion and inclusion dimension (55.72 ± 11.94) and the lowest mean scores to groups and networks dimension (31.78 ± 19.43). Stepwise multiple linear regressions showed the significant association between dimensions of social capital and certain socio-demographic variables, particularly family income. Policy makers should help low-income families by designing effective interventions for improving the status of social capital in this group, because it is considered one of the social determinants of health.
As social work is an international profession, it is necessary to establish the validity of assessment of the field practicum of students for the purpose of professional accreditation. This study calibrates an indigenous assessment tool, the Social Work Practicum Assessment (SWPA), developed in Hong Kong with a competency-based evaluation (CBE) tool popularized in North America, using data collected from 171 social work final-year undergraduates. The results demonstrate convergence between the SWPA and CBE when rated by field instructors and were greater when the student-assessed CBE was higher. Alternatively, the student-assessed CBE displayed greater convergence with the instructor-rated CBE when the indigenous assessment was higher. The positive results imply the generalizability of the assessments across places.
This article presents the findings of a small-scale, qualitative study that included 20 child protective workers from different regions in Estonia. The research question guiding this study was as follows: What principles underpin child protective workers’ assessment activities in cases with child protection concerns? The respondents provided examples of assessment principles through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that workers’ assessments are adopted from a deficit view rather than from the needs and possibilities. The majority of the participants underscored the importance of child involvement and partnership in the decision-making process; nevertheless, their case reflections showed that only five of them included the child in the assessment.
The historical strength of Latin American public pension systems and the changes many countries are making in the contemporary period warrant understanding attitudes about public pensions in Latin America. Data were examined for three countries: Chile, Uruguay, and Venezuela, to see whether commonly tested welfare state theories explain individual differences in attitudes in these countries. Using basic multilevel modeling techniques, we find both individual- and country-level differences in attitudes toward government responsibility for and spending on public pensions. Understanding what predicts these attitudes in Latin America will help improve approaches to social welfare in this region.
Accompanying the diminishing voice of the client in cross-subsidized social work, the author makes an attempt to reveal the ambivalence and ambiguity of state-sponsored social work in Hong Kong. In light of the increase in quasi-welfare markets that promote an environment of competitive bidding on government subventions, this article addresses the contradictions between commercial and social work values after the commodification of welfare. Because frontline practitioners are becoming more reluctant to be involved in ‘typical’ social work interventions, reconsidering and recalculating costs are recommended under the pendulum of left and right ideologies in a postcolonial, neoliberal metropolis.
Social media does not just lead to new ways of social participation; it creates new opportunities for serving difficult-to-reach groups in the community. This study examined the experiences and processes of a pioneering cyber youth work project working with young people involved in drug use and the sex trade in Hong Kong. A thematic analysis of online communication records and interviews of social workers and clients was conducted to determine the relating factors concerned, namely, ‘social presence’, ‘autonomy and ‘privacy’, ‘use of text and media’, and ‘time dimension’. The results suggest practice insights for youth workers.
Lesotho has the third highest rate of HIV prevalence in the world. One of the factors accounting for this trend is thought to be ubiquitous labour migration in the country. This article uses data collected among migrant labour women in Maseru (N = 30) to investigate possible factors for the spread of HIV among them. A high rate of multiple concurrent sexual relationships, coupled with lack of commitment to condom use, was found among participants. This article proposes social action to pressure industry merchants to facilitate regular meetings of migrants with regular sexual partners.
This study investigates social workers’ preferences regarding four main therapeutic orientations: psychodynamic therapy (PDT), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), client-centered therapy (CCT), and eco-systemic therapy (EST). In total, 679 social workers (528 Jewish and 151 Palestinian) reported their beliefs regarding the efficacy of the four therapeutic orientations, and 343 additional social workers (193 Jewish and 150 Palestinian) reported how often they apply the therapeutic orientations in their practice. The present study revealed similarities, but also some incongruence when comparing the social workers’ beliefs in the efficacy of the different therapeutic orientations and the frequency of their actual use in practice. Socio-demographic characteristics of the social workers explained a significant albeit small proportion of the variance in the frequency of use of the different therapeutic orientations. Finally, the results obtained demonstrated that social workers tend to prefer different therapeutic interventions when working with clients belonging to different ethnic groups. Implications for therapist training and practice are discussed.
This study identified Korean emotional expressions described by male and female Koreans, who disagreed about their use under similar circumstances. The authors assessed the meanings of 504 ‘emotional’ terms, rank-ordered them according to how high the participants rated various emotions and used the kappa statistic to discern gender-based incongruence. The findings showed that identical emotional expressions might have nuanced differences in mutually exclusive emotional states. This was particularly apparent among males, who reported using the same expressions in two different situations. The results strengthen social workers’ language-centred activities, which help them assist Koreans and Korean-Americans to use helping processes.
This article reports on qualitative Australian research that was conducted with 32 workers from Job Services Australia and Emergency Relief agencies. Researchers investigated the operationalisation of assistance for unemployed people to illuminate the language, discourse and processes through which workers and unemployed people were constructed within the quasi-market culture. Findings included individualistic and behaviourist frames, paradoxical positions in relation to client choice and blame, and a metaphorical frame which reinforced position, status and difference. This study provides important evidence from the frontline of Australia’s deregulated employment services, adding to the growing body of international social work literature pertaining to neoliberal welfare reform.
Child soldiering affects approximately 300,000 children worldwide. Abducted and forced into combat, victims experience trauma that may have life-long effects. Thus, it is important to understand child soldiers’ experiences and develop culturally appropriate interventions. Using Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis (QIMS), the authors sought to understand the lived experiences of ex-child soldiers in Sierra Leone, Northern Uganda, and Liberia. Findings revealed the experiential nuances of four phases ex-child soldiers experience: abduction; militarization; demilitarization and reintegration; and civilian life. Findings enhance current knowledge about ex-child soldiers’experiences and inform policy and program design to help ex-child soldiers cope with the aftermath of the war and civilian life.
This article provides a profile of the financial responsibilities of Mexican and Central American immigrants to their families back home. We outline the patterns of US immigrant remittances to Latin America, describe the toll on both immigrants and their families, and review research evidence on the provision and impact of immigrant support. We find that immigrant remittances are the sole source of household income for large proportions of families back home and are typically used to meet basic needs. The multiple responsibilities faced by immigrants, however, come with substantial hardship. Implications for social work services with immigrants are discussed.
For many Latino immigrants, family separation due to migration is common. Children who experience family separation and reunify with their parents in the United States experience profound outcomes. Research is limited in understanding how these youth adjust to life in the host country. Through in-depth interviews, this study investigated the adjustment processes of 10 Mexican immigrant youth who reunified with their parents. Findings indicated that male participants experienced low levels of familial, social support and had low academic achievement. Female participants received greater familial, social support and had high academic achievement. Recommendations for research and social work practice are provided.
Diversifying options for income generation and employment may enhance health outcomes for women engaged in sex work. This randomized trial tested the efficacy of a microsavings intervention on reductions in economic dependence upon sex work and changes in income among women in Mongolia. Women who attended microfinance plus HIV prevention sessions reported a significantly lower percentage of income from sex work, increased odds of reporting no income from sex work, and increased odds that sex work was not their main source of income compared to women who received HIV prevention sessions alone. No significant changes in total income were observed in the treatment condition.
Social development has been adopted as South Africa’s social welfare approach and is increasingly being adopted in Africa and other parts of the developing world. The translation of developmental social welfare to social work has, however, been difficult for many social workers. A particularly challenging aspect of this translation concerns the practice of social case work within a social development approach, a topic that has received virtually no attention in the social development literature. This article constructs a process model for a form of social case work that is informed by social development principles and priorities.
For more than four decades, governments of Ghana have worked with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to solve rural problems. However, the extent to which NGOs have been able to improve rural conditions is questionable. Many have suggested that NGOs function more as patriarchs than as partners in their rural development work. This article is a critique of NGO strategies for rural development in Ghana, in which I argue that the longstanding limitations of NGO strategies may have contributed to rural underdevelopment rather than development. I conclude that if NGOs are to contribute meaningfully to rural development in Ghana, they will need to change their strategies.
This is a first Singapore exploratory study to understand Singapore social workers’ perceptions of their practice with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients and examine how they may differ by their training, clinical experiences, and demographics. This is crucial, given the societal stigma and lack of social work support for the LGB populations in Singapore. A mixed method comprising a survey of 89 social workers and a focus group discussion was utilized. Findings suggest that clinical experiences with LGB clients, years of practice, and religious affiliations influence their work with this population. Recommendations include the need for more LGB-specific research and training, and review of practice supervision and ethical code to address practice dilemmas.
This article concentrates on analyzing the health and social constraints of elderly Chinese parents who lose their only child. This newly developed vulnerable group of childless elderly has resulted from the Chinese one-child policy. Based on a qualitative study in Beijing, this article examines the psychological suffering, healthcare, and emotional support experienced by older people who lose their only child and who lack appropriate support from the government and society. The rapid increase in the number of childless elderly is producing profound health and social implications that require the development of appropriate policies in China.
Anti-oppressive social work, promotion of equality and combating the structural causes of hardship are often conceived as matters to be pursued at the meso and macro levels, while little anti-oppressive social work is considered practicable at the individual case level. In order to counteract this dangerous idea, this article presents a case study of a Nigerian mother immigrated to Italy, and is based on the five social work strategies against the social and economic crisis that were proposed for the 2014 World Social Work Day: promoting equality and equity, enabling people to live sustainably, building participation, facilitating caring communities, and respecting diversity and connecting people.
Calls to enhance military social work content in social work education present unique challenges for a discipline historically associated with social justice and advocacy for peace. The consequences of war demand intervention along multiple psychosocial domains. However, the question remains as to how social workers can address the discrepancies between social work values and military culture. This article argues that the context-bound nature of social work highlights the reciprocal relationship between macro and micro factors intrinsic to military issues. This provides a holistic understanding of the military system and can enhance educational content on military issues to include international perspectives.
Advantages, phases, challenges, and strategies related to the process and procedures involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating study abroad programs, and addressing emergencies have been discussed as being issues in teaching trauma and diversity content. However, very little has been written about study abroad programs dedicated to specific topics and no studies address teaching trauma content by means of international immersion courses. This article discusses pedagogical and logistic aspects of teaching about trauma in diverse cultural contexts using a recent intensive immersion study abroad course in Israel to illustrate the issues under discussion.
Social protection has reached development policy agenda in Africa, and extending coverage to informal workers is now a key concern. First, this article develops a conceptual framework of social protection intersperse in Africa to identify the missing link in the evolving debates on extending social protection to informal workers. Second, the article reviews and assesses literature on African burial societies to make an argument that they are well positioned to be engaged as pathways for providing social protection to those working informally. The article concludes by identifying three models of possible pathways for extending social protection in Africa: the state-informal single model, the state-informal collective model and the state-formal model.
This article explores some of the challenges involved in a collaborative mental health partnership, drawing on the reflections of two project members from the Chainama College of Health Sciences in Zambia and the Leeds Metropolitan University in England. The aim of the project was to support the education and training of the mental health workforce in Zambia as services shift from institutional to community-based care. The discussion is located within Gray’s ‘three-pronged dilemma’ and debates concerning the internationalisation agenda in social work and higher education. The conclusion emphasises the benefits and tensions of partnership working between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries.
The Integrated Community Development and Child Welfare Model (CD-CW) engages workers with families and communities to reduce poverty, and at the same time, improve the well-being of children. Skill building in asset-based development, family enterprise, and child trauma is delivered through a three-stage, applied training model. CD-CW was pilot tested and implemented with 100 livelihood and child welfare workers in Ethiopia. Data from Learning Portfolios, team consultations, and a 2-day evaluation retreat are reported. Findings include the importance of using asset-based assessments, applied assignments, and integrated training to address poverty directly as a root cause of child maltreatment.
Perception of domestic violence is a frequently used indicator of women’s empowerment. It is, however, thought to be a binary variable, where women either justify wife beating or they do not. In the Nepal Demographic Health Survey, empowerment is ‘high’ if the woman answers no to one of five circumstances of wife beating. This study develops a Latent Class Analysis model to determine whether there are categories of women who endorsed some type of violence but not others. A more nuanced measure of perception of domestic violence would improve our understanding on women’s empowerment.
After years of Soviet occupation, the country of Estonia is in transition, as are their newly developed child protection services. This quantitative study examines Estonian child protection workers’ perspectives about child welfare work and assessment in the context of children in need. These findings indicate that workers seem to overly rely on a deficit-based, as opposed to a strengths-based approach and lack skills for understanding their role, conducting assessments and engaging in trusting relationships with children and families. These findings suggest a possible holdover from Soviet philosophies, but definitely indicate the need for further training.
Jacques Rancière’s main philosophical thematic preoccupations stem from an understanding that human beings are equal in all respects. This article is a short introduction to key conceptual formulations central within his diverse body of work. Rancière prompts us to think more critically about how people are apt to be fixed in particular political and cultural locations. His philosophical perspective on ‘police’ and ‘politics’ pivots on a subversive endeavour to dis-order dominant ways of perceiving the world and the roles which groups and individuals are expected to fulfil. Rancière also furnishes a range of concepts which can be fruitfully disruptive of particular fields and the more encompassing economic and political frameworks in which they are located. On account of his engagement with these themes, it is argued that Rancière’s work may aid social workers’ critical reflection.
Rural and remote communities often have complex and diverse mental health needs and inadequate mental health services and infrastructure. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide an array of potentially innovative and cost-effective means for connecting rural and remote communities to specialist mental health practitioners, services, and supports, irrespective of physical location. However, despite this potential, a review of Australian and international literature reveals that ICT has not attained widespread uptake into social work practice or implementation in rural communities. This article reviews the social work literature on ICT, draws on research on tele-psychology and tele-education, and provides suggestions on how to enhance engagement with ICT by social workers to implement and provide mental health services and supports tailored to community values, needs, and preferences that are commensurate with the values of the social work profession.
This study investigates the determinants of social support. We used a random sample of 211 female Chinese marriage migrants from a 2-year longitudinal secondary data set and conducted bivariate and multivariate multiple regressions to examine the associations of social support with acculturation stress, persistent acculturation stress, psychological wellbeing, perceived neighborhood disorder, and optimism. Results showed that marriage migrants have difficulties rebuilding their social network outside their own communities. Acculturation stress and psychological wellbeing were the two significant factors affecting social support. Findings suggest that social support interventions should focus on alleviating acculturation stress, expanding social networking opportunities, and enhancing psychological wellbeing.
The Perceived Employment Barrier Scale (PEBS) has been validated as a tool to assess low-income individuals’ level of employment barriers in the United States. Using samples from workforce development programs in the United States and South Korea, this study aims to examine the comparability of this measure and to compare score differences on the five factors of PEBS between the two samples. Evidence for cross-sample equivalence was found, indicating cross-national comparability. Furthermore, the South Korean sample perceived significantly higher on human capital barriers compared to the United States. Implications for workforce development practice and research in the United States and South Korea are discussed.
South Africa’s intention is to build a developmental state. A developmental state can promote both social development and economic development. The author argues that social workers need to ensure that the developmental state prioritizes social development.
Why should social workers care about vaginal fistulas? Why should we turn our attention to a health problem mostly experienced by materially impoverished young Black women, especially those in Africa? Using a critical perspective, which we define, we argue that vaginal fistulas are much more than a gynaecological health issue but symptomatic of the gender-, race-, class- and age-based oppressions many young Black women in the ‘Third World’ suffer. Affecting very few White western women but plenty of subjugated Black women forced to live in chronic poverty, and exposed to multiple levels of control from early in their lives, vaginal fistula sufferers often have little, if any, access to adequate health services. Our aim is to put vaginal fistulas on the global social work agenda. It is a call to work towards ending a problem that produces much shame and suffering for far too many women.
Metropolitan municipalities are responsible for social services in Turkey. This study is built on two main points that affect each other: (1) the creation of a social texture map with the help of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and (2) the establishment of a Social Information Center (SIC) in the city of Konya, Turkey, within the scope of Konya Metropolitan Municipality. The SIC Project includes the relation of the local government services to the public and can be described as an important project. As the scope of this project is conceived on a model scale of Konya Province, it includes important steps where inferences can be made on the scale of Turkey.
Family environments are known to usually be better for children’s development than institutional care. China has experience with different forms of foster care, but none have been empirically evaluated, especially with respect to children’s outcomes. One form of foster care is ‘collective fostering’, in which many foster families live in a single apartment building on the grounds of the institution. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of such a project operated by a children’s institution in a large city in China by examining changes in children’s height and weight from before to after entering foster care. Results (n = 102, mean age = 63 months) showed a significant positive quadratic relationship between time and height (p = .002), with height z-scores declining during institutional residency and then increasing after entering foster care. Further analysis on children (n = 23) who were enrolled in the fostering project for more than 65 months showed that their height and weight z-scores improved significantly while living in foster families compared to the last assessment before the transition. The study concluded that the collective foster care project, like the more widely practiced community foster care, had the potential for improving children’s development.
This study was designed to construct a model based on the concept of psychological well-being, in order to verify the relationship between Taiwanese elderly volunteering and their psychological well-being. Research data were collected via a questionnaire administered to the target population of this study, senior residents of Pingtung County aged 65 or more. The data were then tested and verified by confirmative factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The overall model showed higher levels of psychological well-being for the elderly who participated in volunteer work than those who did not, which again confirmed the positive relation between volunteer work and psychological well-being.
The literature highlights the difficulty involved in integrating human rights and social work practice, especially among students who encounter extreme and unfamiliar social problems. Content analysis of narratives written by students during their field placement abroad contributes to identifying the conditions that are necessary to increase students’ awareness of their own obstacles and difficulties in promoting human rights. The findings provide insights into the actions that need to be taken in order to enhance human rights knowledge and to better integrate it into practice. International field placement is recommended as a preferred setting for implementing social rights practice in global contexts.
This study measures the level of happiness among elderly Cypriots living in their own home environments and in nursing homes. We find that the elderly living in their own home are significantly happier than the elderly living in nursing homes. On the basis of these findings, we propose that the role of social workers could be valuable regarding happiness of older Cypriots. Within the frame of the current results, we have identified a lack of alternative housing options in Cyprus that would combine home environment with adequate health and social care for older people.
Social Work Day was instituted by social workers at the United Nations (UN) in 1983 and is celebrated in March each year to recognise social work’s achievements, share its vision for a just society and foster international solidarity. Subsequently embraced as World Social Work Day (WSWD) by the profession’s international organisations and their affiliates worldwide, Zimbabwe celebrated its first WSWD in 2012 at Bindura, a small rural university near Harare, to raise social work’s profile in Zimbabwe. This article describes these events.
There has been a call for cross-cultural research in the understanding of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of ethnicity and culture on the understanding of NSSI among social work students in the United States, Greece/Cyprus, and Jordan. A convenience sample of 438 social work students was used. Participants completed a 60-item questionnaire. Results revealed statistically significant differences in students’ knowledge and cultural beliefs about NSSI by country. This study makes a novel contribution to the exploration of cultural aspects of NSSI and has implications for international social work practice and education.
Critical interrogation of social work texts reveals ideologies contributing to hegemonic ‘taken-for-granted’ knowledge that maintains oppressive power relations. In the South African context of ongoing inequality after the 1994 democratic transition, neo-liberal ideologies have structured and constrained social work knowledge and practice constitutive of social change. Similarly, conservative neo-liberal ideologies underpinning social work knowledge and discourse act performatively to shape practice and social realities. This article, based on a section of the author’s PhD study, examines one of the thematic ideological trends found in post-1994 social work texts on poverty and social development, which reflect neo-liberal, individualist ideologies of ‘blaming-the-poor’ and personal culpability for poverty. A selection of three texts is discussed, illustrating processes and modes of operation of these ideologies in the various approaches proposed.
This study analyzed parenting stress, parental sense of competence, and stressful life events in families at psychosocial risk in Western Andalusia (Spain) and the Algarve (Portugal). Differences and similarities between families from both countries on these dimensions were explored, as well as the influence of country of origin in determining risk profiles for this population. Although both groups shared some sociodemographic characteristics, differences were found on all studied dimensions, with Portuguese mothers showing higher levels of parenting stress, sense of competence, and accumulation of stressful life events. Results suggest that higher risk families tend to share psychosocial characteristics, regardless of their country of origin.
This article presents the responses from frontline social work practitioners, administrators and educators in Trinidad to the recently published Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development. In acknowledging the significance of the Global Agenda, it became apparent that there was a need to solicit and channel the views of the local practitioners on this declaration. This article is based on a study carried out by the social work unit of the University of the West Indies. The study was intended to facilitate the articulation of the perceptions of key constituents about the Global Agenda and to critically analyse and respond to the Global Agenda within the context of a developing region. This article draws on the data that were collected from a focus group discussion among key constituents in the profession of social work in Trinidad. The findings support the Global Agenda as culturally relevant to the social realities facing Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region at this time. The prevailing view was that notwithstanding the responsibility to institutionalise the currency of the profession to influence social policy development on critical human rights and social justice issues, country-specific mandates and jurisdictions must be maintained as the primary determinants of social work practice, education and policy development. The potential value, applicability and advancement of the four commitments put forward in the Global Agenda are also highlighted.
This article discusses the methodology and findings of a qualitative study on the impact of an international social work course in Germany on four American undergraduate social work students. These students participated in a 2-week study abroad experience at a host university located near Berlin in what was formerly East Germany. The authors examined how the 10 core Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) competencies and their associated professional behaviors of the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards were exhibited in the students’ journals. This was done by having two independent coders review the journals and code the professional behaviors exhibited. Summative data were tabulated on the basis of frequencies of each respective professional behavior included in the study. Results were reported and implications discussed.
Migration, particularly when triggered by economic or political hardship, has significant psychological and socio-economic consequences for the individuals concerned. While an impressive amount of research has been conducted by social workers into migration in North America, Europe and Asia, the same cannot be said for Africa. The continent has high numbers of displaced people and refugees, yet no Africa-linked research on migration has been published by the social work profession. This article addresses this gap in the literature by focusing specifically on Zimbabwean day labourers in South Africa. Survey results reveal that these migrants face intense competition for scarce jobs, and thus economic uncertainty, and are often victimised. It is incumbent upon the social work profession to expose the vulnerable conditions in which day labourers have to operate, and to mobilise a coordinated response from relevant government and non-profit organisations in the interests of greater social justice and harmony.
International field work training has focused mainly on the importance of support systems and supervision. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no detailed framework that specifies the components and strategies that should be included. To fill this gap, this article will explore the use of an experiential 3-week psycho-educational training seminar. Four main components were developed for the psycho-educational seminar on the basis of the approach to traditional field work practicum. In addition, five strategies were adopted to achieve these components. Practical guidelines are proposed for training social work students in international field work abroad.
Social workers always strive for an intricate balance between the competitive demands of different discourses of accountability. However, the neoliberal welfare regime, which privileges the ideologies of free market choice and managerial control, has synchronized the different discourses into a neoliberal discourse of accountability. Using Hong Kong as an example, this article examines how this discourse is put into practice and how it demoralizes the social work profession. To resist this discourse, social workers may need to work reflexively with their service users in and outside their workplace.
This article explores the role of emotions with a specific focus on discourses of compassion, in framing policy and service delivery responses to homelessness. While there has been some recent scholarly work on the emotions and homelessness, there has been little attempt to explore this in the context of social policy responses to homelessness and the resultant programmes within which services are delivered. Informing the analysis in this article is the view that the continued presence of social injustices including homelessness reflects an absence of concern for others and the forms of suffering inflicted personally and institutionally upon each other. These considerations suggest the possibility for satisfactorily addressing social inequities that have significantly been exacerbated by the promotion of policy frameworks informed by neoliberal rationalities, depending to a considerable degree on making alterations to both individual and collective value frameworks. Such transformative possibilities could be facilitated by the development of the virtue of compassion. Exploring the potential for a politics of compassion to inform policy responses to homelessness in particular has the capacity, among other things, to disrupt contemporary, taken-for-granted assumptions regarding welfare dependency and the role of government in welfare provision at a more general level.
Gender-based violence and HIV have a particular impact on women in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on qualitative research with women in Ethiopia, this article explores the intersection between these two issues. It examines HIV transmission in the context of both intimate partner violence and wider gender-based violence, focusing on infidelity, multiple sexual partners, rape and sex work. We argue that the participants viewed HIV transmission as a form of gender-based violence in its own right. Women often could not afford to protect themselves from either gender-based violence or HIV because of gender inequality and poverty.
The study aims to adopt a social constructionist and feminist approach to explore the interactional factors that influence the decision of sexual violence survivors to seek help and disclose their sexual abuse experiences in Hong Kong. The study has adopted both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Results suggest that the decisions of sexual assault survivors to disclose their experiences or seek help are not characterized by a rational process based on thoughtful calculation or cost–benefit analysis. The survivors’ reactions are social construction processes that were shaped by social context through culture, interpersonal interactions, and support availability.
Many social workers believe that concepts such as empowerment and participatory decision making are universally applicable across cultures. However, a failure to recognize the diversity that can occur across cultural groups may result in organizations choosing poor fitting empowerment strategies. In this qualitative study, the author explored how participatory decision making and empowerment are perceived among South African staff, where higher levels of power distance exist. Results of the study highlight perceptions of and barriers to participatory decision making and potential strategies that social workers might use to empower staff to participate in decision making in a culturally competent manner.
Stress has been reported among Swedish social workers for over a decade. Survey data from a longitudinal quasi-experimental trial in the public sector of reduced working hours, with a proportional decrease in workload and retained full pay, were used to examine the effect on stress, symptoms of Exhaustion syndrome, psychosocial work characteristics and work–life balance in social workers. Reduced working hours had a positive effect on restorative sleep, stress, memory difficulties, negative emotion, sleepiness, fatigue and exhaustion both on workdays and weekends; on sleep quality on weekends; and on demands, instrumental manager support and work intrusion on private life.
Unlike the economic costs of migration, the psychosocial conditions and emotional needs of migrant family members in Southern Africa are under-researched. Therefore, this article examines narratives of suffering provided by Zimbabwean non-migrant women. It demonstrates that the absence of men from the home creates a multidimensional deficit – not only a loss of caring hands but also forcing non-migrant women to double-up on the responsibilities in the family. Factors connected to women’s suffering include overwhelming responsibility at home and emotional insecurity created by prolonged separation and the potential disintegration of familial bonds. The article also considers the implications of non-migrant women’s experiences for social work research.
The authors analyze forces influencing female migration from three countries to the United States. A principal factor for women from two southern countries involves the necessity of working in the United States so that women can remit money to their families, while migration for women in the northern case involves the search for a more liberal culture in which they can fulfill aspirations, achieve social mobility, and enjoy a better status than what they experienced in their home countries. The authors posit a theoretical framework of how migration of vulnerable women can result in their entrapment within networks of human trafficking.
Internationalisation is increasingly important in the social work curriculum. With globalisation and international resettlement, social workers require competencies to work locally with diverse populations as well as overseas. Study abroad experiences are used to enhance international content, cultural sensitivity and self-awareness in curricula. This article evaluates an Australian study tour focussing on students’ perspectives. Indications are that it was effective in enhancing cultural sensitivity, understanding of factors contributing to inequity, the lived experience of poverty, personal growth and professional identity. For students, it was a valued and transformational learning experience.
The objective of this article is to explore the situation of forced eviction from homes in Bangladesh and its implications in undermining poverty eradication. We argue that it should be considered as a human rights violation. Little is available in literature on forced eviction, and this article focuses on Bangladesh to illustrate a global problem. The main research question was how forced eviction from homes is related to poverty and violation of human rights. To answer this, the article focuses on the nature and causes of forced eviction and its impacts on the livelihoods of the evictees. We conclude that forced eviction arises from poverty, but is also a cause of poverty and human rights violations. We believe that while the study focuses on Bangladesh, the implications are international in scope. We outline a number of social work interventions which could address forced eviction and the struggle for respect of human rights. Our findings are relevant to policy makers, human rights practitioners, government and non-government organizations (GOs–NGOs), and social workers.
Young single mothers are positioned as bad mothers in the dominant cultural and societal idealized narratives of motherhood in Hong Kong. This article draws from qualitative interview data of 20 young single mothers in Hong Kong who decided to keep their babies for lone motherhood, explicating the transformations they experienced in such decisions, and how their being positioned (or how they positioned themselves) as ‘bad’ mothers became their acts of resistance to the prevailing dominant images of motherhood. The findings also shed light on the important role in helping professionals collaboratively construct the ‘mother’ identity in order to prevent further subjugation.
Advocacy is a crucial vehicle for realising social work’s commitment to social justice. Yet, particularly in South Africa, little is known about social work research on advocacy. Therefore, this article uses a qualitative systematic review of published research on advocacy in South Africa’s social welfare sector in order to evaluate the contribution of social work research. It finds that there is scant research on social welfare advocacy in South Africa. Based on these findings, the article suggests areas for further social work research on advocacy in South Africa’s social welfare sector.
This study examined Russian Federation social work students’ motivation for pursuing a degree in social work. The study’s sample included 176 students from two universities in the Russian Federation. The study found that motivation for studying social work was complex. Over half of the sample (54.9%) indicated that altruistic motivation was among their top two reasons for studying social work, and a desire to help others was the most common response to an open-ended item that asked students to explain their reasons for deciding to study social work. However, careerist motivation also clearly played a strong role in participants’ decisions to pursue social work education; 80.8 percent of the sample indicated that a careerist motivation was their first choice reason for pursuing social work education. The study found that sex, family of origin’s income level, and religious observance were not significantly related to motivation for pursuing social work education. Contrary to previous research that reported high attrition rates, the majority of respondents indicated that they planned to work in the social work field following completion of their education. The implications of this study for the continued development of the social work profession in the Russian Federation are discussed, as are the limitations of the study.
Intercountry adoption programmes have brought children from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds to live as Australians, including 30 Thai children from Rangsit Children’s Home who arrived in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This article provides insight into the experiences of intercountry adoptees at four key stages of the adoption process: leaving the orphanage, arrival in Australia, becoming a member of a family and reconnecting with Thai culture. As this study demonstrates, each of these phases can be challenging for both the adoptees and the families who adopt them and supports may be required long after adoptees become adults.
Human trafficking is a growing crime in South Asia, particularly as economies move post-globalization. This mixed-method study explored several variables fueled by gender biases that create women’s vulnerability to human trafficking. Qualitative results supported the quantitative data from the World Development Indicator’s report that describe gross gender biases practiced in various South Asian countries. The most important findings reveal the current practices of gender bias, prostitution, and trafficking that are not recorded in the existing literature. A multi-dimensional regional practice model is proposed that could support female empowerment and international efforts to curb human trafficking in this region.
By 2019, the United States plans to resettle approximately 50,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the challenges, risks, and strengths of adult Congolese refugee women resettled in the United States to help policymakers, service providers, and other stakeholders prepare for the arrival of Congolese women and their families. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with Congolese refugee women (n = 28) and resettlement service providers (n = 29) in three US cities. The findings of this study reveal the complex and dynamic nature of Congolese refugee women’s resettlement experiences in the United States and highlight the importance of recognizing the intersection of pre- and post-migration factors during resettlement. This article offers concrete implications for the social work profession and practitioners.
Since 2011, Sichuan has started to provide personalized service for people with disability, which is a local innovation in China. This article analyzes the background, operation, and features of the personalized service, examining the service in an integrated way by analyzing four dimensions of social welfare policy, and evaluating the capacity of personalized service, mainly by interviewing persons with disability and policy implementers in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province. It is found that personalized service does benefit people with disability; however, there are several issues and challenges in terms of the target, items, delivery, and financing of the service.
Despite significant contributions from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in socio-economic development in Bangladesh, the evidence in community development is little known. The findings of this article are based on two NGOs working with two indigenous communities. The study used a qualitative case study research approach, where a multi-method data collection procedure was applied. The analysis of the findings underscored the role of these two NGOs in four ingredients of community development: improving participation, social networking, partnership and development ownership. The results showed that the NGOs’ contributions in community development were credible. The findings provide important guidelines for social workers, NGO workers and development practitioners.
This article examines the representation of social workers in the Russian-language immigrant press in Israel. Social work is a public service that did not exist in the USSR and most Russian immigrants were not familiar with it before immigration. This lack of basic knowledge underscores the importance of reliable representation of this major public service in the immigrant media. Nevertheless, the findings show that by taking the immigrants’ side under any circumstances, while distorting the function of the social work services, the immigrant press fails to fulfill its socialization role and does not facilitate its readers’ integration in their new society.
Healing from political violence is not solely an individual project, but a communal process involving reclaiming collective action, trust, and efficacy. This article uses a case study from two Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank to examine how two trends central to neoliberalism, individualism, and the medicalization of inherently social and political problems, discount larger forces that affect risk and resilience, thereby undermining mental health recovery from political violence. Implications for international social work include utilizing ecosocial frameworks for research and practice, engaging in advocacy, and establishing agendas for mental health practice that emphasize individual and collective self-determination.
A study was conducted in the greater Houston area in the United States with 1840 Asian American participants where 413 (22.5%) were 55 years and older and 12.6 percent had depressive symptoms. Logistic regression analysis found that the likelihood of being depressed was significantly increased among individuals with anxiety symptoms (odds ratio (OR) = 769.36), at least a high school education (OR = 21.756), a greater number of generations living in the household (OR = 3.789), and chronic pain (OR = 2.604). Conversely, being married reduced the likelihood of being depressed by 89.5 percent (OR = .105). Implications focus on help-seeking behaviors of older Asian Americans in relation to their mental health needs.
Increasing expectations that social work education incorporate international perspectives and prepare graduates to work in cross-national contexts is resulting in schools of social work in different countries collaborating in curriculum development. This article reports on one such collaboration involving four Australian and four European schools of social work which struggled to develop elements of curriculum that could be used by all partners, and identifies issues that international collaborations need to take account of in the planning and implementing of shared curriculum.
Social work in Africa faces major challenges due to factors such as lack of resources, insufficient training schools and adequate curricula. In this situation, the actions of women’s social movements can be defined as social development, more in line with the needs of the local population. This article presents, through Tanzania’s case, how the actions of women’s social movements, where the discipline of social work is weakened, follow different models of social development. Their actions should be reckoned as an opportunity to overcome some of the challenges of the professional education and practice of social work in the continent.
This study aimed to examine the role that informal and formal social support play with psychological well-being as reflected in positive and negative emotions of injured terror survivors in Israel. A total of 150 survivors who were eligible for social support and assistance by government agencies completed questionnaires that examined positive and negative emotions, informal social support, and formal social support from public government agencies provided by professional trained social workers. A hierarchal regression demonstrated that informal social support is associated with improved psychological state. However, formal social support, although provided by professional agencies, failed to demonstrate such an association. Theoretical, clinical, and policy implications of the findings are discussed.
This study is the first to examine and compare the psychological symptomatology, self-esteem and life satisfaction of women in polygamous and monogamous relationships in Syria. A convenience sample of 276 women was studied, of whom 163 were senior wives in polygamous marriages and 113 were wives in monogamous marriages. Findings revealed that senior wives in polygamous marriages experienced lower self-esteem, less life satisfaction and more mental health symptomatology than women in monogamous marriages. Many of the mental health symptoms were different; noteworthy were elevated somatization, depression, hostility and psychoticism. Implications for mental health practice, policy and further research are discussed.
The critical realist perspective which suggests that social reality is stratified informs this article, which attempts to uncover racial discrimination as experienced by Zimbabwean social workers within the UK social services. Research findings highlight racism perpetuated by institutional policies that have remained unchallenged for years but have continuously served to undermine foreign qualifications and devalue work experience of those recruited from the Global South. Also, the majority of the Zimbabwean social workers were reluctant to pinpoint what could be regarded as everyday racism, but they still showed agency in how they responded to both subtle and blatant forms of racism.
This article explores the impacts of a short-term international study programme on Australian social work students’ understanding of social justice and human rights issues, with particular emphasis on gender oppression. Using qualitative data from a reflective workshop plus written evaluations, students’ reflections on learning experiences during the programme are described and explored. Implications for social work study abroad programmes and the professional knowledge base are considered. Findings indicate that student understanding of gender oppression, social justice and human rights as global issues was enriched by the programme and the need for faculty-led facilitated, reflective learning is reinforced.
The authors examine their Kazakhstani social work teaching experiences. Key elements discussed include the history of Kazakhstani culture, language, family life; the view that the classroom is a microcosm of the larger society; and the role of language dominance in the Kazakhstani classroom. Five concepts provide a framework for analyzing our classroom experiences, including indigenization, internationalization, and three concepts from Paulo Freire (i.e. culture of silence, banking concept of education, and critical consciousness). This framework provides students with ways to awaken to social consciousness, to analyze oppression, and to participate in actions to change society.
This article examines the problems caused by workfare in China. It is found that China’s public assistance scheme is managed mainly by volunteers and government officials who do not necessarily possess relevant qualifications. Also, welfare claimants’ benefits can be ceased without going through a rigorous procedure; they can hardly challenge the decisions of the authority because China’s judicial system is interfered by central and local senior officials. This article concludes that workfare is a product of Western democratic countries; its implementation in undemocratic states will only increase power abuses among welfare bureaucrats and threaten the rights of claimants.
Differences in social solidarity among Chinese in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom have been identified from two linked studies. Significant differences emerged between the two Chinese communities. Notably, respondents in Hong Kong reported a higher sense of belonging to their community, greater engagement with the provision of care for others and made a greater contribution to the lives of others than did UK Chinese respondents. Consideration about construction and delivery of social services is discussed.
This study of educational programs in schools of social work in the Nordic countries focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching, research, field practice, and community involvement. The study makes comparisons with similar studies in the United States, Israel, Canada, and Hungary. It takes those studies a step further by discussing whether the national welfare system influences interdisciplinary collaboration in the educational programs in the respective countries.
Population ageing around the world has drawn increased attention to the issue of human rights of older people. Extended old age is a women’s issue, considering women’s longevity advantage over men. Gender inequalities across the life course often make women more vulnerable to violence, abuse and poverty in old age than men. The human rights framework provides a solid foundation to approach the issue of violence and abuse against older women. This article critically reviews the United Nations instruments, with a focus on the international movement to promote human rights of older women, and provides implications for global social work practice.
In recent years, various professional associations in social work and regulatory bodies worldwide have engaged in ambitious efforts to draft and implement comprehensive ethics guidelines, standards, and education. For a variety of complex reasons, the social work profession in India has lagged behind developments in many other nations. The purpose of this article is to assess the current status of social work ethics in India, review relevant developments throughout the world, and present a blueprint to guide the development of much-needed indigenous ethical standards and education in India.
An important element of contemporary social work is the influence of international trends on the contexts of practice. In this article, we will critically examine aspects of globalisation and the relationships between health inequalities and social inequalities and the implications for social work practice. Giles called on social workers to develop a ‘health equality imagination’; however, the challenge for practitioners on a day-to-day basis is how to integrate such an imagination into their work. A number of suggested approaches towards a greater engagement in addressing health inequalities in social work practice, education and research are also presented.
Family violence including interparental violence and child maltreatment is a pervasive social problem that affects all societies worldwide, and its detrimental impacts on people’s mental health are well documented. However, studies on family violence in South Korea are still limited. By utilizing an exploratory retrospective research design, this study explored the extent of childhood experience of family violence and the long-term impacts on mental health outcomes. A total of 90 college students in South Korea participated, and findings reveal that more than half of the participants were exposed to family violence as children, resulting in harmful long-term impacts on their mental health in young adulthood.
The problems with current forms of electronic information systems (IS) implemented in human service organizations have been well documented and attention is now focussed on how they might be redesigned for the future. The aim in this article is to demonstrate how previous research and theory can provide useful insights into these problems, which, in turn, can provide guidance for future research-based approaches to redesign. Ideas from ‘cognitive systems theory’ (CSE) and more specifically ‘joint cognitive systems’ (JCS) are explored in relation to the main problems that have been identified with current forms of IS.
This article reports on a sample of young New Zealand children under two years of age entering care in 2005 (n = 228) and follows their progress over a five-year period. The study, the first of its kind in New Zealand, used a clinical data mining method to focus particularly on issues of stability, continuity and permanency. In these areas the research findings were generally positive for this cohort of children. Most children had only one or two caregivers. Almost all were ethnically matched with their caregivers in both kinship and foster care, and permanency, or a stable, permanent living situation, was achieved for the majority of the children.
This article proposes that the new UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children usher in a new international rights-based policy framework for care-leavers. It acknowledges the global nature of the concerns, reviews a growing body of international literature and examines key debates, illustrated by policy orientations and practice examples drawn from the authors’ experience of developing Moving Forward (Cantwell, Davidson, Elsley, Milligan, and Quinn, 2012), the Guidelines’ international implementation handbook. A number of themes emerge, particularly the value of intangible emotional supports for young care-leavers. The traditional lack of a rights-oriented discourse in this area suggests more strategic collaborative efforts by a range of actors are needed.
This article critically examines the close tie between host and source countries in producing education migration. Using South Korea and Canada as a case study, our analysis illustrates how the gradual granting/limiting of citizenship to education migrants is ingrained in social policy which contributes to the nation-building of the host country while relying on ‘foreign’ income from the source country, impinging on family life (i.e. splitting family structure trans-nationally), and risking social integration. Although the actors are changed from labor migrants to education migrants the same dynamic of excluding migrants from citizenship and distinguishing worthy migrants from non-worthy migrants remains unchanged.
Families’ perception and their acceptance of the person with schizophrenia play a major role in the course and outcome of schizophrenia. Based on in-depth interviews with people with schizophrenia and focused group discussion with their care givers, this article identifies the factors that influence family acceptance which in turn nullify people’s experiences of stigma and discrimination in an urban metropolis of India. Factors that strengthened acceptance and nullified people’s experiences of stigma and discrimination in domains like marriage, decision-making, access to property, treatment and care have been identified. The article highlights implications for social work practice and research.
This article presents the history of the First International Conference on Social Work in 1928 and explores five themes from the conference proceedings: cross-disciplinary collaborations, international activity that respects national identities, increasing professionalism in social work education, personal relationships, and a sense of both urgency and optimism. Implications for international efforts in social work today are briefly explored.
The dramatic growth in social work education is documented in the International Association of Schools of Social Work’s 2010 census of institutions offering at least one degree program in social work. The census gathered data on program structure, personnel, student enrollment and curriculum from 473 respondents in the five IASSW regions. Half of the respondents reported requiring course content in social work history, values or ethics, and 20 percent of required courses are taught by non-social work educators. The expansion of social work programs is indicative of social work’s untapped potential for delivering social justice content on the international stage.
Improved understanding of the psychological impact on children following natural disasters is needed to assist with psychological recovery. The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare the disaster experiences and psychological symptoms of children, ages 8 to 17, following the Chilean earthquake and tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina. Over one-third of all students (N = 827) met the symptom cut-off for mental health referral. Two one-sided test (TOST) procedures revealed similar symptom levels among the Chilean and Hurricane Katrina samples and similar numbers of reported disaster experiences. Interestingly, the Chilean earthquake and tsunami sample reported more direct disaster related losses and the Hurricane Katrina sample reported more recovery related issues. The findings suggest that even with cultural and type of disaster experience differences, children’s responses to disasters are similar across cultures and that mental health services are needed to support recovery.
International labour mobility is occurring in social work and isolated studies are beginning to research this topic. This article reports on one aspect of research into the experiences of ‘international social workers’ (ISWs) in London (UK), namely, the perceptions of the managers who supervise them, with regards to their preparedness, induction and support needs.
Cultural competence is today a prominent concept and aspiration in all aspects of international social work. In this article, I argue that the common understanding of ‘cultural competence’ from the so-called essentialist perspective is inadequate, and even risky, when working in an international context. Drawing on examples, I suggest that a more constructive and reflective view of cultural competence be adopted in order to meet the challenges of international social work in the contemporary world, and to better equip ourselves as ethical and anti-oppressive practitioners and educators.
This article reports from a Caribbean study on the sexual victimization of children. The authors proposes a synergistic approach to analysing the ways in which the multi-layered facets of abuse interact to reinforce each other and argues that these understandings can generate multi-level activities (conceptual, material, structural) that together might produce effects that are greater than their individual components. For example, a sex offender treatment programme that is developed alongside a public health oriented education and prevention programme, and in which both address the status of children and gender socialization, may be more effective in combination than as separate interventions.
Climate change is having a very real impact, affecting not only ecosystems but also the socio-economic systems of small cities and rural communities. Globally, climate change is a consequential concern, since it is contributing to an increase in global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, raising sea levels, and natural hazards. Locally, the effects of climate change vary, depending upon the region, with communities experiencing the impacts of climate change differently and at various degrees. This article presents research findings from a study on climate change, disasters, and sustainable development that provide insight into the diverse perspectives of community members on climate change in six communities in the Interior and Northern regions of British Columbia, Western Canada. A common denominator between these six communities is how social development is being applied to address climate change. The concept of social development encompasses social and economic well-being. The social development approach involves processes, activities, and institutions working together to develop the social and economic capacities of individuals and communities. In particular, for social workers working with individuals, families, and communities impacted by climate change, the social development approach is effective in addressing social and economic needs. This article will examine the differing perspectives and attitudes of affected community members and the role of social development with respect to climate change adaptation and response. It will also provide suggestions on how social workers can support and apply the social development approach in communities experiencing the impacts of climate change.
The aim of this study was to add to current understanding of the constituents of well-being amongst Palestinian helpers working in war-like conditions. Using a purposive sampling design, 23 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with health professionals in two Palestinian cities. Quantitative Textual Analysis was carried out, adopting content-pattern analysis via cluster methods. Two ‘macro’ dimensions emerged: specifically, a first dimension termed personal well-being and a second termed political well-being. Our investigation into the complex construct of quality of life illustrates that contextually based evidence does indeed help to identify bunched structures containing local cultural values defining well-being.
This study examined prevalence and correlates of spousal physical or sexual violence against married women in Nepal using a nationally representative sample of 3,373 women. About 23 percent had experienced physical abuse and 14 percent had experienced sexual violence by their husbands. Compared to women married at age 20 and after, those married by age 15 had 83 percent and 71 percent higher odds of experiencing physical and sexual abuse respectively. Other risk factors included: husband’s humiliation of wife in front of others, jealousy and mistrust, excessive consumption of alcohol, and women’s awareness of physical violence against their mothers.
We found that social service agents who worked with refugees and were exposed to group dynamics over long periods observed varying levels of tension between exiled compatriots as well as limits to their relations. Consequently, most of them tried to work with mixed rather than homogeneous groups whenever possible. Most of the agents seemed to favour neutrality, at least in appearances, with respect to factors that could cause divisions within a group. By contrast, others would forego the neutral ideal and would not hesitate to harness the mobilizing potential of certain affinities among specific sub-groups within larger groups of compatriots.
The goal of the study was to explore the relationship between personality characteristics and the development of resilience in the context of social work. To do this, combining the transverse and longitudinal approaches, we investigated 479 students and professional social workers. For students, the within-subject analysis shows that this group, while pursuing a university degree, are reaching greater openness, accountability, extraversion and kindness and, by contrast, are reducing their levels of neuroticism, which is the personality trait that acquires smaller presence on the professional stage. The regression results also confirmed the influence and predictive ability of personality traits on the resilience of students and social workers.
This article examines how the social studies of childhood can inform social work research. The first half of the article considers how notions of ‘childhood’ as a social construction diverge from normative, uniform and universal ideas of what might otherwise constitute ‘the child’. The second half then considers this discussion in regards to social work research. It considers the extent to which childhood scholarship has been used within the discipline of social work and illustrates this point by drawing upon recent empirical contributions to the foster care literature in the UK.
The purpose of this article is to report the findings of the mental health needs and community support systems for deaf and hard of hearing (HOH) adults in Nepal. Ninety-nine deaf Nepali adults completed a household-by-household, researcher-administered survey. The survey contained two World Health Organization instruments: the Self-Report Questionnaire and the Rapid Assessment of Mental Health Needs. The results indicated that 38 percent of the sample met the threshold score for the presence of mental health problems; 24 percent met the threshold for the presence of negative environmental influences. A multiple regression analysis indicated that the RAMH score was a significant predictor of SRQ-20 scores. Gender and age were not significant predictors. Respondents indicated that basic needs, assistive devices, such as hearing aids, job and educational opportunities, and supportive community programs are lacking. Several indicators also suggest that they are somewhat isolated from the surrounding community. Implications for social work and future research are noted.
This work addresses the two questions of how China can respond to its rapidly aging population and whether China can learn from the experiences of Sweden when establishing a universal pension system. Two different demographic transitions are analysed: the slowly aging Swedish population, and the rapidly aging Chinese population. This work discusses adaptations and dilemmas in the labour market and in family structures in response to balances and imbalances in these demographic structures. Measuring instruments need to be adapted to a changing situation. Family care contributions must be recognized. What is considered a fair distribution of welfare must be further analysed.
Public health insurance for China’s children is analyzed using an equity analysis framework and compared to US public health insurance for low-income children. Four dimensions of comparisons are addressed: fairness of financial support, equal treatment for equal need, equality of access to services, and equality of health outcomes. Secondary data from China and US government statistics were used for the comparisons. Recommendations to strengthen China’s health insurance for children include lower out-of-pocket expenses, standardized data collection and management, qualified nurse practitioners providing rural health care, and explicit coverage requirements.
This article seeks to reflect on knowledge and experiences gained from an International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES). Challenges and opportunities inherent in the development and management of a large-scale international research project in social work are explored. Through a synthesis of conceptual frameworks a process model for international research collaboration is constructed based chiefly on the stages of group development, a conceptual framework for cross-national research, an interdisciplinary teamwork process and collaborative knowledge building. The five stages of the process model, namely forming, norming, storming, performing and adjourning and associated steps are connected by a practice of reflexivity.
Young children (N = 381) from three institutions in St Petersburg (Russian Federation) who were transitioned to intercountry (USA) adoption or to various domestic families in Russia did not differ in birth weight, length, head circumference, and rated condition at birth, nor did they differ upon departure from the institutions with respect to physical growth and behavioral development. These results provide little support to the occasional allegation for the possibility that intercountry adopted children are selected to be developmentally more (or less) advanced, or that outcomes for children in alternative family placements simply may be associated with pre-placement developmental differences. The generality of these results to other institutions and countries is unknown.
Conditions in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are difficult, with poverty rates high, educational attainment low, and opportunities few. Of concern to policy-makers is ‘Ayn al-Hilweh, the largest camp in Lebanon. This camp experiences frequent factional violence and harbors numerous individuals wanted by Lebanese authorities. This study, using a random survey of households, examined the frequency of households’ experience with violence and the association of experiencing violence with PTSD symptomology. Results show one in five households experienced violence and these experiences were associated with increased PTSD symptomology. Implications for social work within the camp are discussed.
In China, school social work services after disasters are at the exploratory stage. After the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, the recognition of social work intervention to reconstruct post-disaster areas has emerged. This article illustrates the process of school social work service in the disaster relief schools of Sichuan by viewing the project undertaken by the China Youth Development Foundation, which is associated with the China Association of Social Work Education. It likewise explores the service modes for the local development of school social work, which marks a new stage in the development of social work in China.
The 21st century has created renewed interest in developing culturally relevant social work where it does not exist, especially for children affected by armed conflict and disaster, in order to ensure that local professional standards guide responses to these types of distress. In this context Afghanistan’s National Strategy for Children at Risk required the development of professional guidelines for social work practice with children in crisis. This article illustrates the collaboration of the Afghan government with two international schools of social work to initiate national social work standards and curricula by engaging local practitioners in defining their work and core competencies through the DACUM (Develop-A-Curriculum) method. Strengths and limitations of the method are explored, as are implications for social work development in Afghanistan and other conflict and disaster affected countries.
In the arena of disability, disabled children and young people continue to be positioned in a variety of ways with some of these affording opportunities and others continuing to focus on deficit and constraint. Social workers occupy a pivotal position at the interface between policy and practice, and can effectively counter circular processes of disablement. In this article, a frame of reference is employed which, by incorporating key areas such as targeting and rights and social exclusion and social investment, enables the potential for further development in relation to the personalization agenda in both Australia and the United Kingdom, to be critically appraised.
Social work is a discipline that has its origins in the Western context but has spread to a wide range of contexts. We undertook a small research project as a quest to enhance the delivery of fieldwork programs but the findings clearly held implications for the development of new social work models and practices that are unique to the Papua New Guinea context. While further research is needed, it is our contention that the integration of Melanesian values holds promise, albeit accompanied by challenges, to contribute to the indigenization of social work as a model of practice that reflects local needs and local context in Papua New Guinea.
This article assesses the interaction between international and local influences in South African child welfare practice and education between 2001 and 2010. Based on a mixed methods study, it finds that the primary mechanism for international exchange occurred through funding. Professional imperialism continued to be evidenced in the domination of Northern agendas in local curricula and the lack of critical interrogation of external practices. A disjuncture between research and practice priorities was found with some areas of intersection. The article provides insight into the local/global nexus in child welfare and recommends further investigation into more authentic and egalitarian international relationships of exchange.
Quality of life including the domains of physical health and mental health are influenced by HIV infection. Coping strategies and their relationships with various domains of quality of life (QOL) were assessed among 97 HIV-infected individuals in Pune, India. Most of the infected individuals adopted emotion-focused strategies through cognitive reframing and acceptance of their HIV status. One-third adopted problem-focused coping and sought health care, scientific information and social support. Significant associations of coping strategies were observed with marital status and work and earning domains of the QOL questionnaire. Findings can help decide appropriate care and support strategies and psycho-social interventions for HIV-infected individuals.
This article evaluates how and to what extent indigenization of social work profession and practice in Nigeria can occur. There is a need to indigenize social work because of the shortcomings and inadequacies of Western social work theories and practices in addressing Nigerian social problems. For social work to succeed here, culture and tradition must be taken into consideration. Social work education and practices should incorporate some valuable local social-cultural practices. Social work should be indigenized in local contexts, that is, to accommodate the socio-cultural complexities of the over 350 ethnic groups and cultures in Nigeria.
Australia has an established history of migration from the Middle East. In recent years, however, the emergence of international terrorism has defined those from that area as the new enemy; yet we do not fully understand the impact of this on the settlement experiences of migrants from that region. Given Australia’s migration pattern is dominated by skilled migration, this exploratory study sought to investigate how a small sample of self-selected skilled migrants from the Middle East experienced job seeking and settlement in Melbourne, Australia. Seven individuals participated in semi-structured interviews during July–August 2009. Thematic analysis revealed that participants had high, but ultimately unfulfilled, expectations for life and employment in Australia. Those immigrating with families experienced initial difficulties securing stable and suitable housing. The majority of participants struggled to find equivalent employment. This was seen to be influenced by their lack of both local qualifications and experience; differing cultural expectations about behaviour in job interviews was also an issue raised as influential. These challenges, combined with lack of government support, led to social isolation, psychological vulnerability and financial hardship.
Using survey data collected from 115 first-generation Jamaican immigrants residing in New York City, this study identified factors that were associated with their attitudes toward seeking professional mental health services. Results indicated that persons reporting psychological distress, negative stigma and attributions about mental illness, and positive social support from friends were less likely than their counterparts to report positive attitudes towards professional mental health services. Implications of the study are discussed in relation to these findings.
Young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) are a focus of government attention in the UK. For social service professionals the mechanisms underpinning the individual experience of NEET are critical to designing effective interventions. International comparisons point to similar experiences at the level of the individual family. This article examines the factors that may contribute to a young person becoming NEET and applies these to the demographics of a rural area in England. Poor educational attainment and low socio-economic status are key factors, with the mental well-being of young people as a proposed underpinning mechanism.
Scholars and practitioners in an array of disciplines, and increasingly in social work and social development, are looking to indigenous knowledge in their search for a host of ideological and pragmatic ends. Following the enumeration and analysis of these ends, this article concludes that while indigenous knowledge may perhaps provide a feel-good way of searching for answers in difficult times, its utility in achieving most of its pragmatic ends, as differentiated from its ideological ones, is questionable.
Although Hong Kong has developed into a Westernized city, many widows still feel the strong pull of cultural demands in coping with the loss of their husbands. The purpose of this study was to explore how Chinese women in Hong Kong cope with bereavement and widowhood. Results reveal that the coping methods of the 26 participants are pragmatic and culturally dependent, and can be grouped into four categories, namely, remaining lonely and stigmatized, submitting to predestination and fate, seeking a transition from feeling aggrieved to active coping, and searching for new family relationships. The implications for social work practice are discussed.
Migration problems are mainly reduced unilaterally to problems that migrants cause in the guest society regarding housing, employment, education and health care. At the same time migration research often focuses on the same reduction: the living conditions of migrants in our society and ghettoization, unemployment, the concentration of migrant children in so called ‘sink’ schools, unsuccessful integration and the sense of insecurity within the native community due to the presence of foreigners. Social workers proceed according to this evidence-based practice. Social workers are committed to the realization of a social policy that needs to accomplish an effective integration of migrants. In this article we question the evidence of the integration policy that is pursued. The reasons for this are multiple, but not least because the integration practices are often very counterproductive. I argue that migrant problems are not confined to the borders of our own community. A social policy of integration, addressed to migrants and other newcomers, which only depends on the conditions of our own society, must fail. Social work has increasingly been drawn into a role of punishment in its work with newcomers. This article looks to enlarge evidence-based practice to a reflexive collaboration with professionals in order to counterbalance the current rejection and submission of ‘unsuccessful’ migrants and newcomers.
This article explores the idea of returning home to the South to practise social work. Through our experiences as members of diasporic communities living in the North, we examine how we are implicated in the tensions that surround social work practice and research as efforts to internationalize continue to grow. Specifically, we explore the following themes: the neo-managerial underpinnings of the internationalization of social work; neocolonialism embedded in occupying the role of the reluctant expert; and what we carry with us to help us negotiate the tensions that we experience in navigating our practices across borders.
Considering the increase in divorce in Saudi Arabia, 99 girls, ages 12–16, were randomly selected in the city of Riyadh, SA, to measure the impact of parental divorce on their social and education adjustment. Multivariate analysis was used to test a model of three independent variables ‘behavior, self-relation, and stress’, which explained 45 percent of the variation in the dependent variables ‘adjustment’. Findings indicate that Saudi girls’ adjustment to divorce was influenced by the Saudi society cultural traditions and expectations. Implications for social work practice in school settings have been drawn based on the available intervention models with children of divorce.
This study explores an innovative intervention for orphaned children in Uganda. It combines standard health care with an economic empowerment component. We refer to this combination as a family asset-based intervention, which provides each child with a child development account (CDA), a matched savings account for secondary schooling; financial education; and a mentor. This article examines the educational outcomes of the girls in this study. The results from the first two waves of the study indicate that CDAs have the potential to begin to help negate the effects of past gender inequalities and to help provide a path for young girls to move forward.
Based on a theme that emerged from a study conducted with 25 Indigenous stakeholders between 2009 and 2010, this article argues for the inadequacy of Western models of the practitioner–client relationship, and a need to consider rural and cultural characteristics of Indigenous social work in relationship building and maintaining. The findings suggest that historical and affective contexts, life contextualized scenarios and the collective interest which affect professional boundaries and the dyadic relationship are important in terms of addressing the relationship in a tribal community. The article ends by highlighting implications for Indigenous social work.
My intentions in this article are two-fold: 1) to highlight some of the complexities related to beneficent research which social workers might encounter when doing fieldwork with transnational families in an unstructured environment; 2) to argue that efforts to bring about good for vulnerable respondents outside remedial social work settings may have to confront structures that maintain people in circumstances of injustice. Structural change, however, can hardly be achieved within the scope of fieldwork research relationships. Throughout I draw on my fieldwork experiences for illustrations.
To inform social work practice with adolescents who may consume alcohol, we examined if alcohol use among Chilean adolescents varied as a function of their mothers’ and their own religiosity and spirituality. Data were from 787 Chilean adolescents and their mothers. Adolescent spirituality was a protective factor against more deleterious alcohol use. Parental monitoring and alcohol using opportunities mediated the associations. The practice of religious behaviors by themselves without meaningful faith were not associated with alcohol use among adolescents. Implications for social work practice are discussed.
This article argues that the good work non-governmental organizations (NGOs) perform tends to produce one of two responses: it either shields them from the kinds of scrutiny to which mainstream businesses are subjected or, failing this, earns them the label of unwitting or unwilling participants in neoliberal programs imposed by multilateral international organizations on poor countries. This article examines the response by South African NGOs to a call by the Department of Social Development to offer financial support for students studying social work. It presents an analysis of neoliberal influences on the business nature, managerial structure, and logistical operations of social development NGOs, and the way in which their relationship with donors impacts on the interests of the beneficiaries of their projects as well as those of countries in which they work. This article argues that, much more than appendages of neoliberalism, some NGOs in South Africa voluntarily privatized their services in the interest of the private rather than the public good.
Serious debate about the indigenization of social work has transpired recently. This article argues that by taking indigenization as an interactive and non-linear process that helps cultivate a multicultural social work practice within a society, importing Western social work practice and indigenization are compatible. In particular, this article attempts to illustrate the compatibility by analyzing how political activists employ Western values and practice, the universal human rights discourse, and mainstreaming, to fight for the rights of Hong Kong ethnic minorities, which may consequently lead to the development of a multicultural social work practice.
Over the last decade in the United States, there has been a rapid intensification of the criminalization of immigration. At the nexus of this criminalization is a new institution with potentially profound consequences for transnational migrants, an especially vulnerable population now receiving increased attention from the social work profession. This article explores this phenomenon and its relevance for international social work.
This article reports on the findings of a study conducted with 24 women who left violent domestic relationships in Lebanon. The study sought to understand the process of making the decision to leave within the particularities of the Lebanese sociocultural context. Findings elucidate a three-step process by which women make and carry out their decision to leave: 1) focusing on saving the marriage, 2) facing a moment of truth that helps them re-evaluate their experiences within the marriage, and 3) leaving without ‘losing face’. Implications of these findings for research and practice are presented.
There are increasing calls for the universal implementation of human rights education into the curriculum of schools of social work flowing from international directives including the recent Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development Commitment to Action. With these directives as backdrop, we use, as a case study, the issue of child physical punishment with particular reference to the Caribbean region. The article discusses the prevalence of child physical punishment, social factors supporting its use, human rights agreements, and current research. Child physical punishment is one example of the breach between international human rights promises and lived realities.
To develop social work students’ understanding of the global context of social work, an asynchronous video uploading project was constructed to link social work classrooms on six continents. Students in social work classrooms around the world video-recorded their responses to prompting questions and uploaded them to a project webpage, to which all classrooms had access. Asynchronous uploading allowed students to view and then respond via video to other students without concern for time zone synchronization. This pedagogical approach was designed and implemented to broaden students’ intercultural competence, perspectives on international social work, and awareness of global social problems.
In 2003, the South Korean national government implemented a systematic school social work program known as the Education Welfare Priority Zone Plan (EWPZP). The EWPZP was designed to enable all related educational and social agencies in a zone to serve students in need by situating schools within the communities’ welfare networks. This research project aims to examine the characteristics of educational welfare networks in a target area in Seoul, South Korea, and assess levels of inter-agency collaboration. The authors also suggest that the EWPZP project needs to institutionalize greater collaboration between schools and welfare organizations and to make networks tighter.
South African social work education changed from norm-based to outcomes-based education soon after the first democratic government came into power in 1994 and a new Bachelor of Social Work has been in existence since 2007. The article argues in support of deep learning principles and presents narrative constructions from two differently advantaged departments of social work, illustrating how lecturers and students there have adapted to outcomes-based education. Conclusions indicate that statutory requirements and institutional pressures militate against the development of deep learning. The urgency to incorporate transformative learning in meeting professional standards is placed in the international context.
Although Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is only one of the identifiable responses to trauma, it has become the main focus of trauma research, writing, and clinical interventions. The unquestioned use worldwide of PTSD, however, presents the risk of oversimplifying human responses to traumatic events. This article goes beyond critiques of the current trauma paradigm and intends to offer new theoretical tenets whereby multiple local contexts could be better incorporated into trauma discourse and practice. If a renewed trauma paradigm aims to have a role in the global health arena, it should be informed locally and globally.
Health and wealth are important to international social work discussions. This article examines the relationship between wealth indexes and the outcome of diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and BMI irregularities. It examines a construct of virtual neighborhoods in urban and rural populations of women. The data are drawn from the NFHS-3 (2007) and applies a hierarchical logistic regression analysis. It is found that women in mid-level neighborhoods in rural areas and poor neighborhoods in urban areas are most at-risk for negative health outcomes. Thus, women’s health outcomes and processes appear to be complicated due to poverty and neighborhood interaction.
The gap between theory and practice in social work has been the subject of considerable debate over recent years. This study aims at exploring the reasons for the gap between theory and practice in Kuwait, and the most significant reason for this gap. A convenient sample of 342 participated from different institutions. The results showed that the major reasons for the gap were job challenges and requirements, followed by curriculum, job description, and self-development. Results also showed significant differences between gender, type of university, major of the participants, and the institutions in which the participants work.
Through examining the Hakka cultural heritage, the author describes a specific Chinese ethnic group – ‘global Hakka’ – based on its unique Hakka multifaceted languages. These ‘guest’ immigrants integrate their culture and languages into the host province in China or host country outside of China. They seek cultural permanency through active participation in learning a new language or another Chinese dialect for cultural adjustment. Through learning from these clients’ strong adjustment abilities, social workers can practice metalinguistic awareness skills with the application of 10 principles by means of self-evaluation and reflection around their clients’ linguistic learning motivation.
This article examines women’s attitudes towards informal, formal social and formal legal support-seeking strategies against intimate partner violence (IPV). This study found that the majority of the participants were likely to seek help from informal, formal social and formal legal agents. Multivariate analyses revealed that women’s attitudes significantly varied by women’s age, women’s working status, experience of violence, receipt of micro-credit, women’s decision-making authority, husband’s age, husband’s education, family economic status and family type. We suggest that increased employment opportunities and increased number of micro-credit recipients may change women’s attitudes from avoidance coping strategies to help-seeking coping strategies.
The relationship between the emergence of political populism and social work has not been well investigated. This article reports the results of research conducted by means of in-depth interviews and questionnaires on a sample of 90 social workers employed by municipalities governed by populist parties in Italy, where the phenomenon of xenophobic politics has recently grown to particularly worrying proportions. The article describes the effects of populist programmes on social work and highlights the different reactions of social workers in response to the new scenario.
This articles compares features of the redistributive, developmental and productivist models of social policy. Using East Asian welfare systems as examples, it illustrates the application of the productivist and developmental models, and describes the contextual factors influencing these models. It argues that each model is an outgrowth of a particular social, economic and political context. When the context changes, the choice of model will also change, as shown in the recent development of redistributive policies in the East Asian region.
The objective of this study is to analyze the social impact of the use of royalties and special participation, and sovereign and social funds, in the context of the pre-salt oil reserves in Brazil. With the pre-salt discoveries, the royalty values will grow considerably, justifying academic efforts to ensure the socially equitable application of this wealth. There has been enormous growth in the revenue from royalties in oil-producing municipalities; however, this has had little or no impact on social development, social justice, and human rights. It is concluded that oil, and resources derived from oil, are assets of the Union, requiring adequate social control.
The focus of this article is how can people’s religious practice be a resource in international social work? The question will be discussed in relation to pre-modern, modern and postmodern societies. The article will contain a description of religious activity in two different cases and related to international social work. The article concludes that from a postmodern view, international social work will profit from opening up and seeing religion as a contextual factor. What needs to be discussed further is whether a reason for the relative absence of religion and religious practice in international social work textbooks might be the lack of distinction between acknowledgement and acceptance of religion.
Whilst terrorism is not a new global phenomenon, the fallout from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US remain extensive and far reaching, including the sanctioning of harsher security measures and the denigration of human rights and civil liberties. Of particular concern is the move towards torture being an accepted practice for those deemed ‘terror suspects’ or captured ‘enemy’ combatants in countries where the so called ‘war on terror’ is still being played out. This article argues that the social work response, particularly in relation to challenging pro-torture rhetoric, has been limited at best, and to effectively address the problem there must be an international response if social work is to adhere to its obligations under the IFSW Code of Ethics, and fulfil its role as a human rights profession.
We examine how the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was modified to measure anxiety and depression among HIV-infected sex workers in India. Supervised by a community advisory group, HADS was translated and administered to 100 HIV-infected sex workers in Sonagachi, Kolkata, India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine validity. Results indicate that the inability to remain calm is experienced as depression rather than anxiety, whereas functional impairment induces anxiety rather than depression. The cross-loadings were interpreted in the context of prevalent cultural norms. The modified instrument identified a high prevalence of depression (30%) and anxiety (44%).
This article provides an overview of published studies on social representations of HIV/AIDS. It argues that, despite changes over time in the peripheral elements of negative social representations, such representations remain present within the health care field and continue to affect populations across various cultures. This underlines the importance of health care that accounts for cultural needs in interventions with people living with HIV/AIDS. A review of the relevant literature suggests that it is necessary to assist caregivers (including social workers) in understanding both the social significance associated with the illness and the concept of cultural competence.
This exploratory study discusses the identity construction of young deaf people in Jordan through their own interpretation and the perspectives of their families. It is based on qualitative data derived from focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that schools and family environments remain predominantly exclusionary in socializing young deaf into the construction of an identity of disability. However, young deaf people view themselves as a sub-group within a larger collective culture. This study takes into account the wider differences inherent in gender issues, as is significant in the conceptualization of young deaf identity in the Arab world.
The field of social work worldwide has been increasingly influenced by globalization, migration, and other conditions that require professionals to be responsive and knowledgeable in addressing them. This collaborative project examined students’ perceptions of international social work at three universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Georgia. Students’ responses indicated an overall strong interest and widespread agreement that there is a link between local and global social issues. The findings suggest that social work education needs to be globalized and tailored to students’ needs, which will help them identify social work strongly as part of a profession and affect change across the globe.
This article presents a case study to illustrate the complexities of financial abuse of older people by their family members. It provides insights into why older people and social care professionals may not detect or define family member’s behaviour as abuse or feel discomfort in talking about it. The authors argue case studies can lead to new understandings about financial abuse that move beyond operational definitions to theoretical explanations that consider practices and outcomes of ageism and gender relations.
This article analyses the social work implications in programmes and initiatives that address the rights of children in Kenya. The analysis is drawn from three case studies of organizations that promote child rights in Kenya, namely Compassion International (Kenya), Chosen Children of Promise (CCP) and Equity Group Foundation of the Equity Bank. These agencies are making notable efforts to identify needy children and assist them to access education in appropriate institutions through the provision of scholarships and other forms of assistance. The research notes the lack of clear government policy for gifted and talented children’s education and the positive role that social workers could play in the promotion of child rights in Kenya. This article makes a contribution to the awareness of policies for gifted and talented children in Kenya.
This study explored service needs and service utilization among older Kurdish refugees and immigrants in the US. A sample of 70 older Kurds is included and descriptive statistics were utilized. The findings of this study reported that older Kurdish refugees and immigrants are experiencing multiple service needs yet they do not seek help to meet their service needs. This study also highlighted existing barriers to services among older Kurdish refugees and immigrants, which accentuate the need for the development and implementation of culturally competent services for this unique population.
This article describes the historical background and current situation of the child welfare system for children without parental care in Poland. Nowadays in Poland, most children without parental care still have both parents, but are placed in out-of-home care as a protective measure. Multiple scenarios are possible for these children. Financial resources, however, are often not sufficient to provide the most desirable care. Despite reforms aimed at deinstitutionalization and a growing number of foster care placements in Poland, almost 20,000 children remain in institutional care. For some children without parental care domestic or international adoption is decided.
This article draws on a study of New Zealand social workers’ experiences of continuing professional education (CPE) during the first two years following the advent of limited statutory registration. A qualitative study demonstrates strong links between social workers’ educational aspirations and beliefs about the status of the profession. Social workers in the study perceived continuing education in part as a tool to achieve greater professional standing for social work in contested spaces. At a time when registration legislation is likely to be strengthened, this article contributes to the somewhat neglected scholarship of continuing education in an increasingly regulated social work profession.
This article provides an analysis of the importance of self-help groups for women in post-tsunami rehabilitation efforts in Tamil Nadu, India. The finding is one of eight key themes identified in a larger study of the long-term social, economic and gender implications of post-tsunami rehabilitation work. While self-help groups were reported as having provided women with a measure of new social and economic opportunities, status and power, little evidence existed for a substantial reduction of poverty levels or a change in the prevailing patriarchal attitudes. The authors suggest that multiple long-term sustainable approaches to post-disaster reconstruction are needed to provide fundamental social and economic change for women.
In this study, we assessed the relevance and effectiveness of radio broadcasting as a strategy that facilitates the adoption and use of safer sexual practices among students at a South African university. Based on ethnographic data, the article highlights that the essential and critical contribution of campus radio lies in its ability to create a social space for HIV/AIDS communication. The overall aim of this study was to assess the relationship between exposure to radio broadcasting messages and the adoption of safer sexual practices. Our analysis suggests that campus broadcasting can be instrumental in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and education.
India’s drylands, located in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, receive low rainfall (annual average of 95–1000 mm). Farmers have to rely on the monsoon rains to cultivate crops. Realizing the irrigation water need of the farmers who inhabit the drylands, a non-profit agency called NM Sadguru Water and Development Foundation (hereafter, the Sadguru Foundation), initiated social work based on irrigation water to assist farmers in growing more crops. In this article, we present data on the irrigation-based social work implemented by the Sadguru Foundation across the drylands of western India and how it benefits local farming communities.
Despite the efforts made in South Africa to develop an adoption model relevant to local conditions, national adoption rates are low. In order to ensure that children eligible for adoption are not unnecessarily uprooted from their ethnic, religious and cultural origins, efforts made to indigenize the adoption model require further attention. Adoption policy and practice has to be culturally sensitive, that is, based on patterns and processes of family formation of the majority population group, namely black African citizens, to be successful.
From time to time universities in the Global North teach social work in the Global South. This article describes and discusses pedagogical aspects of such projects, focusing on teaching styles and strategies developed. Nine interviews with Swedish teachers with experience of teaching in Iraqi Kurdistan were conducted. The teachers had different methods of mastering the teaching situations and three major styles were identified, referred to in this article as guide, therapeutic and Socratic.
Farming families in rural and remote parts of the world are often marginalized from social care. This article describes a phenomenological exploration of problems presenting to financial counsellors in remote south-eastern Australia. Individual and family issues, referral processes and professional competencies have been identified, along with suggested changes to service delivery. Complex psycho-social difficulties are revealed. Financial counsellors, working in isolation, are unable to adequately address these. However, no social work service has been accessible to many consumers living in remote farming communities. Social work, within interdisciplinary partnerships, is being piloted as a result of this study.
Workfare has become a dominant social welfare approach in dealing with unemployment in various cities around the world. Recent social security reforms for lone mothers on benefits in Hong Kong are examples of the application of workfare in practice. This article argues that workfare strategy based on an outdated industrial-productivist conception of work contributes to the marginalization and undervaluation of work performed by disadvantaged groups. A reconceptualization of work will help to open up new alternatives in social work practice.
This article explores the role of multicultural social work at community level in the context of national trauma. Drawing on the records of South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), it examines the South African experience with a view to deriving preliminary guidelines on multicultural practice that can assist social workers in these and similar circumstances.
This study examines employment decisions of 113 single and 322 married mothers and predicts that mothers were more likely to engage in paid work when the following factors were present: the acceptance of childcare from others, the association of positive meaning with employment, the importance of being part of the workforce, and the belief in enriched human capital. Mothers who believed that housework affects the ability to work outside the home and who adhered to beliefs favoring division of labor by gender were less likely to seek paid employment.
This article examines the current knowledge shaping our understanding of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation in Australia, a major destination country in a poorly researched region (Oceania). Challenges to developing accurate and useful knowledge: varied and poorly understood definitions, difficulties in gathering accurate data about a hidden problem, and narrowly focused research are explored. The article describes Australia’s current responses to sex trafficking and critiques current knowledge development strategies, concluding with recommendations for ways forward in researching this challenging and globally significant problem.
This study explores British social workers’ abilities to recognize incidents of interpersonal violence, how much domestic violence training social workers typically receive, and how awareness of organizational policies and practice experiences impact workers’ attitudes about domestic violence. Based on our findings we suggest that traditional higher education teaching methods of lecture and seminar combined with a service-learning component to course work should be explored. Additionally, local authorities and other health and social care agencies need to take more responsibility for ensuring their employees understand agency policy regarding domestic violence and how to apply it.
This article explores the factors associated with the syndrome of poverty in old age in developing countries in general and Zimbabwe in particular. Available data show that the majority of older persons in Zimbabwe are not covered by existing social security schemes. Furthermore, the benefits for the minority who are covered are not adequate. It is therefore necessary to adopt legislation specific to older persons through the establishment of old age pensions in order to address poverty in old age.
The illegal removal of children from biological family life during conflict has a longstanding history. Briefly overviewed are the Vietnam Babylift and a more recent child abduction attempt in Chad. Then, turning to the history of child abduction and adoption history in Latin America, the conflicts of El Salvador and Argentina are presented and ‘living disappeared’ children – those who disappear into adoption networks during war – are discussed. The post-conflict social realities in both nations are explored. The role of the social worker and specific practices are identified and discussed in context of generalist social work practice.
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between studying abroad, traveling abroad, and social work students’ multicultural counseling competencies. Findings indicated that students’ multicultural counseling competencies were significantly positively related to their experiences studying abroad but not to traveling abroad.
This article explores the challenges that marginalized minority parents face raising their children in England, Norway and the United States. While there are similar patterns of challenges across the three countries, such as cultural differences, including lack of language proficiency and knowledge of the society and systems, cross-country differences seem primarily to correspond to different systems of welfare aims and services. We discuss the implications of these findings on underprivileged minority children.
With visions of a better life through transnational marriage, women immigrants are often quickly disappointed when they are faced with social isolation as a result of heavy household responsibilities. The current study investigates 506 Chinese migrant mothers living in areas of concentrated poverty in Hong Kong. Using path analysis the study examines how several exogenous variables, such as marital contentment, household finances, and social support, predict perceived integration into the host society, and how hope for a better future might mediate the relationship between these variables and perceived integration. The results of the study have implications for social service practice in low-income neighborhoods.
The role of social work in the restorative justice field remains largely unexplored. This article reports on the findings of focus groups conducted with mediators of juvenile and adult mediation practices in Flanders (Belgium) to gain more insight into how mediators perceive their professional role and to what extent they refer to individual and structural dimensions of social work practice. Implications for future social work involvement and research are made.
This study compared the modification impact of Macao’s social policy on its capitalist social structure with the modification impact of six welfare states’ social policies on each of their capitalist social structures. It found that Macao’s social policy had the lowest modification impact of all states considered, and that it did not appear to fit with the dominant welfare models used in the other six states. We suggest a new model for the case of Macao, and we discuss the implications of the research findings for social work practice.
The aim of this article is to analyse and describe social work education and its professional context in Spain. Specifically, it analyses new degree implementation as a consequence of the Bologna Process over the last 10 years. It posits some ideas about the social sciences beyond the dominant paradigms with the aim of overcoming corporatism. It concludes that social sciences could be used as a toolkit where several instruments and techniques may be useful in tackling social problems in a transdisciplinary way and in systems thinking. What one is able to solve and learn in the present is more interesting than remaining in the past and asking about one’s background.
This article proposes to examine the relationship between parents, friends and teacher attachment and career maturity for adolescents and to review the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between attachments and career maturity. The summary of the results is as follows. First, parent and friend attachments, self-efficacy and career maturity showed linear development over four years, but teacher attachment showed non-linear development. Second, the effect of parent attachment, teacher attachment and friend attachment on career maturity can clearly be seen through the mediation effect of self-efficacy rather than through any direct influence.
Child labor is a serious issue in Turkey. This article provides a review of the current literature on risk factors associated with child labor in Turkey. Emphasizing their multilayered nature, the article examines risk factors contributing to child labor in Turkey by clustering them under individual, family, and structural factors. Recommendations for future research, policy, and practice are also discussed.
This study explored a social partnership between Ghanaian and US universities. Through qualitative narratives, participants reported the partnership developed professional and social relationships, but cited problems in preparedness. Findings point to the importance of faculty perceptions in developing academic partnerships and the need for strong relationships in early phases of social partnerships.
This article reports on the results of a survey of 540 Chinese school children’s adjustment in temporary school relocation after the Wenchuan earthquake. The overall results depicted a positive picture of functioning. The findings were contrary to expectations, as earlier observational reports suggested that pupils had adjustment difficulties.
The following is an exploratory study of the attitudes toward achievement motivation among Kuwaiti social workers. A number of factors are explored, including attitudes toward collaboration and its relationship to achievement. No studies have been conducted in Kuwait regarding factors of motivation and collaboration among social workers in different organizations, or its relation to their achievement. Participants were a convenience sample of 313 social workers from various institutions in Kuwait. Results of the study indicated that years of experience, age, and number of children correlated positively with the social worker motivation towards achievement. Additionally attitude toward collaboration, number of children, and income were significant predictors of social worker achievement motivation. Suggestions for future research are discussed.
Germany’s immigrant population has dramatically increased since World War II, bringing a new need for immigrant-centered policies and programs. How has Germany responded to the needs of its growing immigrant population? This article provides brief historical highlights of German immigration policy, with a focus on how policies have affected education and academic achievement. Implications of such policies for social work practice are discussed, and recommendations for ways in which social workers can take an active role in fostering integration of immigrant families into German society are offered.
Domestic violence against migrant women entering South Korea through marriage is an emerging social problem. This article identifies the unique challenges of the migrant victims of domestic violence in the socio-cultural context of Korea. It then examines the Korean domestic violence policy response to this problem, focusing on the extent to which the government has acknowledged the challenges of migrant women, how the government attempts to remedy these challenges, and the adequacy of the government’s efforts to protect them.
Social changes and professionalization have moved social work away from advancing social justice and into the domination of individual therapies. This article redirects social workers’ attention to the importance of the ‘social’ in social work by presenting a six-social dimensions framework, and suggests that this refocusing helps to revive the profession’s contribution to promoting social justice.
This article discusses preliminary findings from a study of international placement learning of British social work students in social welfare settings in Malaysia. Research data generated focuses on the learning processes experienced by the students placed in an unfamiliar, postcolonial context with an emphasis on issues relating to diversity and developing critical cultural competence. Future sustainability and benefits of such placements are also reviewed.
Using a survey of 200 low- to moderate-income households in Singapore, this study analyzes how changes in economic resources (in particular assets) are associated with family strains and family functioning. Key findings of this study are as follows: 1) a majority of the sample experienced reduced economic resources; 2) a reduction of savings increased family strain; 3) households experiencing decreases in savings have lower levels of family functioning measured by family social support and family cohesiveness. This article concludes with several implications for policy and practice.
In late 2009 staff from the Department of Social Work at Monash University in Australia responded to a call for expression of interest in becoming volunteers in a program sponsored by the Australian Group of Eight Universities that sought to strengthen teaching and curriculum development activities with the University of Papua New Guinea. The presenting request was for volunteers to conduct short teaching stints in Papua New Guinea. The discussion that follows considers some of the issues, challenges and opportunities involved in forging this international collaboration in social work education.
This article presents findings from an empirical study of 23 parents with mental illness in New South Wales, Australia. Discussion focuses on the prevailing risk discourse associated with parental mental illness which suggests a limited capacity to parent. Risk assessment practice creates expectations about parenting ability, often utilizing rigid, inflexible and predetermined categorical information. This approach limits social work practice. The discussion presents an insight into how parents manage mental illness and how they manage risk. The narratives of the parents encourage social workers to increase their skills in family-focused working practices to enhance engagement with these families.
It is of grave concern that the syndrome of poverty in old age in Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe continues in spite of the existence of formal social security provisions in these countries. The solution to this problem lies in transforming the existing social security schemes in order to ensure broad-based coverage of older persons.
This article discusses the research on a social service organization practising knowledge management in Hong Kong. Discussion on different knowledge sharing activities conducted on different platforms and their interplay illustrates that a good balance between the two knowledge management approaches can better achieve the objectives in this newly developed management area.
We conducted qualitative content analysis, using the theoretical lens of Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism, of nine study abroad flyers to India and Egypt sponsored by social work schools in the United States. We show that the promotional content of these flyers cater to Orientalist biases; we recommend measures to amend it.
International contexts provide social work students with the opportunity to develop knowledge of international social work, global citizenship and cultural competency. While these contexts are powerful sites of learning, there is a need to ensure that this occurs within a critical framework. The paradigm of critical reflection is used to facilitate this and has been popular in international programs. In this article, we develop this further by describing critically-reflective techniques and providing examples used in a pilot exchange program between a social work school in the UK and in India. The potential implications of these strategies for social work education are discussed.
This article demonstrates the utility of explicating underlying forces that have brought about, shaped and underpinned provision of social protection in each sub-Saharan African country. It does so in the context of examining six such forces, namely: tradition and culture, drought and famine, relations among key actors, the mainstream paradigm of development, the poverty reduction agenda of the ruling party, and constrained fiscal space that have historically contributed to current provision of social protection in Ethiopia. Recommendations are given for social work policy practice to enable decision-makers to integrate developmental and human rights objectives in Ethiopia’s forthcoming national social protection strategy.
A critique of the notion that social work is an international profession operating with similar values and methodologies is presented. This is based on an ethnographic study of a project carried out in Tajikistan. It found that the Western social work universal values and models of working can be challenged.
Suicide is a neglected area of social work research and suicides are often influenced by cultural factors. WHO data on female youth (15–24 years) suicide, and Undetermined Deaths (UnD), the most likely source of under-reported suicides, are analysed from two continents sharing religio-cultural views on suicide and family planning, that is, Western European Catholic countries (WECC) and Latin American countries (LatAC). It was found that LatAC female youth suicides and UnD were significantly higher than WECC, and correlated with higher birth rates and poverty. This may indicate that restricted access to family planning contributes to more births, poverty, unwanted pregnancies and suicides.
Developmental social work is receiving increasing international recognition and much may be learnt from its application in different societal contexts. The article draws on empirical data from a South African study and provides valuable insight into how social workers conceptualize and translate developmental social work into practice.
In this article I critically reflect on how white power and privilege constitutes my personal power and professional experiences as a social work practitioner and social work educator in Australia. I explore my white privilege in the context of the colonization of Australia and social work practice in child protection.
Nine years after their introduction, the Australian Social Work Practice Standards are reviewed against the five purposes of codes of practice proposed by Banks (2006). The review concludes that the Standards contributed to heightened professional identity and accountability by defining the national education curriculum and by providing a mechanism for accountability. Their utility for service users is still to be determined.
This article presents research findings from selected rural communities that were struck in 2007 by one of the largest fires in history in Greece. The restoration policies implemented resulted in a class-differentiated recovery process. The article examines this development in the context of neoliberal policies and argues that political context should be a locus of intervention.
This study examines the opinions and attitudes of social work students towards issues of social justice. In the scope of the study, participants listed socio-economic status and political views as two factors that have the greatest bearing on ‘being subjected to injustice’ and stated that social workers should adopt an attitude of passive resistance against injustice. The students were found to believe that it is necessary for the state to play specific roles related to social welfare rights and to underline the political dimension of justice.
This article describes the debates in the research literature surrounding the provision of critical incident stress management (CISM) and outlines the implications for social work. The literature reviewed suggests that critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) as an intervention needs to be offered as part of a comprehensive programme of critical incident stress management that is integrated and sensitive to the organizational context. Strengths-based principles need to underpin an integrated critical incident stress management policy that is sensitive to differences in individual responses, organizational contexts and diverse fields of social work practice. Adaptations of Mitchell’s original model of critical incident stress management which aim at mitigating the potential negative impact of critical incidents encountered in the workplace whilst enhancing personal resilience are discussed with reference to recent critiques of this model.
Using survey data collected from 639 students in a Chinese university and an American university, this study assesses students’ preferences for private, parochial, and public responses to intimate partner violence (IPV). The results show that Chinese students are in favor of a parochial approach, whereas American students prefer a criminal justice intervention to IPV. Preferences for different responses to IPV are predicted by locality, respondents’ attitudes toward gender roles, tolerance for violence, and awareness of IPV. Implications for policies and practices to handling IPV in both societies are offered.
This article describes a practice-based, mixed-method research methodology – Clinical Data-Mining (CDM) – as a strategy for engaging international practitioners for describing, evaluating and reflecting upon endogenous forms of practice with the ultimate goal of improving practice and contributing to knowledge (Epstein, 2010). These knowledge contributions are perforce ‘local’, but through conceptual reflection and/or empirical replication they may also be ‘globalized’. More specifically, the article defines, describes, and details CDM methodology; discusses its strengths and limitations; and illustrates international applications in Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, New Zealand, and the United States. It also describes various infra-structural support platforms and CDM’s primary and secondary organizational benefits.
Social workers in northern Canada were surveyed about work and professional satisfaction. Career commitment, turnover, and organizational citizenship predicted organizational satisfaction. Total satisfaction was associated with turnover. Research and theory in social work on remote communities should extend beyond characteristics of work, profession, and environment to include personal life factors.
In Taiwan, the decision regarding compulsory detention of patients with severe psychiatric disorders is subject to review by the Psychiatric Disease Mandatory Assessment Review Committee. Approved psychiatric social workers are assigned to this court-like body to ensure the involuntary placement criteria are met. We conducted qualitative research to investigate the dilemmas of social workers on this committee.