ASSIGNMENT

ON

OCCUPATION/INDUSTRIAL SOCIAL WORK (BSW446)

TOPIC:
1. READ THE DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK ABOVE IFSW/IASSW.
EXPLAIN THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR OWN WORDS
a) COME MANDATES OF SOCIAL WORK
b) PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK
c) KNOWLEDGE BASED OF SOCIAL WORK
d) PRACTICE METHODOLOGY IN SOCIAL WORK

BY

OKABA SAMSON
SSC1708526

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF BENIN
BENIN CITY

FEBRUARY, 2020.
Global Definition of Social Work

The following definition was approved by the IFSW General Meeting and the
IASSW General Assembly  in July 2014:

Global Definition of the Social Work Profession

“Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that

promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment
and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective
responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work.  Underpinned
by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledges,
social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance
wellbeing. The above definition may be amplified at national and/or regional
levels.”

Translations

Commentary notes for the Global Definition of Social Work

The commentary serves to unpack the core concepts used in the definition and is
detailed in relation to the social work profession’s core mandates, principles,
knowledge and practice.

Core Mandates

The social work profession’s core mandates include promoting social change,
social development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of
people.

Social work is a practice profession and an academic discipline that recognizes that
interconnected historical, socio-economic, cultural, spatial, political and personal
factors serve as opportunities and/or barriers to human wellbeing and development.
Structural barriers contribute to the perpetuation of inequalities, discrimination,
exploitation and oppression. The development of critical consciousness through
reflecting on structural sources of oppression and/or privilege, on the basis of
criteria such as race, class, language, religion, gender, disability, culture and sexual
orientation, and developing action strategies towards addressing structural and
personal barriers are central to emancipatory practice where the goals are the
empowerment and liberation of people. In solidarity with those who are
disadvantaged, the profession strives to alleviate poverty, liberate the vulnerable
and oppressed, and promote social inclusion and social cohesion.

The social change mandate is based on the premise that social work intervention
takes place when the current situation, be this at the level of the person, family,
small group, community or society, is deemed to be in need of change and
development.  It is driven by the need to challenge and change those structural
conditions that contribute to marginalization, social exclusion and oppression. 
Social change initiatives recognize the place of human agency in advancing human
rights and economic, environmental, and social justice. The profession is equally
committed to the maintenance of social stability, insofar as such stability is not
used to marginalize, exclude or oppress any particular group of persons.

Social development is conceptualized to mean strategies for intervention, desired

end states and a policy framework, the latter in addition to the more popular
residual and the institutional frameworks. It is based on holistic biopsychosocial,
spiritual assessments and interventions that transcend the micro-macro divide,
incorporating multiple system levels and inter-sectorial and inter-professional
collaboration, aimed at sustainable development.  It prioritizes socio-structural and
economic development, and does not subscribe to conventional wisdom that
economic growth is a prerequisite for social development.

Principles

The overarching principles of social work are respect for the inherent worth and
dignity of human beings, doing no harm, respect for diversity and upholding
human rights and social justice.

Advocating and upholding human rights and social justice is the motivation and
justification for social work. The social work profession recognizes that human
rights need to coexist alongside collective responsibility.  The idea of collective
responsibility highlights the reality that individual human rights can only be
realized on a day-to-day basis if people take responsibility for each other and the
environment, and the importance of creating reciprocal relationships within
communities. Therefore a major focus of social work is to advocate for the rights
of people at all levels, and to facilitate outcomes where people take responsibility
for each other’s wellbeing, realize and respect the inter-dependence among people
and between people and the environment.

Social work embraces first, second and third generation rights. First generation
rights refer to civil and political rights such as free speech and conscience and
freedom from torture and arbitrary detention; second generation to socio-economic
and cultural rights that include the rights to reasonable levels of education,
healthcare, and housing and minority language rights; and third generation rights
focus on the natural world and the right to species biodiversity and inter-
generational equity. These rights are mutually reinforcing and interdependent, and
accommodate both individual and collective rights.

In some instances “doing no harm” and “respect for diversity” may represent
conflicting and competing values, for example where in the name of culture the
rights, including the right to life, of groups such as women and homosexuals, are
violated. The Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training deals with
this complex issue by advocating that social workers are schooled in a basic human
rights approach, with an explanatory note that reads as:

Such an approach might facilitate constructive confrontation and change where

certain cultural beliefs, values and traditions violate peoples’ basic human rights.
As culture is socially constructed and dynamic, it is subject to deconstruction and
change. Such constructive confrontation, deconstruction and change may be
facilitated through a tuning into, and an understanding of particular cultural values,
beliefs and traditions and via critical and reflective dialogue with members of the
cultural group vis-à-vis broader human rights issues.

Knowledge

Social work is both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, and draws on a wide

array of scientific theories and research.  ‘Science’ is understood in this context in
its most basic meaning as ‘knowledge’. Social work draws on its own constantly
developing theoretical foundation and research, as well as theories from other
human sciences, including but not limited to community development, social
pedagogy, administration, anthropology, ecology, economics, education,
management, nursing, psychiatry, psychology, public health, and sociology.  The
uniqueness of social work research and theories is that they are applied and
emancipatory.  Much of social work research and theory is co-constructed with
service users in an interactive, dialogic process and therefore informed by specific
practice environments.

This proposed definition acknowledges that social work is informed not only by
specific practice environments and Western theories, but also by indigenous
knowledges.  Part of the legacy of colonialism is that Western theories and
knowledges have been exclusively valorised, and indigenous knowledges have
been devalued, discounted, and hegemonised by Western theories and knowledge. 
The proposed definition attempts to halt and reverse that process by
acknowledging that Indigenous peoples in each region, country or area carry their
own values, ways of knowing, ways of transmitting their knowledges, and have
made invaluable contributions to science.  Social work seeks to redress historic
Western scientific colonialism and hegemony by listening to and learning from
Indigenous peoples around the world.  In this way social work knowledges will be
co-created and informed by Indigenous peoples, and more appropriately practiced
not only in local environments but also internationally.  Drawing on the work of
the United Nations, the IFSW defines indigenous peoples as follows:

 They live within (or maintain attachments to) geographically distinct

ancestral territories.
 They tend to maintain distinct social, economic and political institutions
within their territories.
 They typically aspire to remain distinct culturally, geographically and
institutionally, rather than assimilate fully into national society.
 They self-identify as indigenous or tribal.

Practice

Social work’s legitimacy and mandate lie in its intervention at the points where
people interact with their environment. The environment includes the various
social systems that people are embedded in and the natural, geographic
environment, which has a profound influence on the lives of people. The
participatory methodology advocated in social work is reflected in “Engages
people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing.” As far as
possible social work supports working with rather than for people.  Consistent with
the social development paradigm, social workers utilize a range of skills,
techniques, strategies, principles and activities at various system levels, directed at
system maintenance and/or system change efforts. Social work practice spans a
range of activities including various forms of therapy and counseling, group work,
and community work; policy formulation and analysis; and advocacy and political
interventions. From an emancipatory perspective, that this definition supports
social work strategies are aimed at increasing people’s hope, self-esteem and
creative potential to confront and challenge oppressive power dynamics and
structural sources of injustices, thus incorporating into a coherent whole the micro-
macro, personal-political dimension of intervention. The holistic focus of social
work is universal, but the priorities of social work practice will vary from one
country to the next, and from time to time depending on historical, cultural,
political and socio-economic conditions.

It is the responsibility of social workers across the world to defend, enrich

and realize the values and principles reflected in this definition. A social work
definition can only be meaningful when social workers actively commit to its
values and vision.

Additional information

ADDITIONAL MOTIONS THAT WERE PASSED AT THE IFSW

GENERAL MEETING RELATING TO THE GLOBAL DEFINITION OF
SOCIAL WORK

“No part of this definition shall be construed in a way to interfere with any other
parts of this definition”

“Amplifications on national and/or regional levels shall not interfere with the
meaning of the elements of the definition and with the spirit of the whole
definition”
“As the definition of social work is the key element for establishing the identity of
an occupational group, a future revision of this definition has to be initiated only
after precise evaluation of the implementation process and the need for change.
Adding further comments is to be first choice before altering the definition.