GRADE

San Fabian National High School

San Fabian, Pangasinan
12
MODULE
i
DISCIPLINES AND
IDEAS IN THE
APPLIED SOCIAL
SCIENCES
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Quarter 2 Week 1 Module 1

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Name of Teacher
L EContact
SSO N 6
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DANRIDGE G. VERCELES LE SSON 6

09957398835 Danridge De Guzman Verceles
 THE DISCIPLINE OF SOCIAL WORK

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Most Essential Learning Competencies

Identify the goals and scope of social work. Explain the principles and core of social work.

CONCEPTS DISCUSSION

THE DEFINITION, GOALS, SCOPE, CORE VALUES, AND PRINCIPLIES OF

SOCIAL WORK

1. In defining social work, Morales and Sheafor (1983) identified four areas of
consideration:

a. Social worker is concerned with enabling or facilitating change.

b. Social worker is in the business of helping people of social institutions

c. Applying the social systems theory, social work can be viewed as a profession that
helps people interact more effectively with their social environment

d. Social work must have handles in fortifying and securing the necessary resources to
attain the goals of the clients.

2. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in the US defined social work as
the professional activity of helping individuals, groups or communities enhance or restore
their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable of the goal.

3. United Nations of Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers

social work as a field within human services and a part of society focusing on individuals and
families in need of help.

4. The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) defines social work as a

practice-based and academic discipline that promotes change and social development.

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5. Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) adheres to the definition of IFSW
and recognizes that social work is a practical profession designed at helping people address
their problems and matching them with the resources they need to lead healthy and
productive lives.

6. The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and IFSW agreed
on adopting an international definition of social work, which is indicated below:

The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human
relationships, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being.
Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems, social work intervenes at the
points where people interact with their environments.

7. According to Morales and Sheafor (1983), there are three significant characteristics in the
practice of social work:

a. fundamental goals of the practice activity

b. settings where the practice occurs

c. the use of a generalist or specialist approach by the social worker

8. Barker (1999) as cited by Cox and Pawer (2006) describes social work as an “applied
science” of helping people achieve an effective level of psychosocial functioning and
effecting societal changes to enhance the well-being of all people.

9. In the Philippines, Mendoza (2002) defined social work as a profession which is

concerned about the person’s adjustment to her/his environment and she referred this as
person’s “social functioning.”

GOALS OF SOCIAL WORK

Morales and Sheafor (1983) specified three goals of social work, namely:

1. The Goal on Caring

Caring refers to the heart of social work and it focuses on the well-being or the
welfare and comfort of the individual and community. The goal on caring involves the
enhancement of the quality of life in prisons, the upgrading and humanizing services in

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nursing homes and juvenile facilities, and the constant advancement of care given to
populations in need.

2. The Goal on Curing

Curing refers to the aspect of treating people with problems in social functioning.
This covers a range of aiding techniques for individuals, families, and groups.

3. The Goal on Changing

Changing refers to the active participation of the social workers in social reforms.
This goal comes from a perspective that there is a persistence of poverty, environment
destruction, and social disintegration. It recognizes that the political, economic, and social
structures add in the worsening of social conditions.

SCOPE OF SOCIAL WORK

Morales and Sheafor (1983) identified and described the fields included in the area of
social work, which are as follows:

1. Social Work as a Primary Discipline

Child Welfare

a. The adoption and services to unmarried parents is about facilitating the difficult decision
of unmarried parents whether to keep the baby or place the child for adoption.

b. The foster care is about removing the children from their homes and placing them
temporarily in a foster care.

c. The residential care is a group care home or a residential treatment center for a child.

d. The support in own home involves providing support services in order to keep children in
their own homes.

e. The protective services are about protecting the child from child abuse, maltreatment, and
exploitation by one or both parents.

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Family Services

a. Family counseling is about employing the three approaches to this type of counseling,
which comprise of family case work, family group work, and family therapy.

b. Family life education is an intervention to strengthen the family through educational

activities that seek to prevent family breakdown.

c. Family planning refers to assisting the families plan the number, spacing, and timing of
births of children to fit with their needs.

Income Maintenance

a. Public assistance refers to the provision of financial aid to the poor.

b. Social insurances are social provisions that are funded by employers and employees
through contributions to a specific program.

c. The other income maintenance programs include cash in kind benefits, emergency support
funds, and other resources which can be used by the poor for food and shelter.

2. Social Work as an Equal Partner

Industry

Social workers act as a support to both the managers and the employees of the companies.

Medical and health

Social workers attend to the social and psychological factors that are contributing to the
medical condition of the patients.

Schools

Lela Costin (as cited by Morales and Sheafor, 1983) has identified seven (7) primary tasks of
social workers in schools:

a. Facilitate the provision of direct educational and social services and provide direct social
case work and group work services to selected students

b. Act as a pupil advocate, focusing on urgent needs of the selected group of students.

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c. Consult with school administrators major problems toward which a planned service
approach will be aimed.

d. Consult with teachers about techniques for creating a climate in which children are freed
and motivated to learn by interpreting social and cultural influences on the lives of students.

e. Organize parent and community groups to channel concerns about students and the school
to improve school and community relations.

f. Develop and maintain liaison between the school and critical fields of social work such as
child welfare, corrections, mental health, and legal services for the poor.

g. Provide leadership in the coordination of interdisciplinary skills among student services

personnel as guidance counselors, clinic staff, psychologists, and attendant officers.

CORE VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK

Core values, as a vital organization component, play a significant role in the

organization. They serve as guiding principles that shape the behavior and action of its
members interacting with their clients and other people.

Mendoza (2002) cited that the Council on Social Work Education identified and
described six (6) values that are shared by the social work profession. These values are
outlined below:

1. Right to self-fulfilment - each person has the right to self-fulfilment which is derived from
his/her inherent capacity sand thrust toward the goal.

2. Responsibility to common good - each person has the responsibility as a member of the
society to seek ways of fulfilment that contribute to common good.

3. Responsibility of the society - the society has the responsibility to faciliate self-fulfilment
of the individual and the right to enrichment through the contribution of its individual
members

4. Right to satisfy basic needs - each person requires for the harmonious development of his
powers socially provided and socially safeguarded opportunities for satisfying his/her basic
needs in the physical, psychological, economic, cultural, aesthetic, and spiritual realms.

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5. Social organizations required to facilitate individual's effect at self-realization - the
notion that individual and society are interdependent provides a perspective that the society
has the responsibility to provide appropriate social resources.

6. Self-realization and contribution to society - to permit both self-realization and

contribution to society by the individual, social organization must make available socially-
provided devices for need-satisfaction as wide in range, variety, and equality as the general

welfare allows.

These values, according to the Curriculum Study sponsored by the Council on Social
Work Education as cited by Mendoza (2002) comprise a minimum commitment from social
worker and the following concept are implied in these values:

1. Concept of human potentials and capabilities - this is premised on the belief that a
person is inherently endowed with potentials and capacities.

2. Concept of social responsibility - an individual has the obligation to contribute to the

common good and society.

3. Concept of equal opportunities - this is premised of the social justice, two elements of
which are fairness and equality.

4. Concept of social provision - this is based on the premise that there will always be
everywhere with unmet needs or problems which are beyond their own capacity to solve.

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK

Social work is based on respect for the inherent worth and dignity of all people and it
is cultivated by altruistic and democratic principles. Friedlander (1958) and Biestek (1957) as
cited by Mendoza (2002) indicated seven principles adhered by social workers including the
following:

1. Acceptance - this involves respecting the clients as they are under any circumstances and
understands the meaning and causes of client's behavior.

2. Client's participation in problem-solving - a client is made to understand that s/he is

expected to participate in the entire process.

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3. Self-determination - the idea behind this principle is that the clients (individual, groups,
or communities) who are in need have the right to determine their needs and how they should
be met.

4. Individualization - this involves recognized and understanding the client's own unique
characteristics and using different principles and methods for each client.

5. Confidentiality - this means that the client should be accorded with appropriate protection,
within the limits of the law, from any harm that might result from the information s/he
divulges to the worker.

6. Worker self-awareness - this means that the social worker is conscious about his/her role
in making use of his/her professional relationships with the client in a way that will enhance
the client's development rather than his/her own.

7. Client-worker relationship - the purpose of client-worker relationship is to help the client

in some are of his/her social function.

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 S U M M AT I V E A S S E S S M E N T

Name:_______________________________________________ Date:__________________

Grade/Section: ________________________Score: ___________ Barangay:

_____________

Knowledge Check

I. Choose the LETTER of the correct answer.

1. The IASSW and _____ agreed to adopt an international definition of social work as
profession that promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships, and the
empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being.

A. AASW C. NASWI

B. IFSW D. BASW

2. _____ refers to the active participation of social workers in social reforms.

A. Curing C. Caring

B. Changing D. None of the above

3. Social work is defined as a profession which is concerned about the person's adjustment to
his/her environment. Mendoza (2002) referred this as the person's _____.

A. Social functioning C. Social welfare

B. Social milieu D. Social development

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4. This involves respecting the clients as they are under any circumstances and understanding
the meaning and causes of the client's behavior.

A. Individualization C. Acceptance

C. Self-determination D. Client-worker relationship

5. This concept is based on the premise that there will always be unmet needs or problems
which are beyond their own capacity to solve.

A. Human potentials and capacities C. Social provision

B. Social responsibility D. Concept of equal opportunities

6. Social work is demonstrated as a primary discipline in terms of these child welfare services
EXCEPT:

A. Foster Care C. School programs

B. Adoption D. Residential Care

7. Social work is depicted as a secondary discipline in these settings.

A. Corrections C. Industry

B. Medical facilities D. All of the above

8. The following are identified tasks of social workers in the schools EXCEPT:

A. Facilitate the provision of direct educational and social services and provide direct social
case work and group work services to selected students.

B. Act as a pupil advocate, focusing on urgent needs of the selected group of students.

C. Conduct group counseling to the teachers, parents, and peers of a troubled child inside the
classroom.

D. Organize parent and community groups to channel concerns about students and school to
improve school and community relations.

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9. _____ defined social work as the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or
communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal
conditions favorable to the goal.

A. NASW C. IASSW

B. UNESCO D. None of the above

II. Identify the following.

________________________ 1. A goal that refers to the heart of social work and it focuses
on the well-being or the welfare of the individual and community.

________________________ 2. It is about removing the children from their homes and

placing them temporarily foster home.

________________________ 3. It is an intervention to strengthen the family through

educational activities that seek to prevent family breakdown.

________________________ 4. It refers to the provision of financial aid to the poor.

________________________ 5. It refers to the involvement of social workers with physical,

economic, and health planners in the long-range planning of communities.

________________________ 6. One of the six values that is shared by the social worker
profession wherein each person has the responsibility as a member of the society to seek
ways fulfillment that contribute to common good.

________________________ 7. The _____ stated that the mission of the social work
profession is rooted in a set of core values.

________________________ 8. The idea behind this principle is that the clients who are in
need have the right to determine their needs and how they should be met.

_________________________ 9. A concept that premised on the belief that a person is

inherently endowed with potentials and capacities.

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_________________________ 10. They serve as guiding principles that shape the behavior
and action of its members in interacting with their clients and other people.

_________________________ 11. According to Morales and Sheafor (1983), there are three
significant characteristics in the practice of social work: fundamental goals of the practice
activity, _____, and the use of a generalist or specialist approach by the social worker

P E R F O R M A N C E TA S K
CASE STUDY

Anna Maria is a new comer at the senior high school program of San Fabian National
High School. Being new to the school, she is observed to be silent and avoids interaction in
groups very often. Three months after, the situation remains the same as she still finds
difficulty building relationships. She prefers to eat, to study, and walk alone. Bothered by the
situation of Anna Maria, her adviser in class referred the case to the school’s social workers.

If you are the social worker, how will you handle the case? What core values and
principles are you going to apply? How will you manage the situation?

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