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The Role of Social Worker in Community Development

Article in International Research Journal of Social Sciences · November 2016

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2854682

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Chidanand Dhavaleshwar
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 International Research Journal of Social Sciences E-ISSN 2319–3565
Vol. 5(10), 61-63, October (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.

Short Review Paper

The Role of Social Worker in Community Development
Dhavaleshwar C.U.
Dept. of Social Work Rani Channamma University PG Center, Vijayapur Karnataka State, India
[email protected]
Available online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me
Received 6th April 2016, revised 14th September 2016, accepted 30th September 2016
Abstract
All the community's individuals desire to stay safe, healthy and wealthy. To enjoy all amenities of society, one needs to
have a vibrant economic status and excellent public services. Social services and social workers have an important role in
helping people improve their quality of life by creating awareness and sustaining the community by creating employment
opportunities on their effort. The present paper is an essential contribution to understanding social workers' role in
community development (CD). Effective social work services promote independence and resilience, enabling some of our
most vulnerable community sections. The current effort is to know the role of social workers in community development.

Keywords: Society, Social work, Resilience, Vulnerable, Community development.

Introduction profession, a Social worker can provide psychological

counselling, guidance and assistance in the form of helping
Every individual in society aspire to live a healthy, tolerant, people to help themselves.
Safe, inclusive and fair life. Social work services that have
essential contribution to achieving that goal. Social Social Worker: A social worker is a professional who works
work education has many challenges, but with the effort of people's heritage to help them manage their daily lives with
educators, field practitioners, and social work trainees are respect and dignity.
turning towards meeting local needs and adopting local
techniques to resolve issues of an individual, the group, and the Community Development: "Community Development is a
community by adopting Community development skills. process designed to create conditions of economic and social
Community development is the core component of social work. progress for the whole community with its active participation
It concentrates on increasing the literacy rate, creating and and fullest possible reliance upon the community's initiative.1"
generating employment opportunities, poverty eradication, and
eradicating acute hungriness, gender equality and welfare of the Methodology
vulnerable sections of the society by adopting social work
methods. Social workers have a vital role in understanding the Explorative research methodology has been used to explore the
social work as well as to understand and inculcate the role of a social work community development in changing the
Professional skills of western practice of social work profession. lifestyle scenario in Indian society. The paper is designed with
Social workers with the knowledge of both literature and secondary sources, academic articles, online journals, expert's
practice can immensely contribute to community development. expressions, and self-observations to comprehend and analyse
the new wave of social/ public service buffeting the lifestyle of
Objectives of the Study: i. To understand community the weaker sections, down-trodden orphans, in India.
development as a core component of the social work
Practice. ii. To examine the Roles of social worker in Social Work - As a Profession and Community
community Development. Development
Conceptual Framework The social work profession is broader than most disciplines
concerning the range and types of problems addressed with the
Social Work: Social work is an organised professional to settings in which the work takes place, the levels of practice,
extend the helping hands to an individual, group, and interventions used, and populations served. Social workers may
community, for their betterment and sustain them to help be engaged in various occupations, including hospitals, schools,
themselves by adopting various professional strategies. clinics, police departments, public agencies, court systems, and
Disadvantaged sections of the society like weaker sections, private practices or businesses. The practice of social
down-trodden,
orphans' labours are considered to be needy of the work requires knowledge of human development and behaviour,

International Science Community Association 61

International Research Journal of Social Sciences E-ISSN 2319–3565
Vol. 5(10), 61-63, October (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.

of social, economic and cultural institutions, and the interaction extends and develops cooperative and collaborative attitudes
of all these factors. The main tasks of professional social and practices in the community3. Further, community organisers
workers can include a variety of services such as; case must concentrate on developing skills in the exciting profession
management (linking clients with agencies and programs that of the members and create political awareness. Thereby,
will meet their psychosocial needs), counselling community members will be more strengthened and lead to
(psychotherapy), human services management, social welfare individual and community development.
policy analysis, policy and practice development, community
organising, international, social and community development, Need Analyser: To fulfil the societal needs, scientific need
advocacy, teaching (in schools of social work), and social analysis must be undertaken, prioritising. Therefore, social
research. workers analyse the community's needs with the help of
community members and prioritise them. Various client groups,
Social development is the holistic approach, whereas NGOs s govt officials of the community take an active part in
community development is restricted to geographical areas like the process of need analysis and ideas of members to be
Tribal, Rural, and Urban communities. It concentrates on incorporated with the proposals of needs of the community.
various sections of the society and target groups like
Marginalised Sections, Religious groups and issue-based Project manager: Professional social workers always lead a
activities. Community development adopts various techniques project or Programme sanctioned for community benefit. Social
of social work to work with individual groups and communities. workers have a vital role in analysing, implementing, and
Community organisation is one of the essential methods of managing the project. They are trained in preparing and
social work. It helps consistently understand community needs administrating projects, and they know every pulse of the
and find the resources to fulfil their needs. The prime purpose of individual, group and community. Active participation with the
social work towards the community is to empower various various communities' various groups can contribute
sections of society by all means. exceptionally well to community development.

Role of Social Worker in Community Facilitator: Social workers facilitate the various benefits
provided by the govt, NGOs, international agencies like WHO,
Development UNICEF, WTO, UNO to the poor, socially excluded,
Social work is a dynamic profession; the longitude and latitude disadvantaged or disempowered individuals and groups and
of the profession are vastly widened. The direct roles of social marginalised sections of the society.
workers begin with practising primary social work methods.
Primary methods are the participatory method with the Middle manager: who help the community members to take
individual, group and community. Secondary methods are both the services from the government; especially he is a middle
participatory and non-participatory to benefit society at large. manager in arranging social security programmes, general
Therefore, the social worker's role is widened to better insurances and health insurances provided to the various
individual, group, and community2. Social workers may play all beneficiary of the society. He is the actual middle manager
of these roles in different contexts and at different times in their between employer and employee in collective bargaining and
career; the roles are as follows: gets sanctions with the various benefits from an employer in the
view of labour welfare.
The caseworker looks after the individual's issues to help every
Counsellor: every individual of the society has a unique
problematic person holistically. Casework is about addressing
character in nature, therefor individualising the people and
every individual's issues, who seek help from caseworkers and
fulfilling their needs is the most significant task before social
solve them professionally.
workers. Meaningful and scientific interaction between social
Group Worker: he looks after the treatment and fulfilling the workers and every individual of society is expected in the
psychosocial needs of the problematic groups of the community. preview of counselling, which is the only solution to address the
Constitutes Teams, Committees and invite delegates to fulfil issues of community members and individuals whose behaviour
group members' psychosocial needs. He tries to develop is problematic. Such effort helps to improve tolerance among
leadership quality; increase group members' awareness on all, and it leads to community development.
various issues, and educate them for sustainable development.
Role in Grama Sabha: Grama sabha is another means of
Community Organiser: significant role of the social worker in people participation and community development. (CUD 2014)
community development begins with organising community on 83.55% of the respondents are aware of rural development
various social issues. Initially, it is all about (Murry G. Ross schemes such as; NREGP, GANGA KALYAN YOJANA, and
1955) bringing out the match between societal needs or ASHRAYA YOJANA, higher level of education, good
objectives and resources available to deal with those needs. economic background and interest of people appear to be the
Doing so causes of their high level of awareness4. Therefore social
workers must take active participation in Grama Sabha and be
aware

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Vol. 5(10), 61-63, October (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.

community members about facilities made for individuals and References

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Conclusion
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