Tài liệu Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Công tác xã hội

 Tiếng Anh Chuyên Ngành 
1 Khoa Công tác Xã hội – Phát triển Cộng đồng 
UNIT 1 
WHAT IS SOCIAL WORK? 
A new international definition of social work was adopted at the General Meeting of the 
International Federation of Social Workers’ (IFSW) in Montreal in July 2000 (available on-line at 
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 behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people 
interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are 
fundamental to social work. 
The definition emphasizes four concepts: social change, problem solving, person-in-the-
environment and empowerment. To begin to understand this complex work it is necessary to 
explore these four key concepts. 
 Social Change Mandate 
A social change mandate means working in solidarity with those who are disadvantaged or 
excluded from society so as to eliminate the barriers, inequities and injustices that exist in society. 
Social workers should be at the forefront of promoting policy and legislation that redistributes 
wealth in favour of those who are less well-off- that is, promoting equal opportunity for women, 
gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender persons, people with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples and 
racial and other minorities, and defending past gains made in these areas. 
 Problem Solving 
Social workers respond to crises and emergencies as well as everyday personal and social 
problems. Within this process, social workers use problem-solving techniques to identify the 
problem and formulate possible plans of action. A problem is not usually clearly defined when 
someone comes to a social service agency. It is therefore crucial for the social worker to explore the 
person’s concerns, to identify the need(s) involved, to identify barriers to meeting need(s) and to 
carefully determine the goals and possible plans of action. A key characteristic of the problem-
solving process is the inclusion of the client at each stage. The process should also teach clients 
problem-solving skills so that they can better deal with future problems on their own. 
 Person-in-the-Environment 
A key aspect of effective social work practice is to go beyond the “internal” (psychological) 
factors and examine the relationship between individuals and their environments. This person-in-
the-environment approach is partly what distinguishes social work practice from other helping 
professions. These “environments” extend beyond the immediate family and include interactions 
with friends, neighbourhoods, schools, religious groups, laws and legislation, other agencies or 
organizations, places of employment and the economic system. Based on this understanding, 
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intervention may focus on the individual, interactions between people and any given system or 
structure, or on the system or structure itself. 
 “Empowerment” and Social Work 
In order for the interventions of social workers to be successful, the clients must believe that 
the efforts of the social worker will make a difference. This leads to the important concept of 
empowerment. Being empowered means feeling that you have power and control over the course of 
your life. 
Empowerment is the process of increasing personal, interpersonal or political power so that 
one can improve one’s particular situation. Power can be a personal state of mind, in the sense that 
one feels that one can make a difference and have control and influence over one’s own life. It can 
also be empowerment within an organization in the sense that one has tangible influence and legal 
rights. Empowerment, then, involves both a personal perception of being in control and tangible 
elements of power within the various social structures of society. Social workers seek to empower 
their clients as a way of helping them to focus on, among other things, access to resources and the 
structures of power. 
“Empowerment-based social work,” therefore, has three aspects: 
 making power explicit in the client-worker relationship (in order thereby to help equalize 
the relationship between the client and the worker); 
 giving clients experiences in which they themselves are in control (to allow them to see 
the potential for controlling their lives); and 
 always supporting the client’s own efforts to gain greater control over their lives as a way 
of promoting change. 
Putting an empowerment perspective into practice can involve techniques that make power 
relations between the workers and their clients explicit, thereby equalizing the client-worker 
relationship. Additionally, it may entail giving clients powerful experiences or experiences that put 
them in a position to exercise power. Offering voluntary work experiences that allow clients to use 
their skills to help others can often be an empowering experience. Another approach may be to 
support clients’ efforts to change policies or practices that impinge on their lives and the lives of 
others. Such experiences can help people see the potential for power in their lives. 
In other instances, an empowering perspective may involve simply focusing on the strengths 
of the person, rather than on the “pathology” or what is wrong with the person. In all relationships, 
it is generally acknowledged that constructive feedback and positive reinforcement is conducive to 
helping people make positive changes in their lives. It is often more helpful for social workers to 
guide their client’s focus towards the success they have achieved in the past rather than dwelling on 
how they have been unsuccessful and dysfunctional. 
 An empowerment perspective is the key to good social work practice. And like other aspects 
of good practice, it involves not a specific set of skills, but a general orientation on the part of the 
worker. This orientation is based on helping clients identify their own needs and then helping them 
to deal with the exigencies of their own particular situation. 
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UNIT 2 
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK 
SOCIAL WORK AS A PROFESSION 
Social work is similar to helping professions (such as nursing, policing, and psychology) in that (1) 
it possesses a code of ethics; (2) it has the means to regulate and enforce set standards of behaviour 
among its members; and (3) it has developed a theoretical body of knowledge that guides practice 
(Cross, 1985). Like other professions, social work also requires its members to reach a certain level 
of educational preparedness – in terms of knowledge, competencies, and ethics – in order to 
practice. 
One of the characteristics that distinguishes social work from other helping professions is its 
longstanding association with the social welfare system, which has guided the development and 
delivery of many of its programs. This association dates back to the late 19
th
 century, when many 
religion-based charitable organizations were replaced by government-sponsored social agencies, 
which in turn hired social workers to perform a variety of tasks. 
Another distinguishing feature of social work is its multilevel approach to practice. At the 
micro level, social workers aim to help individuals, families, and small groups improve their 
problems-solving skills. At the mezzo level, social workers seek to improve conditions in and 
among social welfare organizations, while at the macro level they address broader issues such as 
social problems. Exhibit 7.1 outlines some distinctions been social work and two other helping 
professions. 
SOCIAL WORK VALUES AND ETHICS 
Social work practice is based on a philosophy of humanitarian and egalitarian ideals that shape 
social work goals and interventions. Underlying this philosophy is a set of values or beliefs about 
how the world should be, rather than how the world really is. Important social work values include 
acceptance of and respect for others and the right to self-determination. Social work values reflect 
the diverse and often opposing beliefs of a pluralistic society and are strongly influenced by culture, 
relationships, personal experience, individual perceptions, and other factors (Johnson, 1998; 
Compton and Galaway, 1994). 
The extent to which social work values are adhered to in practice is limited. For example, it 
is important that social workers keep client information confidential. This is because without the 
assurance that personal information will be kept private, clients will be reluctant to disclose much 
information about themselves to a worker. Circumstances nevertheless arise that warrant a social 
worker’s disclosure of client information without client authorization. For instance, social workers 
can breach confidentiality to prevent a crime; to prevent clients from doing harm to themselves or to 
others; when ordered by a court of law; when child abuse or neglect is suspected; or when 
supervisors, support staff, agency volunteers, or others have an identified “need to know” (CASW, 
1994b). 
It is not always easy for social workers to know when to adhere to and when to deviate from 
established social work values. In 1938 the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) 
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developed a social work code of ethics to help social workers make this kind of decision. The 
primary purpose of a code of ethics “is to provide a practical guide for professional behavior and the 
maintenance of a reasonable standard of practice within a given cultural context” (CASW, 1983, 2). 
The CASW code was updated in 1983 and 1994. 
SOCIAL WORK KNOWLEDGE 
While values focus on what is preferred, desired, or good, knowledge is concerned with what is true 
or false. Social work knowledge derives both from inside the social work profession and from other 
disciplines. Knowledge that is produced indigenously by social workers is based on the shared 
experiences of workers, individual professional experiences, and applied research. Much of the 
knowledge that is “borrowed” is from other helping disciplines such as psychology, psychiatry, 
education, and public health; social work knowledge has also drawn extensively from academic 
fields of sociology, economics, history, and law. It is this “crosspollination” of various types of 
knowledge that makes social work a highly interdisciplinary field (Johnson, 1998). 
Social work’s person-in-environment focus requires social workers to gain knowledge 
about the client system, the client’s environment, and the client in interaction with his or her 
environment. At one level, social workers must learn about certain aspects of the client system - for 
example, work with individual clients requires an understanding of the person’s psychological, 
social, physical, spiritual, and other dimensions. It is also important that social workers learn about 
the client’s environment and how culture, the general economy, the political climate, and other 
external systems may affect his or her ability to function. Finally, social workers need to be aware 
of the factors that can influence the interactions between the client and his or her environment 
(McMahon, 1994). 
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE 
The Planned Change Process 
Social work involves the transformation of knowledge into practice. The aim of social work practice 
is to help people become more empowered so that they are able to function more effectively. To 
achieve this aim, social workers apply a generic, formal, systematic, and scientific set of procedures. 
This problem-solving process is commonly referred to as the planned change process. The planned 
change process consists of five phases: 
1) intake; 
2) assessment; 
3) planning and contracting; 
4) intervention; and 
5) evaluation and termination. 
The intake phase in concerned with screening applicants who apply to social welfare 
programs. Client needs must be considered in view of the agency’s eligibility criteria and resources: 
that is, can the agency meet the client’s needs or must a referral be made to a more appropriate 
resource? In the assessment phase, information about the client’s concerns or needs is accumulated 
and then organized to form an overall picture of the client’s situation. In the planning and 
contracting phase, the worker and client decide together what needs to be changed (perhaps a 
behaviour, emotion, thought pattern, or environmental condition) and then establish a contract that 
outlines the goals and objectives of the needed change and the types of strategies that will be used to 
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effect the change. The intervention phase involves putting the plan into action, monitoring its 
effectiveness, and modifying strategies as needed to achieve the goal. Toward the end of the 
contract, the intervention is evaluated to determine its effectiveness, and the client-worker 
relationship is eventually terminated. The planned change process does not always evolve in a linear 
fashion; as new client needs or goals arise, certain phase may be repeated or deferred. 
SOCIAL WORK SKILLS 
Generalist social workers are trained to apply a wide range of practice skills in their work with 
individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Three generic skill areas are essential 
for generalist social work practice: 
1) Interpersonal skills include communication and active listening skills, the ability to 
build a working relationship with clients, and interviewing and counselling skills. 
2) Process skills enable the worker to identify and assess client needs, plan and 
implement appropriate interventions, make referrals, and develop more effective 
methods for serving clients. 
3) Evaluation and accountability skills demonstrate competency in evaluating 
interventions and holding oneself accountable for one’s practice and behaviour 
(Johnson, Schwartz, and Tate, 1997). 
Social work skills can also be thought of in terms of the various roles the worker adopts. 
Generalist social workers typically assume a wide range of roles. The role of broker involves 
helping individuals and groups connect with needed programs and services in the community. An 
advocate speaks or acts on behalf of a client who is having difficulty exercising his or her rights or 
accessing needed services. A mediator helps people in conflict reach mutually satisfying 
agreements, while a consultant assists organizations in improving service effectiveness and 
efficiency. A social worker who assumes the role of mediator identifies areas of need in the 
community and establishes new social programs and services for target groups. 
The skills and roles mentioned above are generic in that they can be applied to interventions 
with any size of client system, including individuals, families, and small groups. The illustration of 
the generalist social work perspective in Exhibit 7.2 reflects the person-in-environment perspective 
and shows the range of approaches and knowledge used in the helping process. 
MULTISKILLING 
In recent years, a new approach to social work practice has emerged in the form of 
multiskilling. The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW, 1998, 1) defines multiskilling 
as “an approach to care and/or a concept in which staff are cross trained but not professionally 
educated in two or more tasks or functions associated with at least two disciplines.” Although social 
workers are still required to obtain accredited education in social work, they are able through 
multiskilling to receive additional training in tasks that are associated with other occupations. For 
example, a social worker may be trained to conduct physical mobility assessments, an activity 
traditionally associated with physical therapy or other health-related functions. 
Multiskilling offers advantages that have made it an increasingly popular approach. Some 
organizations see multiskilling as a way to break up rigid divisions of labour and make professionals 
more flexible in the tasks they perform. There are potential economic benefits as well: staff numbers 
can be reduced since more people are prepared to perform a wider range of duties. 
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Multiskilling is not without its critics, however. According to the CASW (1998, 3): 
 Social workers believe that specialized practitioners are needed to assist in the 
meeting the varied needs of people. Neutralizing or diminishing the roles of 
professions and specialists reduces options for clients and increases the potential 
for harm. 
At its worst, multiskilling may give staff unrealistic expectations about their ability to 
perform tasks that are complex and thus better left to specialists. 
PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY 
The Canadian Association of Social Workers was established in 1926 as a national federation of 
provincial and territorial social work associations. At present, about 15,500 social workers are 
registered with a provincial or territorial association (CASW, 2000). 
According to its mission statement, the CASW (1994a, 2) “seeks to develop, promote, 
support and maintain national professional standards of practice of the highest quality.” To meet this 
end, the CASW sets certain standards and guidelines for social work practice in Canada and 
participates in the development of social work regulation and legislation. The promotion of 
standards and control is intended not only to protect clients and the general public from incompetent 
of fraudulent practice, but also to legitimate the profession and its practice. Social workers are 
expected to practise in accordance with the philosophy, purpose, and standards set by their 
profession and to be accountable to their clients, their profession, and society. 
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Exhibit 7.1 
A COMPARISON OF THREE HELPING PROFESSIONS 
 SOCIAL WORK PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHIATRY 
Focus of 
attention 
Dual focus on individual 
and environment and 
interaction between the 
two 
Individual behaviour, 
which includes internal 
thoughts, feelings, and 
emotional responses 
Mental illness; wide 
range of disturbed 
behaviour and 
emotional reactions 
Assessment / 
diagnostic tools 
Social history; client 
interviews; observation 
Diagnostic tests ( I.Q., 
personality, etc.); 
interviews; observation 
Medical exams; use 
of International 
Classification of 
Disease; interviews; 
observation; tests 
Intervention 
methods 
Casework; family and/or 
group therapy; 
education/information; 
referral to community 
resources 
Behaviour 
modification; 
psychotherapy; 
environmental 
modification 
Prescribe 
psychotropic 
medication; 
psychotherapy; 
biological treatments 
Aim of 
intervention 
To help individuals, 
families, and 
communities understand 
and solve personal and 
social problems 
To solve or prevent 
behavioural, cognitive 
and affective problems 
To reduce 
symptoms, change 
behaviour, or 
promote personality 
growth 
Specializations Counselling, group work, 
social administration, 
research and evaluation, 
community organization, 
teaching 
Clinical, experimental, 
neurological 
developmental, social, 
counselling, 
educational, industrial 
personality 
Child, geriatric, 
forensic, liaison, 
behaviour, family, 
sexual, 
psychoanalysis, 
research 
Education B.S.W., M.S.W., D.S.W., 
Ph