Pedagogy of Social Work

"Since its very inception, social work has been considered an organizationally based profession, with the majority of its workforce employed within formal organizations. Whether in nonprofit, for-profit, or governmental agencies, the practical realities of human service organizations are a central element of professional social work. This book explores the climate and culture of these agencies and provides essential information for surviving and thriving in this setting. It prepares students for their future careers so that they will feel empowered in their work and be able to fulfill their responsibilities toward organizational, community, and social change. Using real-life examples, the authors examine the internal structures of management, financing, and supervision and discuss common conflicts between agencies and professionals. The book’s straightforward tone and practical advice make it an asset to anyone entering human service organizations.

This new edition contains updated examples, case studies, and references. It also contains valuable information on the effects of the recent financial crisis on human service organizations. Agencies now face increased caseloads and more complex social problems with fewer resources and less money. Understanding how these events have changed the nature of human service organizations will allow students to be better prepared for the work ahead of them.

Features

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Expanded content on the practical aspects of organizational theory and suggestions for developing leadership skills
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Updated examples, case studies, and references throughout the book
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Key points and discussion questions following each chapter
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Updated instructor’s manual available online as a PDF or Word document"

L’educazione, la pedagogia e l’intervento sociale godono di brutta fama fra i sinti. Ne hanno sperimentato il lato violento, forzatamente assimilazionista. I sinti sono un «popolo resistenza» che è stato capace di fronteggiare i dispositivi rieducativi predisposti nei loro confronti, sebbene con enormi costi personali. Nei mille rivoli dell’intervento sociale, tuttavia, è possibile scorgere anche altre pratiche educative che hanno accompagnato questi gruppi, sostenendone l’emancipazione e l’autodeterminazione. Le iniziative raccontate in questo «inserto» mostrano una modalità tutta diversa di concepire il rapporto fra potere ed educazione. Il primo articolo riassume i principali assunti della «pedagogia zingara» che si è sviluppata negli anni ’60 a partire dalle interpretazioni della «crisi» dei gruppi sinti dovuta all’industrializzazione delle campagne. Nonostante la pervasività delle modalità «ri-educative» esercitate nei confronti dei sinti, l’articolo mostra anche come le pratiche pedagogiche siano andate via via differenziandosi, prendendo distanza da concezioni discriminanti. Pur non essendo superate le forme di intervento di stampo assistenziale e segregante, gli ultimi anni hanno visto fiorire una pluralità di forme di accompagnamento educativo all’insegna del sostegno alle capacità degli individui e dei gruppi. Il secondo articolo racconta un caso emblematico: l’équipe di educatori di una cooperativa di Trento che, riconoscendo le difficoltà e le contraddizioni del proprio intervento con i sinti, ha deciso di intraprendere un percorso di ripensamento delle proprie pratiche. Questa capacità riflessiva ha portato il gruppo ad approfondire la pedagogia freiriana e scoprirne i potenziali fecondi ed euristici. Il terzo articolo approfondisce perciò questioni di metodo e di approccio di Paulo Freire, e segnala i principali insegnamenti che l’esperienza trentina con i sinti consegna al sapere pedagogico. Nel «bazar» di questo numero Mattia Civico riflette sul modo con cui la politica locale si è messa in interazione con i sinti per pensare una legge a loro tutela. L’inserto si conclude con un dialogo su una seconda esperienza: quella del servizio di sviluppo di comunità del Comune di Venezia. Anche in questo caso la dimensione dell’apprendimento è stata centrale per intraprendere percorsi di mediazione con il territorio, di empowerment e di miglioramento delle condizioni abitative. La conflittualità che ha caratterizzato gli anni più recenti ha spinto gli operatori a una maggiore comprensione delle strategie che i sinti adottano per dare senso al contesto in cui vivono.

Amazon Purchasing Link:

https://www.amazon.com/theory-practice-psychotherapy-specific-disorders/dp/0398025398

DOI Link:
https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.123.3.363-a

Book Description:

This book is unique in several basic ways.  It presents a theoretical discussion of the essence of the psychotherapeutic process, which goes beyond just the remediation of pathological symptoms, and also acquaints the reader with the essence of the growth process, which enables one to continue one's personal growth beyond the removal of pathological symptoms to personal maturity, fulfillment, and self-realization.

This book is also unique in that its format approaches the understanding of the therapeutic process through the understanding of the treatment of patients with specific psychopathologies discussed by consistently successful professional psychotherapists.

This book is unique as well in that in addition to the various major neurotic and psychotic disorders, it also covers areas rarely, if ever, found discussed in other psychotherapy books, such as psychodynamics and psychotherapy of suicidal patients, psychotherapy of patients with psychosomatic disorders, psychotherapy of patients with acting-out disorders, psychotherapy of patients with sexual disorders, psychotherapy with the aged, and an entire chapter devoted to establishig some basic criteria for an effective psychotherapy process.

Essentially, this book is designed to serve as a source book or reference book for professional psychotherapists, and students studying to be psychotherapists in such fields as psychology, psychiatry and social work, and it could also be useful as a textbook for advanced courses in psychotherapy, as well as a supplemental text for basic introductory courses in psychotherapy.  Each of the contributors has deliberately taken the pains to try to communicate in a way that will be intelligible to the student, as well as offer material that will be new, informative, and challenging to the more sophisticated clinician. This book goes beyond being what may be called a how-to-do-it type primer. It is not meant to be a structured "cookbook" or set of formulas blueprinting the course of psychotherapy.

Each contributor to this book is a renowned authority  in the area of the treatment of the specific disorder  about which he is writing, and he shares with the reader his understanding of the basic nature of the disorder, along with the therapeutic  considerations and insights that he has found to be most valuable in dealing effectively and successfully with persons with this particular kind of pathology. Case illustrations are appropriately supplied in order to help clarify  for the reader how this contributing therapist deals with the particular kinds of patients under discussion.  However, the suggestions made by each contributor should in no way be interpreted as the only way such problems can be approached and resolved. Rather, it only represents the way that one outstanding clinician tends to deal with the special problems involved in the treatment of persons with the particular disorder under discussion, and it is meant to serve only as a helpful guide for the reader.

As the reader may have already gathered,  the emphasis in this book is primarily focused on the professional and practical aspects rather than on the academic aspects of psychotherapy.  It is meant to fill a void and be consistent with a growing trend today in which professional clinicians and students studying to be psychotherapists want material to study that will provide them with the necessary skills most relevant to exactly what they will be doing in their professional career, rather than the strongly academic emphasis to which they have been exposed at most educational institutions.

This book recognizes that effective psychotherapy is not something that can be learned by being exposed only to theories, techniques, or research findings. Psychotherapy is not just a doing, or a predetermined set of techniques, as such, and, therefore, there is no formula, or systematic defined procedure, that has to be mastered. Rather, it involves an empathically sensitive, genuinely caring, engaged, being-with or intimate experiential communion, and the understanding of patients that naturally arises from that, from which then flows the therapist's appropriate responses. One has to truly, and deeply, here before one can act appropriately and meaningfully. Thus, the best way for one to really come to learn anything significant about effective psychotherapy is to have those clinicians who are truly masters of the art and science of psychotherapy share with others their sensitive and profound understanding of the nature of psychotherapy with patients with particular pathological symptoms.

Il presente articolo analizza la figura dell'operatore dell'accoglienza nei Servizi di protezione per richiedenti asilo e rifugiati (Sprar) da una prospettiva pedagogica. Attraverso 19 interviste con operatori di una cooperativa sociale di Bologna (2017) e il dialogo con la letteratura pedagogica di riferimento, il mio contributo indaga le ragioni del divario tra richieste istituzionali e le pratiche dell'accoglienza. L'approfondimento che segue riflette sull'identità professionale dell'operatore dell'accoglienza, sulla necessità, così come viene percepita dai miei interlocutori, di ritrovare-nel proprio ruolo e nelle pratiche svolte all'interno dei servizi in cui operano-un «mandato sociale» teso a superare interventi a carattere emergenziale e assistenziale, se non espressamente a dirigersi verso azioni capaci di creare progetti di reale inclusione sociale. In linea con le direzioni auspicate a livello nazionale, l'obiettivo di questo studio è quello di rivolgere una particolare attenzione alle dinamiche relazionali, che rappresentano un nodo centrale del lavoro degli operatori dell'accoglienza, rintracciando le competenze pedagogiche necessarie all'accompagnamento della persona nella costruzione di un nuovo progetto di vita. Muovendosi all'interno di una complessa rete che coinvolge numerosi attori-i beneficiari del progetto, l'équipe di riferimento, le agenzie pubbliche e i servizi territoriali-è possibile rilevare come il ruolo e le competenze dell'operatore richiedano di essere definite ed esplorate per fare emergere una nuova consapevolezza nelle pratiche e negli obiettivi dei servizi per l'accoglienza dei richiedenti asilo e rifugiati.

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Evidence-based practice has become an important approach to social work practice. This paper highlights some of the ethical dilemmas which may be implicated by this approach, and encourages social workers and social work researchers to carefully consider these potential quandaries.

Ujmowanie szkolnictwa wyższego w paradygmacie konsumpcjonistycznym nie jest zjawiskiem nowym. Świadczą o tym coraz liczniejsze publikacje, w których autorzy wskazują na wiele podobieństw, jakie rysują się na linii uniwersytet - przedsiębiorstwo usługowo-handlowe lub też przeciwstawiają się opinii, iż jest on elementem rynku w sensie ekonomicznym . Nie opowiadając się we wstępie do powyższego artykułu po żadnej ze stron, pragnę jedynie zaznaczyć, że rekonstrukcja współczesnej debaty toczącej się wokół kondycji szkolnictwa wyższego uprawomocnia tezę, iż metafora uniwersytetu supermarketu/ przedsiębiorstwa usługowo-produkcyjnego nie tylko nie jest bezzasadna, przeciwnie-służy lepszemu zrozumieniu przemian, jakie dokonują się w obszarze edukacji akademickiej. Jest ona jedną z wielu perspektyw interpretacyjnych w optyce których rozpatrywana jest edukacja wyższa – elementem niezwykle barwnej mozaiki, jaką jest uniwersytet w XXI wieku.

This article describes how a fine art teacher, an art therapist, and a social worker analyzed art works created by students taking an art course in a masters-level social work degree program. The premise of this research is that the fine art teacher, the art therapist , and the social worker hold different perspectives about art in general, and including art produced by students in this course. The three different visualizations expressed by our subjects about the art works are then broken down and compared. Our assumption is that we will find different understandings of the art based on understandings about relationships between technique, composition, content, process, and artist intentions. These visualizations intersect and thus help to redefine the role of the art as well as offering important connections between social practice and the arts.

Despite decades of practice and development, social work education in India is still Western-centric. Social work in India is still not well recognised: it does not have an accrediting body or professional recognition within the country. This study gives voice to a sample of social work students regarding some of the challenges they face, including the curriculum, pedagogy, recognition of the profession and the practicum. The study is based on interviews with students from five universities in India and includes concrete recommendations for improving the professional training of social work students.

In this article, we explore the wraparound approach of service delivery as a model for transnational social work. The wraparound model, used primarily within community-based children's mental health services and child protection initiatives, has been effective when planning services for clients and their families with complicated needs, whose care has to be provided within a multiple provider context. Most social work is delivered nationally or internationally rather than transnationally. In the article we outline how the model could be structured to meet the particular needs of transmigrants, including the involvement of NGOs and INGOs, and identify key obstacles and limitations.

Social work educators have found a variety of experiential and creative methods to be valuable aids in teaching culturally sensitive social work practice. By utilizing experiential/creative methods as tools of self-reflection, faculty can help students develop their "professional use of self" for practice with diverse populations. This paper presents a development in qualitative research, the research poem, which has powerful implications for teaching culturally sensitive social work. It explores how the research poem was has been used as a vehicle for teaching students culturally sensitive social work practice with Native Americans.

Malynovska N., Say D. CHARITY AS A HISTORICAL AND SPIRITUAL-MORAL BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORK

Charity is a special type of social interaction which differs from the other types due to its optional institutional ties. On
the one hand, charity is determined by an objective social factor, namely – the existence of those who need assistance – the needy
and the objectively existing need for help from one party, and on the other hand – the subjective desire of the other party to
provide such assistance. The phenomenon of charity is a stable concept. Its essence remains unchangeable under various social
conditions and time periods, however, its forms of manifestation change and adapt to the specific socio-cultural conditions.
This is confirmed by the fact that charity has transformed from a purely subjective private phenomenon and a traditional
approach within Christianity, to the functional direction of public policy and later public activity in the functioning of public organizations. This transformation was also reflected in the forms of manifestation of the moral and value component,
which was part of interpersonal relations and charity. It has partly lost its significance and partly shifted to the professional
requirements for the profession of a social worker and other persons who provide assistance or services to others.
Charitable activities very often help to find effective ways to solve problems in the social sphere, which the state cannot,
due to certain circumstances, promptly solve, covering both specific individuals and entire levels of society. A study of the local
history of charitable and social work provides a real-life context and concrete examples for shaping the professional identity
of future social workers. The local aspect of social work is revealed, first of all, through the work of charitable organizations
and individuals who created or funded these institutions, or took an active part in their activities. It is noted that charitable
activities contribute to the psychological changes in the consciousness of students. In particular, such changes in the minds
of students are characterized by changes in the level of their social responsibility, status, role positions and values.
Understanding charity as a historical and spiritual-moral basis of social work can help increase its effectiveness,
expedite recovery from difficult life circumstances, and at broader levels – to prevent and preclude the emergence of dif- ficult life circumstances as a mass phenomenon.

I Laboratori Tematici di Ricerca sono spazi di costruzione della conoscenza, che attraverso un dispositivo riflessivo, ispirato alle comunità di ricerca e di pratiche, attivano processi di innovazione e trasformazione professionale e organizzativa, teorie locali e saperi situati sul lavoro socioeducativo, apprendimenti condivisi.
Riflettere su questa esperienza ideata e realizzata negli ultimi anni dalla Cooperativa sociale «La Grande Casa» di Sesto San Giovanni è un’opportunità unica di osservare dall’interno un esempio concreto di valorizzazione dei professionisti (gli educatori e le educatrici), che non sono meri esecutori di teorie apprese in formazione, ma, in linea con gli studi di Schon, Wenger, Mezirow, sono dei veri costruttori di teorie locali e di conoscenze pratiche insostituibili, che possono dare un contributo significativo anche alla ricerca, in questo caso, nel settore del Child and Family Welfare.
La pratica professionale dell’educatore, quando raggiunge livelli di qualità elevati, è certamente connessa alla capacità di fare ricerca, di tentare di comprendere la storia e la visione del mondo dell’utente che accompagna, bambino o adulto che sia; di individuare le migliori strategie per risolvere le problematiche e le difficoltà con cui questi si trova a convivere; di valutare la situazione, facendo scelte e assumendone il rischio, che potremmo definire “educativo” o “pedagogico”; di interrogarsi continuamente sulle proprie azioni, sulle modalità dei suoi interventi e sulle conseguenze delle sue decisioni; di verificare i risultati di quanto ha fatto e sta facendo; di esplorare l’ecosistema e tessere connessioni e relazioni.
Emergono così le voci e i percorsi plurali e situati di professionisti competenti che spesso non vengono ascoltati e che, invece, in questo contesto vengono assunti come contributi preziosi nell’arricchire e rinnovare una cultura socioeducativa e pedagogica che è il vero patrimonio di un’organizzazione del terzo settore come La Grande Casa.

I diritti, la loro enunciazione e il linguaggio che li accompagna aprono una serie di interrogativi riguardanti la presenza di un costrutto teorico comune in grado di condividere l'interpretazione degli enunciati e la definizione di uno sfondo che può rendere possibile una loro concreta applicazione. Infatti il linguaggio che li accompagna è un luogo instabile in quanto è esposto alla coesistenza di significati fra loro differenti che, se non espressamente dichiarati, rischiano di accomunare una pluralità di visioni diverse e distanti tra di loro. In questo scenario linguistico, la disabilità è un esempio paradigmatico delle diverse interpretazioni, degli slittamenti lessicali e semantici e delle etichettature che si riversano anche all'interno delle enunciazioni presenti nella Convenzione Onu sui Diritti delle Persone con Disabilità.

It is perhaps regrettably so that one of the defining features of social work is its tendency to become embroiled in and mixed up with controversy. When social workers make the news, the news is usually bad. For publics outrage is often a dominant mode of engagement with social work. However, if controversy is prominent in perceptions of social work, it is nevertheless particular types of controversies. Cast in various guises as "crisis", "scandal", "moral panic", "failures" and "tragedy" social work is inevitably caught up in a complex set of inimical circumstances. It's a job that brings practitioners face-to-face with anger, abuse, cruelty and heartbreak. This  means social work is sometimes colloquially  referred to as "grunt work" or "dirty work" (Hughes, 1962; Flaherty, 2014).  In "A Profession Chasing its Own Tail-Again" (1990) Hartman warned that conflicts, controversy and rifts are a sad part of the professional history of social work. Alongside this emotive terms, phrases and concepts which invoke failure and controversy are often strategically deployed to manufacture doubt and suspicion about the credibility of social work as a profession. In the UK recently this has certainly been the case with the likes of parliamentarian Michael Gove and policy advisor Martin Narey casting doubt on the worthiness of social work education in preparing students for front-line practice.  Arguably, it only through a thorough investigation of controversy that we can come to understand what permits previously distant characters such as Grove and Narey access to the social work stage. For all the attention given to and preoccupation with these concerns there is no single analysis of the nature of controversy to be found in the social work literature.

The individual in the modern technological society must be acquainted with an increasing amount of objective knowledge and so must be able to make responsible decisions for himself in order to survive and adapt to the demands of the society. Most of our individual problems and our collective human problems result from the lack of moral intelligence which derives from over emphasis on competition involving collaboration which is immoral, unintelligent, irresponsible and therefore destructive. Such lack of adaptive competition is characteristic of the egocentric level of human consciousness and its desire to protect its own self interests. Egocentric and immoral or 'unethical' competitiveness cannot be the way to resolve the problems which it created in the first place. The way to solve our collective human problems is through competition involving collaboration which is intelligent, responsible, creative and therefore adaptive because it is moral or 'ethical'. It is my opinion that ethical competition is characteristic of the moral or 'spiritual' level of human consciousness and its concern for the welfare of others (Lieberman, 2017). For this reason, our survival and continued evolution depends on the choice of philosophical paradigm which underlies the education which we offer to our children.

Adequate curriculum and training to prepare social workers for employment or Appointed service within legislative government, and electability to office is an unmet need within the profession often left unaddressed, which requires substantial training on par with clinical training.  Implications for social work education and field placement will be explored.
Explanation
The need for social workers to expand participation in the political and policy arena through strategic partnership is imperative for the Social Work profession.  Efforts to mitigate the challenges of both students and social workers changing practice focus from micro to macro careers in the policy and political sphere are under way to ensure that they receive the instruction and training required to increase competitiveness and raise the profile of the profession. Networked efforts on targeted issues that directly impact micro practice would reflect the difficult to qualify “generalist” practice.
The Congressional Social Work Caucus (comprised of members of Congress with social work interest) is a bridge between Capitol Hill and practicing professionals to participate more fully in deliberations on the Hill.  Linking micro and macro practice outside of what many students perceive to be "dry policy" needs to be addressed in order to make impact in a fund seeking fraught professional culture post graduation. 
Many early to mid career social workers are finding themselves stranded with little support and training to best fill the gaps in education and networked referrals. The Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP) is an organization devoted to expanding those opportunities along with professional organizations such as The Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA).  Campaign Schools housed within the School of Social Work such as The University of Connecticut have already trained more than 500 professional social workers across the country.  Such programs offer insight as to how to model curriculum based on outcome.  In addition, programs adapted from successful trainings based on gender equality in politics would hold great value to increase significant outcomes, given that the vast majority of social work graduates are female.  "In much of the world, economic, political, social and cultural forces operate unfavorably for women and girls (NASW)."

Kristie C. Holmes, Ph.D., LCSW, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, Charles Lewis Jr., Ph.D., LCSW, Congressional Institute for Social Work and Research, Washngton, DC, Tanya Rhodes Smith, MSW, University of Connecticut, West Hartford, CT and Linda Plitt Donaldson, MSW, PhD, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC

In this essay I examine the racial achievement gap in American education in terms of an impaired psychosocial developmental process. I argue that the well-documented academic underperformance of certain minority groups may stem from the unfavorable resolution of a key developmental crisis in constituent members’ early scholastic experience. I go on to suggest that individual educators can play an important role in eliminating the achievement gap by changing the way they teach in their own classrooms. In part, they may do so by adopting a "transcultural" pedagogy or teaching style, according to which both teachers and their minority students develop (at minimum) transcultural proficiencies and (at maximum) transcultural identities, as a promising way to achieve two important ends. First, the fostering of an academically-industrious self-concept in members of historically underachieving minority groups and hence, second, the closing of the achievement gap "from the bottom up"—one classroom at a time.

English below. Impacto del uso de nuevas tecnologías en procesos socio­ educativos. CINEMATIC como experiencia. El uso e impacto de las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (TIC) acelera culturalmente los espacios. Esta situación necesita ser evaluada. En aras de asegurar la calidad y la equidad de la educación, el análisis se centra en la calle (medio abierto) atendiendo a población vulnerable en la ciudad de Murcia. En primer lugar se indica el problema y los objetivos que se persiguen. Tras el marco teórico, se expone la metodología cualitativa llevada a cabo a través del cruce de métodos, técnicas e instrumentos de análisis necesario en un contexto de educación informal. Finalmente, se advierte en los resultados el uso de las tecnologías móviles, la conectividad y los contenidos multimedia que impactan en la creación de otros contenidos nuevos y el deseo a los artefactos tanto clásicos como nuevos. Del estudio realizado se obtienen dos aportaciones, a saber, el cambio de mentalidad que impulsa el uso de las TIC y la necesidad de un espacio abierto a la difusión y la creación que estimule las identidades de todas las personas. //               
A b s t r a c : The use and impact of information and communication technology (ICT) speeds culturally spaces. This situation needs an assessment. In order to ensure quality and equity of education, the analysis focuses on the street (outreach work) to attend vulnerable population in the city of Murcia. At first the problem and aims are given. After the theoretical background, we offer the cross methods of research as a qualitative methodology. The mixed of research techniques and tools of analysis were necessary too in an environment of informal education. Finally, the use of mobile technologies, connectivity and multimedia contents show the impact to create new multimedia contents and wishes based in old and new artifacts. This research gives us two new contributions. In this line of the argument, we have to think in a mental change offering them an open space to broadcast and creation according with all identities.

This article discusses 10 barriers to the involvement of service users/survivors in learning and teaching about mental health in higher education, suggesting ways of overcoming each. The paper is addressed to mental health trainers and educators, some of whom will be mental health service users/survivors. We have not looked at the involvement of carers/relatives in learning and teaching here. They also clearly have an important role to play and some of what we have written will have relevance to their involvement.

Little is known about newly qualified social worker (NQSW) experiences of education, employment and training in Scotland. This article reports on findings from a national online survey (n=205) and focus groups conducted with newly qualified social workers during their first year of employment. The study presented here was commissioned by the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC) as part of a wider strategic review of social work education. Following a mixed-method design, the results of this study were analysed using quantitative and qualitative software. Findings indicate that the majority of NQSWs feel well-prepared by social work education, but less supported by employers in terms of opportunities for continuous professional development. Experiences of good quality induction, supervision and opportunities for professional development demonstrate mixed results across Scotland. This study has important implications for the forthcoming review of social work education in Scotland and builds on research from England and Wales. It provides empirical clarity on what newly qualified social workers know, value and understand about their professional role and tasks. These Scottish findings run contrary to wider UK concerns such as those raised by recent commentators suggesting that newly qualified social workers are inadequately prepared for the challenge of childcare social work.

The paper highlights the fundamental functions of the role of the internal manager –
planning, human resources management, staff support, and internal and external
communication (Reggio, 2008) – and presents an advanced version of the Internal
Management Multidimensional Model (IM3). Attention is paid to the role that internal
managers play in pursuing, managing, and synthesizing the extraordinary complexity of
internal and external processes, dynamics, and issues in which every residential care
centre is involved. Managers’ core competence is identified as an ability to address every
dimension of their role (planning, organisation, staff leadership, relations with
commitments, institutions, external agencies and the community, and the development of
a professional culture) based on a ‘child-centred’ approach from a social pedagogy
perspective (Cameron & Moss, 2011). It may seem particularly challenging to take on
responsibilities in a time of uncertainty and crisis, but in this situation, and particularly in
the caring professions, it is important that there should be a figure who connects and
guides the various professionals in such a way that fatigue and discouragement do not
completely undermine the effectiveness of their interventions.

Con el doble objetivo de incrementar las posibilidades socializadoras de la práctica educativa y, a la vez, estimular el papel educador de la sociedad, la Educación Social se vertebra en distintos ámbitos de intervención que van desde la inserción laboral hasta la formación en valores esenciales para la convivencia.

This exciting new book aims to engage with students, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, service-users and associated professionals to critically reflect on the importance of professional identity as a matter of concern for social work. It encourages readers to reflect on, compare and contrasts the diverse dimensions of professional identity across several international contexts. Contributing authors including leading international researchers in the field. These talented authors, along with the editor, Stephen A. Webb - one of the world’s leading writers in the field - aim to enrich your understanding of some of the central problems facing social work today and the way these are intimately bound up with matters of professional identity.

La formation des travailleurs sociaux est confrontée, aujourd'hui, à des défis importants, en lien avec l'évolution de la profession, des réalités rencontrées, et des politiques sociales qui l'orientent et la régulent. Ces évolutions s'inscrivent, on le perçoit de plus en plus, dans des transformations profondes de nos sociétés, et de leur cohésion. De nombreuses questions se posent, quand aux orientations des métiers du social dans ce contexte, et aux qualifications ou compétences qu'ils nécessitent. Qu'est-ce que le « professionnalisme » aujourd'hui ? Qu'implique-t-il comme type de formation ?

“As we know, well-led groups provide many member benefits: feelings of universality, a sense of hope, altruism, acquisition of knowledge and skills, and mutual support...This text is affordable, easy to use, and very suitable for providing group work material in BSW or MSW practice courses.”

— Greg Tully, West Chester University



AN EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO GROUP WORK
Second Edition

Rich Furman, University of Washington, Tacoma
Kimberly Bender, University of Denver
Diana Rowan, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

An Experiential Approach to Group Work is not your typical group work text! Using dozens of exercises that build practice-tested skills, the authors' approach is in perfect step with CSWE's competence-based education requirements. The book is organized into three sections—the first addresses stages of group practice, the second looks at major types of groups, and the final section looks at examples of group work practice with special populations.

Features of the Second Edition

    Expanded! Discussion of the theory of group process and dynamics
    New! Content regarding Canadian, British, and Australian group work practices
    New! Chapters on anti-oppressive practice, group work with immigrants, and macro-practice group work
    New! Content on the use and development of technology to aid group work
    Contains customized exercises for each group work topic, designed to build the student and practitioner’s skills for use in group work sessions
    Special emphasis on how to bring individual sessions or groups to closure
    Provides examples of group work in specialized settings: conflict resolution groups within elementary schools, pregnant teens, Latinos, and HIV/AIDS clients

A courageous female journalist’s classic exposé of the horrific treatment of the mentally ill in nineteenth-century America

In 1887, Nellie Bly accepted an assignment from publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World and went undercover at the lunatic asylum on Blackwell Island, America’s first municipal mental hospital. Calling herself “Nellie Brown,” she was able to convince policemen, a judge, and a series of doctors of her madness with a few well-practiced facial expressions of derangement.

At the institution, Bly discovered the stuff of nightmares. Mentally ill patients were fed rotten, inedible food; violently abused by a brutal, uncaring staff; and misdiagnosed, mistreated, or generally ignored by the doctors and so-called mental health experts entrusted with their care. To her horror, Bly encountered sane patients who had been committed on the barest of pretenses and came to the shocking realization that, while the Blackwell Island asylum was remarkably easy to get into, it was nearly impossible to leave.

This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq has been in need of a new education system that reestablishes the country to its former prominent seat as a center of learning. Due to the wars with neighboring countries as well as the Gulf War, the Hussein regime severely reduced the country’s education budget to support war efforts. Re-energizing the country’s educational system will require a clearly defined curriculum with performance standards, supported by newly defined sociocultural values that creates a framework towards building successful schools. Considering Iraq’s need to adopt a world policy model in reforming the country’s various infrastructures, the Iraq Ministry of Education must also establish a more efficient and effective accountability system.

Idag är det alldeles uppenbart att det både finns och krävs en mängd olika metoder för att närma sig och förstå socialt arbete.Den här antologin samlar forskare som har bred erfarenhet av att bedriva både forskning och undervisning inom socialt arbete. Vi har länge erfarit att det finns stort behov av litteratur för grundstudenter som inte bara introducerar olika forskningsmetoder inom socialt arbete utan även inbjuder till en mer kvalificerad reflektion kring forskningsmetod: Vilka forskningsmetoder är egentligen användbara inom ämnet? Vilken typ av empiriska material är lämpliga och tillgängliga? Vilka arenor eller sektorer i samhället är relevanta att undersöka? Sådana frågor är viktiga att resa och att diskutera inom undervisningen, för att få till stånd en mer fördjupad forskningsanknytning.

The Latino population is the fastest growing group in the United States; thus, it is imperative that social workers and other mental health practitioners be knowledgeable about the current literature on how to effectively serve this population. This article elucidates key issues and knowledge, such as immigration and migration concerns; discusses how to assess for levels of acculturation; examines cultural values; and highlights salient work issues and health disparities that Latinos experience. Recommendations on how agencies and universities can recruit and promote bilingual practitioners are introduced. Finally, culturally responsive strategies for professional use of self and fostering the therapeutic alliance are discussed.

Předkládaná monografie v podobě jubilejního, již desátého dílu mezinárodní vědecké edice Czech-Polish-Slovak studies in andragogy and social gerontology, má tradiční podobu společného počinu respektovaných odborníků z různých regionů střední a východní Evropy. Text, který je výsledkem této spolupráce, přináší jednoznačné a silné sdělení. Dlouhodobě reflektovaná proměna demografické struktury společnosti se stává neúprosnou realitou a kontinuální proaktivní příprava na úrovni států i jedinců nezbytným a nejefektivnějším nástrojem minimalizace dopadů mnoha negativních faktorů, které jsou s tímto trendem spojeny.
Nejen vyspělé a bohaté státy jsou v celosvětovém měřítku konfrontovány s realitou postupného stárnutí. Tento proces byl v minulosti nastartován především dynamickým rozvojem medicíny a kontinuálním zvyšováním životního standardu, kteréžto faktory ve svém důsledku vedly k postupnému prodlužování délky lidského života na jedné straně a neúprosně klesající porodnosti na straně druhé. Poprvé v dějinách lidé v postproduktivním věku v populaci početně převýší (případně již převýšili) skupinu dětí a mladistvých. Tento faktor představuje náročnou výzvu pro společnost jako celek. A ačkoli byla stáří jako životní etapě věnována v průběhu vývoje moderní společnosti věnována vždy mimořádná pozornost a různé kontexty tohoto fenoménu byly nahlíženy z perspektivy filozofie, medicíny, sociologie, psychologie, ekonomie, gerontologie, gerontagogiky nebo sociální práce, současná situace staví tyto disciplíny před dosud neznámý problém. Dle řady odborníků hrozí socioekonomický a generační kolaps společnosti, přičemž možnosti řešení daného stavu nejsou jednoznačně intendovány.
Mezi nejvíce dotčené země patří dle analýz OSN především Japonsko, Německo, Itálie a Finsko, vysoce ohrožené jsou však i regiony střední a východní Evropy. Studie WHO pak konstatují, že nejvíce přibývá obyvatel starších 60 let v rozvojových zemích. Jedná se tedy o skutečně celosvětový problém, který, ač jeho dopady budou mít primárně lokální charakter, má ve skutečnosti globální přesah. Mezi nejčastěji zmiňovaná rizika, spojená s realitou stárnoucí společnosti, patří např. pauperizace, ageismus, segregace, chudoba, rozpad sociálních systémů apod. Někteří odborníci hovoří v této souvislosti o tzv. demografické panice. Stáří v tomto kontextu již definitivně ztratilo charakter osobní či rodinné události a zaujalo pozici zásadního sociálního, ekonomického i politického fenoménu. V této souvislosti je stále větší důraz kladen především na prevenci a přípravu na stárnutí z pohledu jedince i státu, přičemž tato příprava nabývá charakteru dlouhodobého a komplexního, v případě konkrétního jedince skutečně celoživotního, procesu.
Měnicí se paradigma (nejen) sociálních věd nicméně svým důrazem na interdisciplinárnost a individualizaci generuje vhodné předpoklady pro efektivnější pochopení stáří a stárnutí. Výzkum stárnutí a stáří, identifikace možností využití potenciálu starších dospělých i vytváření veřejných politik by pak neoddiskutovatelně mělo být založeno na pochopení klíčových faktorů života této skupiny. Na tomto pohledu je založena i předkládaná publikace. Problematika stárnutí a příprava na něj je v ní tematizována v široké škále perspektiv, které se ve své synergii usilují o vybudování co nejkomplexnějšího pohledu na daný fenomén. Analyzovány jsou např. kontexty trhu práce, dobrovolnictví, sociální práce, kulturních aktivit a řada dalších. Tato v pravdě multidisciplinární orientace umožňuje dostatečně respektovat celostní pojetí jedince (intraindividuální komplexnost) a zároveň reflektovat heterogenitu populace populace jako celku (interindividuální variabilitu). Ambicí této monografie pak není pouze analyzovat společenskou realitu, ale i navrhovat konkrétní nástroje a opatření, směřující k redukci potenciálních negativních dopadů. Lze snad proto vyslovit naději, že se stane nejen příspěvkem obohacujícím dosavadní teoretické bádání, ale že by zde prezentované výsledky a zjištění mohly být inspirující i pro pole praxe. Zároveň děkujeme všem autorům, recenzentům, vědecké a redakční radě za jejich vklad k rozvoji celé edice.

Michal Šerák
Łukasz Tomczyk
 
Wstęp

Oddajemy do rąk czytelników, jubileuszowy, dziesiąty tom międzynarodowej serii Czech-Polish-Slovak Studies in Andragogy and Social Gerontology. Na przestrzeni ostatnich kilku lat seria staje się coraz bardziej rozpoznawalnym opracowaniem wśród badaczy – specjalistów z zakresu andragogiki i gerontologii społecznej z Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej. Prezentowane teksty są efektem współpracy, przynoszącym jasne i mocne przesłanie. Długoterminowa transformacja struktury demograficznej społeczeństwa staje się nieubłaganą rzeczywistością, a permanentne pro aktywne przygotowanie do starzenia się i starości na poziomie krajowym, jak i indywidualnym jest niezbędnym oraz najbardziej skutecznym narzędziem do minimalizacji wpływu wielu negatywnych następstw związanych ze zmianami społecznymi.
Nie tylko kraje rozwinięte i bogate muszą stawić czoła rzeczywistości związanej ze stopniowym starzeniem się społeczeństw na całym świecie. Po raz pierwszy w historii ludzie w wieku poprodukcyjnym przekraczają (lub już przekroczyli) liczbę dzieci i młodzieży w wybranych krajach. To trudne wyzwanie dla całego społeczeństwa. Konteksty starzenia się i starości dostrzegalne są obecnie nie tylko w ramach demografii i gerontologii, lecz także w opracowaniach z obszaru: filozofii, medycyny, socjologii, psychologii, ekonomii, pracy społecznej i innych. Obecna sytuacja sprawia, że wymienione dyscypliny zaczynają mierzyć się z niewystępującymi do tej pory zjawiskami zapośredniczonymi przez zmiany demograficzne. Według wielu ekspertów załamanie społeczno-gospodarcze i pokoleniowe społeczeństwa jest groźne, a możliwości rozwiązania sytuacji nie są do tej pory jasno określone.
Według analiz ONZ Japonia, Niemcy, Włochy i Finlandia należą do krajów najbardziej dotkniętych kwestią starzenia się społeczeństw. Do regionów zmagających się również z takim samym wyzwaniem zaliczane są kraje Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej. Ponadto badania WHO wskazują, że największy wzrost liczebności osób starszych ma miejsce właśnie w krajach rozwijających się. Starzenie się społeczeństw jest zatem prawdziwie globalnym wyzwaniem, mającym przede wszystkim następstwa w wymiarze lokalnym. Do najczęściej wymienianych zagrożeń współtowarzyszących ze zmianami demograficznymi wymienia się: ubóstwo, niekorzystne z ekonomicznej perspektywy przeobrażenia rynku pracy, segregację, rozpad systemu solidarności społecznej  i inne. Niektórzy eksperci analizując różne wymiary i charakterystykę przekazów medialnych towarzyszących analizowanemu zjawisku mówią wręcz o tak zwanej panice demograficznej. W tym kontekście starość definitywnie straciła charakter wydarzenia osobistego lub rodzinnego i przyjęła pozycję fundamentalnego zjawiska społecznego, gospodarczego i politycznego. Dlatego też coraz większy nacisk kładzie się na zapobieganie i przygotowanie do starzenia się z perspektywy jednostki i państwa, natomiast uprzedzenie negatywnych skutków przybiera formę długofalowych i złożonych działań, co w przypadku indywidualnych osób jest procesem trwającym całe życie.
Zmieniający się paradygmat (nie tylko) dla nauk społecznych, związany jest z rozwojem interdyscyplinarności i indywidualizacji, z jednoczesnym stwarzaniem odpowiednich warunków dla bardziej skutecznego zrozumienia starości i starzenia się. Badania dotyczące późnej dorosłości, określania sposobów wykorzystania potencjału starszych osób i opracowywania polityk społecznych powinny opierać się na zrozumieniu kluczowych czynników życiowych tej grupy. Niniejsza, jubileuszowa publikacja bazuje na wskazanym założeniu. Zagadnienia starzenia się i przygotowania do późnej dorosłości są tematycznie ukazane poprze różnorodne, uzupełniające się perspektywy, które w sposób synergiczny dążą do zbudowania jak najbardziej kompleksowego obrazu psychospołecznego funkcjonowania seniorów. W monografii ujęto tematykę związaną z rynkiem pracy, wolontariatem, pracą socjalną, działalnością kulturalną i wieloma innymi strategicznymi dla życia osób starszych obszarami. W zaprezentowanych tekstach starano się ukazać wielodyscyplinarną orientację,  pozwalającą wystarczająco respektować prawa jednostki (złożoność wewnątrzosobnicza), jednocześnie odzwierciedlając niejednorodność populacji seniorów jako całości (zmienność międzyosobnicza). Ambicją tej monografii jest nie tylko realizacja złożonej analizy rzeczywistości społecznej, ale także zaproponowanie konkretnych narzędzi i środków mających na celu ograniczenie potencjalnych negatywnych skutków starzenia się i starości. Odwołując się do zaprezentowanej tematyki można wyrazić nadzieję, że publikacja przyczyni się do wzbogacenia istniejących badań teoretycznych oraz stanie się inspiracją dla praktyki. Jednocześnie dziękujemy wszystkim dotychczasowym autorom, recenzentom, radzie naukowej i redakcyjnej za wkład w rozwój serii.

This text constructs a new way of thinking about social work based on contemporary social theory and taking into account recent changes in social work. Working in a counter-tradition that is suspicious of a number of governing ideas and practices in social work, it draws on themes in the work of theorists such as Foucault, Giddens, and Rose. It looks at risk, trust, regulation, identity, and governmentality to explore the impact of risk society and neoliberalism on social work. It draws out the way social work is constituted by the twin rationalities of security and regulation.

Che attraversino piccole aree urbane o vasti territori metropolitani, delimitino vivaci quartieri centrali o intersechino anonime periferie, le strade non sono soltanto vie di comunicazione o di transito, ma anche luoghi in cui le persone e le loro esistenze entrano inevitabilmente in contatto. Nelle strade si incrociano storie e destini, i prossimi si incontrano e si scontrano, si relazionano e si ritrovano. Tutto ciò assume un particolare significato pedagogico quando l’età in cui avvengono l’incontro e la socializzazione e si instaurano relazioni è quella adolescenziale. Il volume muove da queste premesse e dal duplice intento di fornire, da un lato, un agile strumento di lettura delle dinamiche relazionali tipiche dei gruppi di adolescenti in contesti non formali sulla base di specifiche coordinate socio-spaziali; dall’altro, una possibile prospettiva teorico-pratica per la progettazione di interventi educativi in strada attraverso un approccio all’osservazione dell’ambiente come spazio educante e al patrimonio culturale come potenziale fattore di sviluppo territoriale e comunitario.