The Practice Of International Social Work

According to (Dulmus & Sowers, 2012, p.106), the history of social work is one of an old religiously grounded ethos of offering, aid and comfort. This shows that social work has been around for quite a long time, helping the unfortunate and it has developed more throughout these past centuries. The profession was largely shaped by Westerns idea and events. (Chenoweth &McAuliffe, 2015, p.32). The ideas and events included could have been war, poverty and other social reforms. That is when social welfare was needed to give aid and help solve these issues. Social work largely expanded in England in the 16th during the Elizabethan poor laws and later on in America between 17 and 18th century (Dulmus & Sowers, p.6). This essay is going to focus on how social work has evolved or changed for the better from the 1960s till present.

The social work profession is the continuous drive to enhance the well-being of all humanity. It acknowledges all walks of life regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, physical and mental disabilities and other significant defining features with the need to fight against oppression. It examines people within the social and environmental context they live in with the focus to improve their physical and emotional well-being. Social workers can help improve the lives of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities, but are not limited to the ones mentioned.

Gray, M., & Fook, J. (2004). The quest for a universal social work: Some issues and implications. Social Work Education, 23(5), 625-644.

The people in the world that we live in are extremely diverse, in terms of the nationalities, religions, gender classifications and physical abilities. Social workers must have a clear understanding of the consequences of diversity and difference and the mechanisms of oppression and discrimination as they relate to human development. The range of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds that social workers will practice in is huge. Because of this, social workers must have an understanding of the values and attitudes of a multitude of different cultures as well as an understanding of their own attitudes and

In retrospect, the authors speak on the importance of social workers and how they very needed. “The depression and the world war drew the profession back momentarily to social concerns and provided a social context for the emergence of social group work and community organization as social work specializations” (Specht &

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a national association of educational programs and individuals that confirms and improves the quality of social work education to become a professional job. CSWE puts in a countless amount of effort to strive for this mission by setting up a bachelor's and master’s degree programs in social work. On the other hand, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with approximately 132,000 members. To be more specific, NASW has a determination to intensify the maturity and developmental process of its members. The main goal is to retain professional standards and to create fair social policies. NASW progresses

Social Work is a discipline that can be a very rewarding experience for both the worker and the client. The practice involves working with individuals, families, or groups who are struggling to cope with life`s challenges. The social worker must combine his or her personal qualities, creative abilities, and social concerns with the professional knowledge in order to help client’s social functioning or prevent social problems from developing (Bradford W. Sheafor, 2008, p. 34). Social work practice seeks to promote human well-being, while addressing the processes by which individuals and groups are marginalized or diminished in their capacity to participate as citizens (Ian O'Connor, 2006, p. 1).

Social workers have many different practices and approaches to draw on for work with individuals, families, communities and society as a whole. These approaches and techniques can be varied depending on the distinctive

As discussed by Williams & Bell (2015), the evolving identity of social work has been continually unclear among the general public and social workers themselves. Theoretically social work practice is thought to have abandoned its original ideals of community focus and collective betterment shifting its concentration to individualistic approaches. Since its inception, beginning with settlement houses and charity organizations in the 19th century, social work practice has endeavored for recognition as a profession in its own right not as a supplement to other professions in a secondary manner such as assisting doctors or lawyers etc.

The role of social workers in international scene has become more significant as their competencies become just as in demand. The proliferation of local social problems has spread internationally while globalization continuously changes every aspect of human life. For this reason, North America social workers must be alarmed if their current expertise matches with the demand of international concerns.

Every social worker understands the importance of preserving various populations’ heritage and cultural diversity. It is essential for a practicing social worker to embrace other’s customs and ideologies. It a social worker that embraces cultural diversity, who builds rapport and promotes the social worker the opportunity to effectively serve others to avoid unnecessary barriers clients. Every social worker can be cultural diversity, identifying and assimilating with a variety of

According to the National Association for Social Workers (NASW), the social work profession was founded in social change (Advocacy, n.d.). They explain that throughout the profession’s history, social workers have sought to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources and opportunities that allow them to meet their basic needs (Advocacy, n.d.). In Paul Loeb’s book, Soul of a Citizen, throughout his own words and the words of others, he is able to express the significance that individuals, social workers, can have on others.

Research was done to actually inform the social work profession on the many factors related to global social work practice with migrant workers. It expounded on certain strategies that social workers can do to address issues related to migrant policies and provide guidelines for social workers interventions. I think that it is important social work professions to focus on international issues because there may be migrant workers who are closely located in areas where they may be interested in and/or work near. Addressing the many realities that migrant workers face allows from for advocating for policies and services to enhance unemployment, poverty, lack of opportunity, and immigration in third world countries who look at migrant workers as profit instead of a human person who is in need. It is so easy to get complacent when doing work in a country where there are many social and welfare services implemented. That same ease should be globally shown in sensitivity matters for the wellbeing of other workers from other nations (Holtzhausen & Oliphant,

There have been implications on social work practice a result of globalisation. Due to a greater availability of rapid transport it has become easier to cross borders. This brings new social problems for the profession such as human trafficking and migration of asylum seekers and refugees from war torn countries, creating a greater demand on services. The Commonwealth of Australia report (2007) indicates that since civil war broke out in Sudan in 1956, nearly two million people have been displaced and two hundred thousand people have died.

“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well being and help meet the basic human needs of all people with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty.” (1)