Social work refers to the number of professions that have arisen and are developing on the basis of the order of society to create a system of social assistance to the population. The history of the creation and formation of the main approaches, goals, principles, methods and technologies social work old and is based on the gradual development and improvement of the ideas of society and individuals about the content, structure, features of human activities. The system of social assistance has gone from a philanthropic approach to support socially vulnerable segments of the population, people who find themselves in a difficult life situation due to social or personal problems, to the emergence of such a type of professional assistance as social work, which is intended not only to create the necessary conditions for the social security of citizens, but also for the development of their capabilities and ability to build their lives, mobilization of internal resources in overcoming life crises.
The process of establishing social work as a type of professional activity began at the beginning of the 20th century. in Western Europe and the USA. In Ukraine, as in other Slavic states, state social assistance to orphans, the disabled, the poor, military personnel developed back in the days of Kievan Rus and was reflected in the activities of the Kiev princes and the Christian church. The main stages in the development of social work as a profession are considered within the framework of the course "History of Social Work".
An attempt at a scientific and theoretical understanding of various forms of social assistance was already made in the 19th century. both in our country and abroad. This has also been reflected in works on social life people (the conditions for the formation and implementation of life, freedom and equality, justice), and in specific areas of social work in the modern sense.
That is, social work was born as an applied science. Theoretical awareness, generalization "systematization of scientific knowledge about social processes and phenomena, progressive approaches to social support of an individual in a difficult life situation were determined on the basis of empirical data, facts of practical activity and work experience of organizations and institutions in the sphere of social protection of the population, social services, education, specialized establishments.
Theoretical approaches to social work were formed at the beginning of the 20th century. in the works of foreign Western researchers. The most famous of them are: M. Richmond (the theory of social diagnosis, the concept of intervention, keeping a client's history); V. Robinson (awareness of the client's situation, values and meanings of his being, the meaning of past experience); J. Tart, A. Rank (functional school - the basis of theoretical approaches is not a diagnosis, but the process of interaction between a social worker and a client, the principle of a synchronous approach, the principle of "here and now"); G. Hamilton (expansion of the concept of "diagnosis", its new interpretation in accordance with new trends in social work - not as an attitude to action, but as a working hypothesis for understanding the client's personality, his situation and problems); F. Bistek (interaction in methods individual work was considered as a system of dynamic interactions between a social worker and a client, aimed at achieving self-regulation and self-development by the client) Kh.Kh. Perlman (method of problem solving - synthesis of approaches of the diagnostic and functional schools, the process of assistance consists of two main components: the process of assistance and the personal resources of the individual) F. Hollis and R. Smallley (the concept of approximation, defines five theoretical concepts: assessment, personality in situations, process, relationships and intervention - intervention in theory uses the methodology of systems theory and communication theory) and others. J. Konopka, X. Norten, M. Ross, R. Perlman and other researchers directed their work to search for a common methodological basis for social work .
The development of the theory of social work was carried out in four main areas: the theory of individual work, the theory of group work, the theory of community work (in the community, community, society, neighborhood, etc.), the theory of administration and planning. In accordance with this, all approaches to the definition specific forms, social work methods, social work technologies are divided into three groups: individual, personal approach to the theoretical scheme of social work; the societal approach, where the whole set of social connections and relations is considered as a basic scheme; social - activity approach, when social work is considered in the subject-object scheme, traditional for modern knowledge.
According to M.V. Firsov, the main directions in theoretical research are divided into:
1) a professionally oriented approach to social work, the theory of social work is considered as a sub-theory of sociology;
2) co-critical dialects: scientists propose a structure of social work that is similar to the system-theoretical approach to considering the problem; the level of activity of social work as a subsystem of society are divided into three working subsystems - social and public policy, social planning, social therapy,
3) dialectical-materialistic (Marxist) analysis of the problem from the point of view of the category of poverty.
When formulating the definitions of social work as a science, theory, practice, such aspects as responsibility for the problems of society are taken into account; the balancing nature of society; education of a certain social position in the neighbor; applied theory of Christianity; features of democracy. The goal-setting of social work depends on social regulation in society, integration in society of an individual, restoration of the social significance of marginalized, unprivileged sections of the population, identification of Christian principles, harmony in relationships in society, guarantee of peace in society, pragmatic skills of democracy.
Social work as an applied science was formed on the basis of applying the results of fundamental sciences to solve cognitive and socio-practical problems and on the basis of close interdisciplinary ties with the areas of scientific knowledge that make up the scientific basis of social work, such as: pedagogy, social pedagogy, sociology, psychology, ethics and aesthetics, philosophy, etc.
Among scientists there is still no consensus on the definition of social work as a science. So, according to the authors of the textbook "Fundamentals of Social Work" ed. P.D. Pavlenok: "social work is the sphere of human activity, the function of which appears in the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about a certain reality - the social sphere and specific social activities".
Discussions about the distinction or identification of the essence of the concepts of "social work" and "social pedagogy" are covered in the works of domestic scientists. Social educators L. Koval, I.D. Zvereva, S.R. Khlebik emphasizes that "social work in our country (from its inception to the present) is characterized by a dominant role social pedagogy and social education. At the same time, it is important to explain that the concept of "social pedagogy" is not identical with the concept of "school social work". Social pedagogy, socio-pedagogical service (pedagogy of relations in society) is considered as a basic integrative basis in the system of social assistance services to the population, allows you to timely diagnose, identify and pedagogically expediently influence relations in society, the development of various initiatives, the formation of value orientations of the individual, his attitude towards oneself, one's physical and moral health, towards the environment".
In M.V. Firsova and E.G. Studenova we read: "J. Bernal argued that the paradigm of science can act in a particular area as an institution, as a method, as an accumulation of traditions and knowledge ... as a factor that forms beliefs and attitudes towards the world and man. In light of this The statement of the mechanistic paradigm of science acted in relation to social work as macro-intellectual, which determined the logic of its scientific thinking and the principles of functioning in the context of other knowledge.
The social work of this time is characterized by reductionism, linearity, determinism, the primacy of matter over consciousness, the dictates of time and space, the search for fundamental patterns within the framework of one's knowledge. All these features of the general scientific paradigm were specifically reflected in the conceptual space of social work.
Doctor of Philosophical Sciences V. A. Niki draws attention to the fact that social work as a new field of scientific knowledge is only gaining its place among other sciences, and the last decade of the 20th century. - This is the time of the birth of a new science - the theory of social work.
Development scientific research is carried out on the basis of social and humanitarian sciences, in the context of which socially significant processes and phenomena are studied; the specifics of the activities of the subjects of social protection and support of the population; socio-pedagogical and psychological-pedagogical conditions for the effectiveness of social work with various target groups and categories of the population; social, socio-economic, socio-political conditions of life of citizens, their needs, interests, requests and the like. Scientific research is carried out within the framework of sociology, pedagogy, psychology, philosophy, economics and other sciences, which significantly reduces the autonomy and scientific independence of social work. The uncertain scientific status of social work in Ukraine makes it much more difficult to determine the subject of research in the theory of social work.
In the scientific literature, the theory of social work is defined as: 1) a logical generalization of the experience of social life, based on a deep study of the essence of the phenomenon under study and reveals its patterns; 2) a set of views and ideas that make it possible to interpret and explain facts; 3) the very form of scientific knowledge, which gives a holistic reflection of the most important connections of a certain area of reality. As in every science, the following main elements of the theory are distinguished in social work: initial foundations (fundamental concepts, principles, patterns, axioms, etc.); idealized object (a kind of abstract model of essential properties and relationships); a set of laws and statements that are derived from the foundations of the theory in accordance with the principles of logic. Given this, the theory of social work can be viewed as a set of fundamental concepts, principles, patterns, abstract models and statements that express its essence in all integrity and specificity. The theory of social work forms the basis of social work as a unique field of scientific knowledge.
Thus, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of "theory of social work" and "social work as a science".
Social work theory- a system of basic ideas in the public sphere of knowledge, a form of scientific knowledge that gives a holistic view of the patterns and essential connections of reality. The criterion and basis for the development of the theory of social work is practice.
Social work as a science- the sphere of activity of the individual, the function of which is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality; this is one of the forms of social consciousness, including both the activity of obtaining new knowledge and its result - the sum of knowledge underlying the scientific picture of the world; coverage of certain branches of scientific knowledge related to the system of social protection of the population and support of the individual in a difficult life situation. The immediate goal of science is the description, explanation and prediction of the processes and phenomena of social reality, which are the subject of its study on the basis of the laws that it discovers.
The subject of the study of the theory of social work is the social processes and phenomena that determine the vital activity of the individual, social factors and improvement factors social conditions lives of various target groups and categories of the population. In Russian scientific sources, the subject of research in the theory of social work is defined as social phenomena, processes of various levels, reflecting a complex field-centric system.
The theory of social work is a social, social and applied science, tasks, content and prospects are formed in the context of the development of the practice of social work, in close connection with state social security and as the identification of socio-historical structures and development trends.
According to this definition, the formation of the theory of social work was carried out in the following areas: the development of theoretical models of socio-psychological assistance, socio-pedagogical impact and theories of social welfare of the population. Focused on these goals, the concept of social work theory is structured on the basis of two approaches: historical and systemic.
In modern scientific research, there is a steady trend towards the awareness of social work as a profession designed and aimed at enhancing the client's surviving capabilities, his positive life experience and creativity in a certain life situation. The goal of social work is to transfer the client from subject-object relations to subject-subject relations, from a passive consumer of social services into an active person who is not indifferent to own destiny and the life of your family. Among the most common methodological approaches is social work, focused on the life situation and living space of the client.
An important sign of the scientific nature of social work, its theoretical foundations are regularities. These are essential, necessary, stable and repetitive connections that appear during the interaction of the subject and object of social work and predetermine the nature and direction of its influence on the development of specific social phenomena, processes, relationships, and on the effectiveness of measures for social protection of the population. The main regularities of such work are: the conditionality of tasks and their content by the social policy of the state, the moral and humanistic values of public life; compliance of the content, forms and methods of social work with the specific circumstances of the life of clients; common interest of the social worker and the client in the results of interaction; the integrity (complexity) of the impact on the client and the conditions of his life; solution social problems through personal; compliance with the powers and responsibilities of a social worker, social work bodies; the dependence of the effectiveness of social work on the professionalism and moral qualities of specialists.
Social work as a science solves socially determined tasks:
· Research and identification of factors of socio-political, socio-economic, socio-cultural impact on the individual and social groups or communities; accumulation of empirical material, its theoretical understanding, generalization, systematization, practical application;
Determination of subjects and objects of negative and positive influence on the individual and society as a whole; patterns of management, regulation and organization of social work as a practical activity;
· The use of various tools for studying the sociological thought and needs of citizens, social, socio-psychological, socio-economic and other problems of consumers of social services, a specific social environment, the conditions for the functioning of subjects and objects of social work;
· Determining the correct, expedient, evidence-based means, techniques, forms and methods of social work, its technologies, mechanisms for excluding negative factors that worsen the lives of citizens from the practice of social life;
· Scientific development of a system to prevent the decline of the well-being of the people, stimulate progressive initiatives, develop forms, methods, directions of social work aimed at improving the situation of the people, self-development of the individual;
· Development of scientific approaches for rapid response system state support population to the needs and problems of citizens, the creation of an appropriate public opinion, psychological assistance and social protection.
The focus of the theory of social work is a social problem - a social contradiction, perceived by the subject of activity (individual or group) as a significant discrepancy between the existing desire, between the goal and the results of the activity, arises due to the lack or lack of means to achieve the goal, obstacles to along the way, the struggle between different actors, which leads to dissatisfaction with social needs. Social need, therefore, has an objective-subjective nature: in order to become a problem, the contradiction between various aspects of the activity of society or social groups must necessarily be experienced, evaluated as a problem situation. Therefore, the study of a social problem assumes as a description of an objective state social sphere using statistical methods (for example, the collection of data on employment), and the study of public opinion on the detection of elements of dissatisfaction with the status quo. The means of detecting a social problem are social diagnostics, as well as a comparison of the objective state of affairs with the norms. Social problems arise at different levels of social reality - from small groups, such as families, to humanity as a whole. In the latter case we are talking about global problems, since their solution requires concerted international action on the scale of the world community. Social problems occupy an important place in social work, because it is interpreted as helping people to solve their problems.
The essence of social work as a science also characterizes its scientific principles.
Principles of social work- an important structural component of the logical forms of scientific theory, thanks to which theoretical provisions are directly correlated with the practice of social work.
The most complete methodological approach to the classification of the principles of social work is reflected in the classification of V.I. Kurbatov. Considering the fact that social work is a universal activity, has an interdisciplinary character, its methodological principles are the integration principles of other sciences:
1. General philosophical principles that underlie all sciences about society, man and the mechanisms of their interaction: the principles of determinism, reflection, development.
2. General principles social (social) sciences, principles of historicism, social conditioning, social significance, epistemological approach, unity of consciousness and activity; socio-political, organizational, psychological and pedagogical, etc.
3. Socio-political principles manifest requirements due to the dependence of the content and direction of social work on social policy states. This dependency determines conceptual approaches to the choice of priorities in the social protection of the population, to the combination of individual and common interests in social work. The main principles of this group include: the unity of the state approach in combination with regional peculiarities social work, democracy in content and methods, taking into account the specific conditions of the life of an individual or social group when choosing the content, forms and methods of social work with them, the legality and fairness of the activities of a social worker.
4. Organizational principles - socio-technological competence of personnel, principles of control and verification of performance, functional certainty, unity of rights and duties, powers and responsibilities.
5. Psychological and pedagogical principles show requirements for the selection of means of psychological and pedagogical influence on clients of social services, the need to take into account individual characteristics in the implementation of any technological processes. The main principles of this group include: a comprehensive analysis of the assessment of the living conditions of clients and the choice of forms of work with them; an individual approach; purposefulness and targeting of social work.
6. The specific principles of social work determine the basic rules of work in the field of providing social services to the population: the principles of humanism, justice, altruism, communication, variability of social assistance, harmonization of public group and personal interests, and the like.
Important for social work as a professional activity are the principles of universality, protection social rights, tolerance, preventive orientation, self-reliance, client-centrism, mobilization of social resources, social response, confidentiality.
The level of social work as a social science is evidenced by the activities of scientific organizations and institutions that conduct scientific research in the field of social work. Scientific institutions of the education system (Institute of Pedagogy of the APS of Ukraine, Institute of Content and Forms of Education, Institute of Defectology of the APS of Ukraine and others) conduct research on the problems of socio-pedagogical, socio-psychological conditions of socialization, social rehabilitation of children and youth who find themselves in a difficult life situation, develop guidelines social services, specialized social institutions, concepts, programs, projects for social support for the protection of disabled children and youth, orphans, children from problem families, children and youth prone to deviant behavior, etc.
There are four research institutions in the system of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy: the Research Institute of Labor and Employment of the Population, the Research Institute of Social and Labor Relations, the National Research Institute of Labor Protection and the Research Institute for Social Protection of the Population. These research institutions focus on solving important problems in the field of demography, the labor market and employment of the population, social partnership, labor protection, payment, stimulation and regulation of labor, social protection of the population, social assistance and adaptation of the disabled, etc. Scientific work is focused for scientific support and substantiation of the tasks of social policy.
The results of the research are used in the legislative process, substantiation of sectoral regulations, forecast calculations for projects of territorial programs, to increase the information capacity of government bodies, and to solve practical issues of social protection of the population. Among the research works, the most significant are: the finalized draft of the Law of Ukraine "On the subsistence minimum", the draft State Program for overcoming poverty, the draft Regulations on the calculation of total income to provide citizens various kinds state aid, development of the Program for the development of scientific, technical and regulatory framework labor protection in Ukraine for 1998-2000 pp, research work aimed at studying the clinical and technical aspects of prosthetics, classifier of professions, etc.
A special place is occupied by studies of the problems of social protection of the disabled. Based on their results, new approaches have been developed for the further development of prosthetics for the disabled, the state of social protection of the population is being studied in the context of the transformation of Ukrainian society, and approaches have been proposed aimed at improving the efficiency of the system of social protection of the population.
In the field of social protection of the population, automated information systems (AIS) for processing documentation for recipients of pensions and benefits (ASOPD / COMTECH), subsidies for housing and communal services ("Our House") have been created and are operating. The software tools of the automated information system"Lada", application complexes for accounting, personnel departments, office, legal services of departments of social protection of the population and services of departments of social protection of the population and services of boarding schools, etc. The information and reference system "Employment-S" is being introduced in the state employment service, which covers activities State Center employment, regional, local employment centers, inspections to monitor compliance with legislation on employment. In the field of labor protection, the UAIS "YEGIDA" operates. In the bodies of social protection of the population, labor and employment, several different mail programs (T-Mai, ASTRA, UUCP, etc.) are used, unified according to the standards governing file transfer.
Institute social studies The State Committee for Family and Youth Affairs conducts sociological research to study public opinion in order to identify social problems, needs, interests and requests of various target groups and categories of the population, implements projects for the social support of orphans and children left without parental care, children - disabled people, social support of foster (foster) families.
Within the framework of foreign approaches, the features of the theory and practice of social work in different cultures, group social work, counseling in social work, ancillary process in social work, theory of socio-psychological work, psychosocial therapy, paradigms of medical social work, training in social work, oriented on solving practical problems of social work, etc. In domestic research, the emphasis is on the theory of social work, topical problems of the theory and practice of social work, social work with children and youth, the development of a model of a specialist in the social sphere, social security. An important step in improving scientific approaches in the social sphere is the specialization of research in the study of forms, methods, technologies of social work with various target groups and categories of the population.
There are several stages in the formation of scientific and theoretical approaches to social work in Ukraine:
1. Analysis of the empirical material accumulated during the operation of the system of social protection of the population in Ukraine and abroad, psychological and pedagogical approaches in working with children and youth up to the 80s pp. 20th century
2. Conducting discussions on the distinction between social pedagogy and social work as areas of scientific knowledge and practical activity, determining the subject of research of social pedagogy and social work, the areas of purpose of social pedagogy and social work - the second half of the 80s - the beginning of the 90s pp.
3. Creation of departments of social work, associations of social educators and social workers; the emergence of dissertations on socio-pedagogical work with various categories of children and youth - the second half of the 90s pp.
4. Identification of special scientific research on certain groups of the population (special client groups, "risk groups"): people prone to drug and alcohol addiction, disabled people, orphans, problem families and others based on studying the work of specialized institutions (helplines, centers for working with women, rehabilitation centers, public organizations etc.); establishment of schools of social work; implementation of international social projects and programs.
5. Development teaching aids textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, methodological developments, readers and other scientific and educational publications - 2000-2002 pp.
Social work is one of the most humane professions in the world. The doctor treats our bodily ailments and looks after our health, the psychologist and psychotherapist treat our soul and nerves, and social workers treat social ailments - poverty, deprivation, senility, childhood disorders, etc. The profession of "social worker" was introduced in Russian Federation in 1991. The first graduation of social work specialists by Russian universities was carried out in 1995. But even in this short time, social work specialists, and these are mostly women, helped hundreds of thousands of Russians to get back on their feet, improve their physical and mental health.
Social work specialists are those who care about people, strive to make their lives better, who share sorrows and worries, problems and misfortunes with them, who know how to sympathize and help. Specialists in the field of social work actively help to mitigate the problem of social adaptation and inequality, respond to the needs of those people who find themselves on the periphery of society, in social exclusion, whose rights are violated. They work in public and social institutions and departments, in private businesses, hospitals and clinics, schools and many other places. In Russia, the sphere of social work is an important partner of the state and an agent of its social reforms. That is why the quality of social assistance largely depends on the level of professionalism of those who perform their functions within this very important industry.
The nature of professional activity requires a social work specialist to be familiar with a wide range of issues, starting with the organization of the social security system as a whole and relevant legislation, elements of sociology and economics, and ending with specific, that is, involving knowledge of applied psychology, methods of working with "clients". At the same time, the main attention is paid to the dynamics of a given society, people's reactions to life's difficulties and the peculiarities of the interaction of individuals with their social environment.
In modern conditions, the lives of millions of people largely depend on the system of social services for the population and the level of training of social work specialists. Such professionals are needed in various organizations and social protection services, in counseling and rehabilitation services and centers, in employment services, in children's clinics, in career guidance centers, in government controlled and local government.
Unfortunately, social services in our country are not provided with everything necessary for successful activity, and the salary of social work specialists is negligible and practically does not differ from the income of the poor, which they have to serve. But I would like to hope that in the near future this situation will change for the better. Indeed, today social work is one of the most demanded specialties in the labor market, and this is due, first of all, to a change in priorities in state policy and the dynamic development of the social sphere in Russia.
Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below
Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.
Introduction 2
1. Basic provisions of the theory of social work 5
1.1 Objective prerequisites for the emergence and development of the theory of social work as a scientific discipline 5
1.2 Social work in different models theoretical substantiation 14
2. The state of social work in the conditions of modern Russia 26
2.1 Relationship between social policy and social work 26
2.2 Problems of reforming the social sphere in Russia 33
Conclusion 40
Bibliography 43
Introduction
The transition period to market relations marks a new stage in the socio-economic development of Russia. At the same time, being progressive, in fact, it brought to life processes that even in the Western world became manageable only decades later.
The ongoing transformations, which disrupted the economic structure that had existed for more than half a century, affected the fundamental interests of the entire population and required the urgent formation of a fundamentally new social policy. The difficulty lies in the fact that social policy cannot focus on short-term goals, it must determine strategic directions, which, of course, can be subject to tactical adjustments, but in general it must be integral, reasonable, rational and effective and be formed taking into account historical conditions and national characteristics, politics and economic situation, cultural traditions. Social policy is, moreover, conservative and innovative. Conservatism lies in the fact that it, as it were, preserves what has already been achieved in the social sphere and passes it on to those who need social intervention. Innovativeness is that the policy should adapt social structures to the ongoing changes.
In the conditions of Russia, this means that the existing experience and existing infrastructure should be used to the maximum, which will serve as the basis for the formation of a new concept of social security.
When forming social strategy and politics, the political aspect of social protection is of particular importance. Any social support activities and social assistance measures should be planned in such a way as to support the political line, promote the government's course for reform, and not weaken or discredit it. Reasonable steps in the social sphere are designed to strengthen the confidence of the population in the leadership of the country, and they should also help reduce social tension.
In Russia, the influence of centralized management and the distributive-equalizing system in the social sphere is still strong, which is currently manifested in the low efficiency of social services. The federal government allocates funds to solve social problems and distributes them locally. However, there is no real control over the use of funds, as there are, for the most part, no local programs social development and therefore no liability.
The system of social services that existed for many years was rather formal and required more technical performers than professional social workers. In other words, there were no specialists in the field of social work in Russia, as is customary in world practice, and their training was not carried out until the beginning of 1991.
The trend of socio-economic development shows that the emergency measures needed to this stage, a new and stable social assistance should come, rational and practical in essence, forms and methods. It should be a scientifically based, structurally clear system focused on a set of measures in the field of social security, based on a reliable financial and economic base.
Thus, the relevance of our topic term paper lies in the need to determine the relationship and place of social work in the structure of political and economic knowledge. The social sphere of society is one of the most important in the life of the society of the state. It has a special impact on the entire system of state functioning, and vice versa, which is why it needs special attention when considering political and economic components.
The purpose of the work is to determine the place of social work in the structure of social knowledge. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of the following tasks:
To identify the main provisions of social work: the objective prerequisites for the emergence and development of the theory of social work as a scientific discipline and a model for the theoretical justification of the theory of social work;
Determine the state of social work in the conditions of modern Russia by determining the relationship between social policy and social work and by considering the problems of reforming the social sphere in Russia.
Thus, the object of our study is social work, and the subject is its place in the structure of modern social knowledge.
1. Basic provisions of the theory of social work
1.1 Objective prerequisites for the emergence and development of the theory of social work as a scientific discipline
Modern science of science, sociology of science, the main prerequisites, factors and conditions for the emergence of certain branches of social knowledge, scientific disciplines, as a rule, are combined into three groups. Firstly, the emergence of new realities in the human environment, new problems of reproduction and maintenance of its vitality, individual and social subjectivity, satisfaction of the needs of maintaining life support and active existence are noted. Secondly, the self-development of scientific knowledge as such, based on its traditional and updated scientific categorical-conceptual apparatus, is usually stated. Thirdly, the phenomenon of individual-personal subjectivity of a scientific researcher is taken into account, whose knowledge potential, his scientific intuition, research capabilities significantly affect the emergence and development of new branches of knowledge and scientific disciplines.
The third group of reasons under consideration is usually characterized only as a subjective factor in the development of scientific knowledge. This is true, but only in part. It is also obvious that the very existence of outstanding scientists who define new horizons in the science of man, society and nature is an objective phenomenon that characterizes social life in a certain way, primarily the evolution of scientific knowledge. In this case, of course, one should take into account the individual-personal characteristics, abilities, character, temperament of the researcher and citizen of each scientist, which largely determines the scale and nature of the increment of scientific knowledge.
Considering the named groups of factors and conditions that determine the development of scientific knowledge, let us consider the main prerequisites for the emergence and progressive evolution of the theory of social work as a science. First of all, let us turn to those realities of the life of a modern person, which have become the object of study of a new scientific discipline.
Most specialists in social history and the history of social work agree in recognizing the need to determine the period of emergence of social work as a modern social phenomenon that required the development of special theoretical foundations, a special theory. This period is usually called the last quarter of the last century. It was at this time that in a number of industrialized countries there were groups of specialists who began to professionally engage in social work, created schools that train social workers, the first faculties of social work of universities are opened. So, back in the early 90s of the XIX century. The Department of Social Work was opened at Columbia University (USA).
What determined the need for the training of professional social workers, the development of the theory of social work as a scientific and academic discipline? What are the realities of social and individual human life in the second half of the XIX century. led to the deployment of mass training of professional social workers, the widespread deployment of scientific research on the problems of social protection of the population, support for "weak" social groups?
Historical-sociological, statistical, socio-economic studies of the second half of the last century and those that were carried out in the current century testify to the emergence of social problems in the number of priority and global ones, its massive increased influence on the development of the economy, political and socio-cultural processes. First of all, it should be noted such a phenomenon of social life as mass urbanization, which became the result of intensive industrial development leading industrialized countries of that time. The mass migration of rural residents to cities has greatly increased the proportion of marginal strata in society, primarily urban first and second generations, poorly adapted to the conditions of life in the city.
Mass intensive urbanization in the XIX-XX centuries. led to a situation where the urban population began to dominate in terms of numbers in most industrialized and moderately developed countries.
The specificity of the way of life of people was clearly identified not only in the regional-national, territorial context, but also in various types, as well as types of settlements (large city, medium or small city, urban-type settlement, village, village, farm, etc.). At the same time, the differences in the life support systems of the population living in different types of settlements, their dependence on the profile of the economic development of the regions, turned out to be obvious.
The complication of social production, the growth of the employee's equipment, in general - labor, the increase in the role and responsibility of a person in it for the results of the activities of large teams, associations of workers, the strengthening of their interdependence, the versatile influence on the efficiency of improving the overall results of professional activity required special attention to the carrier work force, his health, mood, well-being, life orientations. Both government agencies and large firms begin in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. to invest more and more actively not only in education and professional training of the population, which is also very remarkable in itself, but also in what is called the sphere of human life support, the social sphere. Theory and practice of social workers and their training in the system higher education. M.: Logos, 2003. - p. 130
In turn, the outstripping development of the service industry in developed countries leads at the turn of the century, and especially in the 20th century, to the study of the patterns of human behavior in an increasingly developed and technically equipped social sphere. Not in last turn this happened also because the service industry required accurate forecasting and the formation of a certain demand for goods and services, as well as due to a fundamental change, the complication of the material environment of modern man, which changed his way of life, typical forms of life, ways to maintain his vitality, their formation , rehabilitation.
Another important factor that contributed to the formation of the modern system of social work, its emergence as a social phenomenon was in the XIX century. workers' struggle for their rights. Increasing concentration of employees on large enterprises, in the cities, strengthening the organization of the labor movement, the trade unions undoubtedly had a strong influence on the bourgeois governments, entrepreneurs and convinced the latter of the need for broad support for various forms of social work that relieve tension in society. Moreover, at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, there was an obvious trend towards the growth of the strike movement, cases of armed struggle of workers for their rights.
The era of proletarian revolutions came on the most large scale precisely in the last century. Its destructive nature has in many ways intensified the search for peaceful, evolutionary ways of transition to a more just society by the progressive public. social organization more flexible modern mechanisms for solving both traditional and new social problems. The wide spread of various forms of social work, its design as an objectively necessary social phenomenon has become one of the main ways to resolve modern social contradictions and ensure social progress in general.
In this regard, one should keep in mind a number of global problems that humanity faced in the late 19th - first half of the 20th century. They largely determined the relevance of the emergence and improvement of social work as a social phenomenon, as well as its scientific support, the creation of theoretical and methodological foundations. The most acute and large-scale declared themselves such global problems like pollution environment, the threat of a population explosion, mass starvation in underdeveloped countries and regions, the danger of self-destruction of humanity as a result of the use of weapons of mass destruction, the problem of moral degradation, socio-cultural degeneration, the disintegration of the family as a traditional social institution that forms the basis for the reproduction of social and individual human life. Growing social differentiation, increasing differences in the standard of living of the peoples of different countries and regions, the spread of mass culture, the aggravation of the problem of migration, and the choice of meaningful life orientations for the population of industrialized and developing countries have posed a serious problem of protecting the majority of the world's population.
Finally, it should be noted that specific traits modern world, which led to the improvement of social protection, its theoretical design, as the development of humanistic traditions of culture, the growth of education, awareness of the population, as well as the complication of society and man, their livelihoods, increased risk to life in new historical conditions. All this, more than ever, required professionalism, a theoretical substantiation of activities to optimize the social support of people, especially since humanity has received new opportunities for strengthening social and individual assistance to those in need, especially in societies that have reached the level of "mass consumption".
The self-development of theoretical scientific knowledge in modern scientific thought is, in principle, an established fact. Another thing is that in different branches of science this happens on a different scale.
Hypotheses and evidence indicating a large (often dominant) role in human life of unconscious impulses, mainly of a biosexual nature, had a huge impact not only on the choice of methods of psychotherapeutic assistance, technologies of socio-psychological support for people, but also on the philosophical and sociological foundations of social work, its theoretical designs.
Thus, psychodynamic, psychosocial theories of social work today largely use the achievements of Freudianism and neo-Freudianism, partly modernizing and rethinking them. At the same time, they have an independent specificity, focusing on a comprehensive, holistic maintenance of human resilience, although they focus attention in this issue on psychological and socio-psychological components.
Similarly, we can talk about the influence on the theoretical constructions of specialists in the field of social work of the achievements of egopsychology, behaviorism, transactional analysis, logotherapy. The theory of social work as a sectoral theoretical discipline cannot but be influenced by the achievements of the basic theoretical disciplines, primarily psychology and sociology.
Thus, the strengthening in sociology of the positions of functionalism, structural-functional and system analysis, as well as radically oriented conflictological concepts, Marxist sociology led to corresponding shifts in sympathies, constructions of social work theorists.
Theoretical and methodological substantiation of structural social work, focused on helping various social groups in need of support, on optimizing social policy, the activities of social work institutions.
The obvious connection of various theoretical concepts of social work with psychological and sociological theories reveals itself in the analysis and grouping of these concepts, identifying their specific features. But more about this in the special sections of the manual.
Here we also note the fact that the theory of social work, based on fundamental psychological and sociological developments, using the systems of concepts of psychology and sociology, has an obvious tendency to self-development. This circumstance is noted by leading foreign experts, domestic scientists and practitioners. Firstly, this is manifested in the formation of new groups of concepts used in the theory of social work and used mainly in this context of scientific knowledge: the vitality of a social subject, individual subjectivity, social subjectivity, rehabilitation of vitality, support for individual subjectivity, protection of social subjectivity, social degradation, etc.
Secondly, a circle of problems is assigned to the theory of social work, which, receiving an increasingly versatile analysis, stimulate the self-development of theoretical knowledge, their reproduction. In this regard, the fruitfulness of theoretical discussions about the object and subject of social work as a scientific discipline should also be noted. Finally, thirdly, we note the increment of scientific theoretical knowledge on social work due to the methodological and methodological study of research tasks, the specifics of the methodology used in this and the methodology of scientific analysis. In this regard, the theoretical self-reflection of the emerging branch of scientific knowledge, a certain socio-professional group, is obvious.
Important role in the reproduction of theoretical knowledge play individual scientists, major experts in the field of social work. In this regard, let's move on to the consideration of the third factor that determines the development of the theory of social work - the contribution of outstanding scientists, experts in the field of theory and practice of social assistance to the needy population.
In the analysis of the specifics of the impact on the development of the theory of social work by major theorists and practitioners, even today we are in danger of losing understanding of the specifics of the activities of a social worker and its theoretical foundations. And in this sense, there is, of course, some danger of making the heroes of the history of the development of the theory of social work completely or partly not those people who really were them in this other field of scientific knowledge.
The solution to this range of problems is complicated by the fact that not every major theorist and practitioner of social work was and is, in terms of basic education, a social worker, a social work professional with a university diploma, as was the case, for example, with Ronald Feldman, the former dean of the Faculty of Social Work at Columbia University. University (USA) or Ray Tomlisson, Dean of Canada's largest department of social work at the University of Calgary. Thus, Harold Svedner, who for a long time headed the scientific programs of the Institute of Social Work at the University of Gothenburg, laid the foundations for scientific research in the field of social work in Sweden, their philosophical and humanistic base, is a PhD with extensive experience in cultural, socio-philosophical research, specializing in sociology (he graduated from the sociology department of Lund University). Under the influence of the research activities of H. Svedner in Sweden in the 80s, the scientific tradition of analyzing structural social work, its systemic and functional vision in the context of the development of modern man, has significantly increased.
It should be specially emphasized that H. Svedner highly appreciated and appreciates the philosophical and humanistic traditions of the socio-cultural development of Russia. Svedner X. On the organization of social work in the education system// Social work: Theory and practice of social workers and their training in higher education. M .: INFRA-M, 2002. - P. 41 In substantiating the meaning, socio-ethical foundations of social work, he constantly appeals to the ideas and practice of social activity of such Russian thinkers as L. Tolstoy, I. Bunin, A. Chekhov, F Dostoevsky and others. He highly appreciates social ideas and scientific works S.G. Strumilina, A.S. Makarenko, V.I. Lenina, A. Kollontai, I.I. Pavlova.
In most sociological and psychologically oriented theories of social work, the most notable contribution to their development was made not by "pure" social work theorists, but by sociologists and psychologists, as well as educators and psychotherapists. For the early stages of the formation of a new branch of knowledge, this is a completely natural picture, on the one hand, because there are simply few theorists of the new science, and on the other hand, related disciplines that are basic to it naturally “recruit” their most prominent representatives into new areas of knowledge. It is no coincidence that many theories of social work are very close in name to related sociological and psychological concepts (systemic, functional, role-playing, socio-psychological, etc.).
This again confirms the immutable truth: the new science becomes its faithful servants, the best representatives of related sciences, often at the "junction" of scientific disciplines. Theory and practice of social work: Domestic and foreign experience / Ed. T.F. Yarkina, V.G. Bocharova. - M.: UNITI, 2001. - S. 73
Thus, the appearance of social work in the structure of social knowledge was influenced by several groups of factors that can be reduced to two main ones: subjective and objective. This field of knowledge, compared with mathematics, philosophy, history, etc., is considered young. The development of social work is carried out along with the cultural and historical improvement of civil society and is caused by the need to resolve a range of specific problems that are included in the subject of consideration of social work as separate area scientific knowledge.
1.2 Social work in different models of theoretical justification
By the beginning of the 1990s, several models of the theoretical substantiation of social work, its understanding as a special social activity, a social phenomenon, were clearly identified in the scientific literature. They reflected not only the results of scientific research by major scientists from different schools of theoretical understanding of the problems of social protection in modern society, but also its evolution, changes in the very content and forms of social work.
The theory of logotherapy is a complex system of philosophical, psychological and medical views on the nature and essence of a person, the mechanisms of personality development in normal and pathological conditions, on the ways and means of correcting anomalies in personality development.
It has certainly become possible to speak of at least twelve such models. Let us consider their most significant features separately, because each such model implies a very specific content, methods and forms of assistance to those in need, crisis prevention, as well as well-known theoretical basis, connection with related sciences about man and society, natural and socio-cultural foundations of their life.
Our analysis of the well-known theoretical approaches to the construction of scientific knowledge in the field of social work in relation to related sciences that have had and are having the strongest influence on it, indicates the presence of at least three groups of theories:
psychologically oriented theories of social work;
sociologically oriented theories of social work;
theories of social work of psychological and sociological (sociological and psychological) or complex, interdisciplinary orientation.
Psychologically Oriented Theories
Psychodynamics as the theoretical basis of social (psychosocial) work in its modern form was formed on the basis of psychoanalysis in its various interpretations, starting with Z. Freud, his direct followers and later adherents. Of course, even today, psychodynamic interpretations of people's behavior are an integral part of modern psychological knowledge, psychology as a scientific discipline. And in this sense they cannot be characterized by the branch of scientific knowledge called the theory of social work. Their role in this regard is limited mainly by methodological influence as a scientific discipline adjacent to social work.
However, this influence and the development on its basis of a psychodynamic model of social work, most often characterized as psychosocial, led to the emergence and development of a specific model for substantiating specific technologies of social work, providing social (psychosocial) assistance to an individual, family, group of people with problems. At the same time, the psychodynamic model of the activity of a social worker is based on several fundamental, initial postulates. Basically, they boil down to the following:
a) a social worker in the context of relations with a client must proceed from the fact that the latter not only has a certain psychological structure, but is also capable of changing it, develops under the influence of internal, intentional factors and external conditions, interacting with the environment;
b) the impact of a social worker on a client should take into account his socio-economic status, status in the system of social hierarchical groups, various levels of management and self-government. However, the main thing that the psychodynamic approach suggests is the recognition of the fundamentally important role of studying and taking into account the dynamics of relations in the contact group, the client's environment;
c) psychodynamic theories require taking into account how they turn out to be useful in the process of providing concrete assistance to a needy, individual person;
d) within the framework of the psychodynamic concept, not only the analysis of the "status quo" is performed, but also the use of the experience of analyzing the evolution of relations between the client and the social worker, the nature of the relationship between persons in a particular environment of the needy;
e) the psychodynamic model of social work implies, as a rule, the possibility of changing, correcting the client's behavior, attitudes, relationships by influencing his inner world, perception of realities, the nature of relations in contact groups.
Existentialist and humanistic models of the theoretical substantiation of social work also occupy a significant place in the theory of social protection.
In the existential substantiation of social work, the emphasis is on the peculiarities of the client's perception of the relationship in the system of interaction "subject-object-subject". Comprehension and conclusions about these relationships are the main thing in the existential theory of the model of social work.
In this regard, the following are usually considered: 1) rules and roles within the "subject-object-subject" system; 2) broader systems in the context of which there is a subsystem "subject-object-subject" and which have a certain influence on it; 3) value systems in which the client believes; 4) how the client struggles with fear, insecurity; 5) communication of all related aspects of problem solving.
The existential model of the theoretical justification of social work comes from the fact that most of the emotional problems of the client arise from four sources of alienation: a) when people who are significant in the eyes of the client do not recognize him as such; b) inconsistency or deceit in solving the problem of evaluative conflicts; c) frustration, chaos or loss of personal values; d) loss of loved ones (their death, departure, betrayal, etc.).
The main goal of the existential technology of influencing the client is to help people acquire a satisfactory lifestyle, begin to receive satisfaction from life. In this case, three possible rules of existential therapy are used: first, an orientation towards changing the experience, practical activity of the client; secondly, focus on understanding the personality of the client; thirdly, personal involvement, immersion of a social worker in the world of values, feelings, client relationships.
The humanistic model of the theoretical substantiation of social work largely plays the role of the philosophical and humanistic base of the existential technology of helping those in need, as well as the entire practice of social work. In this regard, the social worker must proceed from the inherent value of the individual world of the client's life, recognizing his ability to solve many things on his own, based on personal spiritual and practical experience.
The process of providing assistance within the framework of such foundations for conducting social work includes: 1) finding the meaning of existence, which gives the client the feeling that his affairs are going well, life is changing along the path of progressive development. At the same time, it is not necessary to engage in constant self-study; 2) centering, emphasizing problems, when social workers show clients that they are ready to take care of their affairs, proving this in practice, starting to get acquainted with the problems of each of those in need; 3) an action when the social worker demonstrates active openness, mobility, and the client sees that maintaining security, its feeling is not always necessary. You just need to do something that is relevant to the life of each of us.
It is also essential that a social worker in this situation should not have a rigidly set model of what the client or society should be like, the environment that surrounds him, and therefore there are no diagnoses or forecasts based on these ideal ideas. seen in inspiring the client, understanding real opportunities his life, actively engage in their implementation.
Of course, with all the universality of such existential-humanistic approaches to helping those in need, they cannot be used in the same concrete way in all forms of organizing social work. Firstly, these are different forms of social assistance that often exist for different reasons and solve different problems. Secondly, one should take into account the departmental disunity of social work institutions, which prevents mass unification. In addition, we are dealing every time with different people and different areas of their habitat.
Finally, the humanistic model of justifying social work is alien to the approach when it is required to impose on someone a certain model, standard of action. In this sense, the social worker, based on the models of social work under consideration, is free to choose the forms and means of influencing the client and cooperating with him.
A very indicative task is the crisis-oriented and crisis-intervention models of the theoretical substantiation of social work.
The two named and also quite close to each other models of substantiating social work for the national tradition are quite new. At least in this terminological context, they have not been interpreted in our country in works on social work.
The commonality and similarity of these theoretical approaches to social work lies primarily in the fact that both of them focus on a short-term, relatively fragmented intervention of the socionome in the process of solving the client's problems, although these interventions can, if necessary, be combined in a series. Organizationally abroad, such interventions are often based on contracts, agreements between the client and the social worker.
The crisis-intervention approach is based mainly on the psychodynamic concept and ego psychology. In turn, individual task-oriented work does not recognize any specific or sociological basis for technology, methods of its implementation. It relies entirely on an operational pragmatic approach, which has spread due to dissatisfaction with long-term inpatient psychodynamic care, individual psychological support for the individual in a number of industrialized countries.
The crisis intervention of a social worker is substantiated as its expedient action, which interrupts a series of events in the client's life, aggravating or leading to a crisis, disruption of people's normal life. In turn, task-oriented work is justified as an activity focused on certain categories of problems.
Both models attempt to improve people's ability to deal with their problems and lives, and to resolve them in an optimal way. Crisis intervention is based on the theory of the origin of difficulties and different living conditions. And the task-oriented model takes problems as such in order to solve them in a purely pragmatic way in the actual plan. Kerner G. Junsson L. Theory of socio-psychological work. M.: INFRA-M, 2002. - S. 128
Sociologically Oriented Theories
Let us turn to the consideration of some sociologically oriented models of the theory of social work. Among them, the most clearly reveal themselves, firstly, those that are formed on the basis of the theory of social systems, and secondly, those that are based on radical Marxist approaches. In this regard, we will characterize the most significant in their specificity, emphasizing the fact that these concepts form the basis of the so-called structural social work.
It is also useful to emphasize the features of the model of theoretical substantiation of social work, based on systemic ideas about the structure and development of society. System ideas go back to Bertalanffy's general theory of social systems. In its original version, this theory, as is known, was developed on biological material and showed that all organisms are systems composed of subsystems, and the system itself is, in turn, a part of supersystems. So, a person was presented as a part of society, but consisting of circulating circulatory systems, digestion, as well as cells, which in turn consist of atoms, including even smaller particles. This theory has become widely used to analyze social systems, including social groups and public institutions, families, small communities, and collectives.
Today, two forms of using systems theory in social work are traditionally distinguished: a) using the provisions of general systems theory, as mentioned above; b) development and use of ecological systems theory. The key concept of the theory of ecological systems in social work has become the category of "models of life". The model of life considers people as systematically organized subjects of life, which constantly adapt in their interaction to the variety of conditions of life. It proceeds from the fact that where a person can develop through change, where he is supported in this by the environment, the environment, there is mutual adaptation.
Social problems (poverty, environmental pollution, discrimination, etc.) complicate the conditions of human existence and reduce the possibility of mutual adaptation. Life systems (people, their associations) according to the theory of ecosystems should try to maintain a good balance with their environment.
The main goal of social work in the theory of ecosystems is usually proclaimed to increase the adaptive abilities of people, to influence their environment in such a way as to make the compromises between man and the environment more adaptive. Thus, the social worker in this approach to solving the client's problems affects not only him, but also his environment.
In structural social work, the system-environmental approach is most widely manifested in the organization of the work of the system of social security and support for the population. It is aimed both at groups of the population using planned officially centralized support, and at mass or individual informal assistance, including friends, neighbors, family members who need it. This assistance is either personal or public. Personal uses predominantly the psychological capabilities of socionoms and clients. Public (social) assistance uses education and feedback, the effect of the impact of special institutions.
Now let's turn to the radical and Marxist models of substantiating the theory of social work. Both of these models of the theoretical substantiation of social work are characterized by sharp criticism of traditional approaches to understanding the essence, content, and social significance of social work. Their proximity and the 7080s became apparent.
Radical criticism of traditional forms of social work already in the 1970s led to the substantiation of such forms of social work as "empowerment", social advocacy, raising the level and development of self-awareness. There was an emphasis on social self-defense, an increase in the role of social subjectivity.
The Marxist tradition of its scientific comprehension was characterized by a longer radical-critical attitude towards social work. In this regard, three positions in relation to social work have been clearly identified:
1) a progressive position according to which social work is presented as a positive factor of change, since it links bourgeois society with its exploitation of the working strata of the population and needy social groups. The social worker in this context is characterized as an important force contributing to collective action, raising people's self-awareness, and bringing about change;
2) the reproductive position presents social workers as agents, employees, exercising class control, which in an exploitative society intensifies the oppression of the working class, all working people;
3) the contradictory position characterizes social work, on the one hand, as a phenomenon of social life that is useful for workers, which makes it possible to help those in need, contribute to the weakening of capitalist society, ensuring the consolidation of working strata. On the other hand, social workers perform the functions of easing social tension in a capitalist society, strengthening it, ensuring stability.
Predominantly, the so-called permissive model belongs to the sociologically oriented models of the theoretical substantiation of social work. It provides for the achievement of the following goals: 1) help clients see and understand themselves as "causal agents" capable of finding solutions to existing problems; 2) to promote the client's perception of the social worker as a specialist with knowledge and skills that may be useful to him; 3) to perceive the social worker as a partner in solving a certain range of their problems by the client; 4) to help perceive the power, authority structure of the organization of social assistance, society as a whole, as complex and partially open to influence.
Of the psychologically oriented models of the theoretical substantiation of social work, role-playing and communicative models tend to be complex. Among the sociologically oriented models, the resolving and ecological models are closest to the complex ones. Complexly oriented models of the theoretical justification of social work
Let us consider, however, proper-complex models of the theoretical substantiation of social work. We refer to them, first of all, the cognitive, socio-pedagogical and vitalist models.
The cognitive (cognitive) model of the theoretical substantiation of social work is becoming more and more famous. Strictly speaking, when evaluating this approach to the theoretical substantiation of social work, we should talk about a number of cognitive theories that have made themselves known in the last one or two decades.
Cognitive theory combines psychosocial, sociological, behavioral and social elements in an approach to understanding and solving social work problems. Representing the development of a person’s rational thinking in relation to protecting their individual and social interests through optimal behavior, cognitive theories orient the client and the socionome not only to change themselves, adapt to the environment, but also to improve the latter, optimize their social environment.
Thus, the cognitive approach, focusing on the rational aspects of human behavior and the arrangement of his environment, approaches the solution of social work problems more or less comprehensively. At the same time, emphasis is placed on the rational aspects of the individual subjectivity of the personality, which often prompts us to classify this model of the theoretical justification of social work as psychologically oriented or socio-pedagogical.
The socio-pedagogical approach to substantiating the theory of social work is essential and highly indicative. Assessing the specifics of the socio-pedagogical approach to the theoretical substantiation of social work, it should be borne in mind that in Russia in the early 1990s, a discussion intensified about the relationship between social pedagogy and social work, and, accordingly, about the object and subject, methods of both sciences. The accents in this discussion turned out to range from the actual identification of social pedagogy and social work to their opposition as sciences, various branches of knowledge, and even as sciences and practices.
We consider the vitally-oriented model of complex understanding of social work as one of the most effective. And not only because it provides good grounds for relying on specifically accentuated theories of social work, but also because of the use of a genetic approach to the life-support of man as a biosocial being, evolution, the support of whose vital forces is the object of social work's concerns. The concept of vitality, individual and social subjectivity of a person as a theoretical model of a comprehensive vision of social work plays a key role.
Within the permissive model of social work, the following roles of socionomes are substantiated:
consultation on resources, "binding" clients to resources for providing assistance, creating conditions for improving clients' self-esteem, their ability to solve their problems;
help clients acquire knowledge about themselves, about the social structure of the environment;
a social worker acts as a teacher and educator, a mentor who is able to teach the client the skills of solving problems, certain practical activities.
The resolving model as a whole is oriented towards the use of specific methods of social work aimed at weakening or eliminating negative assessments and conditions for resolving client problems from among those that are formed by influential groups in society in relation to its individual members and strata. It is especially useful to use this model when working with families and interest groups. This significantly expands the possibilities of social work institutions, where the profile of activity is defined, some functions are assigned. Berner G., Yunsson L. Theory of socio-psychological work. M.: Jurist, 2000. - S. 84
Thus, there are models for substantiating the theory of social work. Among the main models, we singled out psychologically oriented, sociologically oriented, sociopsychological (interdisciplinary), existential and humanistic. Each of them defines social work in terms of selected positions.
2. The state of social work in the conditions of modern Russia
2.1 Relationship between social policy and social work
Currently, the share of the population entitled to receive social guarantees, benefits and payments established by the legislative acts of the Russian Federation is estimated at the level of 70% of the total population of the Russian Federation, i.e. about 100 million people can apply for social payments and benefits. Only 9 types of social benefits and compensations (including monthly allowance for a child) cover more than 45.5 million people. At the federal level, there are about 156 types of social payments, benefits, allowances, subsidies provided to 236 different categories of the population (for example, such categories as veterans, children, disabled people, students, etc.).
Distribution of the total amount Money, received by the population in these areas of social protection, is formed as follows: only a quarter of the total amount of benefits and allowances implemented by all households falls on the share of households with an average income below the subsistence minimum of a household, while the share of households with an average income above the subsistence level of a household is three quarters. This situation is due to the fact that almost all social benefits, payments and benefits established at the federal level are provided on the basis of the categorical principle. Only two types of social payments - monthly child allowance and housing subsidies - are means tested and are provided to households whose average per capita income is below the subsistence level. Grigorieva S.I. Social work in Russia: Assistance in the formation, implementation and rehabilitation of the vital forces of the population // Problems of family and childhood in modern Russia / Ed. O.I. Volzhina, 2002, No. 8. - pp. 12-19
Adopted in the summer of 1999, the Federal Law “On State Social Assistance”, which was developed as a law on the restructuring of the entire system of social protection based on the targeted principle, in its current version can only mean the appearance of an additional type of social payments made on the basis of a means test. The lack of mechanisms for implementing the law, including financial ones, turns state social assistance into another type of unfunded and therefore unrealizable social benefits and allowances.
In 2002, the expenditures of the consolidated budget under the items of the “Social Policy” section amounted to 74.5 billion rubles, that is, 1.7% of GDP, or about 6.0% of the total expenditures of the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the necessary financing of benefits and allowances established at the federal level is estimated at more than 15 percent of GDP, which exceeds federal budget spending on social policy by almost 10 times.
The current situation is contrary to the principles of federalism. Municipalities are compensated no more than 30% of their costs for the implementation of the federal social mandate. The bulk of the costs local authorities Social protection of the population is accounted for by the implementation of federal laws “On State Benefits to Citizens with Children”, “On Veterans”, and “On Social Protection of Disabled Persons in the Russian Federation”. At the same time, the regional authorities in practice remain very limited opportunities modify these perks and tailor them to your needs.
Therefore, in the field of social benefits and benefits, one of the principal tasks is to maximize the independence of the territories in deciding what payments are really needed in this territory, in what amounts and in what way, in what form they should be provided to specific categories of the population. . With this approach, the main task of the federal government is to help increase the efficiency of the system of social protection of the population, to reduce social differentiation and fight poverty with the help of interbudget equalization.
The development and functioning of the network of institutions for the social protection of the population in a number of areas gravitates toward stationary types of social services, although their effectiveness in some cases is lower than that of non-stationary types of social assistance. Priority, as a rule, is the financing of the existing network social institutions based on cost principles. The access of non-governmental organizations to the provision of relevant services within the framework of social contracting is limited. Cooperation with charitable and religious organizations is poorly developed. The possibilities of self-financing in the provision of social services are not sufficiently used.
There are practically no incentives to reduce the administrative costs of the functioning of the social protection system. There is no practice of monitoring the effectiveness of social assistance in most regions.
One of the problems in this regard is the lack statistical information on the state of affairs in social protection, the low representativeness of such information and the incompatibility of various sources of statistical data.
Problems associated with the low efficiency of existing social payments and benefits are superimposed on extremely unfavorable trends in demographic development. As a result of the previous demographic development, depopulation has set in throughout the country. This process began in the first half of the 1990s and coincided with the economic crisis, which aggravated the nature of its consequences and worsened the ability to contain it.
The critically low birth rate in the Russian Federation is not only a depopulation factor, but also constitutes an independent demographic problem. At present, the total fertility rate is almost two times behind the level required for simple reproduction of the population. The nature of the birth rate in the Russian Federation is determined by the massive spread of small families, the convergence of the parameters of rural and urban fertility, the postponement of the birth of the first child, the growth of illegitimate births, and the increase in the birth rate of young mothers.
The acuteness of depopulation in the Russian Federation is also a consequence of the high mortality rate, primarily in working-age men and in infancy. A special place among the causes of death in men of working age is occupied by unnatural causes of death - accidents, poisoning, injuries. Low life expectancy is especially characteristic of people with a relatively low level of education.
The demographic situation should be the subject of special attention of the state. This requires the development of a special Concept for the Demographic Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2015, which should be included in the list of priority social policy measures for 2000-2001. Zaslavskaya T.I., Ryvkina R.V. Sociology of economic life. Essays on theory. / Ed. A.G. Anagbegyan. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2004. - S. 155
It is impossible not to say about the relationship between models of social policy of the state and models of economic policy. The transition from one model of social policy to another, their effective functioning, of course, largely depends on the state of the country's economy. The higher the level of economic development, the higher the standard of living of the population, the lower the budgetary needs for social support, on the one hand, and the greater the resource base (budget capacity), on the other hand, that is, the state is more able to provide assistance to its citizens.
Moreover, the directions of development of the economic and social blocs should be conjugated. Today it is one of the bottlenecks in socio-economic policy. Economic policy (tax, credit, budget, foreign economic, price, etc.) does not contribute to the solution of such important social problems as:
Similar Documents
general characteristics social work systems. Subject, object, functions and methods of social work. The main directions and specifics of social work with various groups of the population. The method of ensuring social security of a person.
term paper, added 01/11/2011
Definition of social work as a scientific discipline. The emergence, formation and development of social work. The history of social services for the population in the Russian Federation. Basic theories and principles of social work. Object and subject of research.
term paper, added 01/25/2010
The relevance of the technology of social work as an academic discipline. Essence, content, typology and structure technological process social work. Technologies of national social work and influence on them foreign experience social work.
term paper, added 08/04/2011
The place of social work in the system of professions in the social sphere. Specific features of social work as a profession. Characteristics of a professional social worker as a subject of social work. Features of the Russian model of social work.
abstract, added 10/08/2014
Social work as a field of scientific knowledge. The level of logical constructions and abstractions. The essence of the theory of social work in the system of sciences. Intersubject communications. Organizational and administrative method of social work. Subjects of social work.
test, added 01/17/2009
Scientific paradigm of the new reality and problems of social work. Actual trends in the study of the practice of social work in Russian society. Theory and practice of social work: problems of interaction. The main directions of scientific research.
thesis, added 03/23/2009
The contribution of personality research by psychologists Z. Freud, B.F. Skinner, J. Piaget in the development of the theory of social work. Theories of K. Levin, A. Zander at the beginning of the formation of social work as a science. Management aspects in the structure of social work.
abstract, added 12/21/2013
Essence and principles of the welfare state. Essence, main categories and principles of social policy. The main priorities of social policy in modern Russia and abroad. Interrelation of social policy and social work.
cheat sheet, added 01/23/2007
The essence and concept of social work. Organization of social work in prisons and its effectiveness. Stages of social work in penitentiary institutions. Directions of social work in a penitentiary institution. The state of social work in prisons of the Russian Federation.
abstract, added 01/04/2009
General characteristics of youth as a social group. Problems of youth activities, the composition of social work with youth and the content of the state youth policy. Assessment of the composition of modern social work with youth in the Republic of Buryatia.
Social work has become an integral part of social-scientific thought and social practice relatively recently. Its institutionalization takes place in difficult conditions of constant struggle of ideas, concepts, paradigms. And at present, far from all the problems associated with philosophical, sociological, political science understanding, a unity of views has been formed. However, there is no doubt that social work has become a phenomenon of modern society.
The theoretical substantiation of social work currently goes in three directions. First, the place of the theory of social work in the process of development of such disciplines as social philosophy, social history, political science, social psychology, cultural studies is determined. Secondly, a search is being made for their own theoretical paradigm of social work as a specific object of study, and, thirdly, its interaction with other sciences about man and society is revealed.
There are many approaches to the problem of determining the scientific status of social work. First of them proposes to consider it as an applied discipline focused on the study of the problems of a particular industry, the sphere of social science - social development. Second orients specialists towards a more complex structuring and the status of social work as a science that includes fundamental and applied problems. Third Approach systematizes scientific knowledge in the field of social work on the most important problems and sectors related to the support of human vitality: medical care, education, job security, public order, pension services, assistance to low-income families, etc.
The theoretical growth of scientific knowledge in the field of social work in many countries of the world took place in two directions. First direction concerned the strengthening of the significance in the system of psychological explanation of behavior, the behavioral approach based on the theory of knowledge, the dominance of cognitive orientations. Second direction was due to the growing interest in substantiating the theoretical premises of social work and social practice.
Social relations, in the broad sense of the word, express connections, contacts between people occupying different positions in society, its social structure.
Let us consider what place the main object of our analysis, social work in all its structural organized forms and dynamics of development, occupies in social space and time.
Social space as a form of social existence appears as a vast "field" where at different levels and in various spheres of social reality interact bodies and institutions that comprehensively ensure social life, deploy diverse social connections and relations between various social subjects (social groups, individuals).
At the same time, social activity is seen as a process deployed in time, in the continuous movement of all structural elements and formations.
Without a deep, comprehensive knowledge of your object, its constituent parts it is impossible to carry out a full and effective professional activity. Therefore, along with the concept of "social space", it is important to characterize the social sphere, which is considered along with the economic, political, spiritual spheres, forming with them a single integrity in structural and functional respects - society. The main function of the social sphere is the reproduction and development of society and the individual as the creator of his own life. This function is "dissociated" into a number of derivatives - socio-integrative, social-adaptive, socio-productive, socio-dynamic.
The most important facets analytical work in the social sphere - the study of elementary and higher needs subject (individual, family, team, group, etc.) and identifying the potential of these needs in accordance with evidence-based standards.
The main subject of research is social relations, relationships and interactions between groups of people, collectives, individuals occupying different positions in society, taking unequal participation in its development, and therefore differing in the level and quality of life, sources and amount of income, structure personal consumption, etc.
To a certain extent, all these aspects are interconnected with social work, which considers them from the point of view of its research tasks.
So what is meant by social work?
Social work is understood as purposeful activity in society to provide assistance and support to various categories of the population who find themselves in a difficult life situation. But this is one approach.
The main goal of social work - concern for the well-being and disclosure of the possibilities and abilities of the individual, family, society for normal social functioning.
Such activity can act at several levels: macro-, meso- and micro-level.
At the macro level, social work acts as certain measures to improve the living environment of people.
This activity is related to social management, i.e. it includes questions on legislative measures, on the organization of social service infrastructure, public and state issues of regulating social problems:
- promotion and creation of decent conditions for human life in society;
- prevention of socio-political and national-ethnic conflicts;
- identification of categories of citizens in need of assistance, and development of sources of funding.
As you can see, the most important forms of activity and existence of the assistance process are socio-political actions, work in the field of public education, organization of the functioning of social services designed to regulate social relations in places of social tension.
At the mesolevel, social work acts as a kind of activity to provide assistance to a person, family and various groups of people in need, the paradigm of assistance here is quite broad.
On the one hand, groups of people in need can be defined by the state. This will be connected with the state social policy and the strategy of assistance to the least protected categories of citizens. In this case, the priorities are set by the government. On the other hand, support priorities can be set by individual charitable social service bodies. The forms of activity in this case will be quite diverse - from the provision of various material benefits to the organization of the most important spheres of people's lives.
At the micro level, social work is built on the basis of the needs of the individual (client). At this level, social work as a type of professional activity is aimed at restoring or maintaining the societal and psycho-mental connections of an individual with society, a group or an individual. The paradigm of assistance in this case is quite broad: from individual consultations and patronage to work in groups.
Thus, the concept of "social work" intensifies a certain area of scientific knowledge in the field of the social sphere as a whole, as well as the individual and his problems in society, and the issues of providing social assistance and support to the population in a difficult life situation.
- Payne, M. Social work: Modern theory / M. Payne. - M., 2007. - S. 12-14.
- Social work: theory and practice: textbook. allowance / ed. E. I. Kholostova, A. S. Sorvina. - M., 1991. - S. 5.
Scientific and theoretical understanding of the forms of assistance to those in need from the very beginning, as it were, was “grouped” according to different levels social work practices, in particular
1. at the level of the individual,
2. groups and families,
3. organizations,
5. society.
The theories of 3. Freud, B.F. Skinner and J. Piaget.
B. Skinner believes that it is important to take into account such three factors as, firstly, an event that causes a certain reaction of a person; secondly, this reaction itself (its character, form, etc.); thirdly, the consequences.
The group as a specific phenomenon also attracts the attention of specialists from various fields of social knowledge. The "key" theories in the early days of social work as a science were those of Kurt Lewin, George Houmans, and Alvin Sander.
More recently, social work has recognized the importance of organizational level as an independent level of its practice. Management, management - Made a great contribution M.P. Follett, F. Selznick, R. Merton, M. Zald, E. Goffman and others.
Social workers actively use ideas R. Merton that many people associate their interests with the community in which they live (“The Meaning of Influence: A Study of External Influence and Communicative Behavior in the Local Community”, 1949). - group social work.
Mayer Zald(1931) in The Political Economy of Social Organizations (1973) considered the perspective of the social sciences in the study of the functions of social workers. The views of M. Zalda help social workers pay attention to such questions: what is the mechanism for obtaining social status, how is the use of available resources, etc.
Erwin Goffman(1922-1982) The greatest fame among social workers E. Hoffman "Shelter" ( 1961) "Introducing yourself in Everyday life» (1959) expresses the idea that "everyone in the world plays", that we all constantly "represent" ourselves to others, and they present themselves to us. role theory, discussed in this book has entered the lexicon of social workers.
USA A special role in the study of social. problems and their use in social work belongs to the specialists of the Chicago School.
V University of Chicago Since 1900, specialists in the field of social work and sociology have been trained. Tramps (N. Anderson. Tramps, 1923), slums (X. Zonbakh. Gold Coast and slums, 1929) become the object of their scientific research.
The societal level of social work is based on a structural-functional approach, which implies an understanding of social life in the form of a multitude of human interactions, their endless interweaving.
Women have played an important role in the development of social work throughout the world, representing two main areas of social work:
1. psychosocial, or "clinical", social work, as it used to be called, (aimed at the personality of the client)
2. structural social work, or work focused on the social environment of the client.
Feminist movement - the first practical steps in the field of theoretical understanding of social work have been undertaken by feminists in many countries of the world
Shaw Lowell Josephine(1843-1905) She believed that the causes of poverty lie in the very nature of poor people. In this regard, Josephine was engaged in research on the character of poor people.
Mary Richmond(1861-1928) from 1889 engaged in social work as an assistant to a charitable organization in Baltimore. In 1917, she published her later famous book Social Diagnosis. She has often been called "the mother of social therapy"
Bertha Reynolds(1883-1978) began her social work at an orphanage in Boston that had many children of color. This practice reinforced her belief that it was not the personality that needed to be changed, but society.
Jane Adams(1860-1935) was skeptical about charity. Her work is part of the Settlement movement.
Historically, the best-known schools of social work theory include
diagnostic
functional.
Diagnostic school directly associated with Smith College in New York, where since 1918 social workers have been trained. At this time, there was a need for specialists who could work on overcoming the emotional problems of World War I veterans and their families.
The greatest successes in the field theoretical research achieved by Mary Richmond, who described the essence of the method of individual social work.
M. Richmond considered poverty as a disease of the individual's inability to independently organize his independent life. The client acted as a kind of patient, and the task of the social worker was to "social heal" an individual who was in an unsatisfactory condition, and to prepare the ward to be able to independently solve their problems, i.e., social work was based on medical model.
M. Richmond believed that the most important thing in social work is to correctly make a social diagnosis and take it as a basis for choosing a method of assistance. She emphasized the importance of evaluating each case individually, based on its internal conditions. Social diagnosis involved an assessment of both the personality of the client and his social position. M. Richmond considered social assistance as a combination of measures, the result of which are changes in both the individual himself and the social environment.
Based on the approaches of psychoanalysis, M. Richmond divided social events into two complementary categories: the indirect method of "treatment" and the direct method.
indirect method consists in influencing the environment, in the possibility, through changes in the social environment, to influence the client's life situation in a direction favorable to him.
direct method is to directly influence the client himself with the help of suggestions, advice, persuasion, as well as rational discussions in order to involve the client in the development and decision-making. Through partnerships
The indirect method of influencing the client and the direct method led to the further development of two directions in the theory of social work - sociological and psychological
In the book Social Diagnosis (1917) the process of interaction between a social worker and a client is described for the first time.
Subsequently, the procedure is formalized in the method of individual work, which has become fundamental in the technologies of social work.
were determined principles of interaction between a social worker and a client, which M. Richmond called "principles of mental hygiene":
Sympathize with the client
give preference to him
to encourage him
Build joint clear action plans with him.
Subsequently, these principles will be taken as the basis of the ethical code of the social worker.
Further understanding and development of this approach is associated with the studies of V. Robertson and G. Hamilton. Representatives of the diagnostic school of social workers argued that in order to determine treatment, it is necessary to collect as much objective data as possible about the client and his situation.
V. Robertson proposes to focus not on the client's situation, collecting information about the client's past experience, his childhood, personality assessment, while the assessment of the situation becomes secondary.
G. Hamilton expands the concept of diagnosis and gives it a new interpretation in accordance with trends in social work. The diagnosis as the basis of the method is rethought by him; he begins to act not as an installation for action, almost equality between honey. treatment and social work.
We observe another approach in the development of the theory and practice of social work in the direction of training social workers at the Pennsylvania School of Social Workers in the 30s, which was called "functional school of social work". This direction is associated with an interest in the social environment and the process of providing assistance, but not as a healing process, but rather as a service provided within the social service. The ideas of the Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank (birth trauma) and later Carl R. Rogers had the main influence on the development of the theoretical attitudes of the representatives of the functional school.
