Social Worker Board Exam Coverage

The Social Worker Licensure Examination will cover the following subjects,
for which you must plan months, if not years, in advance. The following are
the subjects that will be covered along with their corresponding weight:

Human Behavior and Social Environment – 20%

This subject in the board exam will mostly cover the main hypotheses and
stages of personality development; historical viewpoints and various
influences affecting the Filipino family; social structures related to the group
and the cultural; community influences shaping group behavior; and the
complexities of psychosocial issues.

Personality Development

A. Theories of Personality
a. Psychoanalytic theories
i. Freud
ii. Erikson
b. Behaviorist theories
i. Piaget
ii. Skinner
c. Humanistic theories
i. Maslow
ii. Rogers
B. Phases of Personality Development
a. Steps in human growth and development and corresponding
characteristics
i. Oral sensory
ii. Muscular-anal
iii. Locomotor-genital
iv. Latency
v. Puberty and adolescence
vi. Young adulthood
vii. Adulthood
viii. Maturity
b. Developmental tasks
i. Infancy and early childhood (birth to 6 years)
ii. Middle childhood (6 to 12 years)
 iii. Pre-adolescence and adolescence (12 to 18 years)
iv. Early adulthood (18 to 35 years)
v. Middle age (35 to 60 years)
vi. Later life (60 years and above)
c. Determinants of behavior
i. Heredity
ii. Environment
iii. Training

The Filipino Family

A. Historical perspectives on the Filipino family

a. Pre-Spanish period
b. Spanish period
c. American period
d. Post-American period
B. The contemporary Filipino family
a. Socio-cultural factors influencing the Filipino family
i. Family patterns and changing roles
1. Types of family structures
2. Functions of the family
3. Authority in the family
ii. Institutions (schools, church, media, etc.)
iii. Cultural variables
1. Folkways
2. Moores
3. Folklore
4. Costumes
5. Language
6. Values
b. Physical factors influencing the Filipino family
i. Environmental changes
ii. Ecology
iii. Population growth
iv. Industrialization/modernization
c. Courtship and Marriage
i. Courtship
ii. Marriage and human sexuality
iii. Parenthood
1. Child-rearing practices
 2. Decision-making pattern
d. The Filipino Family in Crisis
i. Sources of Disfunctioning
ii. Family disorganization
iii. Generation gap
iv. Role pressures and strains

Social Processes in the Group and Community

A. The Social Process: definition

a. Basic social processes
i. Competition
ii. Conflict
iii. Cooperation
b. Derived social processes
i. Accommodation
ii. Amalgamation
iii. Assimilation
iv. Acculturation
B. Understanding Group Behavior
a. Group qualities
b. Properties of group
i. Communication pattern
ii. Values
iii. Composition of the group
iv. Group goals
v. Standards or code of ethics
vi. Atmosphere or social climate
vii. Structure and organization
viii. Procedures of getting things done
ix. Sociometric pattern or relationship of friendship and
antipathy
x. Participation patterns
c. Manner of forming groups
i. Deliberate formation to accomplish objectives
ii. Spontaneous formation
iii. External designation
iv. Types of groups deliberately formed
1. workgroups
2. problem-solving groups
 3. social action groups
4. mediating groups
5. client groups
C. Functions of group members
a. Group building and maintenance
i. Encouraging
ii. Mediating
iii. Gatekeeping
iv. Standard-setting
v. Following
vi. Relieving tension
b. Group tasks in achieving goals
i. Initiating (suggesting new ideas)
ii. Information seeking (asking for relevant facts)
iii. Information or opinion giving (stating pertinent facts or
beliefs)
iv. Classifying (probing for meaning and understanding)
v. Elaborating (enlarging on previous comments)
vi. Coordinating (showing relationships)
vii. Orienting (defining the progress of discussion)
viii. Testing (checking readiness for action)
ix. Summarizing (reviewing the content of past discussion)
c. Non-functional roles emanating from self-centered behavior of
group members
i. Blocking (interfering with the progress of the group)
ii. Aggression (showing hostility)
iii. Seeking recognition (calling attention to one’s self)
iv. Special pleading (introducing ideas related only to one’s
own concern)
v. Withdrawing (acting indifferently)
vi. Dominating (asserting authority)
d. Group Cohesiveness
i. Incentive property of the group
ii. Motive base
iii. Group solidarity
iv. Consequences of group cohesiveness
e. Leadership and performance of group functions
i. Traits of leaders
ii. ole performance
iii. Types of leaders
 f. Power and influence in groups
i. Agent exerting influence vs. the persons subjected to
influence
ii. By-products of power
iii. Influence of groups on individual behavior
iv. Social control
g. Theories of collective behavior (Smerlser’s)
i. Structural conduciveness
ii. Structural strain
iii. Growth and spread of a generalized belief
iv. Precipitating factors
v. Mobilization of participants for action
vi. Operating of social control

Community Forces Influencing Group Behaviour

A. Physical environment
a. Environment cycles which relate to 3 systems
i. Air
ii. Water
iii. soil
b. Ecosystem (major types)
i. Terrestrial
ii. Aquatic
iii. Technology
1. high capital intensive
2. low labor-intensive
3. intermediate (less capital, more labor)
iv. Urbanization
1. Problematic urban community relations: superficial,
anonymous, transitory, overload (system’s inability
to process inputs from the environment)
2. Adaptive response to overload
v. Industrialization
1. Attitudes toward nature as an object to be exploited
2. Emphasis on quantity as a key measure of the good
3. Valuation plays upon knowledge as a source of
power

Dynamics of Psychosocial Problems

A. Deviations in Human Behavior/Social Dysfunctioning
a. Theoretical perspective
b. Typologies/classification (psychiatric disorders)
B. Economics-related problems: psychosocial implications
a. Poverty
b. Unemployment
c. Middle-class and social mobility maladjustments
d. Irresponsible affluence
e. Strikes and social unrest at the workplace
C. Health-related problems: psychosocial implications
a. Malnutrition
b. Common medical disorders
c. Mental illness
d. Alcoholism
e. Drug abuse
f. AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening diseases
g. Physical disabilities/accidents
D. Family breakdown
a. Wife battering
b. Child abuse and neglect
c. Abuse and neglect of the elderly
d. Solo parenting/stepfamilies
e. Marital conflicts
E. Armed conflict/Natural disasters
a. Trauma
b. Evacuation/refugee phenomenon
F. Violations of human rights/child rights
a. Child exploitation, sexual abuse
b. Discrimination against ethnic or cultural minorities
c. Discrimination against women
G. Performance-related problems
a. Inadequate job performance
b. Inadequate school performance
H. Crime and juvenile delinquency
I. Neighborhood/community apathy and deterioration
J. Squatting and homelessness
History, Philosophy and Ethics, Social Welfare Policy and Social Welfare
Programs, Research, Social Agency Administration and Supervision –
20%

Historical Evolution

A. Social Welfare
B. Public Welfare
C. Social Work

Theoretical Framework

A. Philosophy and Ethics

B. Conceptual Definitions
a. Social Work
b. Social Welfare
c. Social Service
d. Social Development
e. Social Welfare Programs
f. Social Work Strategies
g. Social Welfare Agencies by auspices, target population,
geographical coverage
h. Client/Client categories
i. Primary and Secondary Settings for Social Work Practice

Objectives and Functions of Social Welfare

A. Institutional
B. Remedial
C. Residual
D. Restorative
E. Rehabilitation
F. Preventive
G. Developmental

Social Welfare Programs

A. Major Fields
a. Public Assistance/Emergency Assistance
b. Family Welfare
c. Child and Youth Welfare
 d.The welfare of Disabled Persons
e.Women’s Welfare
f.Community Welfare
g.The welfare of Special Categories: squatters, slum dwellers,
refugees, displaced immigrants, victims or armed conflict, rebel
surrenderees, etc.
h. History, Philosophy, and Ethics, Social Policy, Etc.
B. Specialized Services
a. Medical Social Services
b. Psychiatric Services
c. School Social Services
d. Industrial Social Service
e. Crisis Intervention

Social Policies

A. Social Welfare Policies

a. Philippine Constitution – 1987
b. R.S. #4373
c. R.A. #5416
d. Child and Youth Welfare Code
e. Family Code in the Philippines
f. Local Government Code
g. Updated Laws, Executive Orders, and others
B. Contemporary Challenges for Social Welfare
a. National Development Plans
b. U.N. Strategies
c. Philippine Realities

Functional Competencies

A. Policy Formulation and Policy Analysis

B. Social Planning
C. Program Development
D. Social Action and Advocacy

Auxiliary Methods in Social Work

A. Research
a. Principles and Basic Concepts
b. Process
 B. Social Agency Administration
a. Principles and Basic Concepts
b. Administrative Functions
C. Supervision
a. Principles and Basic Concepts
b. Rules and Functions

Social Work Method (Primary) – 30%

Social Case Work (10%)

A. Value Orientation and Scientific Foundation of Social Casework

B. Concepts and Principles
a. Concepts of Social Casework
b. Basic Concepts Relevant to Casework
c. Concepts of Stress
d. Professional Communication
C. The Casework relationship
a. Components of relationship
b. Principles of the casework relationship
c. Workable-Client-Worker Relationship
D. Scientific Method of the Helping Process
a. Components of the Problem-Solving Process
b. Process
c. Assessment of Clients Workability
E. Tasks and skills required in the Helping Process
F. Emerging trends in Social Casework Practice

Social Group Work (10%)

A. Historical and philosophical foundations of social group work.

B. Basic elements of social group work
a. the group or client
b. types and composition of groups
c. dynamics of individuals in the group and the group as a whole
(group life)
C. Helping process in group work
a. goals and objectives
b. group information
c. program development
 d. program media (values attached to various media forms)
e. the group and the community
i. federated groups (inter-group relationship)
ii. use of community resources
iii. understanding conditions in the community that affect
group life
D. Agency functions, programs, services
E. The helping relationship
a. the social group worker – function, responsibilities and roles
b. workers- professional knowledge and competence; use of
professional self
c. indigenous leader
d. individual members
e. the group as a whole
F. Emerging trends in social group work practice.

Community Organization (10%)

A. The Conceptual Framework of Community Organization

a. Definitions
b. Theories/Concepts
B. The Philosophical base of Community Organization
a. Values
b. Assumptions
c. Principles
C. Goals and Objectives of the Community Organization
D. Models of Community Organization
a. Community Development
b. Social Planning
c. Social Action
E. The Community Organization Process
a. Pre-helping Phase
b. Helping Phase
F. Roles, Functions, Strategies of Community Organization Worker
G. Emerging Process
a. People Empowerment
b. Disaster Management
Field Practice – 30%

A. Case Situation – demonstrating beginning skills in case analysis and

problem-solving in casework practice.
B. Case Situation – demonstrating beginning skills in case analysis and
problem-solving in group work practice.
C. Case Situation – demonstrating beginning skills in case analysis and
problem-solving in community organizing or community organization.
A single/comprehensive case situation may be used (instead of three
separate case situations; work with an individual, group, and
community) to give the examinee the opportunity to demonstrate the
application of social work knowledge and skill in case analysis and
problem-solving in an integrated manner.