Group Work with Children and Youth I.

Unanswered Questions
Author(s): Gisela Konopka
Source: Social Service Review, Vol. 30, No. 3, Proceedings of the Conference on Research in the
Children's Field, Chicago, Illinois, April 4-7, 1956 (Sep., 1956), pp. 300-309
Published by: University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30015954
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 GROUP WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH
I. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
GISELA KONOPKA
The purposeof this paperis to point
out areasin which researchis need-
ed in social group work with chil-
dren and youth and to present the as-
sumptions on which present practice is
built. To do this we must first definethe
term "social group work." There is still
some confusion in the literature about
whether group work is a method or a
field. Too often recreationalservices are
equated with groupwork services. Origi-
nally, the group work method was de-
veloped out of the context of recreational
services, but increasinglyit is used, ex-
plored, and refinedin a much widerfield.
To equate it with recreationwouldbe the
same as to say that caseworkmeans the
provision of food and shelter for the
needy. In this presentation, the term
"groupwork" is defined as a method of
social work directed toward specific so-
cial services. Use of this method in clini-
cal work, institutions, churches, hospi-
tals, and public schools is excludedfrom
the inquiry. This paper relates to group
work services in neighborhoodcenters.
Even this limitation leaves a wide
range of services with different goals,
such as:
1. Help to children and youth with
generalproblemsof growth.
2. Education directedtowardincrease
of civic responsibilityand practice in so-
cial action.
3. Prevention of specific forms of
asocial behavior, such as delinquency.
4. Therapeuticwork with persons ex-
hibiting delinquentor neuroticbehavior.
300
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5. Resolution of difficulties in situa-
tions in which there are individual and
groupproblems,such as physical disabili-
ty, languagehandicapsof newcomers,or
intergrouptensions related to differences
in race, culture, or religion.
Group work is a professionalmethod
involving conscioususe of the interaction
between the groupworkerand the group
membersandthe interactionamongmem-
bers to achieve the goal of individualsat-
isfaction for each group member as well
as participationin community life in so
far as this is within the capacity of the
group members.
Because of the wide range of its pur-
poses, a survey of the "knowns" and
"unknowns"in social group work is ex-
tremely difficult. It will not be possible
to cover all available material in this
paper. Moreover, the largest part of re-
searchin this areahas not been published
but is buried in reams of mimeographed
and typewritten material in agencies, in
community welfare councils, and in stu-
dent theses. It would be a real contribu-
tion to researchif all this material were
collected, classified,and evaluated. Such
a survey should be nation-wide.It would
take time and money, but it would pre-
sent a solid block of researchthat could
be used as a foundation for further
studies. Without such a survey, one of
the cardinalsins of social work research
â€-repetitiveinquiriesâ€-willbe continued.
Groupwork has a history of study of
its method and services. It is significant
that the professionalassociationof group
 UP WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH 301
workers did not start as such, but as a They discuss an attempt to use research
study groupâ€-theAmericanAssociation in relation to the establishment of a
for the Study of GroupWork. Early in- Jewish center. The practitioner wanted
quiries made by social group workers to know whetherthe situation warranted
were studies of group behaviorâ€-efforts expenditurefor a new branch of the cen-
to analyze human relationshipsin small ter. The researchersfound that the prob-
groups in a democraticsociety (41). lem was overspecifiedbecause it presup-
The growinginterest in childrenand in posed that geographicaldistance was an
family relationshipsand the influenceof importantfactor in participation;on the
the dynamic psychology of Freud had other hand, it was overgeneralizedbe-
great impact on the social work profes- cause the objectives of the center were
sion. Social groupwork also took knowl- vaguely stated. The Greenwood-Massa-
edge and concepts from progressiveedu- rik study shows how a difficulty of this
cation and social psychology. Gradually type can be overcome by dissecting the
the group worker's interest in the indi- hypothesis step by step. This presup-
vidual was intensifiedand inquiriesshift- poses good working relationshipsand a
ed more toward the investigation of the real research spirit on the part of the
influenceof the group on individual ad- practitioner.
justment (212). Concurrentwith investi- The difficulties encountered in re-
gation into basic assumptionsand meth- search related to human problems are
ods came numeroussurveys and descrip- well known. The difficultiesare increased
tions of practice (94). The last ten years in social work because of the incorpora-
have shown an increaseddevelopmentof tion of such culturallydeterminedvalues
principles (205, 214) and the beginnings as child-rearing methods and moral
of theory (110, 121). standards, as well as of the ethical con-
The use of modern researchtools has siderationsof the professionitself.
been limited. We must not overlook, This paper is based on general social
however, the development of related re- group work literature and on recently
searchin psychiatry, anthropology,soci- published attempts at research.The as-
ology, and social psychology. It is per- sumptionsand some of the hypotheseson
haps a hopeful sign for the helping pro- which social group work is based will be
fessions that they are makingmoreuse of presentedand some effortwill be made to
the inquiries of basic science and other distinguish between those that can be
disciplines.The problemis how to trans- dealt with through research and those
late researchin those disciplinesto make that cannot.
it useful to the practitioner and how to
make the practitioner'squestionsclearto INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP BEHAVIOR
the researchexpert. This problemis well Our understanding of children and
presented by Greenwood and Massarik young people is derived from the under-
(79), who point out how difficult it is to lying sciences and from observations of
formulatea hypothesis for investigation: practitioners. In general, social group
"The practitioner'sphrasingof his prob- workhas acceptedthe personalitytheory
lem is often not at all the real problem summarizedand presented in the fact-
warrantinginvestigation,or, if and when findingreportof the Mid-CenturyWhite
it is the real problem, his formulationis House Conference on Children and
rarely suitable for research"(79, p. 546). Youth. It is the assumptionof the whole-

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302 GISELAKONOPKA
ness of the person?physical, emotional,
social, intellectual,and spiritual.It is the
concept of the personalitywith a capaci-
ty for growthand change. Growthoccurs
through interaction with other human
beings. Social group work recognizesthe
importanceof one-to-onerelationships?
parent and child, friendship?as well as
group relationships?family, peer groups
?and has accepted the assumptions of
dynamic psychology with its basic con-
cepts related to developmentalstages of
childhoodand to the interplayin the per-
sonality of ego, id, and superego. Re-
searchinto personalitystructuremust be
carriedon by severaldifferentprofessions.
There have been very limited attempts
at objective researchinto the validity of
psychoanalytic concepts basic to social
work practice (177). It would be impos-
sible for social group work to carry the
major part of the research effort, al-
though it can add its observations,espe-
cially in the area of peer association.
Luck's investigationof peer relationships
in clinical groups is a beginning that
should be followed up in groups in com-
munity centers (144).
Another important assumption of so-
cial group work is the potential for
growth throughgroup association. Clini-
cal and "life"experiencesareabundantto
bear it out. But, for a long time, group
associationswere almost universallycon-
sidered as pleasurable and constructive
experiences. This assumption has
changed and it is now recognized that
they are not always pleasurableand not
always constructive. What factors?
intra-personal,interpersonal,or environ-
mental?contribute to making a group
association destructive to individual
members?What is "healthy"balancebe-
tween participationin group life and in-
dividual endeavor?The answer is differ-
ent for different age groups. But if we
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state the hypothesis?each individual
needs a balancebetweensatisfying group
relationshipand opportunityfor individu-
al efforts to achieve healthy growth?we
must begin to determine the degree of
balance to be expected at a given age.
Groupworkershave observedfrom their
practice that the need for, the degree of,
and the emotionalinvolvement in group
relationships change with age. Group
workersneed to reviewtheir expectations
for various age levels, for childrentoday
seem to mature far earlier than those of
the preceding generation. This means
that services must change too. Related
questions are: Is the whole concept of a
latency period inappropriate for this
generationof children?Are the old con-
cepts of male and female characteristics
(carrying with them implications for
work and play) so obsolete that they
must be reviewed?
These latter questions enter the whole
area of assumptions related to culture.
Social group workers, because of their
close work with immigrants, have long
been aware of cultural differences in
child-rearingmethods that are expressed
in the behavior of children and young
people. Settlement-houseliterature pro-
vides much descriptive material. This
part of culturalinfluencesmight be clas-
sified under the "knowns." Far less
known are the influencesof changingcul-
ture in a given country. Several surveys
in community agencies have, for in-
stance, broughtout the fact that there is
greaterrestlessnessthan formerlyamong
adolescents, with less interest in small-
group activities. Is this a general phe-
nomenon?What are the reasons for it?
What relationship may it have to the
more rapid development of the young
person?Possible hypotheses are: (a) la-
tency-periodcharacteristicsexist in a far
shorterage span (six to nine years) than
 GROUP WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH
in previous generations?group needs
change accordingly; (b) the late adoles-
cent (seventeento nineteenyears) of yes-
terday shows today the characteristicsof
adulthood?group needs and interests
change accordingly.
The relationshipof childrento adults
is a rather well-investigatedarea. Social
groupwork rests on the assumptionthat
an adult (otherthan the parent) plays an
important role in the life of the child or
young person. This role changes accord-
ing to the age of the child. The group
worker,as a parent-substitutein younger
age groups, but as an enablerhighly dif-
ferentiatedfrom the parent in adolescent
groups,is directly related to this concept
of changing quality. Havighurst and
Taba have stressed the ideal identifica-
tion of the adolescentwith an adult out-
side of the family: "The youth-serving
organizations. . . should select and train
the leaders of youth knowing that chil-
dren and young people will form strong
emotional attachments to these leaders
and will tend to take on their moral
values" (93, p. 191).
In groupwork,as in all socialwork,the
dynamic theories of the personality and
the group have not been submitted to
rigorous research. They have proved
pragmaticallyhelpful. They are exceed-
ingly difficult to investigate. Necessary
and possibleinvestigationslie in a testing
of hypotheses related to the culturaland
time factors bearing on personality and
group associations.1
GROUPWORKPRINCIPLES
The values on which social groupwork
is based are the belief in the dignity and
worth of each individual, the right of
each individual to full development of
his capacities, and the responsibility of
each individual not to harm or misuse
others but to contribute to the common
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303
welfare within the limits of his capaci-
ties. It will be helpful in researchif we
can accept the fact that these commonly
accepted values can be used as criteria,
but that they cannot be investigated by
empiricalor experimentalresearch.When
combined with observable practice and
theory they provide the basis of social
work principles. Skilful use of under-
standing of individuals and groups does
not in itself constitute social groupwork.
The Nazi youth movement was based on
much of this understanding.The differ-
ence betweenthe Nazi approachand that
of social group work lies exclusively in
philosophicalorientation.Recent studies
in small groups show, for instance, that
indoctrinationthrough films is achieved
much morequicklyby repeatedshowings
than by discussion of the material pre-
sented. If the goal, therefore, is indoc-
trination, avoiding group discussionwill
be most appropriate.If the goal is intelli-
gent understandingand the capacity for
independent thought, the use of group
discussionwill be essential. There is need
for continued researchthat will contrib-
ute to understanding of children and
their interrelationships,needs, and inter-
ests. The use of the results of this re-
searchwill be related to acceptedvalues.
Some of the "knowns" and "un-
knowns"on which groupwork principles
are based may be summarizedas follows:
1. The social group worker must as-
1Group workers have singled out six specific
economicand political trends whose influenceon
workwith childrenmust be investigated.They are:
the problemof world insecurity and tension; the
rise of fear and the struggle to control the minds
of citizens; the growthof population;the mobility
of population;technologicalchangesand their im-
pact on modern life; and the SupremeCourt de-
cision outlawing segregationin the public schools
and its meaningfor interculturalgroupwork (Har-
leigh B. Trecker,ed., GroupWork:Foundationsand
Frontiers[New York: Whiteside,Inc., and William
Morrow& Co., 1955],p. 377).
304 GISELAKONOPKA
sume a helping function; he must help
the individual and the group as a whole
to move toward greater independence
and capacity for self-help.This principle
includes the assumptionthat individuals
and groups are capable of self-help in
differing degrees. This is known from
long years of experience and does not
seem to need furtherverification.
2. To establish purposeful relations
with group members the group worker
must have self-knowledgeand discipline.
The capacity for self-knowledgehas been
shown in clinical experienceas well as in
long years of field supervision in social
work. Yet, one hypothesis and two ques-
tions need furtherstudy. The hypothesis
?that a purposeful relationshipwith a
group worker who has self-knowledgeis
more helpful than a spontaneous un-
focusedone with somebodywho has little
insight into himself?needs rigorous in-
vestigation because it is directly related
to our form of professionaleducation.
The first question is: How much self-
knowledge must a person possess to be
an effective social groupworker?Can we
predict what kind of personality is more
capable of insight and what kind of per-
sonality less? This has direct bearingon
selectionof students and on assignments.
The second question is: In the differ-
ent fields in which social group work is
practiced is there a differencein degree
of insight needed?Is the same degree of
self-knowledgeneededin the social group
worker responsiblefor groups of young
people with normal growth problems as
for the workerwho deals with disturbed
and delinquentyoungsters?The Los An-
geles Youth Project has made a begin-
ning in such research.Its study indicates
that volunteer leaders cannot accept be-
havior widely differentfrom behavior in
their own youth. Youth groups that dif-
fer markedly from the average middle-
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class group, therefore,need the services
of professionallytrained workers. Since
trained workers are assumed to have a
high degree of self-knowledge,it can be
assumedthat the youth project found an
association between such self-knowledge
and ability to deal with differentkinds of
groups. If this kind of reasoning can be
carried further we might know better
how to assign groups to different types
of leaders (29).
3. The group workermust use the in-
teracting process and must have the
capacity to help balance the group and
to allow for conflict and help with its so-
lution. Research on group process has
been done from the time of Durkheim
and Simmel to the present day, with its
vast amount of research on group be-
havior. It might be the purpose of an-
other paper to evaluate the usefulnessof
current research in group behavior for
modern practice. Lippitt, Harris, Fes-
tinger,and Coylehave contributedto the
thinking in this area (4, 64, 91, 139).
Coyle has made the importantstatement
that to be valuable to the social group
workerthe study of group process must
be combinedwith the understandingof
the dynamics of the individual.
4. Groupworkersconsiderone of their
major skills to be their capacity to use
program content appropriate to the
needs of children and youth. Probably
the most intensive researchin this area
has been done by educators and espe-
cially by those concernedwith preschool
children.This researchhas been too little
used by social workers. Ryland has in-
vestigated differentformsof programsas
they relate to age groups and to emo-
tional reactionssuch as hostility, anxiety,
etc. (193). Gumphas recentlystudied the
contributionof programmingto impulse
controlin children.He foundassociations
between specific emotional drives and
 GROUPWORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH
certain programactivities. For example,
craftsprogramsstimulateddependentin-
teraction, and informalgames permitted
more hostile-defensive interaction. Fa-
miliar games were often helpful in bind-
ing the impulses of aggressive children
(81). The assumption that programhas
differing and specific relations to emo-
tions and can stimulate or reducethem is
an importantand knownfactor. It is also
known that children express many of
their feelings not through words but
throughdifferingactivities. Questionsfor
related research are: Which activities
help meet which emotional needs, i.e.,
what can be added to the Gump and
Ryland findings? Which activities best
produce desired changes in behavior?
Which activities lead most readily to
desired changes in feeling? What is the
differencebetween the impact of an ac-
tivity on individuals when it is done
alone or carriedout in a group?
In summary,some of the "knowns"di-
rectly related to group work principles
are:
a) Individualsand groups are capable
of self-help in differentdegrees.
b) Individuals have a capacity for
self-knowledge.
c) The concept of "acceptance" is a
crucial one in the use of the group work
method.
d) Group process has been only par-
tially investigated.
e) Program has an impact on the
needs and drives of group members.
Some of the "unknowns,"untested as-
sumptions, and questions are:
a) Is the relationshipof group mem-
bers with a workerwho has insight into
himself and his actions more helpful to
the members than relationship with a
workerwho has little insight?
b) Is it possible to relate the capacity
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305
for self-knowledgeto certain personality
patterns?
c) Is the assumption valid that the
capacity for acceptance of the group
mores is increasedby self-knowledge?
d) Is it true that the greaterthe capac-
ity for acceptance in the group worker,
the more easily the relationship with
group membersis established?
e) With increasedacceptancebetween
group worker and group members, can
greater demands for participation and
responsibility be made on group mem-
bers?
/) Is a differingdegreeof insight need-
ed in different fields of group work
practice?
g) What program activities can help
meet what emotional needs? Which ac-
tivities produce desired changes in be-
havior?Which activities producedesired
changes in feelings?
STUDIES IN GROUP WORK
Recent studies in social group work
with childrenand youth have dealt with
evaluation of services, distribution of
services, and the role and status of the
practitioner.Study in these three closely
related areas is most urgent, yet most
difficult.
Evaluation of services.?Witmer has
presented clearly the basic difficultiesin
evaluating social work (217). She herself
has evaluated studies of delinquencypre-
vention programs(219). In her review of
these programsshe points out the neces-
sity for clarificationof goals and for clear
descriptionof services.Groupwork agen-
cies, for instance, make the claim that
they prevent juvenile delinquency. Ac-
cording to Witmer's findings, this claim
cannot be proved because of the confu-
sion between recreationand group work,
the differingqualificationsof those who
306 GISELAKONOPKA

work directly with groups, and the com- effectivenessof group work with ten de-
paratively small number of delinquents linquent groups. The investigators used
participating in group work programs. tape recordingsas an objective device to
She describes several newer approaches evaluate what was happening, but final
of social group workersto work with de- judgmentwas their own. This points out
linquent youngsters or with those in the difficulty of objective evaluation.
danger of becoming delinquent?work Probably any evaluation in social work
with gangs, use of the "floatingworker," can be made only by judgments of ex-
self-help of neighborsin relation to im- perts, as has been done in Hunt's studies
proved housing conditions, and work of movementin casework.If this method
with predelinquentyoungsters. Present is to be used with confidence, the pur-
knowledge of the causes of delinquency poses and concepts of social group work
indicates that no single approach can must be clarified so that expert judg-
help. The newer programs, which are ments may resultin increasedagreement.
characterizedby the "reaching-out"kind Another recent evaluative study of
of caseworkand groupwork, report suc- social group work was made by Wilson
cess but they have not been sufficiently at the Educational Alliance in New
studied. Witmer's suggestion is that re- York (213) concerningevaluation of the
search should be undertakenalong with use of the social group work method in
the development of new measures and different units of the agency program.
that researchand practicemust be "con- One of the majorrecommendationsgrow-
ceived as inseparable parts of a single ing out of the study was that there be
process" (219, p. 50). differentiation between the use of the
Some such research has been carried professionalworkerand the technicianin
out in connection with practice, mostly social group work.
in relation to delinquency;for example, Although there have been compara-
Austin's work on the Boston Youth tively few evaluative studies in social
Project and Shulman and Brotman's group work, there has been increasedin-
study of the work of the New York terest in the establishmentof clear goals
Youth Board. Austin's article is mostly and criteria for evaluation (14). Two of
descriptive. He states that settlement- the basic assumptions to be tested are:
house work with delinquent youngsters a) Social group work, a method of in-
must be "genericsocial work service to dividualizedwork with groups, can pro-
individuals, families, groups, and neigh- duce change in individuals and can help
borhoods" (6, p. 1). He found that it groups move toward the purposes for
took from ten days to five weeks for the which they were formed.
groupworkerto establish a positive rela- b) The social group work method is
tionship with the gang. He considers it especially suited to services related to
important that the group worker visit problems of interpersonal relationship,
state training schools before the young- i.e., delinquency or intergrouptensions.
ster returns to the community that so Distribution of services.?There have
there may be a friendly contact with an been many surveys of the distributionof
adult who can help the youngster be- services. Every welfare council is con-
come integrated into neighborhood cerned with finding out where services
groups. Shulman and Brotman's (196) should be located, by whom they should
study was directedtowardevaluatingthe be given, and how much service is need-

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 GROUP WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH
ed. The greatest difficulty lies in deter-
mining what "need" is. When group
work servicesare relatedto actual break-
down, as, for instance, in slum areas, the
determinationof need seems to be com-
paratively simple. It is far more difficult
to assess servicesrelatedto preventionor
to the common problems of all children
and young people. In an outstanding ar-
ticle, Maxwell has classifiedsurveys and
has discussed the assumptions on which
they are based and the questions arising
from them (154). Klein has also dealt
with the same subject (115). Both state
that a differentiationmust be made be-
tween recreationand social group work.
Both agreethat recreationalfacilities and
services must be offered to all children.
Social group work is concernedwith the
quality of groupexperience.Althoughso-
cial group work may be included in
recreational programs, Maxwell states
that at present recreational programs
give priority to physical activities for
children,especially boys, and that there
is minimalemphasison group experience
that will contributeto good human rela-
tionships. There is no consensus about
what should be a minimum program of
opportunities that each community
shouldprovide.No criteriahave been de-
veloped to distinguish clearly between
"good" recreation and "good" social
groupwork. Room must be left for differ-
ences of purpose in private agencies
which grew up as movements, but there
must be moreclarity about the legitimate
concernof welfare councils:
Maxwell presents the followingpoints
as needing study:
1. The development of a good sound statement
of principles of public-private responsibili-
ties. This must take into consideration fac-
tors of local lag, local historical influences,
and local politics. A constant forum of dis-
cussion must go on across the country to
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307
strive toward public education on the sub-
ject, and molding of a statement of principles
which can be applied in light of the different
rates of speed with which communities
develop.
2. The development of scientific study and
scientific methods of measurement to create
criteria for:
a) Recreational facilities needed in towns,
cities, suburban and rural communities.
b) Basic minimum recreational services
for which a community could be held
accountable.
c) The realistic correlation of recreational
needs with social factors such as age,
stability or instability of family life,
intergroup attitudes, etc., and with new
situations such as exist in hospital or
institutional settings.
d) All aspects of group work and its rela-
tionship to recreation as well as other
functions.
e) Reconsideration of the present function
and purposes of agencies in the light of
the changed life of society today, along
with recognition of the principle of self-
determination in a free society [154, p.
16].
Klein begins to answer some of Max-
well's questions. He states that recrea-
tion should be a public responsibilitybe-
cause it serves everybody. It should be
recognizedas "an end in itself" (115, p.
7). Social agencies giving group work
servicesin the leisure-timefield recognize
recreationas a "tool" and see the work
that they do as "social welfare."He de-
fines as group work those services that
are renderedin groupssmall enoughto be
individualizedand in which the aim is to
foster the development of persons who
are socialized, committed to democracy,
free from neurotic unhappiness, and
mature enough to live in our kind of
society (115).
Although these services are not re-
stricted to any one economic group,
Klein states that they shouldbe provided
by private social agencies. The differen-
tiation made between recreation and
308 GISELAKONOPKA
social group work seems helpful and
valid. Whether one should parallel it
with the differentiationbetween public
and private services is questionable. It
seems possible that small-groupservices
must and should be given in the frame-
work of public recreationservicesas well
as in public schools or in public welfare
agencies, which might sponsor commu-
nity centers. As the public gains in-
creased understandingof mental health
concepts and their importance for the
whole population, and increased appre-
ciation of the role of social groupworkin
creating a healthy community atmos-
phere, public agenciesmay includegroup
work services more than they do today.
In summary,future studies of services
depend mostly on clarification of con-
cepts and definitions.There seems to be
some agreementon the differentiationbe-
tween recreational services and social
group work services but further consid-
eration needs to be given to the question
of which services belong in the public
domainand whichmust be carriedout by
private voluntary agencies.The assump-
tion usually is that group work services
for all children belong in the domain of
public agencies while group work serv-
ices for specialgroups?delinquent, hand-
icapped, emotionally disturbed?belong
in the domain of private agencies. This
assumptionneeds further study.
Role and status of the practitioner.?
The descriptionof the role of the group
worker is closely related to the descrip-
tion of the social group work method.
This has been presentedin a largepart of
the group work literature (40, 122, 205,
214). A moreintensivestudy and analysis
of the role of the groupworkerwas made
in a doctoralstudy by Saloshin(194),who
tried to provide an orderly and defined
classificationof the main componentsof
social group work methods. Five expert
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judges applied a classificationscheme to
processrecordsof twenty group sessions.
The findingsfor each part of the scheme
may be summarizedas follows:
Activities(accepting,relating,enabling
and supporting,limiting, guiding, allevi-
ating, interpreting,observingand evalu-
ating, planning and preparing).?The
most frequent activities seemed to be
"enabling and supporting," "observing
and evaluating,"and "planningand pre-
paring."Enablingindividualsand groups
to expressthemselvesand supportingthe
feeling of accomplishment seem to be
characteristic activities for the social
group worker.
Tools (use of self, group interaction,
program,knowledge, agency).?"Use of
worker'sself" in variousroles emergedas
the most frequentlyused tool. A discrep-
ancy with prevailing notions was dis-
covered in the low incidence of "group
interaction" and "program" as con-
sciously used tools.
Communication(verbal, gestural, pur-
poseful neutrality, no communication).
?The main means of communication
was verbal; gestural communicationoc-
curredmore often in work with children
than with adults.
Member(one individual,two individu-
als in interaction, total or subgroup).?
Primary targets of activities were, first,
individual members and, second, the
total group.
The Los Angeles Youth Project at-
tempted to differentiatebetween groups
that need a professional group worker
and those that can be handled by volun-
teers. Both these studies have widened
our tested knowledge of the role of the
group worker.They have indicated how
important it is in research to have a
theory and then to investigate actual
practice on the basis of the theory. With
a certain degreeof confidencewe can say
 GROUPWORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH
that we know the components of the
social group work method.
The status of the social group worker
as an important contributor to the
growth and developmentof childrenand
youth has not been studied. The Green-
wood and Eaton studies (48, 78) have
dealt with the status of social work as a
whole. The study of the status of the so-
cial group worker in community-cen-
tered agencieswill probablyshow a some-
what differentpicture, as the public does
not yet identify the group worker with
social welfare. It is probable that the
status of the group work executive in
community centers and youth-serving
agencies is comparatively high, some-
what like that of the school principal.
The status of the social groupworkerdo-
ing direct work in a center is probably
comparatively low and is equated with
that of a volunteerworkerleadinggames.
This status changes when the group
workeris chargedwith a special task, for
instance, work with gang groups, with
therapy groups of emotionally disturbed
children, or with groups of physically
handicappedchildren.In such cases, the
status of the worker is comparablewith
that of the social caseworkerin a clinic.
None of these assumptionshas been es-
tablished.They then provide an interest-
ing sociological study, which may have
direct implicationsfor practice. Since the
group work practitioner with children's
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309
and youth groups is often the only pro-
fessionalpersonbesides the public-school
teacher who has firsthand knowledge of
the problems of youngsters, it seems
highly desirable to make the public
aware of the importance of professional
qualifications.Such study should there-
fore be less concernedwith status in the
sense of "prestige" than with status in
the sense of an understoodposition of the
group workerin work with childrenand
youth.
Social group work as a professional
method developed later than casework.
A survey of the literature shows that it
has increasingly clarified its purposes,
concepts, and definitions. Social group
work publications have been concerned
mostly with theory and description of
practice. In recent years?as in all social
work?there has been an increasing at-
tempt to validate group work concepts
and to evaluate practice.In this paperan
attempt has been made to extract the
knowledge that can be used with confi-
dence and the assumptions that need
further investigation. In surveying the
material, one is impressed with the
earnest attempt at serious researchbut
also with the need for sharp clarification
of the assumptionsto be studied and for
more time, money, and qualifiedperson-
nel to conduct such research. None of
this can be done by only one person and
it cannot be done in a hurry.