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BASIC CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICES IN THE WORLD

Research · January 2021

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.32722.79040

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 BASIC CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICES IN THE WORLD

Introduction

Social service may be needed at every stage of life. However, as the structures and needs
of individuals, families / groups and societies to be served are different, the appropriate
type of social service is provided to these groups under different organizations. According
to the definition made by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), social
work; It is a profession that seeks to empower and liberate people to achieve better living
conditions and prosperity. Social work is based on systems theory and tries to increase
social justice by intervening in people's processes of interaction with their environment.
Empowering people in social work is the process of helping individuals, families, groups,
organizations and communities increase their personal, interpersonal, socioeconomic,
and political power and influence by improving their conditions.

The Social Work Education Council, which is the national qualification (accreditation)
institution for social work education in the USA, defines the purpose of social work as:

The purpose of the social work profession is to promote the well-being of man and the
community. Another aim is to ensure social and economic justice by being guided by
respect for the difference of people and knowledge based on scientific research in the
context of a global perspective with the individual and environmental structure. Another
aim is to prevent conditions that limit human rights, to eradicate poverty and to improve
the quality of life for every individual in the society through research.

The social work profession is applied to increase the welfare of all human beings and to
encourage the welfare of the community, especially to minimize poverty, oppression and
other forms of social injustice. Social work, which includes all activities developed to solve
problems such as illness, physical disability, old age, mental disorders and learning
difficulties, refers to a field. Social work has a complex and multi-dimensional structure
both conceptually and in terms of application.

In order for a profession to be accepted as a profession, it is necessary to have certain

characteristics: An appropriate field, theory, field-specific knowledge, ethical principles,
social approval, accepted expertise practice, depending on the qualifications based on
this education, the introduction of the profession after a clearly defined education process,
altruistic efforts and the presence of professional organizations are among these features.

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According to Kongar (1972), who adds purpose and method to these features, social work
is seen as a profession with these qualities.

Social work has become a global profession today. It is a profession that draws attention
in many other countries such as England, Canada, USA and India. People of all
nationalities are increasingly defined as interdependent. In many ways, the world has
turned into a "global village". Crises and problems experienced by a country often affect
other countries as well.

Nations in our world have become so interconnected that every individual seems to live
in a global community today. Important events occurring in countries far away from us
affect us all.
 Decreasing oil production by countries in the Middle East and then increasing oil
prices all over the world
 The sudden ups and downs of the stock market in Japan and the USA
 Drug traffic
 As a result of the development of e-mail and the internet, information is rapidly
shared worldwide

International social work and social welfare work is a factor that takes us beyond the many
obstacles we have placed, allowing us today to live in better conditions in a unified global
community.
Social work is about people as a whole. It is that simple and that complex. In this case,
both the attractive and confusing aspect of the profession has attracted more attention.
Obviously, social work is a profession with many rewards and challenges. Professions
occupy concepts, among other variables such as skills. Profession gains the qualification
of the profession through the formation of its own terms. Profession terms reinforce and
develop their terms within the conceptualization process that the profession creates within
the processing process. Many people have proposed definitions of the social work
discipline that often contain confusing judgments. Therefore, the concept of "social work"
has created social policies, social services, social work discipline and profession as parts
of a whole in order to fulfill the function of social welfare services with this responsibility,
since it expresses all kinds of activities aimed at helping people to solve their problems.

Social work discipline in the realization of social work needs to be addressed at a

conceptual and theoretical level. In this context, in this part of the study, the concepts of

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human rights, social justice, social welfare, social inclusion and exclusion, gender,
ecological sustainability and social policy, which form the basis of social work practices
in the world, are included.

1.1. Human Rights

Human rights, “life, freedom, and individual security recognized in democratic

constitutions; not being arbitrarily arrested or detained, exile (asylum seeker); the right to
a fair and general decision with an independent court; freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; It covers basic civil rights such as freedom of peaceful assembly. Human
rights involve the community to participate in cultural life, to share scientific progress and
artistic income; includes economic, social and cultural rights such as work, education and
social security

Every person, regardless of his / her position in society, has basic human rights such as
freedom, security, privacy, an adequate standard of living, health and education. Social
work includes social justice practices in institutions, organizations and society in order to
ensure that these basic human rights are given fairly and without prejudice. Social
workers;
 Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination.
 They are defenders of human rights, social and economic justice.
 They take part in practices that improve social and economic justice.

The social worker has an obligation to promote social and economic justice for those who
are oppressed and victims of discrimination. NASW Code of Ethics "Social workers
should be subjected to any person, group or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national
origin, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion,
mental or physical disability, abuse and it should act to prevent and eliminate
discrimination.

Human rights offer social workers global and current principles. At this point, the question
of what are the basic human rights can be asked. A clear definition of fundamental human
rights has so far not been agreed. The basic starting point in expressing such rights is the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The rights described in this document are:

 All human beings are born equal and equal in dignity and rights
 Everyone is recognized, without any discrimination, the rights in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights

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 Right to life, freedom and personal security

 Prohibition of slavery
 Prohibition of torture
 Recognition as an individual before the law
 Equal treatment of everyone before the law
 Right to take legal action for any violation of these rights
 Arbitrary arrest, detention and prohibition of exile
 Right to a fair trial
 The right of people to be presumed innocent until proven guilty
 The right to be free from arbitrary interference in private life
 Right to freedom of movement
 Right to search for accommodation
 Right to national identity
 The right to marry; both parties must consent to the marriage; the family has the
right to protection from the state
 Freehold
 The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
 The right to freedom of opinion and expression
 Right to freedom of assembly and association
 The right of the person to participate in the government of his country
 Economic, social and cultural rights necessary for the dignified and free
development of the personality
 The right to work and fair remuneration
 Right to rest and leisure while working
 The right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing and
health
 education right
 The right to participate in cultural events and share scientific developments
 The right to a world order in which these rights are realized
Everyone has a duty to his own society; rights can only be restricted by respecting the
rights of others.
Again, none of these rights can be interpreted as permitting the act of abolishing these
rights.

Every country that is a member of the United Nations has ratified my Declaration.
However, it is not legally binding for any country.

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It is hoped that greater expression of fundamental human rights will enable countries to
initiate new programs to protect such rights for all citizens. The growing interest in the
expression and protection of fundamental human rights has created the hope of becoming
a fundamental counter-force to curb discrimination against people of different colors,
women, people with disabilities, gays and lesbians and other victimized groups. At this
point, the social worker argues that it has a responsibility to all members of the society in
terms of ensuring security, acceptance and satisfaction of their cultural, social and
biological needs.

1.2. Social Justice

Social justice refers to the rights and powers of individuals, groups and societies on the
basis of notions of equal treatment, access and inclusion. Social justice is mostly defined
by vague terminology such as justice versus injustice or equality versus inequality.

Underlying all assessments of social justice is the fundamental belief that every human
being is inherently valuable. Because of being human, every individual deserves to be
treated with respect and justice, to be protected from abuse and exploitation, to have a
family and meaningful job, to have access to basic health needs and social services.
Ignoring or condoning social injustices is incompatible with attempts to glorify human
progress. It is argued that the essence of social work is 'glorifying human progress'. Social
injustice is a phenomenon that social workers face daily in one way or another, as many
social service clients are victims of abuse, exploitation, and destruction in the face of
stronger individuals and groups.

Many individuals interested in social work are somewhat idealistic. They work to make
the world a better place. He wants a time in which everyone shares the same rights,
opportunities and protection. Many interrelated economic, political, historical and social
forces can lead to injustice and inhumane conditions. Failure to meet the needs of
disabled people by employers and higher wages paid to men compared to women with
whom they do separate work are the most well-known examples of social injustice. If left
unattended, these social injustices will continue to burden affected individuals and
society. Social workers must be open to the possibility that they or their organizations
unwittingly contribute to social injustice.

Combating social injustices is a long-term plan. Achieving social justice is a complex

undertaking, even among well-meaning and compassionate people there will be different

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perspectives on what will be just and what actions and changes will lead society in a more
just and humane direction. Social workers must work for the needed change, respecting
and recognizing the reasonable differences of opinion for social and economic justice to
those who disagree with them.

1.3. Social Welfare

According to the definition made by the Social Welfare National Association of Social
Workers (NASW); "It is a system of programs, opportunities and services that meet the
social, economic, educational and health needs of a nation, people and society". Another
meaning of social welfare is "the work of institutions, programs, individuals and policies
that focus on the delivery of social services to individuals, groups and societies."

Social welfare is a social institution developed as a result of the deficiencies of traditional

social institutions such as family, religion, economy, education and politics in social life.
Social welfare institutions consist of social mechanisms that ensure the elimination of the
deprivation and deficiencies of individuals in the society with the awareness of mutual aid.
For example, child welfare services are a social welfare institution that includes adoption,
foster care, youth probation, foster care, divorce services, day care, school social
services, and residential treatment. The aims of social welfare institutions are to
contribute to the solution of social problems or to reduce these problems to directly
improve the well-being of individuals, groups, families, organizations and societies. The
concept of social welfare, which includes social services, is primarily related to social
services in the application dimension. One of the functions of social welfare discipline is
to educate and train social workers. Lawyers, doctors, sociologists, psychologists, nurses,
etc. together with social workers. are professionals who provide social welfare services.

1.4. Social Inclusion

Social inclusion is a process that enables people at risk of poverty and social exclusion
to gain the opportunities necessary for their full participation in economic, social and
cultural life and to attain the standard of life and welfare accepted as normal in their
society. The concept of social inclusion is about reducing poverty, marginalization and
other forms of deprivation. Social inclusion places people at the center of policy making.
Its ultimate goal is for people to recognize opportunities and improve their own lives. The
subject of social inclusion is individuals who have difficulties in participating in social life.
The scope of this participation includes education, vocational training, benefiting from

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health and transportation services, participation in employment, access to goods and

services, housing, participation in cultural activities.

Nowadays, especially in European countries, social inclusion is adopted as one of the

main goals in the formulation and implementation of public policies. However, it is
unthinkable that achieving this goal is solely under the responsibility of administrative
institutions and through the activities of these institutions. Therefore, coordination and
cooperation between public institutions and workers 'and employers' unions, non-
governmental organizations, educational institutions and local administrations is
necessary. In addition, in order to increase the impact of public policies, it is necessary to
increase the sensitivity and awareness of social exclusion, discrimination and
disadvantaged groups in the society.

It is accepted by everyone that the employment problem and the fight against
unemployment are the leading fields of practice in social exclusion and social inclusion
strategies developed against it. Social workers work in solidarity with socially
disadvantaged people, groups and communities to promote social inclusion, reduce
poverty, and liberate vulnerable and oppressed people. In order to understand social
inclusion, it is necessary to understand what social exclusion is.

1.5. Social Exclusion

The concept of social exclusion is dynamic rather than static and expresses a process. It
is the sufficient fulfillment of needs that connects and adds people to social life and makes
them a member of society. Failure to meet the needs in economic, social, cultural and
other fields makes it difficult and even prevents participation in society in these areas.
Deprivation in any area starts the process of excluding people from society starting from
that area.

When considered as the opposite of social inclusion, social exclusion is defined as

“deprivation of civil, political, economic and social citizenship rights”. Accordingly, social
exclusion refers to the dynamic process of being partially or completely deprived of all
social, economic, political and cultural systems that enable the social integration of the
society and the individual. Regardless of how it is taken, the elements that constitute
social exclusion are common and show similarities between societies. These;
a) Economic exclusion

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b) Weakening of social relations and lack of social support

c) Institutional exclusion / Lack of institutional support.

However, the phenomenon of exclusion; It deserves to be evaluated in a unique way due

to the ways in which it emerged and experienced, the social structures and conditions of
the countries, and the differences in social protection mechanisms.

Although the concept of social exclusion is a one-to-one related concept with poverty, its
multi-dimensional perspective and its dynamic character emphasizing the processes that
lead to exclusion are the features that reveal the difference of the concept. Although
discussions continue about the applicability of the social exclusion approach to
developing countries outside of Europe, it is seen that the exclusion problem has become
a global problem within the economic, social and political structure created by
globalization, and in this context, our age is described as the "age of exclusion". Excluded
individuals or groups are the poor, women, the elderly, the unemployed, people without
social security, migrants or refugees, children and young people in need of protection,
disabled people, addicts and homosexuals, which we often define as disadvantaged
groups.

Social work, on the other hand, seeks solutions to the problems of these groups, who are
considered to be excluded from social life for various reasons, by using its own theories
and approaches, on the other hand, it aims to strengthen the relations of these groups
with the society and other systems and to increase the quality of life of the whole
individual, family and society.

1.6. Gender

Although it differs from society to society and within the same society, the gender
discrimination faced by women is a universal and historical phenomenon. How many
passengers do you think are startled when they hear the voice of the female pilot coming
from the flight cabin? What do you know when a father notifies you that his son is going
to be late for a routine checkup? We assume, consciously or unintentionally, that it is the
male job to use a passenger plane, and the female job to do many of the parental duties.
Gender, in general, seems to be a routine part of daily activities that we notice when
someone does something outside of traditional behavior and expectations.

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Few people start life with an ambiguous sexual identity, but the dominant majority begin
with a specific gender and a social message about how to behave. In all known societies,
men seem to dominate women. Some attribute this power and effect, which we can
consider more or less universal, to biological differences between the sexes, while others
claim that the reason for the differences between the sexes is culture and society.

Theories based on biology suggest that the factors that cause and sustain universal
inequality between men and women are physiological, natural factors and that achieving
a fully equal society is not practically possible. But the most important criticism made is
that this idea uses data on animal behavior and then applies them to human behavior.
There is also a criticism that these theories generally ignore the historical, anthropological
and sociological findings of human behavior, especially the findings that show the
diversity and variability in the behavior, status and roles of women and men depending
on time and place.

Socialization theories emphasize social factors rather than biological factors when
explaining gender inequalities. From this point of view, there are two gender roles, one
female and one male, and two different "scenarios" are attached to each of them.
According to this theory, the existence of gender inequalities is related to the socialization
of women and men to assume different roles. Although socialization theories provide
reasonable explanations for how individuals learn to be male or female, they are criticized
for ignoring important issues such as where the values and norms attached to feminine
given scenarios come from and whose interests they represent.

It is seen that the most fundamental factor affecting gender stereotypes is the
socialization process. In the socialization process, the social, economic, moral and
cultural thinking system of the other people and society we interact with creates and
develops our prejudices and stereotypes. Therefore, stereotypes emerge as the most
important factor in the formation of discrimination, inequality and attitudes towards women
and men. This means that the roles and duties of men and women, who are members of
the family, in social life are determined by the ongoing value judgments in that society. In
patriarchal family forms, gender stereotypes determine the place of girls as homes and,
starting in education, the number of women working in business life is very low compared
to men, women earn less income than men doing the same job and continue to work
without social security. Within these expectations, there is the role of a woman who does
not cause problems from women, who is compatible, who does not question, who obeys

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her husband, who serves her husband, who is both a good wife, a good business woman,
a good mother.

According to socialization theorists, the relationship between men and women is based
on the domination relationship that men establish over women. Accordingly, gender
differences are seen as a reflection of one group (men) subjecting the other group
(women) to height.

Compared to socialization theories, feminist theories of gender relations place the

differences between women and men in a more social understanding and often
emphasize structural and institutional factors more. Although the use of feminist theories
is relatively new, it criticizes women's position in society and culture. Feminists today
acknowledge that the treatment of some women is not only due to gender, but also
because of the races, ethnicities and socio-economic structures of women. For example;
Whites dominate poor and non-white women because they are not wealthy and not White;
men dominate because they are women above all; the rich dominate over them all
because they are poor.

In the United Nations reports on the situation of women in the world, attention is drawn to
the fact that women and men live in two different worlds. In many countries, it is stated in
the reports that women are denied equal pay, they are subjected to sexual harassment
in the working environment, they are fired because they are pregnant, and that women
who defend their rights are being ignored.

At this point, the role of social change agent in the focus of social justice principle of the
social worker gains great importance. As a requirement of this role, the expert undertakes
to analyze social problems and policies, to draw the attention of the society to this problem
and thus to create awareness and finally to ensure the development of social resources,
assuming that the basis of social change is understanding the nature of the problem.

1.7. Sustainable Environment

"Sustainability" refers to looking at economic expectations in balance with environmental

and social sensitivity. According to the definition made by the United Nations Commission
on Environment and Development in 1987: "Without compromising the ability to respond

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to the needs of future generations, it is the ability to meet the daily needs of humanity and
to make development sustainable."

Sustainable development is the method of realizing the efforts to increase economic

growth and welfare by protecting the environment and the quality of life of all people on
earth. The aim of development is to increase the economic, social, cultural and political
options of people so that they can make free decisions. This approach includes a holistic
perspective that brings together sustainability-based concepts such as empowerment,
equality, justice, rights, and efficiency. Environmentally sustainability requires an
understanding of the excessive use of natural resources. Considering that environmental
degradation leads to the destruction of support and livelihoods in the natural environment,
displacement of people, poverty, weakness in mental and physical health, spread of
communicable diseases, and malnutrition, instead of evaluating the continuity of the
development of societies only from an economic perspective, economic, social and
environmental factors are combined. The need for a more comprehensive assessment is
emerging. To do this, we must keep the resource asset constant, avoid the exploitation
of renewable resource systems or environmental investments, and consume non-
renewable resources only those that have been adequately replaced by investments. This
process includes the preservation of biodiversity, atmospheric balance and other
ecosystem functions that are not classified as economic resources.

Social work discipline addresses these three critical dimensions (social, environmental
and economic) with functions such as improving human well-being, sustainable
development depending on the concept of welfare, and solving people's problems,
empowering individuals, focusing on individuals and differences in the society, ensuring
global justice, equality and solidarity. . Therefore, sustainable development and social
work discipline overlap with each other, and it is seen that the social work profession is a
tool for achieving sustainable development. In this respect, ensuring social,
environmental and economic sustainability is among the goals of the social work
profession.

1.8. Social Policy

Social policy; It is an integral part of human life and is the most important tool in realizing
social welfare.
The whole of policies implemented by the state in order to provide welfare and social
protection in society is called social policy. The concept aims to fulfill the needs of some
population groups, which differ in terms of social problems in a society, such as equal
opportunities, social justice and social security, on the basis of human rights and

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freedoms and by means of a series of measures and actions that do not ignore social
integration. Rather, it strives to provide a minimum standard of living for poor population
groups who have difficulty meeting even basic human needs such as education, health,
nutrition, clothing and shelter. These goals are also shared by the social service. Social
services in a society are shaped in line with the social problems and existing policies in
that society. Social work interacts with social policy.

Social work and social policy are two different disciplines and fields of practice that work
to meet nine basic human needs. These requirements are listed as follows according to
the National Health Service and Social Protection Law, which entered into force in the UK
in 1990:
a) Personal and social protection
b) Health care
c) Accommodation
d) Finance
e) Education
f) Employment
g) Leisure time
h) Transportation
i) Access to social services and resources

The social worker can learn what resources he can use for the benefit of the client and
how to access these resources only by following the social policies in force.

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