FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL WORK

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL WORK

 BASIS OF SOCIAL WORK
HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL WORK

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 2

 SCHOOL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

School Director / Carmen Gloria Beroíza

PREPARATION

Disciplinary Expert / Vania Guajardo Hurtado

Instructional Designer / Camila Velásquez Acuña

PEDAGOGICAL VALIDATION

Disciplinary Expert / Elías Fuenzalida

Head of Instructional and Multimedia Design / Alejandra San Juan Reyes

DESIGN DOCUMENT

AIEP Instructional Design Team

Foundations of Social Work / Historical Evolution of Social Work 3

Content
EXPECTED LEARNING OF THE WEEK: .......................................................................... 5
1. DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK: ........................................................................... 5
2. OBJECT INTERVENTION OF SOCIAL WORK ..................................................... 7
3. FUNCTIONS FROM SOCIAL WORK: ........................................................................... 8
3.1. Function Educational: .
Example:........................................................................................................................ 9
3.2. Function of Planning: ...................................................................................... 9
Example:...................................................................................................................... 10
3.3. Function of Promotion:.10
3.4. Function of Administration: ................................................................................. 11
Example:...................................................................................................................... 11
4. CONCEPTS ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL WORK: ...................................................... 11
KEY IDEAS .................................................................................................................. 16
LINKS/MULTIMEDIA MATERIAL ......................................................................................... 17
CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................ 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................. 19

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 4

EXPECTED LEARNING FOR THE WEEK:
They identify the foundations of Social Work as a framework for interpreting the profession.

Identify different definitions of the concept of Social Work according to the level of
intervention

Characterizes the object of intervention of Social Work and the objectives that derive from it.
of their professional work

Characterize the functions of Social Work according to the context and role in which it develops.

Establishes appropriate oral and written communication with its interlocutors through
various means and supports.

1. DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK:

Social Work is a discipline of the Social Sciences that promotes well-being of the
people. It is directly related to interactions, that is, the relationships that people
they have with their environment.

From this general definition of Social Work, other definitions emerge that complement it and provide
a more specific view of the profession. Therefore, it is important to cite various authors who have
expanded the definition of the profession and based on that, have contributed to its development.

Nora defines Social Work as a profession that

focuses its intervention on addressing material needs and
no materials, from people, families, groups, and populations that
they have difficulties reproducing their existence,
promoting your connection with public and private institutions
that have or can create satisfactors.

Ezequiel Ander Egg defines it as a form of social action.

that is to say, a conscious, organized, and directed activity that has
with the aim of acting on the social environment, to improve or
transform a situation.

Foundations of Social Work / Historical Evolution of Social Work 5

Nidia Aylwin indicates that Social Work is a Social Technology.
because it applies knowledge from social sciences to reality with the
end of transforming it and focusing scientifically on practical problems,
it is bringing forth new knowledge, which in turn is a contribution
for the social sciences.

Sela Sierra defines Social Work as a profession of

scientific foundation aimed at overcoming the causes -
effects of social situations and the joint search for
progressive transformation of reality.

Considering these definitions, we will extract key concepts that allow us to understand each one.
of the elements that constitute the definition of the profession.

First, Social Work is a profession, as it has a body of knowledge that

the own sounds and those that are acquired through a teaching process of theories that are
applicable in practice. In addition, Social Work has a methodology that
allows the application of a series of procedural steps to achieve its purpose, all
these steps are associated with instruments and techniques that allow you to establish inferences
through its application.

Another relevant concept in Social Work is that of needs. Indeed, the work
professional is closely linked to the shortcomings, needs that are presented by the
people who serve as a trigger for the request for professional help. Although
it is true, needs are felt by all people, which makes them
reason and intervention for Social Work, relates to the tools they have
the people in order to confront them and which of those needs are urgent
to address. This need gives rise to the problem, which is often the cause of the
need, and of which the Social Worker becomes part for the promotion of their
approach. An example of this is that a person requests help for a subsidy.
municipal, which is the real need, that prevents him from satisfying a need. However,
behind this requirement there is often a problem, such as a lack
of work or difficulties in social media management that trigger the search
of municipal aid.

Fundamentals of Social Work / Historical Evolution of Social Work 6

 Social action understood as the activities carried out by the Social Worker to
to influence the improvement of a situation. It is about a series of actions
intentional, that promote the restoration of a previous situation and that aims
to mobilize economic and human resources towards a situation that requires addressing it.
From this perspective, social work has a strong component of social action, all
since, from their field of work, they establish planned activities that promote the
resolution of social type problems.

Another concept associated with the definition of Social Work is transformation.

what is sought is to modify a reality that is adverse for the person, it talks about
a transformation to refer to an evolution from the person, who
understand the situation he/she is in and from that, generate strategies to
face the problem. It is based on the logic that the person is the one responsible for carrying out
he is the one who can make the changes that allow him to transform his reality, from the beginning of the
self-determination is she who defines the necessary actions for it. The worker
social facilitates and promotes processes to transform that reality into a new one, which
define the person, but with a marked change that allows them to understand and appropriate
the resources it has to change that reality.

2. OBJECT OF SOCIAL WORK INTERVENTION

To refer to the object of social work, we must first review its

origin. The forms of social assistance (genesis of social work) are provided by actions linked to
philanthropy. Even since the Middle Ages, the need to help people was understood,
a theological logic centered not on the person who required help, but on the one who provided it.
that help, since I understood that, with it, I was doing a 'good for his salvation'.
the conception was then not focused on identifying what the causes of these problems were,
but rather, to focus the aid towards the most visible need.
With time and in the context of the Industrial Revolution, the idea of proposing begins to be considered.
the underlying causes of the problems. At that time, the migration from the countryside to the city,
the emergence of factories and the social problems that arose from it strengthened the idea of decentralization.
Look at the subject and its relationship with the environment. The problem was then not only confined to.
the person, but in the relationship they established with their environment.

The emergence of social work as a profession, taking into account these theoretical backgrounds.
the question of WHAT WE INTERVENE ABOUT is raised. Since the 20th century, where it develops with
the profession is forced, it is understood that the object of study is no longer reducible to the act of helping
as it was understood in previous centuries, but as Bibiana Travi points out,the magnitude of
The social problems of the time and their complexity called into question the principles.
on the effectiveness of charity and philanthropy-based poverty assistance systems.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 7

With the above, it is understood that the object of social work, its source of intervention is given
for the defense of human dignity, respect for differences, social justice, the promotion
of active social participation, that is, principles on which social work operates.
This perspective allows for avoiding a reductionism in relation to the specific problems that
addresses Social Work, but allows us to elevate our perspective to understand it as a discipline that
it focuses on well-being, on the consideration of the person as a whole embedded in a social context.

Therefore, while it is not possible to disregard that Social Work arises as a

profession based on the 'exercise of helping', with the passage of time and practice
same of the task, is shaping up with a social sense, strongly linked to the
defense of human dignity and social justice, pillars that today constitute, the
ethical principles of Social Work.

3. FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK:

Social Work as a discipline acts in an orderly manner, it is a series of

procedure that we will see later and that help to organize and structure the practice.

In that context, it develops a series of functions depending on the place where it is exercised.
activity, both public and private institutions that provide social services and against the
What the Social Worker contributes with their work. Among these functions, those that stand out are the ones that
Below are mentioned those that represent the greatest recurrence in professional performance.

3.1. Educational Function

This function is the most recognized in Social Work, as it originates from ancient forms of
social aid that originated in the Middle Ages. Although it has this genesis, the profession has evolved
perfecting their methods and evolving in the way of understanding the approach to the different
social issues.

It is therefore a function that focuses on training, on the generation of skills.

both in individuals and groups so that they themselves, based on their own capabilities,
They manage to solve their problems autonomously. Along with this, their purpose is to educate the
people to understand and analyze the situations that have facilitated the development of the
problem situation, activating analysis mechanisms that allow them to recognize resources
available with which they have.

It's not just about educating, but also about seeing the person as an agent.
active and endowed with multiple skills to face the situations that arise
of problem. The social worker then facilitates processes, educating along a path of
self-awareness that not only resolves the difficulty but also empowers it in the future to
to face the challenges that arise with better tools.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 8

Ejemplo:

Mrs. Juana goes to the Municipality to request assistance. She comments that she has no money to
satisfy their basic needs, the purpose of their request is a box of goods.
Social Assistant collects background information and guides her in terms of procedures to receive help from
State through subsidies.

Together with that, the social worker works with Mrs. Juana to visualize her capabilities to
the search for a job that allows her to receive a regular income, qualifies her in
function of its capabilities and works with it in its potentialities that allow it to take on
this new challenge.
In this case, we see the educational function. The professional not only remains with the delivery of
provisions for the satisfaction of Mrs. Juana's needs, but also progresses in
search for strategies that allow them, through their abilities, to take control of their situation and
look for more regular alternatives for your problem.

3.2. Planning Function:

This function of Social Work relates to the importance of organizing actions,

establishment of objectives, instruments, and techniques necessary for addressing the situation
problem. It should be noted that this planning function is not static, but rather
flexible according to the reality faced.

In a situation that requires intervention from the Social Worker, they will gather
the elements that allow you to understand the phenomenon. After that, it will generate a body of
strategies that allow them to follow methodological steps for their approach, it is not then about
actions without a guiding thread, on the contrary, professional action requires a sequence, that
It can be modified whenever changes are observed in the situation to be addressed.

Prior to this planning function, there is a diagnosis that also needs to be visualized.
like a program, a sequence of actions to follow. Hence, this function is inherent to
the professional activity.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 9

Example:

The Santa Fe Nursing Home is hiring a Social Worker. The professional is instructed
what is required to address the family support situation of older adults
that exist in the Home every time very little company has been seen of the
families.

The Social Worker will not take immediate action, but will need to plan a series of
actions that allow them to identify: characteristics of older adults, who they are
relatives, why there is little company, what are the visiting needs from the
older adults, etc.

Only by considering these elements can an efficient response be given to the needs of the Home.
To do this, he/she will plan activities that allow him/her to gather this information.
to then give way to the establishment of specific objectives and actions to address the
problem.

If the planning function were not used, the actions would be disconnected and would not have a thread.
conductor, falling into an activism that may have an immediate response, but without
continuity in time.

3.3. Promotion Function:

The promotion function refers to the responsibility of the profession to promote, in the
subjects and communities in which it intervenes, reflective processes of their social reality that
allow generating means and opportunities to emerge from situations of vulnerability.

Indeed, Social Work is not solely concerned with the scope of problem-solving.
but it is also equally important to incorporate analytical capacity, growth and
empowerment in individuals, in such a way as to enhance a contribution towards mobility
social.

This promotion function is not only found in social work with people, but
it is also expressed when working with groups or communities, where it is understood that the
A collective of people generates greater resources to face situations.

A Social Worker is called to work with a neighborhood association, who have

the need to be trained to apply for projects and thereby obtain
resources for the construction of a neighborhood headquarters.

The professional carries out this work, that is, trains the leaders, but in addition to that, the work
promotion encourages working on community participation in management
of their own projects. In this way, not only is there intervention in how applications are made for the
social projects, but also contributes to the processes of participation since
it is understood that an organized and participative community makes an additional contribution to the
resolution of problems faced by the community.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 10

 3.4. Management Function:

The administration function relates to the social worker's need to care for and
optimize the resources available for better utilization. Resources are
always limited and in the function of planning and generating actions, the professional must develop
strategies that promote their better utilization.

To carry out this function, the Social Worker must develop an appropriate plan,
answering questions about what is desired to be done, how many people will benefit, which ones
What are the available resources and what are the best strategies to maximize those resources?
they possess. In this sense, the management function implies knowing the context in which it
they will develop the activities and the involved actors.

Example:

A Social Worker is in charge of a Community Development Center of the

Municipality, which works with: Youth Clubs, Mother Centers, Adult Clubs
Mayor and Neighborhood Councils.

Each of these organizations has needs that become demands for

the Community Development Center. In response to this situation, the Social Worker must prepare
annually a planning that allows him to recognize these needs, prioritize and distribute
the resources. The professional recognizes the multiple needs of organizations, their
urgencies and expectations of its members.

However, here the management function focuses on clearly identifying

ordered which ones can be satisfied, in a justified and reasonable manner, in order to from
there, respond to the requirements.

To make this annual planning, the Social Worker must raise a diagnosis of each
one of these organizations, through instruments, in such a way as to be attentive to them and
from there, generate a distribution process for these resources.

4. CONCEPTS ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL WORK:

Every discipline has a series of concepts that are used according to

its exercise. These are definitions that allow for establishing common criteria for each one.
of the professionals who are part of the discipline's collective. Its reading is of great
help, since it constitutes a vocabulary of concepts used in everyday life by
Social Work.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 11

Below are a series of concepts and definitions, taking as
Reference the text: Dictionary of Social Work, Ezequiel Ander Egg.

1. Action: Cintentional behavior that to generate functional changes or

supposes to do a work. Effect or result structural elements in the system, or modify
to do to achieve a goal (political, situations that are considered anomalous.
social, cultural, economic etc.
Influence exerted over one or the other. 6. Environment: Circumstance that orders the
Deliberate act of will, activity situation or status of people or
or work with some result or sign things. From the point of view of the
exterior. (Ezequiel, A. 1995). ecology, the environment indicates conditions
exteriors within which there
2. Social Action: Set of activities find a living being and that acts on
what a social worker does he. In social psychology, it refers to
same citizens to influence on the external conditions, when acting on
people, groups, or communities with the the individual largely determines their
end of achieving certain results. behavior.
The social action specific to social work
it can be carried out from a micro level 7. Assistance: Action of attending. Help,
social until another macrosocial. favor, help, support, assistance. Means
that is provided to someone for
Activity: Set of tasks or steps support him, relieve him in his needs.
that must be given within a certain time Public or private action through
determined, to achieve a which tends to alleviate the needs
planned objective. Every activity must more urgent needs of individuals and groups.
to carry paired one product
determined. 8. Assistant social It is the agent
intermediary that guides and channels the
4. Social actor: Individual, group, family, individual and/or collective issues, the
community or formal organization or or social workers contribute
informal with real or potential capacity elements such as social understanding and
to impact economically, politically and psychological, counseling and help for
culturally in its own development and solve the problems, this term was
interaction with other groups and with the used in Colombia before the decade
State. of sixty and was replaced by the
social worker. This was charging
5. Change agent: Person who strength in the measure that it went away
contributes to other individuals, groups professionalizing.
u organizations use sus
productive potentialities,

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 12

9. User self-determination: Principle sense general the variations
of social work that refers to the right produced within a certain period,
from the user to be the same, to take their that affect the structures y
own decisions, to use their skills operation of a society, of a
and resources and to solve their problems, not ephemeral or transitory but
fully utilizing the opportunities stable or permanent
what is offered for personal development.
14. Social cohesion: It is the union of people
10. Autonomy: The ability that one has to in a group, characterized by having
individual, group or social organization of great motivations in belonging to
decide and act independently, him. For participation in common goals,
free and responsible, which allows the acceptance of equal objectives, the
to enhance one's own resources, to identification with this, the satisfaction and the
achieve individual and social development defense of the group.
suitable.
Collectivity: One of the components
11. Social Help: Expression with which it structural of social systems; it is
they design assistance works and a structured group of people
publicly charitable nature or carriers of a role and coordinated between
private, intended for individuals or groups yes by a system of norms.
that they cannot meet their needs
basics. 16. Social conflict: Transcends the individual
and comes from the very structure of the
12. Social welfare: Degree to which a society. Social opposition in which the
determined society, community The immediate objective consists of harm.
social sector, group or family, satisfies what can be caused to one or more of us
the fundamental human needs. opposing individuals or groups, in their
In that sense, it is in line with the capture or in the damages that may
economic and social development that affects to occur to your property or values
in quality of life. It involves a system cultural. It therefore implies an attack or
organized policies, laws, services and defense; it is the struggle for values and for
social institutions, designed to the status, power, and resources in the
promote in communities, groups, course that opponents wish for
families and individuals, the achievement of levels neutralize, damage, or eliminate your rival.
satisfactory lives, as well as
personal and social relationships that 17. Social context: Set of elements
allow to develop fully your of a society that conditions a
potentialities in harmony with the a good part of social work. It is
environment. formed basically for the
nature of the community, the type of
13. Social Change: To change is the action that country where social work is practiced,
to pass, to vary, to alter or to change from one its development and its political regime;
social change refers to specifically for the set of

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 13

 standards regarding the population, 22. Interview: It is a very technique
both social, legal, and economic important for the discipline / profession
cultural, which determines and induces the that require the professional relationship with
user demand and the action of other people. Technique used to
the social workers. collect information.

18. Social development: It is known as the 23. Social evidence: A set of facts
deployment of productive forces of that indicate the nature of the
a country or region, to achieve the social difficulties of a certain
supplying the elements case and the instruments for its solution.
visible materials, as well as goods
cultural and services of all kinds, for 24. Social Exclusion: Social process of
society within the political framework- separation of an individual or group
social, that guarantees equality of regarding job opportunities,
opportunities to all its members and economic, political, cultural to the
that allows him/her, in turn, to participate in the that others have access to and enjoy.
political decisions and in the enjoyment of
well-being, material and cultural that everyone in 25. Fact social Refers a everything
common they have created. behavior or idea present in a
social group (whether respected or not, whether
19. Inequality: Generally a result of the subjectively shared or not) that is
difference in evaluation passed down from generation to generation
recognitions, privileges, in to each individual by society. This is
situations of rights and duties, considered as a whole that is greater
income or assets of individuals in the that the sum of the people who
society. Inequality in a supposed component.
of the vertical social structure.
26. Intervention: Systematic process and
Displaced: Any person or group of coherent what him orient
people who have been forced and fundamentally in the
forced to escape and flee from their home or modification/transformation of some
his/her usual place of residence, social problem that can be of
abandoning its space and its individual, institutional or collective order
economic activities, because their life,
your security or freedom have been
vulnerable or is under threat.

21. Diagnosis: It consists of knowledge

from a certain reality, achieving
through a study process or
investigation of their conditions in a
given moment.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 14

 It is a specific action of the Worker sociocultural where they are observed, to know
(a) Social in relation to systems or What are the required attributes?
human processes to produce for their satisfaction.
changes that develop the capacity of
Paternalism: A philosophy typical of the
user's reaction and initiative to
charity and assistance, which
encourage him to recover his own
it is manifested under the modality of treatment
ability to carry out its own
to others as if they were minors
actions, to undertake activities that
age and therefore unable to take care of themselves
serve to eliminate the causes of your
their own efforts.
state of discomfort.
32. Social promotion: It consists of encouraging
27. Marginality: Process or set of
to the people or mobilize them so that they
processes that an individual goes through,
organize in the search for solutions
social group or sector is led to a
their needs. It is based on a
situation that leaves him out of the group
conception of the person as a being
social or on the margins of society,
able to organize and mobilize
by not having control over the factors of
production also cannot enjoy the 33. Psychosocial: it is a branch of psychology
benefits that such control generates, by what is especially used y
end, is also excluded from those of preferably of the functioning of
the decisions that affect him the most the individuals in their respective environments
individual and group scale. social.
28. Method: From the Greek metous, proposition 34. Social security: it is the protection that
that gives the idea of 'movements' and all that provide the status, to ensure to
means 'roads'. It consists of the all citizens against the risks and
set of steps or successive stages, contingencies of misfortunes and
logically arranged and directed social calamities.
to achieve a specific goal, in a
concrete temporal-spatial reality and 35. Theory: Sphere of knowledge that
with a specific purpose. explain the set of phenomena and their
real bases, circumscribing the
29. Intervention method: Refers to the concepts, trials reasonings
ways of acting that aim to hypotheses and laws, at first
the obtaining of certain results unifier. It is a starting point and a
practical, the modification of things or permanent tool that allows
real situations. articulate different types of knowledge
to produce new knowledge
30. Need: In the traditional concept
that answers the questions
it means a state of deprivation, of lack of
raised.
that which is useful or necessary for him
integral development of the human being, but
in the approach to large-scale development
human is understood as "power"
because the person mobilizes in
determined sense to satisfy her;
implies, according to the context

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 14

KEY IDEAS

Through the following conceptual map, the key ideas of this week are highlighted:

How Action
Do you work? Social
Work
Social It presents itself as a

Center of Intervention
interest

Final goal

Needs
Transformation

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 15

LINKS/MULTIMEDIA MATERIAL

Space to indicate links and/or materials that complement the topic(s) discussed. It is a requirement.
It is essential that these materials are freely available and properly referenced.

MODULE: 'FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL WORK' Unit: 1

Resource Description

In this video, you will find more details about the functions of Social Work:

Unable to access or translate content from a YouTube link.

Video

In this article by Nora Aquin, you will find more details about the object of
Social Work:

Unable to access external links or documents.

Presentation

For a deeper understanding of the content, we suggest reading the

next article:

Alywin de Barros, Nidia 'The object of Social Work', in: Work Magazine
Social. No. 8. Pontifical Catholic University. Chile, 1981.
Readings
complementary

Foundations of Social Work / Historical Evolution of Social Work 16

conclusions

The reviewed material has allowed us to establish different definitions regarding Social Work,
starting point for the beginning of this module and that allow to lay the foundations for the
understanding of concepts that allow us to identify a common perspective about Work
Social.
In this introductory look, we also position ourselves to understand the object of social work, it is
say, about what we intervene. Generally associated with social needs and issues,
we have understood that the field of action is not only related to those concepts, but that
also with the general and comprehensive understanding of the phenomena we observe. In this
The context, the review of the functions of Social Work has placed us in the specific tasks.
from the profession, defining areas of interest in which we develop our work.

Finally, highlighting the series of concepts specific to social work allows us to delve into the
collection of words that we commonly hear, but of which we now provide you with a
sense associated with the work of Social Work. This is where the importance of appropriating them comes from,
to find a meaning in it, from there, to promote its use, directing the gaze towards a
accumulation of definitions that will allow us to broaden our own content repertoire of
the profession.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 17

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Here, Nora 'About the Object of Social Work', in: Acto social Magazine IV/
No. 10. National University of Córdoba. February, 1995.

Alywin de Barros, Nidia "The object of Social Work", in: Social Work Journal.
No. 8. Pontifical Catholic University. Chile, 1981.

Ander Egg, Exequiel "Dictionary of Social Work". Ed. Lumen. Buenos Aires,
1995.

Roza Pagaza, Margarita 'A theoretical-methodological perspective of intervention'

in Social Work." Ed. Space. Buenos Aires, 1998.

Travi, Bibiana "The process of professionalization of Social Work and the dimension
ethical-political. Old conceptualizations and new perspectives”, in: Meeting
Latin American Social Work: Training and professional intervention in
contemporary society. Towards the construction of an ethical-political project.

Social Work Foundations / Historical Evolution of Social Work 18