The article bases on the sociological concept of the pretend activities, formulated by Jan Lutynski in 1977. The subject of the analysis are the manifestations of such bogus activities in the field of social assistance, with the focus point to the social work. Commenting on the specific features of pretend activities in social work, the authoress suggests the presence of the same mechanisms as described in 70. by Jan Lutynski, that induce them. Both their level, as well as their functions to social assistance system, other systems and their causes need to be empirically studied.
Contemporary social work is focused on constructing its scientific identity: its scientific and practical interests, definitions, theories and methodological procedures. Social work is related to many approaches present in socio-humanistic sciences eg. Sociology, social pedagogy, social psychology, cultural anthropology, social policy, as a result of its scientific interests and interdisciplinary. In context of international discourses it is needed to talk about new paradigm of social work as a (sub) discipline, because we have been already experiencing process of disciplinarization, besides some formal barriers. The aim of this paper is exploration of the phenomenon of social work in context of different research and practical processes, which conduct to new paradigm of social work as a (sub) discipline. Discussing formal criteria of disciplinarization shaping a framework for professional and scientific identity of social work - I hope to create more friendly climate for acceptance for its further academization in Poland.
The communication presents the theoretical framework and empirical findings of an international research comparing Dutch and Polish social workers' discourses concerning refugees. The underlying assumption of the research project was that the relations between social workers and refugees might be considered as relations of the power: the former posses the institutional, professional and cultural power over the latter. Those relations of power might then be either preserved or contested through social workers' discourses and therefore the analysis of the language-in-use seems to create a useful perspective to inspect them. The analysis of interviews with social workers from two Polish and two Dutch institutions providing assistance for refugees shows that the images of refugees constructed by the Poles and the Dutch differ significantly. The Dutch present a uniformly positive image of their clients. They consider refugees as victims of past miseries and present injustices, and they also acknowledge refugees' potential and willingness to cope with the difficult situation. Responsibility for the difficulties, however, is located mainly in the state policies and the Dutch society. The Polish picture is much more ambiguous. There is also the element of presenting refugees as innocent victims, but descriptions of refugees' present behaviours in the host country convey an image of untrustworthiness, idleness, and demands. Difficult situation of refugees is blamed on the overall crisis in Poland, but to a large extent they are refugees themselves who are found responsible for their problems. Differences in the Polish and Dutch social workers' images of refugees are explained by the national contexts of the refugee assistance. The less favourable opinions of the Polish social workers are to some extent understandable if one takes into consideration such factors as Poland's worse socio-economic situation, less hostile public attitudes towards immigrants, different history of integration policies, and different system of social workers' education. It is argued, however, that a change in the Polish workers' discourses could be advantageous as it could empower the refugees in Poland and help them achieve more self-dependence.
The research described here was qualitative in approach and was conducted in 2004 and 2005. The main goal of it was identification of discriminatory practices in some social assistance institutions in Poland. Besides their scale and different forms it was pointed out to overt and covert functions which discriminatory practices have in the context of professionalization of social work. Prevalence of these practices cast doubts on adherence to rules of ethical standards in social assistance institutions and among social work professionals.
All the developed economies in the world use social work to deal with the current social problems, however in very different models. The number of social workers varies significantly among the countries, which results from the different assessments of social work capacity of solving the problems. In Western Countries the symptoms are to be seen that point to the growing importance of social work. This article analyses this tendency at the example of Germany. However Germany refutes the low status of this profession, it can demonstrate a new tendency in the field of social work. Strong points of social work derive surprisingly form its weaknesses, that is: a) social work is, because of its status, less hermetic than other professions that are practiced in expert manner exclusively, b) the fact that social work doesn't refer to narrow specialist indications means its potential strength - namely the interest in the 'human being as a whole'. Taking that perspective, the German example allows to show in the article that in different areas of social policy there is a need for sort of 'unprofessional professionalism' and the integral expertise, differing from those conducted in solely one discipline.
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Social workers too often accept without question conventional beliefs on gender roles and the nature of families. Feminist analyses of social work have argued for greater attention to the conditions which women experience. Feminist social work is described as a movement to raise consciousness and give women control of their lives or as an analysis of oppression and modes empowerment for women. This article focuses on feminist contributions to knowledge and skill building in social work. There are many ways to separate theories. The author prefers common division of liberal, radical, socialist and postmodern feminism. Each perspective is presented with a brief overview of the theory, examples of applications of the theory to social work practice and then a critique of theory's and practice's limitations and an assessment of its contributions.
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The article shows the example of christianly motivated social activities during the 19th century in the diocese of Ceske Budejovice. It brings examples of the publication activities of Jan Valerian Jirsik (bishop of Ceske Budejovice, 1851-1883) on social problems, as well as examples of themes from social spheres which were on his initiation processed by clerical pastoral conferences. The themes were related to work at factories and children's employment, the formulation of current social problems, and the social engagement of priests. The article expresses an interest in the introduced problems even before the publication of the document Rerum novarum. It also shows the methodology by which the bishop involved the priests of the whole diocese in thinking about social matters. Jirsik finds a solution to the questions only in the application of catholic teaching, in other words, in the in-church perspective.
The contribution monitors the burnout level in social workers of a district office from the departments for job services, for social affairs, and that for assessment activities. A total of 65 employees (not including any managing workers) exhibited the medium burnout level - the so-called level of risk. The degree of achieved education appeared to be a preventive factor. Social workers alone considered contribution from part of their organization to be important: change of work organization; relaxation offered by their organization; therapeutic sessions; positive evaluation on the employer's part.
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Gendered practices in social work have never before been the subject of research in the Czech Republic. This article looks at gender perceptions and stereotypes in social work practices. It contains a discussion of some findings from a recent qualitative study of a social work organization. The research set out to explore the gendered constructions of women and men as clients. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with social workers. The conclusion of research is that women are constructed as responsible for protection, as cooperative, as subordinate and as hysterical, whereas men are constructed as outspoken, as uncooperative and as aggressive. The findings show the importance of raising the awareness of social workers about their gender strategies and the possible impact of these strategies on their professional work.
Moral dimension of social animation. Social animation is still in the stage of receiving recognition, because of its complexity and the multi-faceted social context in which it appears. As a research issue social animation must be examined by applying an interdisciplinary methodology. It rises a complex of ethical questions, owing to the fact that it is a moral activity as well. This material aims to answer two following questions: What is social animation at all? And what components make someone be a social animator? Social animation has been portrayed in the context of moral meaning and its relation to manipulation as well. Finally the paper tackles some moral (ethical) dilemmas of animation. The aim of this paper is to work out if religious factors may play any roles in the discourse on social animation.
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This study presents and evaluates research interviews with the employees of the Diocesan Caritas Plzen. The purpose of this research was the introduction and deeper understanding of the task of the employees of Caritas in connection with the mission of evangelization. While evaluating the research, the author reaches the conclusion that the work of Caritas should not be just witness to Christ without words, but that it contains also a potential for broader evangelization.
The article analyses solutions to social problems from a post-modern and constructivist perspective. Operating on the premise that real solutions to social problems are rare, the author distinguishes solutions from regulations on social problems, which are here considered to be a form of collective behaviour, a trap in both the social and cultural spheres. Regulations on and solutions to social problems also generate new social problems.
The article is a collection of comments on the Act of Parliament of 10th June 2010 concerning the change of „the law on preventing domestic violence and other acts”. It came into effect on 1st August 2010. The change is an amendment to the Act of 29 July 2005 on „anti-domestic violence” that has been in effect since 21 November 2005. The motives that led to enacting the Act deserve credit, as they try to eliminate violence, which infringe on the dignity of human being its rights and happiness – the child in particular. However, when analyzing particular parts of the Act one can easily reach the conclusion, that there are many threats to be found which endanger the integrity of family life. Among concerns of that kind one can point to: ambiguous interpretation of the physical and psychological violence, penalization of corporal punishment. Over-extended scope of competence of the interdisciplinary teams, allows the conditional separation of child from its parents by a social worker without a decision of the court. The law that enables to lodge a plaint by children against their parents may in practice rise conflicts between the family members, rather than contribute to their stability and mollify them. The Act appears to weaken the moral condition of family and its inner cohesion that create a sense of security as well. According to the author, the Act does not become an inherent part of a social policy that strives to protect family structure; it can be taken rather as an indication of anti-family policy.
Social work is an important issue in social life. That is why lots of scientists and researchers dedicate more time to it doing theoretical and methodological research. One of it refers to social work from the perspective of profession. In this sense, what can be expected from a social worker is professionalism in helping individuals and various social groups to function again in the society. The article shows that it is necessary to appreciate social work and the profession of a social worker who tries to help a man in need in a professional way.
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