Social work in its various forms addresses the multiple, complex transactions between people and their environments. Its mission is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction. Professional social work is focused on problem solving and change. As such, social workers are change agents in society and in the lives of the individuals, families and communities they serve. Social work is an interrelated system of values, theory and practice. (Grace Coyle, 1935)
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Philadelphia Training School for Social Work – 1908
Over a hundred years, the growth and development of what became today’s School of Social Policy and Practice of the University of Pennsylvania reflects the changing environment and the evolving role of charity, philanthropy and professional social work in our society. It is therefore noteworthy to list the various names this great institution of learning has carried over time:
* 1908 — Philadelphia Training School for Social Work
* 1914 — The Pennsylvania School for Social Service
* 1921 — Pennsylvania School of Social and Health Work
* 1933 — Pennsylvania School of Social Work
* 2005 — School of Social Policy and Practice of the University of Pennsylvania.
Social Work: A Definition – 2000
Social work in its various forms addresses the multiple, complex transactions between people and their environments. Its mission is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction. Professional social work is focused on problem solving and change. As such, social workers are change agents in society and in the lives of the individuals, families and communities they serve. Social work is an interrelated system of values, theory and practice.
Continue Reading »Daniel Coit Gilman’s Contributions to Social Work
This article brings the reader some evidence of social work history that has at the very least been neglected. Most people when asked who are the founders of social work were will mention Jane Addams, Mary Richmond, the Abbotts and maybe Ida Cannon, Charles Loring Brace and S. Humphreys Gurteen. The name of Daniel Coit Gilman is never included in the list of the greats. The case I shall make to you today is that his contributions to helping create the profession were at least as great as those still listed.
Continue Reading »National Conference on Social Work
National Conference on Social Work (1917-1956) The National Conference on Social Work was the name chosen in 1917 to replace the National Conference on Charities and Corrections. In 1956, the name was changed again to the National Conference on Social Welfare.
Continue Reading »National Association Of Social Workers
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with 150,000 members. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) was established…
Continue Reading »NASW Social Work Pioneers
The NASW Social Work Pioneer Program was created to honor members of the social work profession who have contributed to the evolution and enrichment of the profession. The Social Work Pioneer Program identifies and recognizes individuals whose unique dedication, commitment and determination have improved social and human conditions. Pioneers are role models for future generations…
Continue Reading »Social Work and Aftercare of the Mentally Ill in Maryland
“The question of affording proper care for patients discharged from hospitals for the insane is by no means a new one. The best and most satisfactory method of administering this aid has not yet been entirely decided…” (Arthur P. Herring, Secretary of the Maryland Lunacy Commission, September 14, 1910).
Continue Reading »The Scientific View of Social Work
Since its inception social work has struggled with the questions of the extent to which it should use and it could have confidence in basing practice on knowledge derived from the social and biological sciences. The Scientific Basis of Social Work is a volume that gives an emphatic yes to this query
Continue Reading »What is Social Group Work?
The group-work process. — Group work may be defined as an educational process emphasizing (1) the development and social adjustment of an individual through voluntary group association; and (2) the use of this association as a means of furthering other socially desirable ends. It is concerned therefore with both individual growth and social results. Moreover, it is the combined and consistent pursuit of both these objectives, not merely one of them, that distinguishes group work as a process. But what do we mean by a process?
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