Proposals to increase the professionalism among social workers have created a crisis in social work. Increasing professionalism will remove social workers further from the people they serve. Questions are already being asked about the value of academic social work training and whether it adequately prepares people …show more content…
The ability to show a certain independence of thinking is what makes the social worker a professional. Social work has a rich history of this independent thinking. Social work as a profession should assert that the assessment of a client's needs should not only be driven by the availability of resources but should also be concerned with the reduction of inequality and social injustice. Unfortunately, the social work profession now seems divorced from its roots in socialist ideology and too narrowly concerned with its promoting itself. These elitist pressures are contributing to the current crisis in social work and must be resisted.
Proposals to increase the length of training of social workers and elevate their status are not the answer. Increasing professionalization will remove social workers further from the people they serve. Questions are already being asked about the value of academic social work training and whether it adequately prepares people for the realities of the job. The social work task is best learned by students working with people in the community who share their expertise and knowledge with each other and are committed to social …show more content…
The ability to show a certain independence of thinking is what makes the social worker a �professional�. Social work has a rich history of this independent thinking. Social work as a profession should assert that the assessment of a client's �needs� should not only be driven by the availability of resources but should also be concerned with the reduction of inequality and social injustice. Unfortunately, the social work profession now seems divorced from its roots in socialist ideology and too narrowly concerned with its promoting itself. These elitist pressures are contributing to the current crisis in social work and must be resisted.
Proposals to increase the length of training of social workers and elevate their status are not the answer. Increasing professionalisation will remove social workers further from the people they serve. Questions are already being asked about the value of academic social work training and whether it adequately prepares people for the realities of the job. The social work task is best learned by students working with people in the community who share their expertise and knowledge with each other and are committed to social