social action and social work

7/31/2019 Social Action and Social Work

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SOCIAL ACTION AND SOCIALWORK

AN OVERVIEW


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INTRODUCING SOCIAL ACTION

MARY RICHMOND WAS THE FIRST SOCIALWORKER TO USE THE WORD SOCIAL ACTIONIN 1922.

SOCIOLOGICAL MEANING: IT REFERS TO AN

INDIVIDUALS SOCIAL BEHAVIOR WHICH ISINTENDED TO INFLUENCE THE ACTIONS OFONE OR MORE PERSONS.

SOCIAL WORK MEANING: IT IS AGROUP/COLLECTIVE/ORGANISED EFFORT TO

CHANGE SOCIAL AND ECONOMICCONDITIONS.


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Social Action Is Not An Alien Concept To India, EvenThough Its Origin Is Attributed To The West. TheHistory Of Social Action In This Country DatesBack To Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries WhenReformers Fought Against The Evils Of Sati, ChildMarriage, Widowhood Practices For Women And TheDevadasi System. Mahatma Gandhi With HisPrinciple Of Non-violence Used Social Action ToRaise The Status Of Women And Dalits AndBrought About Fundamental Changes In SocialRelationships In India. This Legacy Still ContinuesAs Various Contemporary, Voluntary And ProfessionalGroups Are Joining Hands To Oppose, Or PromotePublic Policies And Programs Affecting The CommonPeople Of Late, Social Welfare Discipline In IndiaRealized That It Cant Make any Dent In The Field OfMass Poverty. Social Action Was Thus Conceived As AMethod Of Social Work When The Inadequacy OfWelfare Measures Led To The Need Of SocialReform In The Beginning Of The Present Century InThe West And Around The 1960s In India.


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SOCIAL ACTION MEANING AND

DEFINITIONS The term social means interaction of individuals

in society, mutual relations of men or classes;it also includes political economic, cultural andethical aspects. Used as a prefix to action, itcarries the connotation of a collectivity and anorganization working to achieve an end.

The element of spontaneity and consciousness isparticularly stressed by the term social.

DEFINITIONS:

MARY RICHMOND (1922) :Social action is massbetterment through propaganda and social

legislation; a method of bringing about a changein the social environment of the clients.


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MV MOORTHY: Social action is a series ofendeavors concerned with awakening the people

to see, as well as to foresee their own problems

and attack them through the swift course ofcombined action or legislative enactment.

G.A.A. BRITTO (1980): Social action is the methodof social work which is used for/ with /by any unit

of society larger than the sociologically defined

communities.

TRESSIE ARANHA (1984): Social action is a type ofsocial work intervention, where the change agent

system(individual/group/organization) acts on behalf

of the client system, to redress the injustice it issuffering, by seeking through a legitimate authority to

bring about change in the social structures that are

causing injustice.


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OBJECTIVES AND GOALS OF SOCIAL

ACTIONThe objectives of social action is the proper shaping anddevelopment of socio cultural environment in which a

richer and fuller life may be possible for all the citizens.Following goals of social action has been identified :

Prevention of Changes considered as negative.

Solution of mass problem.

Improvement in mass conditions. Influencing institutions, politics and practice.

Introduction of new mechanism or programmes.

Redistribution of power and resources (human,material, moral).

Decision making. Effect on thought and action structure and

Improvement in health, education and welfare.


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PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL ACTION

Activeness of group or community.

Democratic working.

Democratic leadership.

Arrangement of resources.

Co-ordination between problem andresources.

Co-operation.

Public opinion.


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ELEMENTSOFSOCIALACTION


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SKILLS INVOLVED IN SOCIAL ACTION

The skills needed by the social workers forsocial action are no different from the general

skills; professional social worker uses theseskills by combining the ethics and principle ofprofessional social work. However the socialworker using social action as a method of socialwork requires certain skills; the more importantamong these are briefly below:

Relational skills.

Analytical and research skills.

Intervention skills.

Managerial skills.

Community skills.

Training skills


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RELATIONALSKILLS

The social worker should have skills forbuilding rapport with individual and groups andskills for maintaining these relations. He/sheshould be able to develop and maintain

professional relationship the clients. The socialworker should have the ability to identify theleadership qualities among the clientele andshould be skillful to harness these qualities for

social actions.


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ANALYTICALANDRESEARCHSKILLS

The social worker should have the ability toobjectively study the socio-cultural andeconomic characteristic of the community.He/she should be able to find out the pressing

problems and needs of the clientele. He/sheshould be able to analyses the social problems,the factor contributing to the social problemsand its ramifications on the social, economic.

Political, ideology, cultural, ecological aspectsof life. Also should be able to conduct researchand understand the impact of research studiesin a functional sense.


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INTERVENTIONSKILLS

Intervention skills: After need identification, thesocial worker should have the ability to help theclientele chalk out practical interventionstrategies to deal with the problem. The social

worker should provide various options to theclientele. Social action may requireconfrontation with authorities.


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MANAGERIALSKILLS

The social worker also needs the knowledgeand ability to handle organization, which may bethe outcome of the institutionalization ofpeoples participation. He /she should be able to

coordinate and collaborate with various groupsand local leaders so as to unite the clientele forthe require intervention.


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COMMUNITYSKILLS

These skills are highly crucial for social action.The social worker should have the ability todevelop effective public relations with localorganization and leaders. He/she should be

effectively able to communicate verbally and inwriting as well. The social worker should haveskills to educate, facilitate, negotiate andpersuade for necessary actions at needed

place.


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TRAININGSKILLS

The social worker should be able to train localleader and identified leaders for taking up thecharge of mass mobilization and confrontationwith the authorities. He/she should be able to

train selected people at the local level aimed atimparting knowledge about the social issuestaken up for action and modalities of carryingout the intervention including the confrontation

process.


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STRATEGIES OF SOCIAL ACTION

Strategy in term of social action means to

organize strike. Boycott, persuade, negotiate,bargain, etc. There is hardly any consensus onthe strategies that are possible and available,which can form the core of social actionpractice. However, three main strategiesindentified by Lees are:

Collaboration.

Competition, Bargaining, Negotiation,Advocacy.

Disruption, and confrontation


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PARTIALLISTOFSOCIALACTIONMOVEMENTSIN

INDIA

Chipko movement

Save Silent Valley

Narmada Bachao Andolan Anna Hazare's Movement Against Corruption

Baba Ramdev's black money movement


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Thus we can say, Social action can be viewed by

professional social workers as a means forimproving mass conditions , enhancing social

welfare, solving mass problems , influencing

basic social conditions and policies out of which

arise the problems of social adjustment and

maladjustment; and changing the environment.

Social action is an individual, group or

community effort within the framework of social

work philosophy and practices those aims to

achieve social progress, to modify socialpolicies, and to improve social legislation and

health and welfare services.

CONCLUSION


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Presented By Group-V

Okram Victoria, Roll no.39

Parijat Bhattacharjee, Roll no.40Pomi Patikar, Roll no.41

Priyanka Das, Roll no.42

Rahul Chanda, Roll no.43

Rajalal Barman, Roll no.44Rajashree Roy, Roll no.45

Rajiv Chanda, Roll no.46

Ringsawmile Newme, Roll no.47

Prepared By Rajashree Roy

Department of Social Work,

Assam University, Silchar

social action and social work

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