Social Work: Issues and Perspectives Report (Assessment)

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Updated: Feb 29th, 2024

Introduction

Social work is a discipline and a profession that includes the social theory and techniques to study and enhance the lives of the people, groups and societies. Social work is dedicated to the development of social justice, the life quality and the potentials of the people and the whole society (Sowers et al., 2008). Primarily, it addresses the social issues in different levels or economic status mostly among the needy and unfortunate people. The social workers work with different people, families, groups, organizations and community concerning about the social dilemmas, its causes, solutions and its effects (Thyer et al., 2007).

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Case Study

Martin, a 16- year old boy and in the 10th year in St. Josephs High School is facing a problem when it comes to his school, family, community, friends or social interactions with different people he is acquainted with. The information about the following areas should be studied to be able to develop a better view of Martin’s case. Martin’s life at home, the way Martin bonds with his family, his school life, how martin interacts with the school environment and reacts to the situations he encounters especially with different kinds of individuals such as his school professors, classmates, close friends and colleagues in a different manner. And the most important subject in martin’s case is the reaction of his parents, Miriam and Jean and his sister Emily.

Life at Home

Martin’s Family came from Belgium and started their living through winery and olive groves. The parents of Martin are working in a small organic grocery store to be able to increase and supplement their farm incomes. Martin has an older sister but she is not home to be an ear for martin because she stays in Sydney to concentrate on her studies.

Interaction in School

Martin has a close friend Terry who is an athletic boy and in fact he represents the school in the field of sports. Martin plays piano and practices regularly but eventually, his interests in music are fading. In addition to, Martin’s attention and focus in class is declining as he is having a hard time socialising with his colleagues in school.

Apparently, the school counselor was informed by the English teacher of Martin about him hanging out with different level of individuals seen as bad influence to a 16- year old school boy. Those people are older than Martin and said to be users of illegal drugs and in worst case scenario, associated with the rumors of being in the local gay community.

Discussion

Assessment of the Case

Martin’s relationship with his family is not as close as to the families who are physically present at home. In this case, the genogram can be viewed in a vague manner because the characters do not actually interact with each other emotionally (Ross et al., 2008). It basically depicts the working time of Martin’s parents and the absence of his sister because of her studies in other place. It is obvious that Martin is not close with his parents and they do not have an open communication. Thus, it evaluates the fact that less attention is given to Martin and more on the jobs handled by the parents which affects the behavior of the child (Grzywacz et al., 2002).

On the other hand, the social life of Martin in school with his peers and the community outside the school can be viewed as the result of being neglected at home by his parents and in some cases by his sister as well. His interests in school declined as Martin lost self- esteem and motivation to go on and excel in school. Consider him being a musically inclined person, losing interest in playing or practicing piano and being with a different group of people who takes drugs and associated with the gay community. In that case, Martin seeks other colleagues where in he can express his emotions and escape from the dilemmas that he encounters at home with his parents.

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In addition to, the social worker examined on the part of Martin’s cultural background including the place where they came from can attribute the child’s behavior in the present (Popple et al., 2008).

Intervention plan

The social worker recognised that Martin is facing a great problem in the sense of lack of attention from the family most especially the parents. Time is questionable against the parents of Martin and presence from Emily, his sister. Consequently, this constitutes the involvement of the child in school activities because the personality and whole being of a child primarily begins at home.

First, the social worker helped Martin to express his emotions and ideas about his case and be able to know the roots of the problem. This includes empathising and building good rapport with the child to get his attention and further discuss critical things about the situation.

Next, the student social worker asked for assistance from the school counselor to help communicate with the parents of Martin if not the whole family. The social worker together with the counselor discussed the reasons why the child possessed the attitude of losing interest in school and joining other peers which may bring negative effects on Martin’s character.

Theoretical perspectives

Problem solving

The main problem in this case is what Martin is facing with his family and how it negatively affects his interactions in school and his social life. Examining the given situation, it comprises Martin’s relationship with his parents and the lack of communication between him and his family. Martin’s parents are busy for their work while the attention of his sister is in studies that happen to be away from home.

The social worker should be able to discuss the case with martin personally and figure out the reasons why Martin is losing interests on the things acquainted with school activities and academics as well. Perhaps, the social worker could talk directly to the parents of Martin and trace why Martin possesses such attitudes because it may either be a result of not properly treating their child. However, the social worker could discuss the case with Martin along with his parents to be able to hear both sides and give justice for the statements of the parents and the major character.

The solution chosen to solve the problem is to talk to Martin first personally and discuss his involvement on the older people who were believed to be drug users, the reasons why Martin was motivated to engage in an illegal habit and acquaint with bad- influenced people and extract the solutions directly from the child. It means that, asking for the child’s opinion on what Martin wants to happen, whether keep it confidential and personal from other people or maybe from his parents is an effective strategy for the problem to be solved.

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The implementation of the solution to the problem should be with the school counselor and the persons involved in the case. The social worker could be the one to talk with Martin or it could also be the school counselor. The person to be in authority should be on a neutral side and not prejudge the conclusions about the possible outcomes of the case and the answers obtained from the child. After the evaluation from the child’s view, the concerned people should now analyse the situation whether to involve Martin’s external environment on the decision process of changing the child’s attitude from the present scenario and dilemmas he is facing.

The evaluation follows after the analysation. It depicts that Martin’s problem rooted from his family and resulted to have a negative impact on his attitude and behaviour. Martin lost his self- esteem and seeks attention from other people who gave him full attention (Grinell et al., 2008). Unfortunately, the people he chose to be with are terrible and may lead him in a wrong path in the future.

The Ecosystem Perspective

This theoretical perspective on social work centered on the interaction between the person and his environment. To be able to understand Martin, the social worker should study the impact of the individuals present within the family (Martin’s parent and sister), the families present within the community or may be distinguished as school (the counselor, Martin’s closest friend, his piano and English teacher, and the older people) and the influence in the actions, beliefs and choices of the child. Through this perspective, the social worker can think of an intervention on how Martin can be helped (Harrington, 2005).

Martin’s family faces the challenges of having a close communication with their son that is why they are having problems on recognising the struggles of Martin (Blalock, 1984). The parents thought nothing is wrong so they did not pay too much attention on their son; instead they focused on their work. This is the main point that is seen why Martin is some kind rebelling to be able to recognise by his parents.

On the other hand, Martin has strengths that can be identified within the school environment; his piano teacher, Terry his closest friend who has a positive character and his English teacher who told the school counselor about Martin’s attitude.

Reflections

The importance of proper parenting in the behavior of a child is a major factor in the totality of Martin’s case. The support from the parents does not only mean providing the essentials for living in the sense of material things like shelter, food, education and the like but also love in terms of attention and appreciation of the child’s achievements (Greene et al., 2008). The social worker understood that being with older people outside the school is Martin’s defense mechanism to escape from the real world of complexities with his battling emotions from the family. It is considered like being a single child seeking for love and care from his parents and hunger for the attention of a sibling (Mizrahi, 2008).

Conclusion

Primarily, Martin’s case is associated with his problem within his family. He lacks attention from his family and because of that, the child seek the attention he wants from other peers. He was then active in school and in fact he got a close friend in the character of terry that brings a positive aura, but Terry being the one who will represent the school in the athletic field is also a busy person who can not handle and assist Martin’s dilemmas regarding the case.

Despite the fact that he plays piano, it is not enough for him to be fully motivated to concentrate and draw his full attention into this field to think that he can use this craft as a defense mechanism (Grzywacz et al., 2008). Martin’s engagement with the negative people prevails that he wants an attention from people and who will give him appreciation as a person. Thus, Martin wants to be in the scene of the lives of the people who are important to him and escape from being neglected by his family.

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References

Axinn, J. and Mark J. Stern (2008). Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need, 7th edition, Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Blalock, H. M. 1984. Contextual effects models: Theoretical and methodological issues. R. H. Turner, J. F. Short, eds. Annual Rev. Sociology 10 353-372.

Greene, R. R. (2008). Social Work with the Aged and their Families, 3rd edition, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Grinnell, R. M. and Yvonne A Unrau (2008). Social Work Research and Evaluation: Foundations of Evidence-Based Practice, 8th edition, Oxford, UK; New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Grzywacz, J. G., Almeida, D. M. and Daniel A. McDonald (2002). Work-Family Spillover and Daily Reports of Work and Family Stress in the Adult Labor Force, Family Relations, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 28-36.

Harrington, A. (2005). Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Mizrahi, T. and Larry E. Davis (2008). Encyclopedia of Social Work, 20th edition, Washington, DC; Oxford, UK; New York, NY: NASW Press and Oxford University Press.

Popple, P. R. and Leslie Leighninger (2008). The Policy-Based Profession: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers, 4th edition, Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Ross, J. W., Hooper, L., Stenhouse, E. and Sheaff, R. (2008). “What Are Child-Care Social Workers Doing in Relation to Infant Mental Health? An Exploration of Professional Ideologies and Practice Preferences within an Inter-Agency Context,”. The British Journal of Social Work.

Sowers, K. M. and Catherine N. Dulmus and others. (2008). Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Thyer, B. A. and John S. Wodarski (2007). Social Work in Mental Health: An Evidence-Based Approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

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