Assignment Code: MSWE-007/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: MSWE-007

Assignment Name: International Social Work

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Answer all the five questions. All questions carry equal marks. Answers to question no. 1 and 2 should not exceed 600 words each.

Q1) Discuss the difference between International Social Work and Internationalization of Social Work Education.

Ans) Internationalism refers to the study of the many social work practises and ideologies that are utilised in various countries around the world. It promotes a wide concept of generic social work that enables the social worker to behave not as an expert with humanistic leanings but rather as a humanist with skills. This allows the social worker to be more effective in their work. In contrast to this, the conventional paradigm viewed the social worker as a specialist with a humanistic orientation. This new model takes a more pragmatic approach.

When it comes to handling cross-cultural and ethnic contacts inside one's own nation, the understanding that one gains from social work in diverse cultures is highly helpful. In addition to this, it provides suggestions that there are universal linkages between the many approaches to social work practises that are now in use. Case studies and other evidence of the development of new sorts of talents are gathered through foreign experience, which is vital for social workers in societies that respect cultural diversity. This evidence can be gained through travelling to different countries.

When it comes to the idea of "International Social Work," Devine has a very unique point of view. According to him, social work is fundamentally global because it addresses issues that occur in all parts of the world to a greater or lesser degree and because it steadfastly refuses to rely on nostrums, panaceas, wholesale, indiscriminately applied remedies. Instead, it searches persistently for tried, rational, scientific, effective, and humane measures, wherever they may be found. He says that social work is fundamentally global because it addresses issues that occur in all parts of the world to a greater or

The following are some instances of social work that could be done on a global scale, but it's not always the case.

1. Research or practise conducted on or within other nations.

2. Collaboration with researchers or educators from other nations' practises or academic institutions.

3. Study and analysis that compares on an international scale.

4. Research on south-north relations as well as support to the southern three quarters of the world.

5. Social work that transcends cultures

6. Commitment to organisations doing social work on an international scale.

7. Participation in an international conference.

It should go without saying that the internationalisation of social work and the practise of social work in other countries are not the same thing. The term "international social work" refers to the practise of social work that focuses on issues that arise either between nations or across national boundaries, as well as initiatives made across national boundaries to address these issues. In spite of the fact that international social work is concerned with and actively works to improve the lives of every person on the planet, it does not accord any particular nation or group of people a heightened significance or value.

Q2) Explain the development of Social Work and Social Welfare in South America.

Ans) It is crucial to acknowledge at the outset of our brief analysis of South American social welfare and social work that the main European influences originated in the Hispanic Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Spain and Portugal, rather than the United Kingdom, France, or Germany.

Due to the society's preference for family and close relationships over individual achievement, it was practically impossible to "work one's way up" from the bottom. Significant amounts of this culture were brought to Brazil. More widespread than everywhere else in the Americas, slavery persisted until it was abolished in 1888, and it was crucial to maintaining the economic injustices that resulted from it. The people and economies of the region were delayed in the social and political events that sparked change in neighbouring societies because it was used to excuse neglect of public education.

God, family, nation, and freedom served as the foundation of Argentina's unique culture, which is made up of many different native and immigrant groups. A concept of freedom based on the spirit of the gaucho, the cowboy of the pampas, who struggled to maintain his cultural identity and his spiritual connection to nature and who was almost exterminated while trying to resist foreign domination of those living in the cities was developed through the fusion of Spanish and Italian influences.

The colonial era's impact persisted for a long time in Brazil, partly because the South did not experience the same democratic transformations as North America did in the 1700s. The racist history of slavery made it even later for institutions to start modernising. A positivist perspective on social science was popular in Brazil from the 1880s to the 1920s, which helped to foster a medicalized school of social thinking that identified degeneration as the main social ailment. There was an impression that "the past was superior, the present was eroding or moving away from a more perfect type, a loss of status, of position, or of distinct energies.

Social work, and subsequently social welfare, must be liberated from reliance on foreign conceptions and methodologies. Rather than limiting itself to assisting its clientele in functioning more effectively in an unviable social environment, social work must further revolutionise power relations and social structures. Latin America ceased looking to Europe and the United States for solutions during the era between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s, known in social work education as the "reconceptualization" phase, and began exploring its own real potential to become a free continent.

Two fundamental schools of thought the functionalist and the historical materialist emerged from this viewpoint. According to functionalists, social workers should try to eradicate social issues and dysfunctions in order to advance national development and social harmony. Social workers' primary responsibility, according to historical materialists, is to assist the poor in overcoming oppression and marginalisation. This goal is partly achieved through conscientization, the concept of consciousness awakening popularised by Brazilian educator Paulo Friere.

However, Maria Lorena Molina, then-president of the Latin American Association of Schools of Social Work, made the suggestion in 1992 that professors speak out against economic, political, and social injustice, both inside and outside the classroom; create appropriate conditions for students to get adequate knowledge and values in order to commit themselves to the search for human dignity and equality, without discrimination regarding diversity. Conflicts over the establishment and upkeep of just societies as well as the fair distribution of resources to meet fundamental human needs continue to centre on social work and social welfare.

Q3) Answer any two of the following questions in about 300 words each: 10x2

a) Discuss about the values and beliefs of International Social Work Practice.

Ans) Estes has described the values and beliefs of international Social Work as Follows:

Wide agreement exists within the profession concerning the orienting values and practice as-assumptions of international social work:

1. Social, political, and economic events occurring in any region of the world have direct, often immediate, and sometimes lasting consequences on the quality of life and human rights in all other regions of the world.

2. The underlying dynamics of human degradation and social injustice found in local communities often emanate from social, political, and economic forces that are international in character.

3. International social forces both contribute to and sustain social inequalities in particular locales.

4. Only under conditions of peaceful coexistence can local, national, and international social development and, in turn, human development be accelerated.

5. The need to restructure the national and international social orders is particularly urgent to reduce the profound, largely unnecessary, levels of human misery, degradation, and violence that persist in many countries and regions of the world.

6. International social work specialists possess a unique body of knowledge and skills that can positively affect the national and international social situation, especially in helping to find sustainable solutions to recurrent local, state, national, and international social problems.

7. Substantial numbers of international social work specialists acting individually and collectively are continuing the national and international social movements begun by their predecessors toward the establishment of a more peaceful and socially just world order.

These orienting values and beliefs are far-reaching and provide a framework for integrating the diverse social change activities engaged in by international social workers. These values and beliefs also bear directly on the purpose, goals, and structure of professional programs of development education.

b) Define the need for International Social Work Education.

Ans) In light of globalisation, there are numerous social issues that need to be addressed in international social work education. Today's social work education aims to address the problems and issues that the globe is currently confronting, rather than remaining inside the confines of its native territory. International social work education is required in order to think locally and act globally. However, social work education and practise globally are being significantly impacted by globalisation, the new wave of technology breakthroughs, as well as the interconnectedness between and among individuals, communities, and nations.

Social workers are constantly working to find solutions to both local and worldwide issues due to the growing global social challenges. In order to address issues like health, nutrition, employment, literacy, welfare, and governance, community-based practise must be more completely realised in light of the emergence of global forces that exacerbate disparities within nations like India. Global concerns and issues can be addressed through international social work education, including individual and group empowerment, institution building, community building, nation building, region building, and world building. The practise of international social work can also be used to contest present global social policy and programme trends that negatively impact disadvantaged groups.

The areas that can be addressed through international social work education to create peace, prosperity, and potential globally include human rights, social development, advocacy, poverty, and social justice, as well as responding to conflicts, natural disasters, transnational issues, transcultural issues, and the needs of displaced populations such as immigrants and refugees. Modernity's demand for international social work is mostly driven by causes like modernization, globalisation, and social progress. Development practise in social work can be seen as a movement, a perspective, and a practise style, according to the late Daniel Sanders.

Q4) Attempt any four of the following in about 150 words each: 5x4

a) Describe the history of International Social Work.

Ans) Social work as a profession began in Amsterdam in 1899 and later spread concurrently throughout Europe and the United States. Eventually, in the 1920s, it found its way to other places in the world including South America, the Caribbean, India, and South Africa. The formation of the International Association of Schools of Social Work and the International Federation of Social Work in 1928 and 1929, respectively, gave impetus to the profession in organizing social work practitioners and educators from around the globe. These two major international social work organizations have also provided leadership in connecting international agencies and international development organizations to social work worldwide. Social workers have played and continue to play a vital role internationally in promoting humanitarian assistance, post disaster development and reconstruction, and social and economic development.

b) Explain the emergence and growth of Social Work Discipline in Pacific Region.

Ans) Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Island, Nauru, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Somoa, and others are among the nations in the Pacific region.

Australia

Australia is situated in Oceania, halfway between the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is the smallest continental land mass and the sixth-largest nation in the planet. With a roughly 70,000-year history, it is an old country for the indigenous Australians. This state's history officially began as a British penal colony in the late eighteenth century. As a federal parliamentary democracy, Australia is a sovereign autonomous state that belongs to the Commonwealth.

New Zealand

Located roughly 1,600 km southeast of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand is a sovereign island nation. It consists of many smaller islands as well as two sizable islands, the North and South islands, which are divided by the constricting Cook Strait. Maori, a Polynesian ethnicity, were the first inhabitants in New Zealand, arriving there about 1,000 years ago. The first European settlers arrived in the 1820s. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, a land rights agreement between Maori leaders and the British government, established British sovereignty.

c) Enlist the UN Agencies involved in development and relief work.

Ans) The United Nations is a part of the UN system, which also includes numerous funds, programmes, and specialised organisations, each of which has a distinct mission, executive authority, and budget. The six organisations that make up the UN are as follows:

1. General Assembly

2. Security Council

3. Economic and Social Council

4. Trusteeship Council

5. International Court of Justice

6. Secretariat.

Though all the organs function together, it is the Economic and Social Council's job to oversee matters related to development and welfare. The Economic and Social Council is home to several organisations, each of which has its own funding and programmes. Each of these organisations has its own membership, funding, and administrative centre. Their standings within the UN are very different.

d) Discuss about the role of social workers in international organizations.

Ans) Social workers bring a special set of expertise, abilities, and outlook to their jobs. Social work education promotes a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to solving social issues. They adhere to the principles of justice, liberty, equality, and human dignity. They think that people have inherent value and the capacity to overcome issues. As a result, the scope of social work's mandate transcends racial and national barriers.

There are numerous roles that are suited for social workers, but a significant majority of them do not require a social work degree, according to a study done on worldwide occupations in the development and relief sectors that were listed on employment websites. Most organisations just required applicants to have the knowledge, abilities, and experiences necessary to carry out development and relief programmes. These qualities are likely to be present in social workers due of their education and background.

Q5) Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each: 4x5

a) Social Work in France

Ans) During World War II, the Vichy government put them in charge of keeping people in line. During the modern era, this job had a clear structure and was mostly driven by cases. Most of the time, teachers are the ones who tell social workers about problems. Once the social worker knows about a problem, it is up to the social worker to take the right steps. In some cases, a teacher and a social worker work together in a direct way. Normal procedure, though, is for the teacher to tell the principal educational adviser. This person is in charge of making sure the school runs smoothly and helps students learn in the best way possible.

b) United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

Ans) UNHRC is an intergovernmental body that is part of the UN system. Its job is to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights around the world, as well as to look into situations where human rights are being violated and make suggestions about how to fix them. It can talk about all situations and issues related to human rights that need its attention throughout the year. It meets in Geneva at the UN Office. The 47 UN Member States that make up the Council are chosen by the UN General Assembly. The UN Commission on Human Rights was replaced by the Human Rights Council. The UN Special Procedures were set up by the former Commission on Human Rights and are now run by the Human Rights Council.

c) Global Regulatory Bodies

Ans) Global regulatory bodies set standards and advance the social work profession internationally. This is another fundamental element of any professional practise. Following its formalisation as a profession, social work began to be taught as a discipline in universities and colleges. It began in the USA first, and subsequently spread to other regions of the world. Social workers were needed in a variety of contexts, and diverse methods of intervention were necessary. It was then apparent that in order to establish standards and preserve the quality of practise, the regulation of the profession and its education should be done on a global scale.

d) IFSW

Ans) In 1956, IFSW was set up to promote social work around the world. It is a worldwide organisation that works for social justice, human rights, and social development by promoting social work, best practise models, and making it easier for countries to work together. At the moment, IFSW helps its 116 country members by giving the profession a voice around the world. The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and the United Nations Children's Fund have given IFSW Special Consultative Status. IFSW also works with the World Health Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

e) International Social Issues

Ans) International social issues are seen as obstacles and threats to people's social and material well-being all over the world. It talked about all kinds of social and economic problems in different countries and across political borders. International social issues have to do with the social and economic growth of people. They include things like war and terrorism, people's ability to make a living and stay alive, environmental damage, health and safety, social and political issues, socioeconomic inequality, etc. These international problems affect people in many ways and have short-term or long-term effects on the world as a whole. So, the professionals in international social work give their critical point of view and suggest ways to stop and get rid of these problems.