English social work) is a type of professional activity, the content of which is determined by the processes taking place in the socio-economic, political and spiritual spheres of society. S. r. is to provide state or non-state professional assistance and assistance on a temporary or permanent basis to an individual, group of persons, community in order to ensure a decent lifestyle, material and cultural level, to provide the necessary qualified protection to an individual or group of persons in a pre-crisis or crisis situation.

Special attention S. r. gives to socially vulnerable segments of the population: the elderly, the disabled, orphans, single, large and single-parent families, etc.; covers the problems of socio-economic, legal and interpersonal relations in health care, education, labor, production and leisure areas; involves the provision of individual or group assistance through counseling, patronage, organization of rehabilitation measures, use of a wide range of social services; It is aimed at activating and mobilizing the intellectual and physical potential of a person. On Wednesday. psychological, sociological, pedagogical, psychotherapeutic methods are used.

In the developed countries of the West S. of river. exerts a targeted influence on the formation and implementation of the social policy of the state, the development of legislative activity. As a practical activity that requires special professional training, S. p. known since the end of the 19th century. in European countries and North America. Widespread and developed in foreign countries ah in the 1st quarter of the 20th century. In the Russian Federation, as a professional activity, it began to develop since 1991 (V.N. Chigir.)

SOCIAL WORK

A professional field that combines psychology, clinical psychology and sociology. Social work aims at applying social-scientific principles to social problems. Although this area is difficult to limit, in particular because new problems, theories and procedures tend to expand its scope, it is usually divided into three broad areas: (a) studying the living conditions of disadvantaged families and helping them, with a focus on individual and family therapy; (b) group work with an emphasis on working with informal groups, minors, churches, etc.; (c) relationships with communities, with a focus on local organizations, neighborhood groups, institutions, etc.

Introduction

The concept of "social work" in 1900 was proposed by Simon Patten in relation to the activities of volunteers in the settlement. Today, its semantic meaning has expanded significantly and does not have an unambiguous interpretation, as it is associated with various support strategies for people in need. Depending on the narrow or broad understanding of social work, the boundaries of the subject cognitive area are outlined, which in many countries of the world is defined differently, which is a consequence of national and cultural traditions.

Social work is understood as a purposeful activity in society, aimed at helping various categories of people in need. Such activity can act at several levels: macro-, meso- and micro-level.

The concept of "social work"

The concept of "social work" identifies a certain area of ​​scientific knowledge about the process of helping and the difficulties that arise in a person's life scenario as a result of various biosocial and sociopsychological factors. This concept combines a certain logic of the scientific approach, which, on the one hand, comprehends itself as a certain reality, and on the other hand, the personality and its problems in society as a specific spatiotemporal and sociocultural continuum. In this regard, we are talking about the multidirectionality of knowledge: knowledge as self-cognizing and as knowing another reality. From here we observe a fairly large scatter of topics, judgments, related and united general concept- social work. Among them: social planning, sociopsychological counseling, social services, gestalt therapy, alcoholism, physical and mental disability, social management, etc.

In addition to scientific definitions and descriptions of the essence of knowledge of social work, there are also implicit approaches related to ordinary ideas about this phenomenon. These representations exist both among clients, subjects in need of help, and among paraprofessionals who are related to social work, but have not yet appropriated its language and professional myths. Thus, students of one of the French schools of social work shared the following ideas about the essence of social work, which they saw as:

• * factor of public balancing act;
• * factor fixing public order;
• * a conscious form of social policy;
• * figurative criticism.

Despite the fact that it is possible to describe and structure the field of knowledge, determine possible boundaries, single out the subject and object of knowledge, it is not possible to give an exact definition today. This process is observed in almost all countries where social work exists. And if in the USA knowledge of social work is associated with ideas about specific activities that allow subjects to restore and maintain the ability to social functioning, then in England this knowledge is focused around the principles of organizing individual assistance.

The diversity of views and ideas about the essence of knowledge of social work does not yet allow us to talk about the unity of approaches to the phenomenology of the process of assistance, however, the diversity of approaches indicates its presence. Apparently, the philosophy of cognition of social work is revealed in this contradictory logic, when unity is manifested in diversity.

Social work is a concept that identifies a certain profession in society. However, the concept of social work combines diverse professional activities. Professional activities related to family counseling on the upbringing of children and social work on resocialization not only have different objects of assistance, but also require specific skills, abilities and knowledge in solving various types of tasks.

Social work in the context of the profession expands and concretizes the understanding of the process of assistance in relation to certain categories of subjects, to certain activity forms. Hence, the most important dominants, revealing the metaphorical concept of "social work" in the context of the profession, will be the morphology of activity, professional roles of a social worker, professional myths. In their totality, in their key, they represent the concept of social work. Social work is basic concept, which identifies a number of disciplines that reveal the process of helping and mutual assistance in a community. Representing a number of disciplines, this field of knowledge is designed to form a holistic view of the essence of assistance in society, methods of supporting various categories of the population, and provide the necessary set of information about a person in maladaptive and anomic situations among future professionals. In this regard, social work as an academic discipline is aimed at the formation of cognitive structures of the individual, at the formation of the conceptual field of a professional and his professional mythology.

As a social phenomenon, social work is one of the types and ways social activities having its own specifics. This type social activity is active, its object and subject are people, and main goal and means - the achievement of a social result in the life of a person, the whole society.

phrase "social activity" semantic content is ambiguous. In one context, it is used to refer to the nature of activity in society as a whole. In another sense, the phrase "social activity" is often identified with the activities of people in the social sphere, within which the formation and development of the social structure, social institutions, and the social status of a person take place. But most often social activity is associated with the concepts of "social policy", " social partnership”, “social security”, “social welfare”, “social work”, etc.

Social work as a practical activity is aimed at support, personal development, rehabilitation of individual and social subjectivity of a person. It is carried out at professional and non-professional levels. The non-professional level of social work is voluntary (charitable) assistance, professional social work is realized through the functioning of a number of specializations aimed at solving specific human problems (medical, legal, economic, educational, etc.).

The object and purpose of social work as a type of activity is a person in various states and on various stages their age development. In this sense, it is an essential factor in the social reproduction of society as a whole and of the individual in particular.

The boundaries of social work as spheres of social action can be defined only in specific spatial and temporal coordinates, since at the professional level social work is largely limited by the framework predetermined by the social policy of a particular state in a specific time period of its historical development. Social work is characterized by continuity, which is due to the fact that social and humanitarian problems in society, as well as theoretical and practical approaches to their resolution, arise in parallel with the development of both the society itself and the individuals that make it up. The scope of social work as a social activity is expanding simultaneously and accordingly with the expansion and complexity of the nature and scope social connections in society.

Social work is a social activity in its various manifestations, which is aimed at helping people in difficult life situations (individuals, social groups, communities) to achieve a sufficient level of social functioning.

In the foreign experience of social work, two main models coexist, based on a different understanding of human nature and its social values ​​and social problems. One of them is characterized by a "corrective", "punishing", "encouraging" style of working with an individual, and the other - "encouraging" or "supporting" style. The first model can be called “through a person to society”, within which the main responsibility for social welfare is assigned to the person himself, and the second - “through society to a person”, when the social share of responsibility for the well-being of an individual is large enough. Undoubtedly, in the real practice of working with the population, there are many combinations of methods and technological techniques that underlie both models. Nevertheless, the gravity or shift of the center of gravity towards the "punishing" or "encouraging" model is typical for any country.

The purpose of social work is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives and prevent life's difficulties. Professional social work aims to solve problems and achieve change. As such, social workers are agents of change in society.

A holistic or holistic approach involves considering the levels of social work at which it is carried out and on which its functions, forms and methods depend. However, in understanding their essence, there is no uniformity to date. So, in foreign literature, individual and family social work, group social work are singled out; community service(work with the community at the macro level); social administration and planning.

In domestic approaches, the following levels of social work are distinguished: micro-, meso-, macro-, and meta-levels.

Yes, on microlevel social work is carried out with an individual on a specific case (case work), social work with a family or family therapy. This level of social work is seen more as a practical psychosocial activity, which is presented primarily in individual work with the client. Social work at this level is aimed at solving the following professional tasks:

• providing assistance to an individual who finds himself in a difficult life situation, through support, counseling, rehabilitation or the use of other types of social services;
• actualization of the self-help potential for people who find themselves in a difficult life situation;
• activation of the potential of one's own strengths and capabilities of a person;
• carrying out preventive work to prevent the occurrence of negative factors affecting the life of an individual or group.

Thus, at the micro level, social work is built on the basis of client requests, and in this case, the paradigm of assistance is quite wide: from individual counseling to social patronage.

On the mesolevel a community method of social work (community organization/clevelopment) or territorial (communal) social work is implemented jointly with local governments. Social work is deployed on the basis of specialized social services specialized in social services for problematic groups of the population. Practical work with socially vulnerable groups of the population is aimed at preventing difficult life situations, at rehabilitation and adaptation of these groups to new unusual living conditions. This level involves the combination of social work with social policy aimed at the implementation of specific social programs on a local scale.

Consequently, at the mesolevel, social work acts as a kind of activity to provide assistance to various groups of those in need, moreover, the paradigm of assistance here is quite broad. In particular, groups of people in need can be defined by the state. In this case, the strategy of assistance to the least protected categories of citizens will be determined by the state social policy. The priorities of social support can be set by individual charitable organizations, whose activities may be related not only to the distribution of humanitarian aid, but also to the organization of the most important areas of clients' lives.

In foreign experience, specialists in communal social work provide assistance to public organizations, self-government bodies in organizing and improving social services, holding cultural and recreational activities.

On the macro level social work is carried out at the level of society as a whole, in this case it acts as a social policy that can be aimed at solving the following social problems:

• ensuring an adequate level of well-being;
• minimizing poverty and unemployment,
• prevention of crime and drug addiction, etc.

Macro-level specialists of social work are faced with the task of purposefully influencing the formation and implementation of social policy at all levels (from municipal to federal) in order to ensure a socially healthy living environment and life of the population. The effectiveness of the implementation of social programs is ensured by the interaction of state, public, charitable institutions in the field of social protection of citizens). Thus, at the macro level, social work is associated with social administration, where issues of a legislative nature, organization of an assistance infrastructure, and determination of a set of measures to regulate social problems are resolved. The most important forms of activity and existence of the assistance process are socio-political actions, the organization of the functioning of social services designed to regulate public relations in situations of social tension.

Metalevel social work is presented from the standpoint of science, where the theoretical provisions of social work are summarized.

Individual work with the client includes communication with the client one-on-one, face-to-face, if social problems require outside intervention. Such work is connected with helping the client in regulating his relations with his immediate environment or in eliminating social or economic pressure on him, which delays or limits his development as a person.

This work includes: helping an elderly person to find financial support due to him, including resolving issues pension provision helping an orphan in his attempts to establish his rights as a person or find adoptive parents who would like to adopt him. In other cases, this work may include helping a homeless person, providing financial support to a person in need, advising those in prison who are about to be released on parole, and so on. Individual work is carried out in a variety of ways. social institutions such as hospitals, mental health clinics, family counseling centers, child adoption agencies, day care centers, social welfare departments, nursing clinics, nurseries, maternity hospitals, schools, single care centers and institutions for the maintenance of juvenile delinquents, mentally retarded or people with physical and mental disabilities.

Group work is intended for the intellectual, emotional and social improvement of the individual through group activities. Group work differs from individual work in that, in contrast to the experience of one-on-one interaction, in a group, the social development of the individual occurs most intensively. Naturally, when organizing group work, it is impossible to make a group of clients with heterogeneous needs. Moreover, it is desirable to select clients with similar needs, life experiences and goals for group work. The tasks of group work include further socialization of the individual and the exchange of information between group members, changing their social behavior to improve relationships with others.

The organization of social work at the place of residence is a process of stimulating and assisting social workers of the municipal district in assessing the state of affairs, in planning and coordinating efforts to ensure the health, welfare and recreation of the population. It is difficult to determine the nature and extent of the real activity of the organizer of social work at the place of residence without getting acquainted with the needs of the inhabitants and finding out the resources for their satisfaction in the given district. Therefore, these activities include researching people's specific needs, aligning social workers with those needs, supporting and encouraging participation in these activities, and playing a catalytic role in stimulating and sustaining the level of additional effort on the part of the municipality.

In Russia, such activities usually began at the initiative of organizations of the disabled or pensioners, groups of interests and hobbies. In past years, pioneer and Komsomol organizations have been responsible for taking the initiative in implementing many remarkable programs of work in the community.

In public practice, social work is carried out in professional and non-professional - voluntary activities. Voluntary activity of citizens and legal entities is the provision of disinterested (gratuitous) or concessional support, including cash, provision of services, etc. In federal law"On charitable activities and charitable organizations" (1995) established the foundations legal regulation this activity, possible forms of its support by the authorities state power and local self-government, the procedure for the creation and operation charities and their closures.

In theoretical approaches, charity is considered in three main systemic relationships: charity and politics, charity and morality, charity and economy. Thus, the political basis of charity is realized in the function of the state to "implement the good" in the form of reducing beggary and poverty in ensuring the social health of society. In particular, in 1987 the first independent public Children's Fund was created in the USSR, which provides charitable assistance disabled people and orphans, collecting donations from the population and enterprises.

Charity as a system of economic mechanism acts as a kind of public service in the form of charity for the poor, free education and medical care. In this case, social charity is implemented in the following areas: ensuring "public health", organizing a system of assistance to those in need, practical socialization and social patronage.

In recent years, in addition to state structures assistance, a network of public and voluntary societies who are actively involved in the provision of social assistance to those in need. Charitable organizations, as subjects of non-professional social work, have their own social programs, a financing system, and in some cases, production capacities to solve problems. Thus, over 500 charitable organizations are currently registered in Moscow, most of which provide assistance to the disabled, large families, lonely elderly people.

Volunteer associations (associations) are spread all over the world, and in recent years their number has been constantly increasing in our country. There are several types of organizations in the structure of the voluntary (third) sector:

• charitable foundations;
• charitable societies or associations;
• self-help groups (eg Alcoholics Anonymous);
• non-traditional, author's programs with the involvement of volunteers (health services, theaters, workshops).

Volunteering acts as a voluntary acceptance by a person of duties to provide gratuitous social assistance, services, patronage of the disabled, the sick and the elderly, as well as individuals and social groups of the population who find themselves in difficult living conditions. Volunteering as a movement is becoming more widespread among pupils and students and is gaining momentum. organizational forms at the regional and interregional level. The motives for joining the ranks of volunteers can be very different: moral and religious convictions, the need for communication, activity, the realization of one's abilities, public and state recognition, the desire to acquire new job or profession, etc.

Self-help groups are extremely individual in their structure, content, goals, value orientations, attitudes and activities. Some distance themselves from the official social assistance apparatus, while others work closely with it. Some strive to adapt their members to the outside world, while others are interested in changing society itself and public opinion.

Thus, self-help is one of the forms of alternative culture, which makes it possible to hope for one's own goals and makes it necessary to actively use them.

The main problems of non-professional social activity are a rather limited circle of social assistance recipients, insufficient resources, lack of professional and specialized knowledge, spontaneous nature of activity, the possibility of criminalization, etc. Despite the importance of volunteering, as the institution of social work develops, the need for highly qualified professionals and the demand for specialized social services.

Social work

Social work- professional activities in organizing assistance and mutual assistance to people and groups in difficult life situations, their psychosocial rehabilitation and integration. In its most general form, social work is a complex social phenomenon, an independent field of scientific and practical knowledge, a profession and an academic discipline.

As follows from the definition of social work adopted by the International Association of Schools of Social Work and the International Federation of Social Workers on June 27, 2001 in Copenhagen, “the professional activity of social workers contributes to social change, solving problems of human relationships; contributes to strengthening the capacity for a functional existence in society and the liberation of people in order to increase their level of well-being. Using theories of human behavior and social systems, social work promotes the interaction of people with their environment. The principles of human rights and social justice are the foundation of social work.”

The concept and status of social work

Regarding the status of social work in modern science there are three points of view:

• Type of activity and applied science.
• A type of activity and science that has both an applied and a fundamental component.

Source (author)	Definition
Klygin S.	Social work is a type of professional activity aimed at helping individuals, groups of individuals, communities in difficult life situations to achieve, restore or enhance the ability to psychosocial functioning.
Kholostova E. I.	Social work is the activity of helping individuals, families, groups to realize their social rights and in compensation for physical, mental, intellectual, social and other shortcomings that impede full social functioning.
Kupriyanov B.V.	social work is the management of the use of resources of a person, family or community in a difficult life situation.
Bagretsov D. M.	Social work is a specific type of professional activity, the provision of state and non-state assistance to a person in order to ensure the cultural, social and material standard of his life, the provision of individual assistance to a person, family or group of people.
Social politics. Encyclopedia	1) Social work is a type of professional activity based on subject-integrated, interdisciplinary methods of formation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of sustainable social integration or reintegration of individuals and groups. 2) Social work is a complex social technology for the implementation of social protection of the population, social management, social policy in relation to socially vulnerable groups of the population.

Social work as a science

Each science must have an object, subject and methods of research, principles, laws, theoretical models, conceptual and categorical apparatus and its place in the system of sciences. Social work is no exception. Social work as a science can be understood as a field of scientific knowledge about the laws governing the process of using the internal and external resources of an individual, family or community in situations of disruption of social functioning (B. V. Kupriyanov).

Object of study

The object of science is a certain area of ​​reality, a set of certain phenomena, processes that this science studies.

Object of social work - system social relations(sustainable links between subjects, groups and strata of society). Some believe that the object of social work is a person. But with this understanding, a person is considered abstractly from his social ties (and society is a system). The object of social work is not only individuals, but also social groups. In social philosophy, Marx said: "Personality is understood as a system of social relations." Opponents of this point of view believe that with this approach, a person is lost as an individual unique subject, his individual content is lost: the reduction of the individual to the social or the individual dissolves into the social. If individuals or groups are considered as an object, then this must be considered within the framework of those social ties in which they are included in a real society. Social work studies the same object (society) as a number of other humanities (sociology, for example). Yes, the same object is studied by different sciences, but each of them singles out and investigates its own specific subject. The object of social work is a whole range of social relations (social support, social assistance, social rehabilitation), which has not yet been studied by specialists of any science.

Subject of study

The subject of the study of science is a side, a cut, a certain aspect of the object, which is studied only by this science and no other. The subject of science is directly related to its object, but does not coincide with it. If an object is a fragment of reality that exists objectively (that is, regardless of whether it is studied by a person or not), then the object is singled out by a person within the framework of the object.

The subject of social work is not all social relations, but a group of relations that are the most problematic, that is, they lead to destabilization, social disorganization, an increase in social tension, the emergence of social conflicts, people getting into difficult life situations; as well as the patterns of interaction between the subjects of social work in the optimization of social relations (in the process of forming the ability to restore social subject). Social work studies activity, that is, the introduction of an active subject into the subject of social work (I. S. Romanychev)

patterns

The first group of regularities of social work (patterns of functioning and development of the subject of social work):

1. the relationship between the social policy of the state and the content of social work in society;
2. relationship between goals social development and the level of development of social work (although these goals are formulated in the fundamental documents, it is rather vague in the works of theorists and experts, but an analysis of the activities of social services allows us to draw a conclusion about the direction of such development; in particular, a certain change in priorities in the activities of social services, which began mainly as an activity to help the elderly and disabled, and recently the focus has shifted to helping street children and adolescents, families at risk, etc.);
3. dependence of the effectiveness of social protection on the structural completeness of the system of governing bodies and functioning;
4. the dependence of the effectiveness of social protection on the social orientation of consciousness and the activities of the personnel of government bodies.

The second group of patterns of social work (patterns of communication between subjects and objects of social work):

1. the general interest of the social worker and the client in the specific results of their interaction (both subjects must be active in solving problems);
2. compliance with the powers and responsibilities of a social work specialist;
3. compliance with the general level of development of a social work specialist.

In itself, theoretical knowledge of patterns does not guarantee their systematic use in the daily practice of social work specialists. Patterns are just some guidelines that a social work specialist should know. Therefore, in practice, a social worker most often proceeds from the typicality of clients' problems, uses, first of all, those conclusions and rules that are formulated by science and practice on the basis of open patterns.

Principles

The principles of social work are important building blocks of the logical forms of scientific theory and fundamental rules of empirical activity.

Groups of social work principles:

• general philosophical principles underlying all sciences about society, man and the mechanism of their interaction (the principle of determinism, the principle of reflection, the principle of development, etc.);
• socio-political principles express the requirements due to the dependence of the content and direction of social work on the social policy of the state (the unity of the state approach in combination with regional features of social work, the democratism of its content and methods, the legality and fairness of the activities of a social worker);
• organizational principles (social and technological competence of personnel, the principle of control and verification of performance, the principle of functional certainty, the principle of unity of rights and obligations);
• psychological and pedagogical principles (the choice of means of psychological and pedagogical influence on clients of social services, the need to take into account individual characteristics in the implementation of any socio-technological procedures, the purposefulness and targeting of social work).

Specific principles of social work that determine the basic rules for the provision of social services to the population:

• the principle of universality (no discrimination of clients on any grounds)
• the principle of protecting social rights (providing assistance to a client cannot be conditioned by a requirement for him to waive his social rights).
• principle of social response
• preventive principle
• principle of client-centrism
• self-reliance principle
• principle of maximizing social resources
• confidentiality principle
• principle of tolerance.

Thus, the system of laws and principles of social work is the foundation on the basis of which all the practical activities of a social work specialist (L. I. Kononova) are built

Theoretical models

1. psychologically oriented (the causes of a difficult life situation in the human psyche, therefore, assistance should have a psychological and pedagogical coloring; the ability to regulate the resources available to a person);
2. sociologically oriented (the object of social work is a system of social relations that give rise to maladjustment of the individual, family, society; they sharply criticize traditional approaches to understanding the essence, content, and significance of social work);
3. complex-oriented (focused on a holistic vision of the problem of protecting the vitality of a person as a biosocial being; attention to the process of interaction between the individual and society) (L. V. Topchiy, I. S. Romanychev)

Conceptual-categorical apparatus

The most important component of the system of logically ordered knowledge is the conceptual apparatus of science - a set of concepts, categories and terms that allow in a generalized form to reflect the phenomena studied by this science, as well as the connections between them by fixing their essential properties, features and patterns.

It is customary to distinguish between the concepts of two levels. First, these are concepts that reflect the empirical experience of social work, the results of observations and experiments. Secondly, concepts formed by interpreting primary concepts (concepts of the first level) and logical operations on them.

Classification of concepts according to the degree of generality:

1. general scientific (subject, object, interaction, cause, effect, regularity, system, element, connections, relations, development, change);
2. concepts social sciences(society, culture, person, individual, personality, activity, consciousness, behavior);
3. concepts used in social work and in related disciplines(deviant behavior, anomie, socialization, adaptation, rehabilitation, counseling);
4. specific concepts of social work (individual social work, group social work, social protection, socio-psychological counseling, difficult life situation, social service, social orphanhood, escapism).

Research methods

The method is a set of methods of activity of subjects of social work, considering the social problems of clients as a way to stimulate their forces and constructive activities in society in order to change an unfavorable situation. Methods - ways of knowing reality.

Methods of the social sciences: sociology, psychology, social psychology.

• empirical (do not imply impact, methods of collecting information):
  • observation: included and normal. In social work, as in many types of activity, research tasks may be associated with tasks of practical impact, therefore, some methods may have a dual status (as a method of research and as a method of practical activity), that is, they can combine elements of both, if not at the same time, but sequentially.
  • survey: questioning, testing, interviewing (open and closed);
  • method of expert assessments;
  • sociometry;
  • diagnostics;
• information processing methods:
  • biographical (it is usually preceded by some kind of survey): involves the collection of information and its processing using diaries, memoirs, letters;
  • autobiographical;
  • family biography method;
• methods of theoretical analysis;
  • content analysis (comparative analysis);
  • systems approach.

Nomothetic Methods: aimed at generalizing empirical facts and identifying general objective laws (regularities) - these are generalizing methods, that is, general ones. Assumes a transition from special cases to general laws. The goal of science is seen as the discovery of these general laws.

Idiographic methods. In modern science, the main methodological opposition is manifested in the opposition of 2 methodological approaches: the paradigm of natural science knowledge and the paradigm of socio-humanitarian knowledge. The paradigm of socio-humanitarian knowledge is based on the ideas that in the life of society and a person in many cases it is impossible to establish general patterns, since social systems are more complex, connections in systems are open. Each person, the system of relations in which he is included, is unique, individual, unique, therefore the task of science is to comprehensively study and describe this individual case. The methods that are used in such a study are called individualizing. This kind of research in modern social sciences is called "work with the case" (M. V. Vdovina).

Place in the system of sciences

Interdisciplinary connections in the study of the problems of man, society and the nature of their interaction are realized through comprehensive research. The relationship of social work theory with other theories is based on traditional systems approach models. The identification of the interaction of social work with other sciences showed its interdisciplinary nature, as well as its difference from such related fields of knowledge as sociology, psychology, etc.

In the study of the causes that give rise to social problems, the description social processes, social relations, when analyzing the characteristics of social groups, social work as a science inevitably uses scientific ideas, the conceptual tools of other social sciences, whose subject is close to the subject of social work (sociology, psychology, etc.) (I. S. Romanychev)

Social work as a professional activity

Activity is a set of human actions aimed at the desired change in an object. For a social worker, this is a person who needs help, unable to solve his problems without outside help.

Thus, social work is an activity, moreover, a professional one, aimed at helping people who need it (those in a difficult life situation), who are not able to solve their problems without outside help. life problems, and in many cases live (Pavlenok P.D.).

Any activity, including social work, has its own structure, where each element is organically connected and interacts with others, performs its functions. Social work is an integral structure, which consists of the following elements: subjects; content that is revealed through functions; means (organizational, technical, financial, etc.), management and goals.

The purpose of social work as a professional activity is, on the one hand, to satisfy the interests of the client, and on the other hand, to maintain stability in society. The best option The solution to this problem is to find a compromise between these two goals.

The essence of professional social work is the "triple image" of Gordon Hamelton's "person-in-situation".

Social work as an academic discipline

Social work as an academic discipline is a systematic presentation with educational goals of the basic theory and practice of social work in relation to the profile of an educational institution.

Tasks academic disciplines- to convey the knowledge obtained by science to students in the most acceptable and accessible form.

In the structure of the university training of a social worker, 3 levels were allocated to the external form of the training system, including 11 independent blocks (for example, familiarization with domestic and foreign experience, study and analysis normative documents, analysis of various social situations, internship in social services, self-development of students).

The training of social workers is based on the principles of humanism, tolerance, and practical orientation.

Students study disciplines in four cycles:

1. general humanitarian and socio-economic;
2. general mathematical and natural sciences;
3. general professional;
4. disciplines of specialization.

Russian social work in the public mind

Social work in Russia is very young. But there are many other professions that have also become known to Russians quite recently. An example is such professions as an auditor, broker, dealer, image maker, advertising agent, system integrator, etc. All of these professions in the early 90s were no more familiar to Russians than social work. And now these professions are known and attractive to Russian youth which cannot be said about social work.

Story

Europe and USA

World experience in the field of social work suggests that with the help of social technologies it is possible to resolve social conflicts in a timely manner, relieve social tension, prevent disasters, block risky situations, accept and implement optimal management decisions. For foreign countries, the state remains the main source of funding. Social work in the European dimension exists in close relationship with social policy and thus social institution which is, in particular, the welfare state. Importance for formation abroad modern system social assistance was provided by the principles of the Elberfeld system. In the middle of the XIX century. it spread throughout almost the entire territory of Germany and part of France. Based on these principles:

The independence of each guardianship in considering particular issues and the centralization of the general direction of affairs;

Individualization of assistance with a detailed examination of each person in need;

Involving all sections of society in active participation in the charity of the poor.

Russia

Social work in Russia as a type of activity has a long history. The following periods are usually distinguished:

Archaic period (before the 10th century)

This period is characterized by the presence of tribal and communal forms of assistance among the Slavs. In the ancient Slavic communities, the following forms of assistance and mutual assistance can be distinguished:

• Cult Forms of Support . The archaic paradigm of help is closely connected with the pagan world outlook, attitude. This is also reflected in the existing methods of assistance:
  • Magi Institute- Regulator of public relations. They arranged funeral games of the family, made important decisions in crisis situations. For example, widows washed and dressed the dead, for which they received the things of the deceased as a “gift”.
  • Collective forms of assistance are associated with concepts such as redistribution(redistribution) and reciprocation(interchange, see Potlatch). In particular, it found expression in brotherhood(assistance in harvesting), in the division of labor.
  • Holiday Institute. Closely related to the mechanisms of distribution and redistribution.
• Communal tribal forms of assistance . These forms of support are closely related to rope(mutual responsibility), through which care was taken for the weak and infirm:
  • Tribal rites of veneration of ancestors - feasts, funeral competitions, games, meals. These days, a certain alms were donated (“right”).
  • Institute of the Elders - various forms support for the elderly (including feeding at home).
  • Orphanage Institute. Primacy Institute- Admission to the family of orphans by elderly people, when it was already difficult for them to cope with the household or they did not have heirs. Fetimization- appointment of an orphan who does not have a household, "public" parents (feeding at home). If an orphan had a household, he was called "vyhovanets", "godovants", and adoption did not occur.
  • Institute of widows - help for widows. Appears shortly before the adoption of Christianity.
  • Walking for "bulk"- a kind of ritual to help a woman in need, usually in the fall after harvesting.
• Economic forms of assistance . The early forms of aid were of a ritual nature, and many retained the form of folk festivals.
  • "Help". Off-season “help” is associated with crisis situations (fires, floods, mass loss of livestock). At the same time, assistance was provided with the housework, they gave away part of the food, clothing, livestock (for example, “outfits in the world”, orphans and widows “help”). Seasonal "help" associated with agricultural work. At the same time, there was a collection of products for public needs (therefore, such holidays were called ssypki, worldliness, ssypshchina), it was also a form of " public alms".
  • Toloki- a type of assistance that included joint cultivation of the land, transportation of hay, land, manure.
  • clubbing- joint feeding, joint preparation of fodder for livestock.
  • Supryaga- sharing of working cattle.
  • Hero cult. The most striking expression is the princely feasts, where everyone (including the poor, the sick) took part.
  • Ransom of prisoners.

The period of princely and church-monastic charity (X-XIII centuries)

The change in the paradigm of assistance is associated with a change in the socio-economic and socio-cultural situations, primarily with the baptism of Russia in 988. Christianization had a decisive influence on all spheres of society. Ideas about the salvation of the soul, philanthropy, spirituality, mercy, shame and conscience were of the greatest importance.

The period of church-state assistance (XIV - second half of the XVII century)

The period of state charity (second half of the 17th century - second half of the 19th century)

The system of state charity developed in Russia under Catherine II, who issued a decree in 1763 on the opening of the Moscow Orphanage, in which even orphans under 3 years old were admitted. In 1770, such a house was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1764 - a decree on the founding of an educational society noble maidens- Smolny Institute. A year later, a school was opened at this institute, in which girls of beggarly origin were admitted. Having ascended the Russian throne, after the death of Catherine 2, in 1796, her son Pavel 1, put his wife, better known as Maria Fedorovna, at the head of the educational society. A year later, she stood at the head of the imperial educational houses and a commercial school for boys. Back in 1776, orders of public contempt were created in all provinces of Russia, which dealt with issues of helping those in need. These issues, later, in the 19th century, were actively dealt with by the department of institutions of Empress Maria. In connection with the reform of local self-government, begun in Russia, in the 60s of the 19th century, the functions of orders of public contempt for the Zemstvo. By the end of the last century, Russia had accumulated a lot of experience in helping those in need, which, however, seemed to be largely unclaimed until our days.

Period of public and private charity (late 19th - early 20th centuries)

State provision period (1917-1991)

In the first post-revolutionary years, the activity of the Soviet government was aimed at improving the well-being of the working people. From December 1917, the "Unemployment Insurance Regulation" was introduced. At the same time, the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars "On insurance in case of illness" was issued. In April 1918, the People's Commissariat of State Charity was transformed into the People's Commissariat for Social Security (NKSO). This meant that the issues of social security of the working population became the core of state policy in the field of social assistance. A public and free system medical care for the population. In the autumn of 1918, the All-Russian Social Security Fund was formed, the procedure for creating which was determined by the “Regulations on the social security of workers” dated October 31, 1918. 20-30s. - fight against child homelessness; 1923 - cooperative organizations of the disabled began to be created; 1923 - All-Russian Society of the Blind; 1926 - All-Russian Society of the Deaf and Dumb; 1928 - old-age pensions for workers in the textile industry; 1929 - old-age pensions were introduced for workers in heavy industry and transport; war time". In July 1944 benefits for mothers and pregnant women were increased. After Stalin's death, changes were made to social policy. Successful social policy made it possible to reduce mortality, the growth of industry, the improvement of housing construction, and the increase in wages. By the mid 80s. from 10 to 20%, the size of the increment to the old-age pension for continuous service was increased for workers and employees who have worked at the same enterprise for at least 25 years. A 50% discount was introduced on medicines for pensioners. Partially paid leave was introduced for women. But in the early 80s. living standards began to decline. The country is in need of reform social system and its important part - social security. Attempts to reform were made during the period of perestroika, as well as in the 90s. in the conditions of independent development of the Russian Federation.

Social work period (1991 - present)

Social work as a profession appeared in Russia on April 23, 1991, when, in accordance with decision No. 92 of the State Committee for Labor and social issues new specialties appeared in the list of professions - social worker, social pedagogue and social work specialist.

Social Worker's Day

• The Day of the Social Worker is celebrated in the Russian Federation on June 8 in accordance with the Decree of the President of October 27, 2000 No. 1796.

The training of students in the specialty Social Work began in September 1991 in 20 universities in Russia. Now you can get higher education in this specialty in almost 200 universities of the country. The coordinating university for scientific and methodological training was the Russian State Social University, on the basis of which an educational and methodological association (UMO) of Russian universities in the field of social work was created.

Currently, most universities train specialists in social work, but in connection with the Bologna process, there is a gradual transition to the training of bachelors and masters in the field of social work.

There is also the possibility of obtaining a profession within the framework of secondary specialized (vocational) education. However educational establishments are not widely represented here. Currently, 52 educational institutions are training social workers.

Subject of the federation	higher education institution	Secondary educational institution
Republic
Adygea	branch in Maykop
Altai	Gorno-Altai State University
Bashkortostan	Bashkir State University,	Tuimazy Law College Bashkir Economics and Law College (Ufa)
Buryatia	Buryat State University,
Dagestan
Ingushetia
Kabardino-Balkarian	Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov,	Kabardino-Balkar Pedagogical College (Nalchik)
Kalmykia
Karachay-Cherkess	Karachay-Cherkess branch
Karelia	Petrozavodsk State University	Pedagogical College No. 1 (Petrozavodsk)
Komi	Syktyvkar State University	Pedagogical College No. 3 (Vorkuta) Higher Pedagogical School (college) No. 1 (Syktyvkar)
Mari El Republic	Mari State Technical University
Mordovia	Mordovian State University named after N. P. Ogaryov	Saransk State Industrial and Economic College
Sakha (Yakutia)
North Ossetia	North Ossetian State University named after K. L. Khetagurov
Tatarstan	Kazan State Technological University Kazan Medical University Kazan Social and Legal Institute	Pedagogical College No. 1 (Kazan) College of Economics and Construction (Naberezhnye Chelny)
Tuva
Udmurt	,	College of Finance and Law (Izhevsk)
Khakassia	Khakass State University named after N.F. Katanov
Chechen		Grozny Technical School of Informatics and Computer Engineering
Chuvash	branch of the Russian State Social University in Cheboksary
The edges
Altaic	Altai State Technical University named after I. I. Polzunov,
Transbaikal	Transbaikal State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University named after V.I. N.G. Chernyshevsky,
Kamchatsky	branch of the Far Eastern State Technical University in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Krasnodar	Institute of economics and management Branch of the Kuban Institute of International Entrepreneurship and Management (Kropotkin)	State Pedagogical University in Armavir
Krasnoyarsk	Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering	Achinsk Pedagogical College	Tchaikovsky Polytechnic
Seaside	Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service	Bolshekamensk Technical College Far Eastern State Humanitarian and Technical College (Vladivostok)
Stavropol	North Caucasian State Technical University North Caucasian Social Institute
Khabarovsk	Far East Academy of Public Administration
Areas
Amurskaya	Amur State University
Arkhangelsk	Northern Arctic Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov,	Severodvinsk Technical College
Astrakhan	Astrakhan State University	Astrakhan Social - Pedagogical College
Belgorodskaya	Belgorod State University,
Bryansk	Bryansk State University named after Academician I. G. Petrovsky
Vladimirskaya	Murom Institute, branch of Vladimir State University, branch of the Moscow Psychological and Social Institute in Murom
Volgogradskaya	Volgograd State Medical University	Volgograd Pedagogical College No. 2
Vologda	Vologda State Pedagogical University	Bratsk Pedagogical College No. 1
Kaliningradskaya	Russian State University named after Immanuel Kant
Kaluga	Kaluga State Pedagogical University named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky
Kemerovo	Kemerovo State University	Anzhero-Sudzha Polytechnic College
Kostroma	Kostroma State University named after N. A. Nekrasov,	Nerekhta Medical School
Kurgan	Kurgan State University,	Kurgan Technological College
Kursk	Kursk State Medical University Kursk Humanitarian and Technical Institute Kursk Institute of State and Municipal Service
Leningradskaya	(Gatchina)
Lipetsk	Lipetsk State Pedagogical University
Magadan	Northeastern State University
Moscow	Russian State Agrarian Correspondence University (Balashikha) Institute of Business, Psychology and Management (Khimki)
Murmansk	Murmansk State University for the Humanities
Nizhny Novgorod	Arzamas State Pedagogical Institute named after A.P. Gaidar,	Nizhny Novgorod Aviation Technical College Nizhny Novgorod Pedagogical College Russian-German University
Omsk	Omsk State Pedagogical University
Penza	Penza State Pedagogical University named after V. G. Belinsky,	Penza Pedagogical College
Pskovskaya	Pskov State Pedagogical University CM. Kirov
Rostov	Branch of the Russian State Social University in Azov	Azov State Humanitarian and Technical College Ryazan branch of the Moscow Psychological and Social Institute	Ryazan Medical College
Samara	Samara State Academy of Culture and Arts Samara Medical Institute REAVIZ	Provincial College (Pokhvistnevo) Samara Social and Pedagogical College Volga Cooperative Institute of Tsentrosoyuz Russian Federation(Engels)
Sakhalin
Sverdlovsk	Ural Institute of Social Education, Branch of the Russian State Social University in Yekaterinburg	Smolensk Pedagogical College
Tambov	Tambov State University named after G. R. Derzhavin, branch of the Moscow Psychological and Social Institute in Uvarovo
Tverskaya	Tver State University, branch of the North-Western Academy of Public Administration in Tver	Tver Polytechnic College
Tomsk	Siberian State Medical University
Tula	Tula State Pedagogical University named after L. N. Tolstoy	Zaoksky Christian Multidisciplinary College
Tyumenskaya	Tobolsk State Socio-Pedagogical Academy. D. I. Mendeleev,	Tyumen State College of Professional and Pedagogical Technologies
Ulyanovsk	Ulyanovsk State University	Ulyanovsk Socio-Pedagogical College No. 1
Chelyabinsk

Today, the competence of social professionals cannot be limited only by the ability to help people in difficult life situations. Social worker must know and be able to prevent modern risks, identify the causes of clients' vulnerability and contribute to the achievement of social well-being of both individuals, various social groups, and society as a whole.

Modern understanding of social work enshrined in the "global" definition formulated by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW):
"Social work is a practical profession and an academic discipline that contributes to social change and development, promotes social cohesion and strengthens the ability of people to function independently in society, their emancipation. The principles of social justice, human rights and respect for diversity are central to social work. Based on theories of social work, social and human sciences, specialized knowledge, social work involves people and structures in solving vital problems and improving well-being."
International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), Global Definition of Social Work, 2014.

"Social work today is a sphere innovative technologies, creative approaches, opportunities career development, and most importantly, social work is a real help to people. including our loved ones." O.I. Borodkina, Doctor of Social Sciences Ph.D., Professor of the Department of Theory and Practice of Social Work, Expert of the Educational and Methodological Association of Russian Universities in the field of "Sociology and Social Work", co-organizer of the International Summer Academy "Social Work and Society"

"Social work is that part of the social sciences that took over the functions of early sociology. At the beginning of its existence, the founding sociologists wanted to understand how to rebuild the world, and today sociology has abandoned such an agenda and is engaged only in social diagnostics. And social work is engaged in precisely this, i.e. the improvement of society, albeit at the micro level". I.A. Grigorieva, Doctor of Social Sciences n., k. filos. PhD, professor of theory and practice of social work, member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Journal of Social Policy Research

"Social work is an activity akin to healing. A variety of social work is medical and social work aimed at protecting and supporting physical and mental health (of an individual, collective, population as a whole), contributing to their achievement of social well-being. Medical and social work is an organized highly professional activities in and out of health care facilities, with a particular focus on health-related social problems". V.M. Wednesday, d. med. n., Professor of the Department of Theory and Practice of Social Work, President of the Interregional Public charitable foundation"For a Healthy Generation on the Threshold of the 21st Century", UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) consultant.