History of Social Work Education In India and World

Introduction

Social Work education developed at the end of the 19th century out of social agencies’concerns about improving the quality of services for poor and dependent people. Human problems were perceived as being more complex than what had been previously believed.

By the end of the century, conviction was growing that educational programmes were necessary to ensure the continuity of services and supply a cadre of trained agents. (Frumking & Lloyd, 1995).

The thrust of this paper is to provide an overview of social work education around the world by tracing its historical roots and its emergence as a professional discipline. It also focuses on the current trends, such as the role of continuing education programme and the use of electronic technology in social work education. Before going into social work education, let us get a glimpse of how social work emerged as a profession.

Social Work as a Profession

Social work is a professional discipline today. Social work in its various forms addresses the complex transactions between people and their environments. Its mission is to enable people to enrich their lives and develop their full potential. Social work is an interrelated system of values, theories and practices.

Education for the profession requires a fundamental understanding of human needs, social problems, social welfare responses, and professional interventions. It is a field of study that has uniquely blended perspectives from other disciplines, particularly the biological and social sciences, with its own knowledge and skills.

 

Emergence of Social Work as a Profession

Social work as a profession emerged from the charity orientation of the Church to the State’s role in public welfare. The decreasing authority of the Church and the increasing tendency to shift responsibility to governmental authorities gave rise in England to a series of measures, which culminated in the famous Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601.

The movements and organisations, which originated in Great Britain, were replicated in the United States when the English colonizers settled in the New World. The early movements, which ushered in the social work profession, were the Charity Organisation Society (COS), the Settlement House Movement and the Child Welfare Movement.

The beginning of professional approach to the problems of human need can be seen in the philosophy of COS movement. The “scientific charity” attitude adopted by the COS enabled them to understand and cure poverty and family disorganisation rather than merely assisting the poor. Many of the basic principles and methods upon which social work rests today are a direct offshoot from the Societies and movements.

In the 1890s, there was a felt need and a strong desire among COS personnel for granting professional status to social work. Among the many reasons, which contributed towards professionalism, are:

1) First, professionalisation was a major trend during that era. Medicine and engineering had demonstrated the wonders that could occur when science was applied to practical problems through the vehicle of a profession.

2) Second, most COS workers were individuals who needed to earn a living; they were interested in establishing their work as deserving a decent wage. This goal could be achieved by gaining recognition as professionals.

3) Third, a new class of women, who were well educated and wanted careers outside the home, was emerging. Developing charity work into a full-fledged profession, in which they would not be blocked because of their sex, was a good strategy.

4) Fourth, paid charity workers as well as volunteers were discovering the immense complexity of the task they were facing. Helping people deal with social problems like family breakdown and poverty was as complicated as those performed by physicians or lawyers. Poorly educated persons were failures as charity workers.

It is on account of the above mentioned reasons that by the late 1890s, a powerful movement to develop training and research centers as well as to train and equip people doing charity work gained momentum.

 

Social Work Education: Historical Perspective

Social work education is a phenomenon of the 20th century. Society expects that the work of helping people with personal and social problems must be handled with professional competence and accountability.

The roots of social work education can be traced to their international beginnings in Britain and some countries in Europe towards the end of the 19th century. From Europe, the profession spread to United States, Africa, Asia and South America.

Social work education evolved from the work of the Victorians in London who attempted to develop models of charity work and the first two-year full-time teaching in social work as early as 1899 in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Institute of Social Work Training is credited to be the first two-year training programme with theory and practice.

Though the very first school of social work was in Netherlands, the real beginnings of social work education can be found in Octavia Hill’s training of volunteers in housing management and ‘friendly visiting’ in the 1970s. She worked in the slum neighbourhoods of London and initially trained volunteers and later full-time workers. John Ruskin, an art critic, encouraged Octavia Hill in her work and financed her activities.

The Barnetts, who founded Tonybee Hall for men, were not interested in training. Hence, the initiative for training activities was taken by the women’s settlements, foremost among them being the Women’s University Settlement established in 1887 in London by women graduates of Oxford and Cambridge. The training pioneered by this group evolved into organised courses, and ultimately, into professional education for social work.

Another noteworthy beginning in Europe was the one-year training course in social work for young women, initiated in Germany by Alice Salomon in 1899. Salomon, one of the founders of the International Association of Schools of Social Work, was an outstanding leader in social work education and women’s rights. Her course in 1903 became the Alice Salomon School of Social Work, which was, for many years, the accepted model for social work education in Germany.

The beginning, thus, made in Britain at the close of the 19th century, developed into organised education for social work in Continental Europe and North America early in the 1900s and somewhat later in other continents.

North America

The first step in the effort to establish charity work as a profession was the establishment of training schools. Many writers, notably Anna Dawes (1893) and Mary Richmond (1897), argued in their published articles the need for education and training of personnel and the development and systemization of the accumulated knowledge and expertise gained by social workers.

The Summer School of Philanthropy, a six week long program, the sponsorship of the New York Charity Organization Society, which began in 1989, was a pioneering effort at formal professional education. The program consisted of lectures, visits to public and private charitable agencies, and supervised fieldwork. In 1903, the program was expanded to include a six-month winter course in 1904; it was extended to one full year as the New York School of Philanthropy. Later, it became the New York School of Social Work and since 1962, the Columbia University School of Social Work.

Other cities, namely, Chicago (Chicago Institute of Social Service, 1903), Boston (School of Social Workers, 1904), Missouri and Philadelphia, quickly followed New York’s lead and established professional schools for the training of charity workers.

It must be mentioned that there were many African American pioneers in social work whose work is generally not recognized in social work education. With many predating the formal establishment of social work as a profession, these pioneers in social

welfare include: Harriet Ross Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ellen Craft and Catherine(Kathy) Ferguson, all of whom were born into slavery. Ferguson (1774-1854) started the first Sunday school in New York City, and her home became a school for poor African American and white children in 1793. She operated the Murray Street Sabbath School for 40 years. (Leashore, 2001)

Other Continents

 In later years, the pioneering efforts of Europe and US spread to South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

a) South America

In South America, two remarkable men, Dr. Rene Sand of Belgium and Dr. Alejandro del Rio of Chile, launched the first school in 1925. Both were physicians, pioneers in social medicine and social welfare. The School, later renamed the Alejandro del Rio School of Social Work, offered a two-year programme. The curriculum was heavily weighted with subjects and field placements related to health. As the School flourished, many of its graduates became the pioneers of social work education throughout Latin America.

b) Africa

In South Africa, schools patterned on the British model were established since 1924. The first institution was a three-year diploma at the Cape Town and Transvaal University College. The first degree course was established at the University of Stellenbosch in 1932.

The early South Africa schools, with a few exceptions, were admitting only white students. The first school to qualify non-white students as social workers is the Jan H. Hofmeyr School of Social Work, established by the YMCA in Johannesburg in 1947.

Hofmeyr, a philanthropist and a member of Parliament, and Dr. Ray Phillips, a missionary, were responsible for establishing the school. Many graduates of the school, of whom Winnie Mandela is one, work in government, political and social welfare agencies.

c) Asia

The first institution to be established in Asia was the Department of Sociology and Social Work, Yenching University in 1922. It was a four-year course with a Bachelor of Arts degree. However, it did not survive the Communist revolution and, therefore, was suspended.

Hence, the credit for starting the first school of social work in Asia goes to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, which was established in 1936 and became a university in 1964. Clifford Manshardt, an American missionary from Chicago, established the Nagpada Neighborhood House in Bombay and later collaborated with the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in housing the school in his institution and becoming its first Director. His collaborator, Dr. J.M. Kumarappa, a well-known educator with MA and PhD degrees from Columbia University, later followed as the first Indian Director of the Institute.

The one difference, on account of historical reasons, from the American and British pattern, is that Indian schools of social work include Labour Welfare and Personnel Management courses as well.

Schools of social work in the Asian Region, by and large, operate at graduate level, function within university frameworks, which are, in turn, part of the larger governmental and related bureaucracies (Rao, 1993.)

d) Australia

Australia initially developed a social work tradition, largely derivative of UK and USA models, and has only lately developed more indigenous theory, practice and publication.

The first social work training institutes, numbering five, were established outside universities prior to World War II (between 1929 and 1937), in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. These first schools offered general social work training via a two-year undergraduate course and a one-year medical social work specialization, which could be taken after the general training. The early leaders of these programs were largely British women trained in medical and psychiatric social work.

In Australia, the practice of social work is largely carried out under government auspice and to a lesser degree under non-government (voluntary) and religious auspice. Approximately two thirds of social workers are employed by federal and state government social service agencies, while the remaining one third is employed in a variety of non-government and religious organisations.

After glancing through the origins of social work education in the different continents, it is essential to get a fair idea of the situation of social work education as it appears today.

Social Work Education: Present Scenario

Social Work Education in the United States, frequently referred to as the HollisTaylor report (1951), was a landmark study of social work education. The report influenced the social work curriculum throughout the following decade and inspired the creation of the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) in 1952. CSWE is the only national organisation that represents both baccalaureate and master’s level social work education.

Curriculum concerns were explored by CSWE’s extensive Social Work Curriculum Study (1959), also referred to as the Boehm study. The Boehm study was instrumental in refocusing attention on group work, community organisation, administration, and research.

The History of Social Work Education in India.

History of social work education goes back to 1936 when Tata School of Social Work was established. Sir Clifford Marshardt an American Marathi Missionary thought of empowering and giving training to the manpower who will be equipped and trained with the knowledge, skills and training for should bring different kinds of responsibilities in the field of social work.

This school was based on the patterns of social work schools in USA but it had characteristic features in respect of social work interventions in industries to improve the conditions of workers Placed in industrial settings.

It is noteworthy that UGC started its first short-term course in social work in collaboration with Social Service League in Bombay in 1920. In this course voluntary workers engaged public welfare work.

Beginning of Social Work Education in India.

The first -training in for social workers started in 1936 by the establishment of Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work, 1936 in Bombay, now Mumbai. It was the only institute which gave social work education till independence.

After independence, Kashi Vidyapeeth started its course in Ahmedabad who gave social work education since 1947. In 1948, Young Women’s Christian Association of India started Delhi School of Social Work with financial assistance from Foreign division of American Young Women’s Christian Association and it got its recognition from University of Delhi. Baroda also started teaching social work as a part of university system.

Lucknow University also started its Diploma in social service in the J.K. Institute of Sociology and human relations which was then replaced by Master of Social technique and then finally it started Master of Social Work.

Subsequent to freedom, in Varanasi a new college of social work was opened up which became famous with the name of Kashi Vidyapeeth.

In 1947, in Ahmedabad social work education began by the University of Gujarat. North Young Women’s Christian Association in India started up Delhi School of Social Work in the year 1948.

This institute got affiliation from University of Delhi in the year 1961. In Baroda, M.S. University stated teaching social work as an integral part of the university system from the year 1949.

Lucknow University also started up its diploma program in social service with the efforts and help from J.K. Institute of Sociology and human relations.

This course then got replaced with two years course of Masters of Social Technique (MST). And finally in 1954 it became masters in social work. In the year 1954 Madras School of social work also got established. Then there were a lot of schools and departments of social work started coming up in different parts of the country.

Beginning stages of social work curriculum

In the beginning stages of social work curriculum preparation here were three major areas or knowledge:

Knowledge extracted from the social services which even included the social research methods.

Knowledge about the social service and including the methods of social service administration.

Specialized knowledge of different fields of social work.

 

Social work instruction included the knowledge about the fields and research methodology. It enabled practitioners to become aware of the real nature of social work problems and also to get to know about the different methods and techniques of doing social work education.

Social work is field where Specialization is focused mainly. For the stress requiring social work the multiplicity of factors must be included. This includes the following factors:

Difficulty in making curricula in the fields to be covered Academic contention between the teachers of different methods of developing authority, Demand for personnel with specialized training for the employers in the selected fields.

In the Factories Act 1948, where specific provisions were made under section 49 whose qualifications were laid down for relevant rules which involved Master’s Degree program in social work. It gave specialization in labor welfare and industrial relations.

 

The minimum qualifications for this course were Bachelors. It was thought that it exist in the availability of employment opportunities. The fields are very wide in this area and it brought debates in the field between social workers. Social work lecturers first participated in the seminar of Udaipur in the year 1982.

When the concept of social welfare was adopted in the part of 1950 then it came up in the directive principles of state policy. Our Indian constitution kicked out the un touchability which was practiced in the past against SC, ST, and the other weaker sections of the society.

All the plans which were made for the development gave rise to the different sectors of society which included the welfare of community, family, planning, and various other activities related to the field of social work. The area and span of social work education began to increase day by day.

In the year 1991 only government of India gave structure to the programme and they have started practicing the liberalization, privatization and globalization policy which helped in the incessant efforts and constant support from the people of India in the area of social work. Before 1991 there was least efforts were taken up by the citizens of the country.

The true essence of democracy lies in the democratic participation of people. Country has taken up a turn in 1991. Which leave the burden of promotion of people’s well being which in majority of cases have applied with the hopes from them because of prime concern of fulfillment of their own vested interest.

Most of these schools were centered in basically three states Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka but only a few of them exist in North East.

The next problem raised which have that there were scarcity of teachers and the universities were not able to fill those positions. Quality of social work education was not upto the mark.

Different professions were given more importance like business administration, human resource management, industrial psychology, labor laws, etc. its association got established in 1959 with the improving standards of social work. It did not performed the role due to many reasons like policy Taking, planning formulation and oddice barriers.

After even 70 years of the prevalence of social work the, situation of the profession is still very poor. Politicians and some other professionals also did not know what is social work. In the higher education also it was taught as a different discipline and the scholars made it well established.

Social workers used to sit in the four walls only and they did not have much work to do. They were not even able to bring any kind of improvement in the. lives of the people.

They used to go in the disaster prone areas to the destitute and reflected upon the sincere efforts to find the causes of failure which have learnt the lesson from the past and get ready for the future.

Any profession if it wants to develop must have to prove its worth in the eyes of society. It must improve its effectiveness of services rendered by professionals with least developments in the filed.

It is difficult for the Indian people to conceive that there could be professionals around called social workers to be approached when facing personal or family problems. The reason is not far to see. Helping each other in the Indian traditions is a noble cause.

Every body therefore shows eagerness to help every body else. Why in that case someone pay a social worker? Since the very concept of professional social work is missing from the Indian minds, trained social workers are going to find it very difficult to establish roots in this country. It is also to remember that profession wise it is the clients who approach the professionals and not the other way round.

Conclusion

Social work knowledge has proliferated in the US as part of efforts to attain professionalisation in social work. Since Flexner’s statement in 1915 that social work failed to meet this test of professionalism, a great impetus was given to knowledge building in social work in the United States. Further, there is heavy dependence on American social work knowledge all through the world. Social work education in developing countries is based on the Western model. In other words, the American urban models of education are adapted to countries that are primarily rural in character. The liberal values and beliefs of American society that have shaped the profession’s orientation of self reliance and self determination may not fit into the cultural ethos of many countries and, therefore, not acceptable to them. The problem is of adapting knowledge developed in one context and fitting it or using it in another context/country. Indigenous social work knowledge is a must for indigenous social work education and professional practice. Hence, there is the need for countryspecific strategies by social work profession.

The challenge to social work and social education, today, is to hold on to its beliefs and values, remain flexible to changing times and to stand up for social justice and human rights.