Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare (Seventh Edition)

Author: (American) Zastrow
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: This book aims to spark students' interest in social work and provide an experiential "taste" of the true nature of social welfare and social work. Using a social problems model, it describes how people are affected by issues such as poverty, child abuse, emotional distress, gender discrimination, alcoholism, crime, AIDS, physical and intellectual disabilities, racial discrimination, overpopulation, rape, and other problems. It also explains the nature, extent, and causes of these issues. In teaching introductory social work courses, I and many colleagues have found that students become more interested when they are directly confronted with the catastrophic social environments people experience. The book also includes a series of cases that help readers identify who needs help. Knowledge about social problems can equip and motivate students to explore other parts of the book, which covers current services, their strengths and weaknesses, and new projects needed to fill service gaps. Additionally, the book includes the following:
● Encouraging students to think about contemporary controversies in social welfare. I believe cultivating students' critical thinking skills is far more important than simply providing them with trivial content for exam memorization.
● Providing information on social work intervention models that readers can use to serve clients and promote positive change.
● Offering insights into the dual nature of major social problems in our society, which readers can use when forming their own positions.
● Providing examples of the roles, responsibilities, satisfactions, and frustrations of social workers, which can help students considering social work as a career.
● Offering a brief history of social welfare, social work, and various social services.
● Including content on social problems and social services in the United States and other countries in every chapter to help students develop an international perspective.
● Describing the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)’s course policy statements, allowing readers to understand the council’s conceptual framework for undergraduate and graduate social work education.
● Helping readers clarify their own values regarding welfare recipients, single parents, ex-offenders, mentally ill individuals, divorcees, AIDS patients, abused parents, minority groups, and discriminated-against individuals. The purpose of this is not to impose a particular set of values on readers but to help them develop a value system that makes them feel comfortable and functional when interacting with others.