Research on Social Work Methods and Skills for Community Youth

Author: Fei Meiping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: "For Tomorrow Engineering Community Youth Affairs Research Series" is the first to conduct in-depth research on the community youth group and community youth social work from multiple perspectives such as sociology, social work, psychology, education, law, and an international perspective. It is a series of books that the Shanghai theoretical circles have closely combined with Shanghai's practical work to explore and research a localized theory and method system of community youth social work in China. It is also a new theoretical achievement of the Shanghai theoretical circles in an international perspective, conducting a comprehensive and systematic study on community youth social work at home and abroad. The series consists of seven books, including "Community Youth Social Work Research," "Community Youth Legal Research," "Community Youth Psychological Research," "Community Youth Education and Employment Work Research," "Community Youth Social Work Methods and Skills Research," "International Comparative Research on Community Youth Social Work," and "Shanghai Community Youth Work Blue Book (2003-2005)" and others.
Principles of Youth Social Work
Youth is a vibrant group. Youth social work must adhere to the following principles to ensure the effectiveness of professional services.
First, respect the value and dignity of youth. During their developmental stage, youth are particularly sensitive to whether others respect them. The value philosophy of social work also places respect in the highest priority. Although youth may perform poorly in certain aspects, or even exhibit deviant or delinquent behavior, the basic condition for social work services is to respect youth as unique individuals who possess personal value and dignity, and not to completely deny their personal value based on a single behavior.
Second, accept and care for youth. The emergence of deviant behavior among youth is often due to family neglect. Some youth on the social margins also desperately need the care, acceptance, and understanding of adults. Therefore, in the process of providing services, fully accepting and caring for youth is the driving force for their growth. Acceptance can be specifically expressed as accepting that youth are valuable, dignified individuals with positive and upward potential for development. Care involves being concerned about, close to, and valuing various aspects of youth's learning and life, and sharing their joys of growth with them while also sharing their pains of loss.
Third, focus on the individual needs of youth. Every youth has a different growth experience, and each reacts and adapts to environmental changes in different ways. Social workers should develop individualized service plans based on each youth's unique circumstances.
Fourth, assist youth in developing the ability to adapt to the continuous changes of society. The current society is one of rapid transformation, with family structures, population migration, employment pressure, and academic competition directly impacting youth significantly. In the process of providing services, social workers should fully grasp the trends of social development, align with the needs of youth's social adaptability, and through providing necessary guidance and assistance, cultivate their ability to adapt to society.
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