Research Approaches in the Social World - Essay Example

?Research Approaches in the social world Part Word count: 1075 The field of health services is a very broad field and encompasses the fulfilment of human needs through a range of measures and activities from several disciplines. Human services are characteristic of integration of knowledge from an array of disciplines and stress measures to avert as well as come up with solutions for problems. The discipline aims to promote the health and quality of life of the populations. People who have acquired a degree in the field of human services qualify for entry-level work in number of companies and organizations such as hospitals, government organization and agencies, non-profit organizations etc. The role of the human services professional is to make an analysis and evaluate the needs of the clients of the employers they are working. Their work is focused on the alleviation of problems of the community and so work closely with it. Human services careers which require a high level of expertise often necessitate the candidate to have a master’s degree in human services. However, people with a bachelor’s in human services have also worked their way to higher salaries from entry-level positions (Chance 2011). In this regard, I have chosen the role of a social worker working in the broader field of human services. Social work has a lot of scope. Social work professionals have regional as well as overseas opportunities for working (James 2007). For a human services graduate there are a number of options available with respect to the nature of the organization he or she can join. For instance, NGOs, government organizations, clinics, hospitals etc are potential employment places for human services graduate seeking to go in social work; therefore, employment can be sought both in the private and the public sector. There are employment opportunities for human services professionals in the military too. In the military, human services officials are required provide counselling and social work services to the officers. A human services degree can be instrumental for social worker. The role of social workers is to collaborate with communities and clinical setups to promote the health of and provide support to communities. In the military, a social worker is required to give guidance and advice to individuals who ask for it and to have a one-to-one session with the client if required. The social worker assumes a number of roles while working with the community. Looking closely at the roles and responsibilities of a social worker, I believe that I have many characteristics that make me eligible to work join social work. One of the main roles of a social worker is that of an educator, educating the clients about various issues (Chechak 2011). For this purpose, the social worker needs to have adequate knowledge of the subject and must be able to relay the information effectively to the client. In this regard, I believe that my social skills and participating in extracurricular activities during my academic life as well as my experience as a volunteer for social work have all contributed in the development of experience and professional attitudes. The client may ask any question from the social health worker and so I should adequately increase my knowledge about the common social issues and think up of interventions. Moreover training programs in the field of public health can also go a long way in increasing knowledge about the common health ailments of the society. If I intend to work in as a social worker with a background of human services, I would need to take training for Management of Equal Opportunity Programs etc. Another characteristic of a social worker is that he is an enabler and convinces the client to change his attitudes to suit his wellbeing. The social worker is responsible for providing support and hope to the client. The worker plays an integral role in the identification of the strengths of the client and in promoting them (Chechak 2011). In this regard, I believe that my personal compassion can go a long way in supporting the clients. It is observed that a human services degree holder entering into the field of social work can make use of a diverse assortment of skills and expertise including knowledge regarding community resources, advocacy, empowerment of the client and networking with the community to synergize community support organizations. They make sure that the client achieves their greatest level of functioning through direct and indirect ways, which the human services professional is required to work with. Moreover, the human services professional is also required to be a proficient analyzer since he or she would be often required to judge the eligibility status of the clients for benefits including Medicaid, food stamps and transportation. Interprofessional team building is also a requirement for human services professionals and they should be competent enough to work with people from a diverse variety of backgrounds. Leadership qualities also come into play if the professional is managing and supervising a food bank for example. I believe the experience I gained from my extracurricular activities can aid me greatly in this aspect. Working as human services professional also necessitates that the individual has certain background knowledge and experience regarding psychology. This is because the job demands the individual to recognize the nature of the working of human systems ranging from an individual to entire organizations such as the military. The professional must be aware of the basis for various social interactions and be able to comprehend motivating factors, group dynamics, personal development, professional advancement, organizational frameworks and how communities are set into a certain order. Another area the professional must be competent is that what is the basis for interactions amongst social systems which give rise to social problems. Another competence required is that the professional must be able to identify the factors that impede the efficient functioning of the clients and classes of digressions from intended performance in human services frameworks. In this regard, professionals of human services should have knowledge of models of causation which culminate in limitations to the maximal functioning of the individuals and associated with both progressing factors and rehabilitation. The professional is thus required to be knowledgeable about a range of models relating to medicine, sociology and psychology. When assessing myself, I believe that I do have basic knowledge in psychology due to my readings in the field as well as the knowledge gained by studying human services. However for greater professional expertise, a training course in psychology can be helpful. Part 2 Word count: 509 OBJECTIVE Competent and motivation-driven social worker with social interaction skills and good communication; having in-ground knowledge of and hands-on experience in Social Work processes and operating structures, I aim to deliver tailored and detailed support to the clients and fulfil their needs in order to make individuals and communities reach maximal and efficient level of functioning. PERSONAL INFORMATION Name Address Email Date of birth Nationality Gender PROFILE SUMMARY Competent at keeping a balance between work and personal life Advocate activities against social issues such as human trafficking and child abuse Having knowledge about psychology Enjoy travelling and working with people with a broad range of backgrounds KEY SKILLS Research experience Training Personal skills I have good interpersonal skills and am able to interact with people well. Being highly competent at counselling, I believe that I can offer the Social Work profession all that it requires. Working with a mindset that integrates critical reasoning and analysis has made me capable of being a good analyzer and make quick decisions in a short span of time. My leadership skills and ability to work in teams are also imperative armaments for my potential career in Social Work. My knowledge and education, as well as an innate trait to delve into and perceive the basis for events that are occurring, have equipped me with a strong familiarity regarding the social problems ailing the community. Consequently, I am able to comprehend the reasons behind people acting in certain ways- a skill that I believe will assist me greatly in counselling my clients. I believe that I will be able to effectively balance the quality of the work I do with the limits that I am required to be in. A human services profession calls for individuals to work with the utmost quality of work but taking into account safety considerations Organizational skills The volunteer work and internships that I have done have made me aware of the work environment I will be exposed to. I have learnt the art of being organized in my work, sorting out files and arraigning them in a particular sequence. I have worked with organizations where I have appreciated the need to present papers in an orderly fashion for legal and professional purposes. Also, my job has also made me competent in this aspect, since I am called upon to assist the clients in becoming more organized as part of their counselling. Technical skills I have basic skills in maintenance of domestic structures. My computer skills encompass using MS Office and Adobe Photoshop along with Internet browsing. EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Internship as a Social Work Assistant Roles and Responsibilities: providing counselling to the disabled, collecting case files and organizing them, providing psychosocial analysis to the clients, volunteered in the organization of a conference regarding outreach programs, provided family planning advice to families in the rural areas, writing assessments and reports analysis of the activities that I and other members of the multidisciplinary team participated in. REFERENCES References available on application Part 3 Word count: 1051 Reflection forms an integral component of learning. This is because reflection serves as an important bridge between what knowledge the student acquires in the class and what practical experience he is gaining from working in the community. In classes dealing with service-learning, reflection is critical in applying the knowledge the student has assimilated in classes in the community outside the parameters of the institution. There are several qualities of effective reflection. Reflection should be continuous and must occur before and at the end of the process. Moreover it should be challenging and must have the ability to push oneself to think beyond the obvious. It should connect the work experience with the course content and must be structured in a way that suits the context in which the student is to work (Cress, Collier & Reitenauer 2005). Keeping these qualities in mind, I will reflect on my personal, academic and professional development. The SOAR card will be used to identify my strengths and areas of development. The S in the SOAR card stands for self-awareness. Self-awareness is an essential trait since it differentiates humans from animals and determines our responses to various stimuli. This means that humans have the will to choose what they desire to be and to react to different responses according to their own will. Self-awareness entails that the individual knows his or her personal characteristics and knows the sort of person he wants to be in the future (Nygaard & Holtham 2008). In this regard, the self-MAP concept comes into play. Self MAP- Motivation, Ability and Personality- is a way of defining who the person is at that particular phases of life (Kumar 2008). When evaluating myself using this concept, I asked questions such as am I motivated to pursue a career as a human services professional in any field that I feel fit for. I am very motivated in helping out underprivileged people and using my human services experience and knowledge for it. The desire to work for underprivileged people stemmed from my personal problems in childhood. I grew up in a middle class family and was exposed to struggling conditions not only in my immediate family but also to relatives close to us. During my high school years, it was my counsellors who provided me with aid and emotional advice that helped me cope with these problems with strength. Therefore I am personally aware and can appreciate the distress and emotional stress the underprivileged population is in. I have also come to fathom the role counselling has played in my life and I want to use this understanding in order to help those in need. I believe the ability to do help people has not only been innate but has also developed as a consequence of the circumstances I faced while growing up. Faced with domestic problems, I found solace in hanging out with my friends and interacting with people; this used to divert my attention from the problems at home and thus my school became a playful haven for me. This helped to hone my interpersonal skills and to connect to people. My friends would often come up and confide their problems in me, much on the account that I was compassionate and all ears to them. My personality is also very flexible and my friends used to call me up late at night to discuss their problems, often talking for hours. When organizing school events and participating in volunteer and community work, I did not stress out and was able to balance my schedule effectively by making a timetable of the activities and studies I had to do and following it. I feel that if I step into the community beyond the college campus, I can use my ability of helping people to provide assistance to those in need. I do realize their problems are much more serious than the my friends’, but I am confident that with the knowledge I have gained through human services classes and any training which I will undertake to fill in the information gaps, I can become a good counsellor. Opportunity entails the range of options one has and using them to research the organizations and fields that they feel most comfortable in (Kumar 2008). When focusing on myself and my abilities, I conclude that I am a people’s person and need to enter employment where this ability is harnessed and required the most. In this regard, I find supervisory careers and counselling careers. All these careers are interrelated but working as a social worker appeals me the most because I want to step out into the community. Other careers would require that I work in a office or have a desk job. On the other hand, social work would entail that I go and visit homes, having first-hand experience of the environment that they live in and providing a holistic view of the situation; this would help to come up with more effective solutions to their problems. Employment opportunities can range from working with NGOs, government departments and other social work organizations. The next step in the process refers to aspirations and encompasses making plans and decisions regarding the pathways the student intends to follow for the rest of his or her life. Social workers aim to solve problems in three ways: casework strategies including counselling individuals and families, group work strategies referring to bringing together people with common problems and solving them collectively, and community organization strategies entailing particular goals. When researching the job opportunities for human services professionals interested in pursuing social work, some form of in-service training is required like workshops. In order to gain more knowledge about casework and counselling, a workshop or a few months’ course on psychology and social counselling can be undertaken to further upon the skills acquired in human services education. It should be noted that high grades and experience are necessary, coupled with the required knowledge, to secure a good job with a good salary. This also forms a part of the aspirations for my professional career. I also want to work with a NGO, one aimed to promote the health and social wellbeing of the community. However, employment in either an NGO, government department etc would depend on the employment requirements that suit me the most. Part 4 Word count: 534 In order to develop an effective action plan, strategic planning is needed to organize and give more emphasis to those elements that are most relevant to the achievement of the required objectives (Lewis, Passmore & Cantore 2008). The R in the SOAR card entails the ability to implement the plans and aspirations drafted above (Kumar 2008). The gaps and knowledge that I have identified in the previous sections relates to the fact that I have to make my human services knowledge and experience more specific to social work. I need to tailor my abilities and counselling to the three approaches undertaken in social work i.e. casework, group work and community organization. I feel that undertaking a psychology course for gaining more knowledge in human behaviour and performance can prove to be a useful tool in social work. This would help me give in-depth information of individual differences, motivation drives, differences in the interests and attitudes of people, as well as the effective diagnosis, assessment and treatment of psychological problems. Also, a workshop on public safety and security can also be useful. Since I will be working with the community, I need to gain knowledge of equipment and tools for analyzing public information, policies and the methods for data collection. I do have knowledge of managing case files and other clerical work. However doing it with greater focus on the public can equip me with information relating to public office procedures and clerical work relating to public records. The workshop for public safety and security would not be a lengthy one. It would be hardly take up a week if I opt for an extensive workshop covering these aspects. However the psychology course is longer and can extend till a couple of months’ time. The psychology course can be undertaken when I finish my education. However the workshop can be undertaken during my semester break. This process means that within a few months after my graduation, I can apply for jobs in social work organizations. I am confident that these activities will integrate my curricula with the job requirements in an effective way. However I intend to consult my career advisor and my teachers to advice me on the approach that I am taking (Gill 2009). I also intend to ask social work cum human services professionals about the necessary requirements of the profession and what they advice me to do. It is important to know that the results are going to provide satisfaction and should inculcate a sense of empowerment in me (Kenney 2010). In order to turn my aspirations into concrete results, I need to be dedicated and committed to my work. I need to spend time researching the organization that most suits me. Also, I need to work on achieving high grades and try making the most out of field work. Ability lies in mastering one’s strengths and in identifying and overcoming the weaknesses. One thing to remember is that no matter what situation I find myself in, I need to remember to be proactive and to make the most out of the situation that I find myself in. I aim to turn every flipside that comes my way into an opportunity. References Chance, V 2011, What Jobs Are Available With a Human Services Degree? eHow.com, retrieved 10 March, 2011, Chechak 2011, The Roles of a Social Worker, Scribd, retrieved 10 March, 2011, Cress, CM, Collier, PJ & Reitenauer, VL 2005, Learning through serving: a student guidebook for service-learning across the disciplines, Stylus Publishing, LLC, Virginia. Gill, SJ 2009, Developing a Learning Culture in Nonprofit Organizations, SAGE, California. James, M 2007, Careers @gov.au: working for Australia's future, Career FAQs. Kenney, MSJ 2010, Bringing Out the Best in You Through Life Challenge, Strategic Book Publishing, New York. Kumar, A 2008, Personal, academic and career development in higher education: SOARing to success, Taylor & Francis, Oxon. Lewis, Passmore & Cantore 2008, Appreciative Inquiry for Change Management: Using AI to Facilitate Organizational Development, Kogan Page Publishers, London. Nygaard, C & Holtham, C 2008, Understanding learning-centred higher education, Copenhagen Business School Press DK, Denmark. Appendix Job Role of a Human Services Professional working as a Social Worker Assessing the situation of the client Providing mental health counseling to clients and their families Interviewing and analyzing the problems of the clients Coming up with solutions to the problems such as treatments Referring clients to acquire assistance from specialists such as doctors, nutritionists etc Organizing and implementing social services Making decisions about various facilities the client requires such as transportation, social support packages, Medicaid etc Supervising social campaigns such as fund collections Maintaining records and organizing case files Working with professionals with different fields to work for social problems Promoting professional advancement and undertaking training to further upon one’s skills Going to the court for providing evidence in cases Providing training to interns and junior employees Read More