• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.49
• /
• pp.34-61
• /
• 2002

Recently, the concept of empowerment has become popular within social work practice. Despite of this trends, we have little empirical knowledge about what empowerment practice is and how it is applicable to practice settings in Korea. This study explored how social workers perceived and experienced the concept of empowerment. We used qualitative method to solve this questions. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted to 7 social workers serving in diverse settings. Research results are as follows: Participants had common perceptions of empowerment concept despite of the different settings. They perceived power as confidence, independence, self-control. The client/worker relationships were open, nonhierarchial egalitarian and characterized by mutuality and reciprocity. They emphasized the nature of empowerment as circular and diffusive process. Also, they orientated long term practice related to impatience of social workers. Finally, those who participated in this study challenged and reinterpreted the existing traditional "professionalism". We concluded that empowerment practice might demand infinite energies, social worker's creativity, trust of clients, and that empowerment practice would be a new approach in social work practice which influence on much more population because of its diffuseness.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.27
• /
• pp.35-65
• /
• 1995

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• no.36
• /
• pp.227-252
• /
• 2008

This study investigated the relation between social worker's beliefs on the nature of scientific knowledge which has been classified objectivism and constructivism and social work practice. As an epistemological position, constructivism is based on a view of knowledge that differs from that of objectivism, which holds that knowledge exists "out there" as objective truth. The focus of this paper is a examination on epistemological beliefs of social worker and social work practice. This paper proves that social work's epistemological beliefs have an effect on the practice modes. This research indicates that social works have a higher constructivist veiws than objectivist veiws on the nature of scientific knowledge. And social worker who have a high level of objectivism show a positive determinative mode. It has suggested that the constructive theory offers useful epistemology to the social worker who should deal with the clients in uncertain situations. In conclusion, a social worker with a high level of constructivism use an approach that creats a more equitable relationship between social worker and client. This perspective will allows cliens to participate in the formulation of theories in practice.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.263-288
• /
• 2014

The goal of this research is to discover various cognitive types on social work practice by using Q methodology which explores subjectivities of human beings. The researchers selected 40 Q items among 293 Q populations from data through in-depth interviews of eight social workers and literature reviews, and the reliability was r=.816. Twenty-nine social workers sorted Q items and the obtained data was analysed by the QUANL program. The perception types were divided into three patterns and the eigen value was .5849. Three perception types on social workers' practices were 'relationship-centered(type 1)', 'change-centered(type 2)' and 'resource-centered(type 3)' practices. These types were different in perceptions on identification of relationship with clients, key characteristics, skills and strengths as a social worker. According to these results, the researchers offered some significant implications and suggested several following studies.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.58 no.4
• /
• pp.341-369
• /
• 2006

This study attempts to explain how the social-worker empowerment in the field of social work relates to social-work self-efficacy and whether or not the transactional leadership of the leader moderates the relationship between these two variables. Data from 390 social workers working with public and private sector agencies in Seoul were collected. For the questionnaire and analysis, this research uses the Social Worker Empowerment, Social Work Self-Efficacy, and Transactional Leadership scales. This research utilizes a wide range of statistical analyses, such as descriptive analysis, Pearson's correlation, reliability analysis, factor analysis, multiple regression, and general linear modeling. The calculations employed the use of SPSS/PC+ 12.0. This research indicates, among other things, that social workers with a high level of social worker empowerment and transactional leadership of the leader show a tendency toward higher social work self-efficacy and that the leader's transactional leadership level plays a moderating function in the relationship between social-worker empowerment and transactional leadership of the leader. In conclusion, a social worker with a low level of leader's transactional leadership shows a relatively greater tendency toward social work self-efficacy when compared to a social worker having a high level of leader's transactional leadership. Social workers and social-work organizations seeking professional practice can benefit from these findings on the relationship between professional behavior and social work self-efficacy with perceived transactional leadership about a team leader as a moderator.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.12 no.11
• /
• pp.301-310
• /
• 2021

This study is qualitative research with an aim of assessing experience of prospective social work student enrolled in social welfare field practice during COVID-19 pandemic. The results are shown below. First, the major negative answers of responders were the work-study imbalance of the student, the institution's concern for spread of infection, limited experience due to low-quality-of supervision, the difficulty on choosing institution, and worries on stop of practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the key positive answers of responders were awareness of true meaning of social welfare, a major of them, significance of field practice, importance of human rights in their field, and finally, dearness of rapport building between social workers and clients in social welfare practice settings.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
• /
• no.62
• /
• pp.103-139
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to explore the social workers' reflections developed during the participatory action research seeking practice methods in the community welfare center single parent self-help groups. Nine social workers and researchers sharing difficulties in the community welfare center single parent self-help group practice were involved in the participatory action research. We performed a circulatory research repeating 'plan-action-reflection-replan' cycles through ten sessions of research meetings including peer supervision in parallel with 4 self-help group practices. Multiple practice methods were derived as the result among which change in the social workers' perception was the key. We focused on the result that the social workers' perception was changed by reflections from participatory action research and the contents of the reflections were qualitatively analyzed using materials acquired during the study. As a result the following 5 themes were derived; 'recognition and worry on the lack of appropriate practice for the self-help group', 'specification of the social workers' role based on the changed perspective on the member-social worker relation', 'confirmation of the possibility of the concerned person initiated practice', 'detailed understanding of the single parent self-help group in the community welfare center', and 'renewed recognition of the development of the single parent self-help group in the community welfare center'. Based on these results, empowerment and reflection/reflective practice for single parent self-help group in the community welfare center were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.67 no.4
• /
• pp.127-152
• /
• 2015

This study aimed to implement the enhancement program for the social work practice competency for children of community child center workers and to evaluate the program's effects. For this purpose, the program was implemented for ten community child center workers five times for five weeks(once a week, 120 minutes per session). For the quantitative evaluation, a non-equivalent control group design among quasi-experimental designs was used, and for the qualitative evaluation, the written materials related with the program were collected and analyzed. The results of the quantitative evaluation revealed that the social work practice skills and worker-client relationship empowerment of the community child center workers who participated in the competency enhancement program were significantly improved. In the qualitative evaluation, the subjective experiences were presented, including the improvement of the worker's practice competency and the worker's awareness of the changes in the child, the recognition of the strong points and the points to be improved in the program. This study is expected to raise the expertise and effectiveness of community child center workers, and ultimately, to contribute to the healthy development and the improvement of the mental health of children by improving the social work practice competency of the workers in community child centers, which comprise the representative service delivery system for children in South Korea.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.65-76
• /
• 2022

This study will examine the relationship between social support from the work and family domains, referred to as multiple social network ties (MSNT), and employees' job and family-related performance outcomes during the COVID-19 crisis. The study also demonstrates the importance of employees' work-family balance (WFB) in moderating the association between MSNT and job and family-related performance. A two-wave design was used to collect data from 320 managerial level personnel in Pakistan's textile sector. The path analysis technique of structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the responses. In times of crisis, social support mechanisms could potentially replace organizational support mechanisms for employees dealing with work and family obligations, according to the study. The findings of this study show that work-family balance is a significant partial mediator between MSNT and employees' job and family-related outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a best-fit model. This research supports the pragmatic view of MSNT's action mechanism in generating jobs for employees and family-related results, especially in uncertain situations. According to the findings, employees who have a positive work-life balance are happier and more productive in both work and personal life. It has major implications for human resource management (HRM) research and practice.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.52
• /
• pp.89-115
• /
• 2003

While many social work studies has focused on the development of practice intervention and demonstration of the efficacy, little attention has been given to the way how the results can be disseminated and utilized in practice area. But attempts to bridge the research-practice gap empathize importance of dissemination and utilization including knowledge utilization, innovation diffusion, information dissemination, program replication, and technology transfer etc. In this recognition, this study that focused on the process after development of program tried to search and analyze the real disseminating process and utilization state with applying Growing-up Skills Program(GUSP) developed and disseminated by this researcher. For the purpose, theories and models for program diffusion were reviewed, and dissemination & utilization of GUSP was analyzed on the 'Herie & Martin's model' with retrospective perspectives. Through this tracer study, these were confirmed or founded as problems of GUSP in disseminating process : lack of specific strategy for the dissemination ; unplanned coping due to little preparation ; and unclear and insufficient understanding of the target system in the beginning stage of dissemination. And followings are suggested for the improvement of social work program dissemination & utilization in the field: to conduct diffusion process on the basis of a proper model; to consider integrative relationship between D&D and dissemination & utilization ; to endeavor for collecting feed back from the field ; and to reinforce social work education and study related to innovation diffusion. These results showed importance of dissemination & utilization in social work and utility of GUSP despite of several limitations. More concerns of dissemination & utilization are needed for the integration of research and practice in Korean social work.