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Social work is beautiful On the characteristics of social work
Author(s) -
Morén S.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 0907-2055
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2397.1994.tb00074.x
Subject(s) - interpretation (philosophy) , action (physics) , work (physics) , social change , social work , perspective (graphical) , epistemology , social philosophy , identity (music) , sociology , social relation , social psychology , psychology , social science , computer science , political science , aesthetics , artificial intelligence , engineering , mechanical engineering , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , law , programming language
Social work is frequently described as a problem‐solving activity. Social workers are expected to identify social problems, thoroughly investigate them and take proper measures to solve them. Superficially, this kind of definition is unassailable and harmless (and, of course, partly valid), but in a deeper sense it denies us access to important concepts, perspectives and, hence, possibilities of interpretation, regarding the activity we call social work. Following this line of thought, there is a blind spot in the self‐understanding of social work. This article outlines an alternative perspective on social work emphasizing making visible new possibilities of interpretation and action rather than solving problems. In connection with a recently reported research project, Organization and Human Change in Social Work, specific features of social work are suggested and discussed. The aim is to contribute to the development of a theoretical identity of social work, based on its own specific characteristics.