A definition of social work: A thesis in sociology

								

and art of any sort enter them only as casual visitors. They teach in
the name of no single creed and formulate no specific purpose. Despite
their enormous array of topics their interest remains essentially
personal.
Fourthly, the schools are more or less consciously training crusaders.
The word “problem” is in frequent use. It is freely applied to
difficulties not outstandingly problematical and its use in place
of any harsher or less hopeful word indicates the notion of arming
rescuers with a solution. The word “standard” with its implication of
something attainable but not always attained, “prevention,” “service,”
“welfare,” “relief,” “correction,” “treatment,” appear thickly
scattered among the subject titles and one is surely justified in
inferring that to make changes for the better is not to be for the
social worker as for most men a rare bright spot in the routine of
labor, but his very stock-in-trade and justification for existence.
Lastly, the requirement of a certain amount of study of the social
sciences followed by methodical training in special lines, together
with supervised practice work after the manner of a technical school,
testifies to the important parts played in the preparation of social
workers by both scientific method and the lore of the social sciences.
Beyond this it does not seem safe to generalise. These five conclusions
about social work indicated by the school catalogues suggest that it
is an alliance of distinct but closely related callings furthering
“social” welfare in a quite specific sense. Secondly, they imply that
the social worker is a rescuer and champion equipped for his tilt
from the armory of the social sciences. Does not this come to about
the same thing as is described in our tentative definition, a group
of activities looked upon as so many phases of a single undertaking
because they all attempt to extend benefits in response to a need; are
all concerned with social relationships; and all avail themselves of
scientific knowledge and employ scientific methods.
The schools then, like the conference, confirm the tentative definition
but do not expand it by the addition of any new terms. It is possible
that social work as a whole has no more common features. But it is,
of course, also possible that other features could be found if we had
some fresh clue to them. The present study, having put all its leading
questions must again content itself with adding to the already accepted
terms of the definition such further implications as the curricula
suggest--and again we find these implications to come from the use of
science for philanthropic purposes.
The courses most commonly “required” for all students in the schools
are those treating the social sciences. What do these offer to
the incipient social worker? The courses in sociology--especially
those which thirteen of the schools offer in the history of certain