The field of social work is meant for those who want to help better living for themselves as well as others. The goal is to form a strong sense of humanism as well as an aversion to injustice. Masters of Social Work programs train people in these matters, giving them the education they need to make a difference.
Different exercises, from researching situations to actually acting to resolve them, are involved here. Your subjects are going to be others who have suffered or are suffering grave misfortunes in their lot. These are terms that more commonly associated with developing countries.
There is a high concentration of such places in Asia, the Lower Americas, and Africa. The peoples of such countries suffer from things like starvation, malnourishment, and the like. While the rest of the world experiences modern comforts and convenience in life, millions are dying from hunger and preventable diseases in other parts of the globe.
The problem is that the riches of the globe are being hoarded or truly enjoyed by the few, instead of the many. Political ideologies and rhetoric play a significant part in the existence of poverty and injustice, instead of the physical lack of resources or unwillingness of the people to change. It is clear that we have a lot to do.
People are unaware that many people have to make do with a daily wage amounting to barely two dollars. It is a pitiful amount, and it can only provide a pitiful life. The difference in overall condition between countries like the US and Third World countries is so vast that the poor in the former are not nearly as impoverished as those in the latter.
Masters in Social Work courses tend to emphasize the need to address this deep poverty. They also provide learning in social justice and human rights. The social sciences are involved here, from the political down to the humanistic.
The MSW student is also trained in practical skills such as research and teaching methods. You are going to be asked to apply those skills once you graduate, after all. These abilities cannot be separated from social work, as they constitute so much of the work itself.
Social interaction is naturally expected here, so you should be competent at it. Social work only has meaning if it achieves its goal of improving someone's life, and to know that, you need to actually be able to communicate with the person. Social workers must be comfortable in talking with people from different backgrounds and suffering from a variety of concerns, and listening to their needs.
The IFSW has given a statement that helps to show what people in this field have to face. The statement made clear the need for research to be married to immersion (which is part of research). It recognizes the complexity of interactions between human beings and their environment, and the capacity of people both to be affected by and to alter the multiple influences upon them including bio-psychosocial factors.”
You cannot be successful in this discipline if you are unaware of the many interconnections and complex relations that form our social framework. Your work is to study the problems plaguing us and come up with solutions for them. The Masters Social Work classes are intended to give you the training you need for that.
