Payne Categorization of Social Work Social Work

Payne Categorization of Social Work

Social work has constantly been a difficult unit to define especially due to the fact that its identity keeps on changing; it tremendously encompasses various set of activities for example community development, group work and counseling undertaken in different contexts including local communities, schools, hospitals and so forth.

According to International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), Social work is a profession that primarily focuses on change and solving problems: its (IFSW) mission being, 'to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction.' Social work is an interconnected system of theory, values and practice. Various commentators have classified social work theories.

Payne's categorization on social work:

Malcolm Payne states that social work constitutes three different perspectives:

Socialist-collectivist: This is achieved by seeking to make possible for the underprivileged and oppressed clients to gain power and fight for the possessions that have been accumulated via transformational approaches by the elite hence justice is served.

2. Individualist-reformist: In this case, the focus is mainly on maintaining the welfare of individuals in periods of difficulty hence preserving the social structure and order of society.

3. Reflective-therapeutic: In this case social workers strife for the well being of clients by assisting and supporting self-fulfillment and development. This builds mutual attachment between clients and social workers.

Payne further states how important it is to activate the complex interactions of the theory above and practice by application, accountability and legitimacy. In order to use theory in practice, one has to understand the reflexive, reflective and critical thinking. (Malcolm Payne, 2005)

Social work has many theories; practitioners are therefore left with the choice of selecting a theory that works best in their particular specialization. In order to determine the effectiveness of a particular theory an evaluation has to be made. However, research has tried to justify services examining proper procedures. It is for this reason that one cannot differentiate the effectiveness of one theory from the other. As a result, a debate arises between critical, humanist and liberal theorists.

According to a number of social work views connected to the above theories, critical theory derives from fundamental theory and presents a comprehensible strategic view that focuses on achieving social transformation whereas the liberal theory emphasizes on the importance of practice and reorganization within the current social order. On the other hand the views of the humanists argue out that all that matters is the human being because the changes he or she makes can work for him or her. For example positivists believe that the world has some order; and that human beings can make ideal observations while interpretivists believe in the independence of human beings to pursue ones individual will.