History Of

Social Work
If you can't feed a hundred people, then just
feed one.

Overview
About

the Profession
Origin and History
Social Work in the UK
Social Work: The Indian Heritage
Conclusion

About the Profession

Social workers have played an important role in the

advancement of human civilization since long ago.

They uphold social justice by reducing inequality and

promoting human rights. Social workers try to improve the
quality of life of unfortunate people in the society and help
them realize their true potential.

This is done through counseling, mediating between the

needy and charitable organizations or the government, and
other activities.

Social work helps to solve a lot of problems in the society,

and it contributes significantly towards the cultural and
moral advancement of humankind.

Need to Understand the History

The

diversity of social work represents agreat challenge for

social work research, education and practice in the rapidly
internationalizing and globalizing world.
This challenge can be met successfully only with adeep
philosophical and historical understanding of the
characteristics of aparticular country - and welfare regime
including the specific traditions of welfare systems and the
position and role of social work within them.
Research into the philosophy and history of social work
strengthens this understanding through analyzing the
conceptual and genealogical fundamentals of the traditions
of social work.
This kind of research contributes to the theoretical selfconception of social work which is necessary for the
development of social work as amodern professional system,
ascientific discipline and aresearch-based activity.

Origins and Modern

History of Social Work

All major religions encourage people to help the poor, and some
of these religions were formed thousands of years ago. Therefore,
it can be said that social work originated in the ancient times,
when human beings started to perform charity work

In the western world, the first documented instance of organized

social work occurred during the 3rd century, right after the
Christian Church was legalized by Roman Emperor Constantine I.

The church set up hospitals, poorhouses, orphanages, and homes

for the elderly, and these establishments received grants from
the Roman Empire.

By the 6th century, the church had developed an elaborate

system for distributing food and other consumables to the poor

Later on, it would encourage the European public to offer direct

relief to the unfortunate.

During

the 19th century, the industrial revolution

led to a lot of social problems in England and the
United States, including poverty, diseases,
mental disorders, prostitution, and others.
As such, there was a great need for social work.
Churches and governments established effective
systems and laws to provide assistance for the
needy, and many individuals started to form
groups and organizations to perform social work.
Social work, as a profession, originated in the
19th century

Jane Addams, Mother of Social Work

Jane Addams was one of the first social workers in the US.

When she was 27 years old, she visited the Toynbee Hall
settlement house in London, and she developed an
aspiration to open a similar house in Chicago. In 1889, she
partnered with her friend Ellen Starr to set up a settlement
house called the Hull-House

They gave speeches about the social problems that were

plaguing their neighborhood, raised funds, and encouraged
young women to become volunteer social workers.

After two years, the Hull-House was providing assistance to

around 2,000 people every week. As she became more
famous in Chicago, she began to take on greater civic
responsibilities, such as founding a school of philanthropy,
conducting investigations on social problems, and
campaigning for peace.

For her extraordinary efforts in social work, Jane Addams

was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 1931.

Social Work in the UK

Social upheaval and mass migration contributed

significantly to the evolution of social work in the UK.

The populations of cities were increasing dramatically

during the industrial revolution, and many people
were afflicted by poverty and diseases.

The UK government responded by offering free

treatment in hospitals, and hospital almoners were
recruited to help in the treatment of patients.

These almoners were regarded as social workers, and

their roles began to include other social
responsibilities in the following years.

Social

work in the UK developed as a philanthropic activity on the

margins of statutory services, social work in the 20th century
became increasingly a professional activity, either carried out
directly by the state, or carried out by the voluntary sector on its
behalf.
Social work has been incorporated steadily into statutory
mechanisms since its 'high tide' in the 1970s
Not only has the state won the right to intervene in the lives of
individuals, it has effectively taken control over how this should be
carried out and by whom.
Voluntary social work agencies cannot now function without some
measure of control over their activities by the local authority and
by the legislature.
Even in the era of care in the community, it is the local authority
which inspects voluntary institutions and give out contracts for
work on its behalf.

Social Work: The Indian Heritage

India

has a long history of Social Work of which it can be justifiably

proud.
The concept of concern for others, often in the form of charitable giving,
has been enshrined in Hindu scriptures since ancient times
In addition to Indias sacred texts, there have been many historic
individuals who have sought to provide help for the vulnerable and
those in need.
Recent history has given us further examples of individuals who have
furthered the cause of Social Work in India.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy sowed the seed of social and religious reform in
his work for the abolition of Sati, in addition to supporting widow
remarriage and womens education.
Iswar Chandra Vidya Sagar also advocated for widow remarriage and
women's education, as well as economic self-reliance and an end to
polygamy.
Gopal Hari Deshmukh promoted the establishment of dispensaries,
maternity homes, and orphanages.
M.K. Gandhi worked tirelessly for the upliftment of women and dalits
when, alongside his fight for freedom from foreign rule, he also fought

Development of Social work

in India

Pre- British Period to 1800 A.D

Pre-british

system was dominated by caste system,

upper caste protected lower caste people in time of
same difficulties, some of the important aspects are as
follows:
Joint family: it is like a trust sharing common property. It
protected aged, children and women. It sarved as a social trust.
Village community: Indian villages were independent in
matters of food, clothing and shatter. The whole community
used to take each other.
Village Temple:In every village there were temples. People
donated money to the temple and under this system socially
backward people were protected.

During the British

Period
Before the advent of the British, Indian practically

lived in village. Thus the economy of the village was

self-sufficient. But under the British rule only
Industries were allowed to develop.
These economic and organization change brought
down the economic condition of Indians. All the
problems are chiefly related with health, housing,
child and woman welfare and labour, recreation,
crime and social disorganization. Due to these
problems the need for organized social work was
realized.

 Christian

missionaries spread education,

brought the theory of equality, which in turn
helped the social reforms to attack the evil
customs and inequality.
Raya Ram Mohan Ray started the brahma
samaj, Pandit Ramabhai started the Arya
Samaj, Swami Vivekananda established
Ramakrishna mission and Annie Besant
started home rule movement against British.
Late Gandhi did a lot of work in the field of
social reform
Due to the impact of the western education,
and Christian missionaries, a new term of

Growth of professional training in

India
Professional social work is of recent origin in India.
During 1900 onwards, those who were engaged in
social welfare activities found the need of trained
social workers.
In India, professional social work owes its origin to
a short-term training course on social service
organized by the social service league at Bombay.
Later, the first school of social work was started in
1936 by Clifford marshal, who was a protestant
missionary and worked in Nagpada. He came to
Indian in 1925 and felt the need of trained social
workers.
Later on different schools of social work came into

After Independence
In

the Independent India the source of all

welfare service are inherent in the constitution.
In order to supervise the social welfare
services, the central social welfare Board has
been established.
The board assists in the improvement and
development of social welfare activities
Thus, in Indian social work is gradually
emerging as a social oriented profession.

Conclusion
Social

work has come a long way to become

an important profession in the modern
society. The scope of responsibilities of
social work has become wider over the
years, and social workers require more
extensive training to perform their duties
effectively. As social problems grow in the
modern society, social work will continue to
gain importance around the world.

References

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_social_work_beg
in_and_who_is_the_founder_of_social_work
http://web1.boisestate.edu/socwork/dhuff/history/cent
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http://www.maduraimessenger.org/printed-version/20
11/september/issues/
http://web.archive.org/web/20071221085300/http://www
.socialwork.ed.ac.uk/social/history.html
http://
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