Career 0ption in Social Work at IGNOU
- Part 1 -

Dr N Samungou Singh *

Social work may be defined as an art, a science, and a profession that helps people solve personal, group (especially family), and community problems and attain satisfying personal, group, and community relationships through social work practice.

Social work practice today is often generic and the major focus is on reducing problems in human relationships and on enriching living through improved human interaction. Certainly the main focus of the social worker is on helping people improve their social functioning, their ability to interact and relate to others.

Social work is an art as it requires great skills to understand people and to help them to help themselves. It is a beginning science because of its problem solving method and its attempt to be objective in ascertaining facts and in developing principles and operational concepts. It is a profession because it encompasses the attributes of a profession.

Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve people's lives. Social workers assist people by helping them cope with issues in their everyday lives, deal with their relationships, and solve personal and family problems. Some social workers help clients who face a disability or a life-threatening disease or a social problem, such as inadequate housing, unemployment, or substance abuse.

Social workers also assist families that have serious domestic conflicts, sometimes involving child or spousal abuse. Some social workers conduct research, advocate for improved services, engage in systems design or are involved in planning or policy development. Many social workers specialize in serving a particular population or working in a specific setting.

Professional social workers are generally considered those who hold a professional degree in social work and often also have a license or are professionally registered. Social workers have organized themselves into local, national, and international professional bodies to further the aims of the profession.

A Bachelor's degree (BSW) is the minimum requirement for entry into the profession of social work, but many positions require an advanced degree. A Master's degree in social work (MSW) is typically required for positions in health settings and is required for clinical work as well.

Some jobs in public and private agencies also may require an advanced degree, such as a master's degree in social services policy or administration. Supervisory, administrative, and staff training positions usually require an advanced degree. College and university teaching positions and most research appointments normally require a doctorate in social work (PhD).

Many government colleges, universities and private educational institutions are offering this course throughout the country. There is also M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes in Social Work offered by many institutions.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the People's University, which was established with a mission to advance frontiers of knowledge and promote its dissemination through sustainable Open and Distance Learning (ODL) systems, is one of the universities in India which are offering courses on Social Work.

The university enables access to higher education to a wide cross section of students who are unable to access and also who wish to pursue their higher studies but doesn't have enough time for the regular classes. The university has undergone rapid expansion and it is now widely accepted as a system leader in the field of Open and Distance Learning throughout the world.

Today, IGNOU serves the educational aspirations of over 3 million students in India and other countries through 21 Schools of Studies and a network of 67 regional centres, around 2,667 learner support centres and 29 overseas partner institutions.

The University offers about 228 certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes, with a strength of nearly 810 faculty members and 574 academic staff at the headquarters and regional centres and about 33,212 academic counsellors from conventional institutions of higher learning, professional organisations, and industry among others.

The School of Social Work at IGNOU aims at providing quality education in the areas of social work, HIV/AIDS, Counselling and family studies and tribal studies. The school offers a series of Programmes of Study in Social Work- Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor in Social Work, Master in Social Work, Master in Social Work (Counselling) and M.Phil and Ph.D in social work.

To be continued....