Saturday, November 1, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Social Work Profession In India - An Uncertain Future
Book Review
Social Work
Profession in India:
An
Uncertain Future
K.R.Gangadharan*
Author :
T.K.Nair
Publisher :
Niruta Publications
Pages :
xvi+256
Price : INR
500
Social work
in India has three components: clinical social work (in particular, psychiatric
social work), developmental social work (or development work), and social
action (for social justice and social equity) according to Prof.T.K.Nair.
Thepresent book contains ten articles from social work practitioners and social
work scholars who critically analyse the different dimensions of social work
practice and education.
“Philosophy of Social Work in Changing India”,
by late Professor M.V. Moorthy traces the philosophy of social work in India
from ancient times to the modern era. He observes rightly that theory and
practice should go hand in hand;but behind theory and practice there should be
philosophy to give tone, tenor and temper to the profession. Prof. Moorthy adds: “ Whatever may be the
line of development followed by professional social work in the West, we in
India cannot ignore the ethical contents and spirit of social work profession”.
Professor
Henry D’ Souza’s article “Social Justice in India: Reflections” focuses on
redistributive justice because the lack of it reinforces injustice in gender,
religion, caste and tribe. He describes in detail poverty, slavery and bonded
labour, corruption and bribery in India. He says that social justice struggles
in our diverse, complex and largest democracy will need to continue fearlessly
and with relentless determination. He is not optimistic of the effectiveness of
social work profession in promoting social justice though some social workers
educated in the schools of social work may commit themselves to serve the
vulnerable and poor by engaging themselves in organizing local communities, and
initiating struggles for social and economic justice.
“Evolutionary
Excellence in Social Work” bySampath and KalpanaSampath underscores
theconviction of the authors that individuals and institutions strive towards
excellence. To align individual and organizational values, a continuous
clarification process is essential which should ideally involve the ability to
“connect, correlate and create”.For any individual or organization, excellence
is an ongoing process. When individuals and institutions pursue excellence,
they make a difference to themselves and to those around them.
Dr. Shanthi
Ranganathan has devoted her whole life for treatment and rehabilitation of
alcoholics and other substance addicts under the auspices of the TTK Hospital,
which she founded, for which she was awarded the Padma Shri and the UN Vienna
Civil Society Award. In the article, “Substance Use Disorders and Social Work
Interventions “, she explains in detail the measures for prevention of
substance use disorders, early identification and enhancing motivation,
treatment and followup. Besides individualized therapy, family therapy is
arranged to reinforce the rehabilitation process. Professional social work has
been given a key role in TTK hospital, a global leader in the treatment of
substance use disorders (SUDs) as the founder - director herself is a social
worker. But Dr.Shanthi says that schools of social work give low preference to
training of social workers with skills needed to work with persons with SUDs.
CAP
Foundation, a social enterprise, founded in 1997 by Dr. NaliniGangadharan,
believes that skill development is the key for empowerment of young men and
women. Her article “ Poverty Alleviation through Skill Building : A Social Work
Initiative “ presents the CAP model of “ Linking Learning and Livelihood “
needs of working children and youth to equitable market -oriented employability
opportunities. CAP’s vision is to be an end –to- end community – based
solutions provider in quality education to build safer, healthier and
productive communities of young people capable of supporting self- directed
growth and positive citizenship. Till 2013, CAP Foundation has trained 2,
54,395 young persons in 15 states and it has international presence in 8
locations.CAP Foundation is an illustration of the developmental social work
initiative.
Ms.AnnieNamala
has been actively involved in promoting social equity and protecting Dalit
human rights for more than three decades. Annie Namala’s article “Promoting
Social Justice, Human Rights and Empowerment” discusses in details the rights
violations. Dalit communities continue to face caste - based violence despite
the prohibition of untouchability and all forms of caste - based disabilities.
On education and social inclusion, the article refers to the poor
implementation of the various government provisions and schemes. Ms.Annie
points out that social work studies need to constantly engage in a praxis
process between theoretical instruction and field action. She wants the schools
to engage field practitioners to be part of their faculty for periods of time.
Professor
B.Devi Prasad, in his article “Voluntary Sector and Professional Social Work:
Trends and Challenges” makes a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats) analysis of both the sectors. The strengths of the voluntary sector
are the diversity of areas covered by the
sector; the innovative role by experimenting and promoting new areas of
development work; and the closeness to people. The weaknesses of the voluntary
sector include suspected allegiance of foreign - funded organizations; absence
of transparency and credibility of many organizations; and uncertainty of
regular funding support.The strengths of professional work according to Devi
Prasad are its professional base with a track record of performance globally;
sound knowledge base; and accountability to society. The weaknessesinclude the
deteriorating quality of professional social work education; andthe ideological
deficit. On social work education, Devi Prasad comments that it is “a sea of
mediocrity with islands of excellence and visibility “.
Professor
R.R.Singh’s article”Education for Professional Social Work in India : Overview”
critically looks at the education for professional social work in the context
of the changing perspectives of the
profession, proliferation of social work institutions, problems in the maintenance
of standards, less availability of senior faculty for professional
socialization of students, and
variations in courses and credits. Dr.Singh examines almost all aspects of
social work education in India in this articlewith authority.R.R.Singhobserves that the
proliferation of such institutions is indeed a threat to the quality of
professional social work education and practice. Most of these are self serving
institutions which are not preparing competent professionals to serve society.
In the article
“Should We Re-think the Nature of Social Work?”,Dr.M.Nadarajah is of the view
that social work, as a mode of engagement, is an expression of our
compassionate sentiment, born out of our sociability, and it is essentially
directed at those in need of help. Dr.
Nadarajah states that social work today is a profession in the economy and job
market. It has also been commodified, bringing it within the universe of profit
motive. While social work has the features, in relation to addressing human
misery, it has also assumed features that are towards profit maximization. In
as much as it is in this orientation, there must be a constant supply of human
misery. The general effort of
professional social work as an institution will not be directed at social prevention
but towards curative activities, much like how the medical industry works. Dr.
Nadarajah is of the view that society where people engage at all levels to
address human suffering and consider radical structural reforms and prevention
would not be in the interest of modern, professionalised social work.
Professor
T.K.Nair, in his article “ Humanitarianism Professionalized : Dilemmas of
Social Work in India”, traces the
history of social work profession and social work education. The proliferation
of social work courses under different auspices; the dominance of HR (human
resources) concentration in the social work curricula ; the unwillingness of
social work educational institutions to focus on social work without HR; the
deteriorating quality of social work education in most institutions; the lack
of practice-based research by the practioners as well as the faculty; the
absence of regulatory bodies of social work education and practice; and related
issues are discussed by Prof.Nair in his article. He comes to the conclusion
that social work is not a profession in India.
My joining
the Madras School of Social Work for the postgraduate programme was with the
confidence that the Postgraduate Diploma would enable me to get into the
Personnel Department of an industry, which I secured on completion of the
social work course. After working in industries for some years, I decided to
accept an offer from the newly established corporate hospital (Apollo Hospital)
at Chennai to head its Human Resource Department. Subsequently I was promoted
as General Manager (Operations), which gave me a tremendously valuable
experience in building and developing a hospital. I, then, shifted my base to
Hyderabad, where I worked as Vice-President of a major hospital. At that time,
I decided to start a hospital of my own. During one of my regular interactions
with Prof. T. K. Nair at Chennai, he suggested to enter into the field of
ageing. Prof. Nair was at that time active in promoting community based
services for the elderly. He presented a grand design for me including
Presidentship of the International Federation on Ageing. At that time, I was
quite skeptical of the feasibility of his advice but as destiny would have it,
I started the Heritage Hospital for the elderly. Incidentally, Prof .Nair was
the one who suggested the title Heritage for my initiatives. I was invited to
speak at the White House Conference on Ageing in 2005. I became President of
the International Federation on Ageing before I turned 60. I travelled to many
countries as IFA president. I was one of the members of a panel Open-ended
Working Group on Ageing. I was invited as a resource person by UN ESCAP and WHO
SEAR in many of their regional meetings of experts on ageing. The government of
India invited me to be a member of the committee to redraft the National Policy
on Senior Citizens. I was a Member of the National Council of Older Persons
during 2006-2011. I was a member of the Andhra Pradesh State Advisory Council
to implement the National Policy on Older Persons. Now I am active in health
care, social welfare policy, and social work administration. A transformation
from HR Management to Human Welfare and Social Work.
The present book edited
by Prof. Nair looks at social work profession in India from an incisively
critical perspective. Personally, I am happy that the book includes an article
from my wife Nalini on the work she has been doing in the area of skill
development. Professionally, I rate this volume as an excellent one for the
future direction of social work.
Dr.K.R.Gangadharan
PhD., Creator, Heritage Hospital for the Elderly
Former President, IFA.
..............................................................................................................................................................................
Former President, IFA.
..............................................................................................................................................................................
%2Bfront.png)
%2Bfront.jpg)
%2Bfront.jpg)
Old Age in an Indifferent Society
Book
Review
India
Grows Old
K.Prabakar
Old
Age in an Indifferent Society
T.K.Nair
(Ed.)
Niruta
Publications,
Bangalore,
2013
146
Pages; Price Rs. 200/-
The
declining fertility and mortality rates and the increasing life expectancy at
birth as well as at older ages lead to increase in the global population of
persons aged 60 years and above. The 60+ population in India was more than 100
million in 2012 and that is estimated to be more than 323 million in 2050. As a
proportion, one in five Indians will be 60 or over in 2050. Further, 44 million
people are estimated to be in their eighties. The phenomenal increase in the
number and proportion of elderly people will pose serious social, economic,
health care, political and other challenges to the central and state
governments as well as to the Indian Society at large. In this book, edited by
the well-known social gerontologist Prof.T.K.Nair, the twelve articles examine
some of the issues concerning the Indian elderly in depth. More specifically
the definition of old age, situation of older people in the villages, abuse and
neglect of the elderly, the health care challenges and the role of traditional
Indian medicine, life satisfaction in old age, national policy on senior
citizens, social security, elder care legislation, research priorities in the
field of ageing, elder care services in India, two models of community - based
services for the elderly, and indifferent attitude of society towards old age
are analysed in the articles.
The
concept of old age is explained from different perspectives by Prof.Nair. He
says “Old age is a relative concept which varies from society to society.
Depending on the expectation of life, the definition of old age is found to
vary from about 40 in some developing countries to 70 and beyond in some
developed countries”. Ayurveda, the traditional system of Indian medicine,
divides human life span into ten stages and categorizes the aging persons into
two broad groups: Vriddha (60 to 80 years) and Jaratha (above 80 years). In
ancient China, the calendar year was named with the combination of two sets of
Chinese characters – one consisted of twelve characters and the other five
characters. Therefore, on becoming sixty-one years old, the name of that year
becomes same as that of the year of birth. Hence the sixty-first year after
birth is called Kanreki (return of the calendar) which is often regarded as the
beginning of old age or second childhood.
Dr.Nair
refers to an integrated concept of age proposed by Psychologist James Birren.
He differentiates the concepts of biological, psychological and social age.
Biological age refers to the position of an organism with respect to its
remaining potential longevity. Psychological age refers to an organism’s level
of adaptability, that is, the state of those capacities which permit the
individual to adapt to external and internal environmental demands. Social age
is the individual’s position in expected age-graded social roles and social
habits. A person’s functional age is viewed as a composite index of his/her
potential biological, psychological and social capacities.
Dr.Nair
concludes that old age defies any specific definition. It is not a mere statistical
categorization or fact. “The social definition of old age depends on the norms
of a particular society. Aging and being an older person are essentially social
and cultural phenomena”.
The
first research study on the elderly in India, perhaps, was that of
Dr.H.M.Marulasiddaiah. “Old People of Makunti”, published in 1969, was based on
a village study conducted five decades ago by him. The declining authority of
the aged was empirically observed in the village. Professor K.Visweswara Rao’s
article on the rural elderly in India analyses the situation of the older
people in Indian villages. He also reviews the relevant policies and
programmes.
Professor
Devi Prasad’s article “Struggle for Survival: Narratives of Abuse and Neglect
of the Elderly in Indian Families” presents heartrending case studies of the
elderly who are victims of abuse and neglect. Dr.Devi Prasad says that studies
have indicated that more than 95 percent of the abuse of elderly take place at
home. A majority of the elderly live with their spouses, children, and grand
children, and other relatives. That is why son, daughter-in-law, spouse and the
daughter are frequently reported to be the abusers. While the typical profile
of an elderly victim of abuse, whatever be the form of abuse, is found to be a
‘woman, widowed, of advanced age, poor and assetless’; a typical abuser is
middle aged, a principal caregiver, and usually the offspring of the older
person.
The
case studies presented by Dr.Devi Prasad reveal different angles of the abuse of
the elderly. One angle is that the patterns of elder abuse and neglect reflect
and reinforce the prevailing negative stereotypes toward the elderly and their
roles in society. The other angle is how we are constructing and explaining the
phenomenon of maltreatment of the elderly in the larger context of
socio-economic realities.
In
the article “Research Priorities in the Field of Ageing”, Dr.Siva Raju says
“the research on ageing in India was primarily focused on socio-economic and
demographic profiles, living arrangements, problems of and services to the
aged, interpersonal relationships especially of the urban elderly”. A
combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches are required for a more
comprehensive understanding of ageing issues. Also wide variation in levels of
development and socio-economic status of people living in different
geographical regions make national level studies on elderly essential. Analysis
of both secondary and primary data needs to be attempted, wherever necessary,
which in turn will help to focus on ageing issues, both at macro and micro
levels.
According
to WHO (2002) between 60-80% of the population in developing countries and a
growing percentage in developed countries continue to avail services of
traditional medical systems. In the article “Ageing Population in India: the
Health System Role of Traditional Medicine”, Dr.P.M.UnniKrishnan of UN
University observes that the approach to universal health coverage and health
system development in India is predominantly based on modern medical approach.
In the National Health Mission programmes traditional medicine is integrated
marginally and mainly in the form of dispensable medicines and not as a
holistic health care approach. Why are Ayurveda and other traditional medical
systems not called for to address the health-care challenges of the elderly?
There is a lot that these can offer in terms of preventive care, healthy
lifestyles, early detection of likely manifestation through methods such as
prakriti analysis, treatment methods such as panchakarma particularly in the
case of chronic, debilitating conditions.
K.N.Ajith
presents a case study of CEWA, the first community-based elder care project,
while Dr.Kalpana Sampath’s case study is on a health care initiative, NMT. At a
time when home for the aged was the form of elder care service for the elderly
in India., Centre for the Welfare of the Aged (CEWA), formed in 1979, pioneered
community-based elder care services in India.
CEWA’s
Convictions:
• The best place for the well-
being of the elderly is the family.
• Services to the elderly should
be provided where they live or as near as possible.
• Elderly are resources of the community.
Their talents and resources are unlimited which
should be identified, recognized, developed and utilised.
should be identified, recognized, developed and utilised.
• The elderly themselves will be
able to manage programmes for their well–being with proper
encouragement from social welfare personnel as facilitators and with necessary financial support.
encouragement from social welfare personnel as facilitators and with necessary financial support.
• The Chairman of the Tamilnadu
Social Welfare Advisory Board, who led a Committee of the
Centre Social Welfare Board in January 1985, made the following observations: “The members very much appreciated the day centres run by CEWA. They wanted to run such centres all over the country and I am very happy that this programme of yours is very much appreciated”.
Centre Social Welfare Board in January 1985, made the following observations: “The members very much appreciated the day centres run by CEWA. They wanted to run such centres all over the country and I am very happy that this programme of yours is very much appreciated”.
Nightingales
Medical Trust (NMT) is a voluntary organization working for the well-being of
the elderly in and around Bangalore through various innovative, family-based
support systems for the senior citizens of different socio-economic groups.
Some of Nightingales’s projects have emerged as models and are replicated in
other parts of the country, NMT’s Centre for Alzheimer’s has a team of
psychiatrists, physiotherapists and psychologists who take care of the elders
along with educating the family on the support required from them while dealing
with Dementia or Alzheimer’s patients. NMT also provides short term or respite
care for the family having dementia person with them. This service is a boon
for the family members when they have to go out of station or just want a break
from caring for a short period.
Prof.Nair
examines in detail the schemes and laws initiated by the government in the
article “The State and the Elderly”. He also analyses the “Elder Care Services
in India” in another article. The Government of India formulated the National
Policy on Older Persons in 1999 giving rise to hopes to millions of elderly in
the country. But it remained almost a paper policy. So a revised one called the
National Policy on Senior Citizens was framed in March 2011. But that policy is
not yet notified by the government. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and
Senior Citizens Act was a major legislation. But its implementation is far from
satisfactory. The National Programme for Health Care of Elderly (NPHCE) in
India, launched in 2010, to be introduced in 100 districts in 21 states has not
been put in place. In the developed nations, economic development preceded
populations ageing. But in India the reverse trend has been seen. The
government does not appear to be serious about the implications of this
demographic shift.
“Life
Satisfaction in Old Age” has been assessed by Dr.Nair based on a field study in
Chennai City and in two nearby villages. The mean life satisfaction score of
the elderly studied is low, that is, 7.89 while the range of the life
satisfaction scores is from 0 to 18. Life satisfaction score of the urban
elderly is double that of the rural elderly. Life satisfaction is found to be
associated with health status, economic condition and belief in re-birth.
In
the concluding article “Old Age in an Indifferent Society”, Dr.Nair discusses
Indian family’s changing role in caring for the elderly, issues relating to
income security, “age-ism”, apathy of governments, and the growing indifference
in Indian society towards the older people. The pejorative image of a person
who is old simply because of his or her age is seen as a growing phenomenon in
India too. Older persons are portrayed as sick, helpless and useless in
television programmes in India. All over the world there is a growing demand
for a state-funded, universal, non-means-related non-contributing pension
scheme for the elderly. Dr.Nair advocates for a universal pension of Rs.2, 000
per month which should be indexed to inflation. On the whole, the book “Old Age
in an Indifferent Society” is a very good contribution to the field of ageing.
Dr. K.
Prabakar
CEO, Apollo Knowledge
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This book is a collection of articles on the growing needs of aging people and the apathetic attitude of society towards them. Aging is a natural process and there are around hundred million 60 plus citizens (2011-2012) which would rise further due to increase in life expectancy. The changing society and its individualistic and materialistic outlook have alienated the elderly from their family members and society at large. The various articles in the book look at aging from social, physical, economic and cultural perspectives and deal with policy needs and elderly care services that may help in the effective management of this phenomenon.
The author begins by specifying varied ways of defining “old age” according to culture, region and understanding of each society. However, the underlying principle in each society to understand old age is that with the passage of time, as measured by the chronological age, there is a reliable index of changes in minds and bodies, and in abilities causing limitations. Marulasiddaiah, in the article ‘Old People of Makunti’, a village located in Karnataka, portrays the shrinking control of older people over the younger generation. The younger generation no longer consults elders on any matter. In fact the elderly feels neglected and attribute this change as “Kalyug”. J. Vishweswara, in his article, “The Rural Elderly in India” brings out some significant facts that may induce the government to make some changes in policies and programmes for the elderly. According to Census of India, the majority of elderly (75%) live in rural areas and an equally large number are windows, A study conducted by Help Age India in seven states points out that one-fifth of the elderly live alone. Devi Prasad in his article portrays the neglect and abuse that elderly people face in the family. The prime reason, according to the writer, is their devalued social status and dependency on the family which increases as they advance in age. Another article deals with the traditional system of medicine, Ayurveda, in geriatric care and the policy directions needed to integrate traditional medical systems into geriatric care.
An interesting contribution is by the editor himself on “Life Satisfaction in Old Age”, using life satisfaction scale and statistical analysis to show variation based on variables: age, sex, marital status, health, children, place of residence and economic situation. T.K. Nair, discusses at length the responsibility of the State towards the elderly, the various Acts and provisions and the existing care services ranging from institutional care to community care. S. Siva Raju in his article points at the need to diversify research in the field of aging in India which will promote effective age-related policies. Aging needs a multi and inter-disciplinary perspective. There is a need to recognize this group as a resource group. Social gerontology should include issues which affect the later period of life like retirement, pension and welfare policy. The last section in the book deals with the community of concern for the elderly and concludes that the best place for the well-being of the elderly is the family itself. Nevertheless, it lists out various community centres that take care of the aged.
The presentation in the book is very simple, lucid and valuable and it covers almost all aspects related to old age. The book gives an insight into the various problems and challenges for the government and its citizens which requires a major shift in attitude towards old people.
Renuka Ramanujam
Indian Social Institute
Friday, September 26, 2014
SOCIAL and Community Development Practice Manohar Pawar
SOCIAL and Community Development Practice
Manohar Pawar
Sage Publication 2014, 320 pages, hard
cover
Resurrecting
social work education and practice for social development
There
are endless books on this topic but this book targets social work educators,
professionals in particular and grass- roots development practitioners. Avoiding
traditional style of narratives, the author provides a detailed argument for
social work professionals to revisit the core content and position the
programme and practice in the context of macro policies and micro realities of
the nation without compromising basic values of social work.
This
assumes importance since in the developing south Afro-Asian counties the bulk
of social work trainees’ only exposure and learning experience to field
practice are community settings. This is essentially due to the absence of appropriate
clinical, institutional settings at regional and sub- regional levels and such
clinical settings may not be needed the way they exist in the developed world
The
book is divided into four major sections with a foreword note from Professor
Emeritus Dr. David Cox of La Trobe University, Australia
The
first section- Social and Community Development (SCD) Practice, briefly and
authentically captures various concepts in vogue without any ideology bias. The
concepts are discussed as facts and practice as stated in times of
evolution. Prof.Pawar passionately
provides a clear academic platform for adopting social and community
development practice at the local level and its significance in the era of
globalization and international issues on development.
The
second section Education for Social Policy and International SCD, is a more
pragmatic for social work educators and practitioners. Social work education in
SOUTH countries focuses more narrative information on Government programmes
than focusing on its implications for people’s development and social
development. The author has done a commendable
work of providing a tool kit for developing and teaching social policy and
international social work in the social work curriculum.
In
the third section, Prof.Pawar provides a critical review of Indian social work
education and practice scenario; may be, due to his deep roots in the country.
Chapter 7 is most interesting for all social work educators
.His sound argument on ‘Professional Imperialism’ is worth everyone’s
attention. Mentoring is an important part of any professional programme. The
Higher Education policy of the Government for the last two decades created a
big knowledge gap among the educators diretly affecting the trainees today.
Most of the issues raised by the author and perceived HOPE for the future worth
its salt for the future of social work education.
In
the last section Prf.Pawar takes the concept forward for its practice across
cultures and races.
The
book provides a neutral, objective and analytical approach to reorient social
work education, trainers and practitioners to a newer level of social work
practice and I whole heartedly recommend it to social work students, educators
and practitioners working in government and nongovernment organizations
REVIEWED
BY: L.S.GHANDI DOSS, Formerly Professor of social work, Bangalore University,
INDIA
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)