What is Social Work?

(A Study by Susannah Jones)

  • Sousan Lahoussine PhD Candidate in Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco, and University of Kassel, Germany
  • Hammouch Ibrahim Social worker, Researcher in Sociology Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
Keywords: Social work, social workers, social welfare, social justice, ideology, professional practice

Abstract

Social work is an academic discipline and an applied profession concerned with studying human behavior in its social context. It seeks to provide professional intervention to improve the well-being of individuals, groups, and communities. Social work is practiced in diverse settings, including schools, hospitals, mental health clinics, child protection centers, elderly care facilities, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. The profession's core objective is to promote social justice, improve social conditions, and empower vulnerable groups through more humane professional practices and social policies. Despite the overlap in knowledge between social work and both sociology and psychology, social work maintains its distinctiveness by focusing on the interactive relationship between the individual and their social environment and by relying on professional interventions that consider multiculturalism and societal differences. Social work is also framed within multiple ideological perspectives, most notably conservative, liberal, and radical, reflecting a diversity of understandings regarding the causes of social problems and how to address them.

References

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Published
2026-04-17
How to Cite
Sousan Lahoussine, & Hammouch Ibrahim. (2026). What is Social Work? (A Study by Susannah Jones) . International Journal on Humanities and Social Sciences, (71), 77-88. https://doi.org/10.33193/IJoHSS.71.2026.921
Section
المقالات