Social Work Theory and Perspective

Social Work Theory and
Perspective

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Social learning theory : ..........................................................................................................3
Conflict theory........................................................................................................................6
How social theories apply on this situation............................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERNCES ................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Social work theories refers to describe, explain and predict events which is based on
scientific evidence, research and studies. Social work theory draw perspectives from philosophy,
education and other fields that help in explaining drives and motivates people at various stages of
life (Gilbert, 2019). A social theory may explain human behaviour, or how humans interact with
each other is described. In the essay two social theories are described, anti oppressive theory and
conflict theory. Principles, advantages and disadvantages of these two theories are discussed and
how it addresses issue of anti oppressive or anti discriminatory practice is described.
MAIN BODY
There are two social theories i.e., anti oppressive theory and conflict theory.
Social learning theory :
It is one of the theory which helps in explaining the differences in a person's behaviour
or learning style due to change in the environment or surroundings. It is an interdisciplinary
approach rooted within practice of social work, the main focus is on socio-economic oppression.
In this it requires critical evaluation of power imbalance with regards to political and socio
cultural context so that strategies can be developed for creating a healthy environment and there
should be no discrimination among people on the basis of race, caste or any other form of
discrimination (Wittink and et.al., 2020).
This theory helps in delivering welfare services in an inclusive manner. The anti
oppressive theory analyse against two levels of oppression i.e., macro and micro level and
focuses on social justice and social change along more empowering lines. There are three
barriers of anti oppressive theory i.e., personal, cultural and structural.
Social learning theory is a practice which is dynamic process based on difficult or complex
patterns based on social relations. This theory considers use and abuse of power and try to
eliminate discrimination (Vandekinderen and et.al., 2020).
Principles of social learning theory are, it incorporates the idea of behaviour such as, like
in the beginning nature of person was different and after sometime the behaviour changes due to
some reason. Social learning theory helps in motivating person to stay calm and they can be get
well soon. The main focus of this theory is on improving the health of person. There are five

principles of social learning theory i.e., observation, attention, retention, reproduction and
motivation. All these principles help in influencing an individual and helps in changing
behaviour. In this theory firstly, situation is being observed then identify the problem. After that
attention is required so that better solution can be found. Next is to retain the idea and use it for
reproduction of behaviour. The last is to motivate or convince an individual person. Social
workers are more concerned with the persons whose behaviour is changed and helps them in
preventing and finding solutions (Vanbutsele and et.al., 2018).
Advantage of social learning theory are, it provides research support for predicting social
learning theory. It also helps in identifying behaviour of the person in the absence of direct
reinforcement.
Disadvantages of social learning theory are, it only takes factors that are present in the
environment and involve in changing behaviour of an individual person and do not focus on
other factors. There are many factors that are present in the environment or surrounding but it
only concentrates on environmental factors (Vale and et.al., 2017).
Social learning theory focuses on learning behaviour through means of observing or
imitating others. This also occurs through observation and imitation of others. In case of Simon,
he learnt his behaviour from school and as Simon was becoming very aggressive that he raised
his hand on mother and this situation was extreme. However, in all these Simon was also going
through several situations and bad experiences. This means that Simon was isolated from his
peer group and peers were treating him badly which caused him to develop aggression. In
addition to this, his personal situations were also not in favour because his father was not present
and when Simon observes others with their father or both parents this might have caused
resentment and which made him aggressive. This means that social environment has very
significant impact on behaviour of Simon (Juffer, Bakermans-Kranenburg and van IJzendoorn,
2017). However, there are ways in which Simon can be helped to reduce his aggressive
behaviour and this involves taking help from social workers. Social workers can suggest and
refer Simon to CAMHS which refers to Child and Adolescent Mental Health. This service will
help Simon in reducing his aggression. They will also assess Simon if he has any kind of
learning or other disability because of which he is getting aggressive. Strength based approaches
can also be used by social workers in which they can collaborate with person being supported