• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.29
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• pp.218-240
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• 1996

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.349-373
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• 2010

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the way of knowledge production in social welfare and to graft feminist epistemology to the discipline of social welfare. To put it more concretely, as analyzing the epistemological and methodological issues appeared in the articles in "orean Journal of Social Welfare", this study examines the meanings of feminist epistemology and its implications to research and practice in social welfare. From its onset, feminist research criticized the 'mainstream' ways of conceptualizing knowledge construction via research conducted upon a positivist epistemological position. Particularly, western feminists have problematized the androcentric bias embedded within the so-called 'social sciences' that we have taken for granted as 'scientific,' 'objective,' and 'neutral,' and attempted to redirect and reformulate the way of knowledge production with new concepts of 'strong objectivity,' 'partial/situated knowledge,' and 'strong reflection.' We believe that the implications of feminist epistemology to enable us to reflect the power relationship between subject and object, I and Other, and the researcher and the researched will contribute to recover the original vision of social welfare as critical theory and liberating practice in social work.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.49
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• pp.34-61
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• 2002

Recently, the concept of empowerment has become popular within social work practice. Despite of this trends, we have little empirical knowledge about what empowerment practice is and how it is applicable to practice settings in Korea. This study explored how social workers perceived and experienced the concept of empowerment. We used qualitative method to solve this questions. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted to 7 social workers serving in diverse settings. Research results are as follows: Participants had common perceptions of empowerment concept despite of the different settings. They perceived power as confidence, independence, self-control. The client/worker relationships were open, nonhierarchial egalitarian and characterized by mutuality and reciprocity. They emphasized the nature of empowerment as circular and diffusive process. Also, they orientated long term practice related to impatience of social workers. Finally, those who participated in this study challenged and reinterpreted the existing traditional "professionalism". We concluded that empowerment practice might demand infinite energies, social worker's creativity, trust of clients, and that empowerment practice would be a new approach in social work practice which influence on much more population because of its diffuseness.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.3
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• pp.125-177
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• 1982

• 한국사회복지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.10a
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• pp.145-159
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• 2007

• 한국사회복지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.10a
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• pp.201-214
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• 2007

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.43
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• pp.328-357
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• 2000

From Foucault's Perspective of power, this study is trying to illuminate the characteristics and limitations of 'empowerment' which is widely accepted as a central value and practice skill of social work. Notwithstanding the superficial consensus on the empowerment, the author shows that it is a confusing concept with contrasting expectations and conflicting methodologies or only a wishful rhetorical jargon. Furthermore, he argues that the empowerment is not just a value-free intervention skill working outside the ruling power but a ruling-discourse or power-mechanism of a liberal society which makes citizens responsible voluntarily. For a theoretical background for these arguments, the 2nd chapter reviews Foucault's theory of power. The 1st part of the 3rd chapter summarizes the historical background of empowerment practice and its methodological characteristics and meanings, the 2nd part reviews the existing critics on the conceptual and practical limitations of empowerment, and the last part reveals, based upon Foucault's theory of power, that the empowerment is a typical mode of ruling power in liberal societies. The author expects that this study may warn the moral and intellectual superiority complex of social work discourse and help stimulate the ethical sensibility and responsibility in social work practice.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.179-204
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• 2009

This paper attempts to explain the effect and application of action research in Korean social welfare research and discusses utilities of action research in the broadening and deepening social welfare body of knowledge within Korea. First, this paper examines the concepts, characteristics, and relevant literatures of action research. Second, this paper attempts to explain the effect, meanings, and application of action research in Korean social welfare research with examples from study on development of user involvement manuals for the disabled residential facilities for the first time in Korea. Third, this paper discusses utilities of action research in broadening and deepening social welfare knowledge body in Korea. In discussing the utilities, this paper maintains that action research can be more properly utilized for research methods to decrease the gab of research and social work practice. Finally, this paper highlights that 'many ways of knowing' exist in social science and it should be considered more sincerely in the arena of Korean social welfare research in order to more solidly develop the knowledge body of social welfare and practice in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.5-32
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• 2010

Although social work practice skills are one of the important components of social work practice, research on social work practice skills has been very scarce. It seems that the reason might be a lack of standardized instruments used to measure social work practice skills. The purpose of this study is to validate a Korean version of the Practice Skills Inventory(PSI) developed by O'Hare and colleagues. The PSI is the only instrument developed in the field of social work to measure the frequency of social work practice skills that social workers use. A total of 310 social workers working in medical or mental health field were participated in this study. A result of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Korean version of the PSI is composed of 4 factors like its english version. The Korean version of the PSI was also reliable and valid. Implications for social work research, practice and education are provided.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.163-190
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• 2018

The citizen-initiative has been frequently mentioned in community building project which is being promoted by Seoul City. The citizen-initiative has become an important concept in the direction of community welfare efforts. However, this concept has not been defined clearly in social welfare. In this context, the purpose of this study is to find how the practitioners of the social welfare practice field recognize the concept of citizen-initiative. In this study, concept mapping method was used to generate 59 statements about the citizeninitiative in 10 social workers in Seoul. Multidimensional scaling analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis are used to do mapping and grouping the 59 statements. The results are as follows. A total of 6 categories were derived. The six categories are named "Inducement of Participation", "Practice", "Procedure", "Awareness and Interest extension", "Expression of Opinion", "Attitude and Emotion". "Practice" category was revealed as a core category in the concept of citizen-initiative. This study is meaningful as a first step to discuss "what is the citizen-initiative?" and to make consensus in social welfare academic area and practice field.