IMPORTANT ASSET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27093, 30 May 1949, Page 4

IMPORTANT ASSET

UNIVERSITY COURSE = SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK DOMINION'S HUMAN PROBLEMS ! . “ Since coming to New Zealand to start a School of Social Work at Victoria University College, I must have been asked at least a hundred times, ■ “What v is a School of Social Work,” said Professor David C. Marsh, professor in charge of the School of Social Work at Victoria University College, in a broadcast address on the .subject “‘University training for special work ” last night. To understand the purpose of such a school, it was necessary first to r understand what social work was. said ?, Professor Marsh. i' Social work was any activity l concerned with remedying the cirS cumstances of all those people who * cannot adjust themselves to the' S conditions of the society in which t they live. It was concerned with s such problems as juvenile deliny quency, deserted and neglected children, people living in poverty, the physically and mentally handicapped, the needs of old people, . and so on.' ■ More enlightened social workers had '' realised that poor relief was not .in ... itself a solution, and had advocated !, a more constructive policy Requiring trained social workers, who were far more qualified than the wealthy ama,t teur or the person merely imbued with the desire “to do good.” The y. need for professional social workers , • emphasised the new approach to social ’ problems. “The school is, like other ,1 specialist schools, concerned primarily with training specialists,” said Profesj sor Marsh. , , , ... All forms of social work had as their ’.tTmain objective the study of man and ■ his relationship to society. The social worker needed-to develop an underV standing of what people were Uke. 1 how their minds ‘ and emotions worked, and ,what their principal pre- -■ occupations were. Above all, the social worker needed to know. what . tools were available to help him in his trade—and how to use those tools, s- The School of . Social Wprk provided information on'these subjects through a study of psychology, history, law, economics, social administration, and the theory and practice of social work. 7 The practice of social work, which 1 was a necessity for .such a course, could only be done with the co-opera-tion of Government departments. “We can say, then, that a school of social .work- has three mam aims. First, it must provide sound academic training. It must make a student think about social problems. Secondly, it must give prac- „ tical training. And, thirdly, it must maintain a proper balance between theory and practice.” The type of person required, was one who was mature, intelligent, M emotionally stable and well balanced, completely trustworthy, and above" all vas able to get on well with people. ■rj The need for research was em- : t. ohasised by Professor Marsh, as it r,i was only by research that we could determine the nature and extent of social problems and provide a soluio don for them, and in concluding his -k address Professor Marsh said: ‘ I > aope that the new School of Social Work at Victoria College will lead :o a greater interest in. and a better understanding of, social problems. I ! .V , nope, too. that the students who will oass through it will themselves contribute to our inadequate knowledge nf human problems. If these hopes are realised, then the School of Social ’ Work will indeed be a most important asset in the educational and social system of. New Zealand.”