The emergence of social work was necessitated by social strife. Discuss
The emergence of social work was necessitated by a couple of factors which include the Elizabthan Poor Laws, American concerns about poverty, industrialisation, the world wars, social ills, economic growth, colonialism, traditional views and philanthropy to mention but a few. It is the purpose of this essay to show that the emergence of social work was necessitated by social strife.
The Elizabethan Poor Laws of 1601 according to J.D. Marshal (), cited the laws were enacted to deal with the problem of urban destitution. The Act of Elizabeth 1601 laid down that each parish was to be responsible for the maintenance of its own poor people. The laws were also enacted on the assumption that the poor were entirely responsible for their situation. Poverty, according to Midgley (1984) was seen as a direct consequence of idleness. In 1834, the Poor Laws were amended through the introduction of the principle of less eligibility which sought to limit the number of people on poor relief by making poor relief unattractive. (The laws led to the establishment of work houses where destitute were housed). The underlying governmental motive was that of providing social stability, alleviating discontent, preventing riots, and dissatisfaction and thus the emergence of social work was indeed necessitated by social strife.
More so, the poor laws led to the establishment of work houses where destitutes were housed. According to some school of thought, these people lived terribly and some recognised this and they began to render personal social services to the less fortunate. This also marked the rise of voluntary organisations such as the charity organisation society and the settlement house movement. Development of these institutions was to deal with a range of social problems which include poverty,