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Research Proposal Part 1
Walden University
SOCW 6301: Social Work Practice Research I
Dr. Pete R. Fawson
April 29,2023
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Introduction
The role of social workers is of paramount importance to promote social justice and
equality. These workers mainly work with vulnerable members of society and make sure
that their needs are met, and their quality of life is improved. It is argued that the
contributions made by social workers are immense (Payne, 2020). Social workers can
help to tackle diverse issues that exist in society such as poverty, homelessness, mental
health issues, etc. by assessing the specific needs of individuals, families, and other
members of communities. However, a major barrier that may arise before social workers
and impede their ability to contribute to society and its members includes social injustice
and inequality. It has been identified that the lack of social justice in the social work
setting has the potential to give rise to complex issues such as exclusion and unfairness
(O'Brien, 2019). Due to the prevalence of injustice and inequality, the functions that are
carried out by social workers may fail to create value in society and the ability of
vulnerable members of the society to seek help may get diminished.
Problem Statement
The specific problem on which the proposed research study will focus is the impact of
social injustice and inequality in the social work field. Furthermore, the proposed study
will also lay emphasis on the measures that can be taken to mitigate the issues relating
to social injustice and inequality. According to existing literature, the role of social
justice is of cardinal importance in the social work setting since it helps the
professionals to overcome a diverse range of challenges and obstacles such as guides
social workers to overcome a diverse range of issues, such as inequality, oppression, and
discrimination (Bláhová, 2022). However, the absence of social justice has the potential
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to defeat the very purpose of social work as it may widen the gap that exists in society
due to disparity. The research study will help to uncover how the existence of barriers
such as discriminatory policies, racism at the institutional level, etc can lead to social
injustice and inequality. There is an opportunity to integrate the elements of fairness and
equity in social work setting so that diverse vulnerable members of the society can get
empowered and social workers can play a proactive role to eliminate varying forms of
social injustices.
Research Question
The research question that has been generated to address the identified research problem
is presented below:
What is the impact of social injustice and inequality in the social work field and
what measures can be taken to eliminate or tackle the issues of social injustice
and inequality in the social work context?
The research question that has been framed is aligned with the identified problem that
revolves around social injustice and inequality. Based on the existing evidence, when
social injustice elements invade the social work system, the practices and approaches
adopted by social workers fail to make a positive lasting impact on community members
who need help and assistance (Hosken, 2018). Social injustice diminishes fairness, and
the fundamental purpose of social workers gets lost.
Literature Review
Social justice is the key ingredient in social work that helps in promoting fairness. It
fundamentally ensures that inequalities that exist at the systemic and institutional levels
are effectively overcome (Bláhová, 2022). As the issue of social injustice has been
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prevalent in social work context for a long time, social workers must consider its long
history as well as the main bottlenecks that exist due to which the needs of
marginalized member of the society remain unfulfilled. To effectively overcome the issue
pertaining to social injustice and inequality, both individuals as well as organizations
need to play a proactive role in the social work setting so that the social objectives can
be achieved at an integrated level. Hosken (2018) has argued that it is imperative to
identify how social injustice creeps into social work and adversely affects the ability of
social workers to carry out their roles and responsibilities. The proactive involvement of
social workers in social policy practice can empower them to understand how policies
work and how they can be effectively implemented at the practical level to mitigate
social issues (Pawar, 2019). It has been argued that the adoption of transformative
practices by social workers can help to identify and address poorly planned institutional
policies that contribute to social injustice and inequality. Similarly, for promoting justice
and fairness in the social work context, social workers need to carry out their duties in
an ethical and responsible manner by integrating ethical principles such as integrity,
responsibility, fairness, justice, respect, and accountability (Teasley et al., 2022).
Methodical Approach
A qualitative research method has been identified as an ideal approach that will help to
uncover the issue at an in-depth level. One of the distinguishing features of a qualitative
study is that it uses a subjective approach to explore and examine an issue. As the
analysis is not restricted to facts and figures, it is possible to uncover non-quantitative
elements such as experiences, behaviours, etc. By adopting a qualitative research
approach, there is an opportunity to consider the experiences of social workers as well
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as the community members whom they serve (Sewell et al., 2023). It can help to
uncover how the prevalence of injustice and inequality has adversely affected vulnerable
and marginalized members of the community.
For uncovering the severity of the issue relating to social injustice and inequality, a
diverse range of secondary sources will be used. These sources will play an integral role
in the research study since they will help to strengthen the theoretical understanding of
the topic, including the severity of the identified problem. By integrating the available
sources into the study, it will be possible to understand the depth of the problem,
especially how social injustice exists in the social work system and weakens the quality
of service that is delivered.
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References
Bláhová, S. (2022). Social justice: the path to unity. SN Social Sciences, 2(8), 128.
Hosken, N. (2018) “Practices of exclusion and injustices within social work education,”
Social Work Education, 37(7), pp. 825837. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2018.1456519.
Munford, R., & Sanders, J. (2021). Transformative practice: Social work practice with
vulnerable young people. European Journal of Social Work, 24(4), 720-731.
O'Brien, M. (2017). Social work and the practice of Social Justice: An initial overview.
Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 21(1-2), 310. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-
vol21iss1-2id308
Pawar, M. (2019). Social Work and social policy practice: Imperatives for political
engagement. The International Journal of Community and Social Development, 1(1),
1527. https://doi.org/10.1177/2516602619833219
Payne, M. (2020). Modern social work theory. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Sewell, K. M., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Kalmanovitch, A., & Todd, S. (2023).
Simulation in social work education: a qualitative study of standardized clients’
experiences. Social Work Education, 1-18.
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Teasley, M. L., Dettlaff, A. J., & Abrams, L. S. (2022). Some Comments on the Notion
of Social Work as a Human Service Cartel. Research on Social Work Practice,
32(6), 710-713.
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