Empowerment in social work: an individual vs. a relational perspective

Abstract

Social workers with only an individualistic understanding of empowerment will easily end up as moralising agents rather than as facilitators for their clients. It is in the complex interaction between a given socio‐material situation and the individual capacity to interpret and act that one finds the key to an empowerment worthy of its name. This presupposes two things: that social workers have as a part of their education theoretical knowledge about organisational structures, and that they themselves have been empowered in ways that give them practical competence to act in relation to situations. They need the competence to identify the complexities of interests and power relations in society. The implication of such a recogni‐tion should be clear for the education of social workers: the ideology of empowerment has to be contextualised. To discuss this topic the author makes a distinction between an individua‐listic and a relational perspective and between social problems conceived of as a ‘lack of money’ vs. a ‘lack of meaning’.

Empowerment and globalisation in a Nordic social work education context

“…This way of observing and criticising the role of the educator is not often done and we hope this article will initiate a discussion about the demands put on pedagogy by a curriculum based on democratic principles and empowerment. We agree with Leonardsen (2007) who argues that if social work students have empowerment on their agenda, they should take part in their studies in a fully empowered way, but we have also learned that this is a mutual process. This issue is very important as it draws directly on the relationship between the social worker and the service user.…”

African refugee spouses’ experience of resettlement in regional Australia: Disempowering and empowering narratives

“…The D-ED hinges on the notion of individual empowerment and collective empowerment. Empowerment operates at personal or individual, interpersonal, organisational, community and collective levels (Hur, 2006; Leonardsen, 2007). ‘Individual empowerment happens when a person attempts to develop their abilities in terms of attaining self-determination, self-sufficiency, and decision-making’ (Becker et al, 2004).…”

Dilemmas when working with substance abusers with multiple and complex problems: the case manager's perspective

“…Case managers certainly have an empowering role (Siegal et al, 1995), but most case managers have experienced that it can be unwise and ineffective to let clients with multiple and complex problems link with services themselves. In fact, the ideology of empowerment in modern welfare systems can sometimes prove counterproductive, as some people with multiple and complex problems appear not to be capable of taking responsibility for their own treatment (Cruikshank, 1999; Leonardsen, 2007). So empowerment does sometimes lead to the neglect of clients’ needs.…”