Projects / Programmes
Social work and social cohesion: dilemmas of the autonomous and heteronomous regulation of social systems
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.07.00 |
Social sciences |
Criminology and social work |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S214 |
Social sciences |
Social changes, theory of social work |
social work, social security, social cohesion, social politics, autonomy, heteronomy, contemporary history, "societalization" (podružbljanje), discretion right, privatization, subsidiarity, globalisation in social work, ethnicity.
Researchers (8)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
08531 |
PhD Srečo Dragoš |
Criminology and social work |
Researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 2. |
18606 |
PhD Vesna Leskošek |
Criminology and social work |
Researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 3. |
32018 |
PhD Jelena Petrović |
Linguistics |
Researcher |
2010 - 2011 |
0 |
| 4. |
29374 |
PhD Ana Marija Sobočan |
Criminology and social work |
Junior researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 5. |
24374 |
PhD Špela Urh |
Criminology and social work |
Researcher |
2008 - 2009 |
0 |
| 6. |
27997 |
PhD Petra Videmšek |
Criminology and social work |
Researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 7. |
00317 |
PhD Darja Zaviršek |
Criminology and social work |
Head |
2008 - 2011 |
4 |
| 8. |
23048 |
PhD Jelka Zorn |
Criminology and social work |
Researcher |
2008 - 2009 |
0 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The autonomy of social work and the quality of social services depend on the intersection of three areas: 1) competences of service providers; 2) institutional setting, that renders these services possible and 3) a general social consensus on their range, scope and user accessibility. If in the junction or intertwining of these three system, there is present a colonization of one system over the other, we can speak of a heteronomy in the development of social work in the direction of logics and principles, enforced by the dominant system. In this way, the subsystem of social work (and social care) is constantly subjected to heteronomy, i.e. the power of other subsystems, such as politics, social politics, medicine and economy. In this research, we will take interest in the influence of these subsystems on social work, as well as the range and possibilities of its autonomy. We will attain knowledge of this with the help of a historical perspective. We will investigate, which concepts and subsystems have had a key influence over social work in the period between 1960-2000.
In the period between 1960-1990 we will study the following concepts:
1) discretion right in the field of social work (par example in the case of local communities’ committees for social and health care);
2) "societalisation" (podružbljanje) of social care;
3) patologisation of social phenomena;
4) the issue of ethnicity and immigrants in social work.
The research on these subjects will enable us to uncover social cohesion (society of inclusion and solidarity), as well as the development of social work from the perspective of heteronomy. The key change has occurred in 1991: not only due to the transition from a multi-national to a single-national state, but also due to the changes in the socio-political system. With this research we will be able to answer the question on how did this change reflect in the sphere of social rights and social care.
By investigating heteronomy of social work in the period between 1990-2000 we will focus on concepts connected with the neoliberalization of European states, including Slovenia. Among these, we will centre on two concepts: 1) the principle of subsidiarity in social care and 2) privatization of social services. We will analyse the distinctive processes and shifts in the non-governmental as well as governmental sector, including privatization and show, what is the impact of all this on the autonomy of social work and social care.
Significance for science
The research had an interdisciplinary orientation, with a focus on solutions to broader social problems which are beyond the competence of any single traditional scientific field. The research featured an in-depth analysis of the internal contradictions of social work and the ways in which social work is suspended between autonomy and heteronomy. In this regard, building new concepts and reviewing old ones which could be used to develop new fields of research played a key role. The historiographical approach in particular dictates interdisciplinarity, that is, the productive linking of research methods from the social sciences and the humanities. The historical viewpoint of individual concepts serves to define the relationship between the past and the present; it marks continuities as well as discontinuities in the way the concepts are understood and applied. A direct effect of this approach is the research imperative which states that social concepts are not self-evident categories free of the influence of time. From the fact that the past of every concept is also registered in its present use, a phenomenon which is reflected in the different ways a given concept can be interpreted, it also follows that the sociological and historical approach become inseparable; the latter facilitates the redefinition of the relationship between two disciplines which, at least in the Slovenian academic space, have to date cooperated very little.
The relevance of the research for the development of science lies therefore in the historical conceptualization of the autonomy of social work in different political contexts. The main method of study was the analysis of archival materials, books, articles and political documents from the time period covered by the research. The main conclusion was that the obstruction of the autonomy of social policy has been a constantly present "blind spot" for Slovenia; this situation existed in the past, both in the old Yugoslavia prior to the Second World War and under socialism in the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, and still persists today, in the age of neoliberalism. The results of the research outlined phenomena and processes that impacted the autonomy of social policy and, consequently, the functioning of the social security system. The research focused on concepts that touch on current social changes, such as the changing role of the welfare state and the global social services movement.
Significance for the country
The relevance of the research for Slovenia extends to both the scientific and applicative fields. It is a contribution to national development in the field of science; it represents a broadening of knowledge in the fields of social sciences and the humanities, and in particular a new awareness of contemporary Slovenian history. In an applicative sense, the research contributes to an awareness of the importance of public services in the welfare state and to the strengthening of these services. Conclusions regarding the welfare system are important for a young country like Slovenia, in particular answers to questions that address the conditionality of access to the welfare state and the ways in which people in public services are treated (what do social service users gain, and what do they lose, in both a symbolic and actual sense, when they are included in assistance programmes.) Without an in-depth knowledge of the history of the welfare state, it would not be possible to understand these institutional mechanisms or change them in a meaningful way. In its efforts to understand and reflect on the development of the welfare state in Slovenia in a complex way, the research also achieves relevance through findings which bring about enhanced possibilities for managing social processes and risks linked to the economic crisis, the development of new technologies, changes in demographic structure, and the impact of globalization on people's everyday lives.
The research facilitates comparisons on the international level. It answers certain questions regarding the public sector; it is important for understanding and planning the social sector and plays a role in the study/pedagogical process (for students of social work in Slovenia.)
Due to a near total lack of texts from the field of early ideas in social work in Slovenia, the works of Ilse Arlt, an Austrian of Jewish descent who made a pioneering contribution to social work and who founded the first school for social work in Vienna, were translated as part of the research. Up to the end of the Second World War, her ideas also informed Slovenian ideas in the social field, later to be omitted, along with her name, from classroom social work texts and the collective memory. Translations of her key works in the social field are therefore important for Slovenia, and thanks to the research project one of her works will be made available in the Slovene language in the near future. Close cooperation with the philosopher Maria Maiss of the University of St. Poelten, Ilse Arlt's biographer and the editor of her works, has provided a comprehensive view of her work and facilitated a comparative understanding of the development of social ideas before 1960 in Austria and Slovenia. The translation of the book by Ilse Arlt will be published in 2011.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
