Related Experiment Videos
Empowering school social work practices for positive youth development: Hong Kong experience
1Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong. smto@cuhk.edu.hk
Abstract:
Empowerment has become a popular concept in working with adolescents in recent years. It challenges the deficit model of youth work and focuses on creating a facilitative climate in which young people can make maximum use of the opportunity to learn and grow. While many practitioners have adopted the empowerment approach in youth services, however, we know little about the possibilities for empowerment practice in the field of school social work. Based on the findings of a qualitative study conducted in Hong Kong, this paper explores how school social workers engage in different dimensions of empowerment: (1) the personal dimension in regard to how students recapture a sense of competence to meet life challenges and fight for their own benefits; (2) the school and community dimensions in regard to how practitioners collaborate with service users and partners to initiate constructive changes to school policies and strengthen the school-community partnership for student development; and (3) the institutional dimension in regard to how practitioners play the advocacy role in the education sector. The findings provide rich information for other youth workers, especially those who render service in the school setting, as they apply the empowerment approach in daily practice.
Related Concept Videos
Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other