This assignment draws on Chapter 8 (Best 2017) to ask you to think about the actual people who deal with your social condition in practical ways.
By thinking about the power dynamics between social problems workers, subjects, and the larger society, you can see how social status and power shape the process at both micro and macro levels.
Make a list of at least three types of professional social problems workers associated with your condition. (This list should not include college professors, flattered though I might be. Think outside the box and try to apply the question really specifically to your social issue!) Describe how each worker is involved in the everyday implementation of policies related to your social problem. For each type of worker, offer a brief description of how much power that type of worker has:
■ In defining whether the condition is a problem and how large a problem it is.
■ In constructing the grounds, warrants, and conclusions associated with the condition.
■ In society in general. Are these people well paid? Do they have the ability to influence others?
Conclude with a basic discussion of how these power dynamics shape the social problems process with regard to your condition.
Whenever possible, you should include references / citations to back up your discussion of these points.
Make a new page of your website titled “Work” for this assignment.
Your descriptions should total at least 300-500 words.
The professional social problems workers associated with environmental justice and climate change are:
Social workers who work in agencies sometimes assist climate refugees from other countries (Powers et al. 2018). These workers have little power in defining the social problem or in constructing the claims. Social workers also have little power in society overall; they are poorly paid and have little political power.
Professors sometimes teach college students about climate change and environmental justice. They have power in articulating the importance of the subject to their students, but they are somewhat constrained by observers, as well as the expectations of their universities in particular and the educational institution in general. In educating students about the problem, they can frame grounds, warrants, and conclusions selectively, but their only power in reaching the wider society is through their students. They have little power in society in general; most are poorly paid relative to their education, though they do hold some social esteem. Professors at research institutions are paid more and have higher status, but most courses are taught by contingent faculty with less job security and lower social status.
Etc…
Added to Experts section of Bibliography:
Powers, Meredith C. F., Cathryne A. Schmitz, Christian Z. Nsonwu, and Manju T. Mathew. 2018. "Environmental Migration: Social Work at the Nexus of Climate Change and Global Migration." Advances in Social Work 18(3).
Strong assignments will:
Clearly explain using plain language; and
Include examples (and ideally evidence) related to social problems work.
Instructions for peer review for this assignment are located here: