Case Analysis – Applying Ideology Social Work 200B Family A Nolan is a 17 year-old Aboriginal youth from a small community in northern BC. He grew up with his mother, step-father, and two younger brothers in a two-bedroom home on reserve. Nolan’s mother, Lana, was a school teacher before Nolan was born. Nolan’s father, Thompson, encouraged her to stop working when Nolan was born and be a stay-at-home mom. Lana was reluctant to leave her career but did feel that Nolan would benefit from having her at home. Thompson made more money working on the oil rigs and it didn’t make financial sense for them to pay for child care, should a space become available (which rarely happened in their small town). Lana and Thompson are both survivors of residential schools. They met in a rehabilitation facility as young adults. Lana has not drank alcohol since going into treatment, but Thompson occasionally parties when he is off work. Neither of them speak about their experience in the schools, nor do they have contact with their families of origin. When Nolan was three, Thompson did not return from work one day and Lana has not heard from him since. Lana had to rely on welfare when Thompson stopped sending money from his paycheques. She remarried when Nolan was five and gave birth to twin boys shortly after. While she would like to return to her teaching career, positions rarely become available at the community’s only school. Nolan completed his education up to grade 9 at the local school and then had to relocate to Prince George to attend high school. There, he currently lives with his aunt and uncle who work long hours and are rarely home. Despite their frequent absences, his aunt and uncle are supportive of his education and have offered for him to continue living with them if he wants to attend college or university in Prince George. While in Prince George, Nolan connected with some other teen boys who did not have close family in their lives. Some of his friends used recreational drugs such as marijuana, ecstasy, and crystal meth. Nolan initially resisted using the drugs and would just have a few beers on the weekends. However, as the stress of graduation approached, and his loneliness increased, he spent more and more time with his friends and began experimenting with drugs. Nolan recently learned that two of his friends have become affiliated with a local gang. They are selling drugs and have dropped out of school. When Nolan sees them, they refer to their gang as their family and seem like they have found somewhere to belong. These friends invited Nolan to hang out with them this weekend and meet some of their “brothers.” Nolan is nervous but is considering going along. On Friday night as Nolan is getting ready to leave, Nolan’s mother calls him with “good news.” Her husband is opening a coffee shop and has suggested that Nolan return home to their remote community to help him run it. She is excited about the idea of Nolan coming home. In the background, Nolan can hear his brothers playing and arguing over video games. At the same time, he receives a text message from his friend saying, “Where R U?” In front of him, community college brochures sit open on his kitchen table. 10:23 mymoodle.okanagan.bc.ca Case Analysis: Applying Ideology Grade: 20% of final grade Due date: Week 6 Length: 5-7 pages, APA style Late Marks: 5% deducted per day. No assignments will be accepted after one week past the due date. Assignment Goals To demonstrate that you can: 1. Understand the three main ideologies presented in this course (Conservative, Liberal, and Social Democratic paradigms); 2. Apply your understanding of the ideologies to Social Work practice, as illustrated by your response to a case study; 3. Demonstrate critical thinking in relation to the benefits and limitations of each ideological approach; 4. Critically examine how each ideology fits with the social work values and the Code of Ethics. Instructions 1. Read the two case studies posted on Moodle. Choose one of the case studies to be the focus of your paper. 2. Provide a very brief summary of each of Conservatism, Liberalism, and Social Democracy (max one paragraph, 300 words each). The intention of this section is to frame your essay with a clear understanding of the basic tenets of each perspective. You do not need to go into great detail here. 3. Next, imagine you are taking on the role of a Social Worker from each of the three main ideologies. (You are "trying on the hat," so to speak.) Provide an analysis in your paper of how each ideological perspective would approach the client and their current challenge. Do not write a question and answer list, but aim to address the following within your essay. If it helps, as you ask yourself each question, preface it with: "From the ideology, ...: a....how would a Social Worker view this client's presenting problem? b....what individual characteristics of this person have contributed to the problem (if any)? C....what structural factors of our society have contributed to the problem (if any)? d....what responsibility does society have to this person? e....what responsibility does government have to this person? f....how does the economy relate to this person's challenges? g....how does your view of human nature, within this ideology, relate to your perspective on the client and his/her current issues? h....what will your Social Work intervention be? 4. Review the CASW Code of Ethics and Social Work values. Which ideological approach do you think best fits Social Work values and ethics for this case? Defend your assertion. Which ideological approach (if any) go against Social Work values and ethics? Again state your evidence. 5. Write a conclusion stating which ideological annroach you 10:23 mymoodle.okanagan.bc.ca one of the case studies to be the focus of your paper. 2. Provide a very brief summary of each of Conservatism, Liberalism, and Social Democracy (max one paragraph, 300 words each). The intention of this section is to frame your essay with a clear understanding of the basic tenets of each perspective. You do not need to go into great detail here. 3. Next, imagine you are taking on the role of a Social Worker from each of the three main ideologies. (You are "trying on the hat," so to speak.) Provide an analysis in your paper of how each ideological perspective would approach the client and their current challenge. Do not write a question and answer list, but aim to address the following within your essay. If it helps, as you ask yourself each question, preface it with: "From the ideology, a....how would a Social Worker view this client's presenting problem? b....what individual characteristics of this person have contributed to the problem (if any)? C....what structural factors of our society have contributed to the problem (if any)? d....what responsibility does society have to this person? e....what responsibility does government have to this person? f....how does the economy relate to this person's challenges? g....how does your view of human nature, within this ideology, relate to your perspective on the client and his/her current issues? h....what will your Social Work intervention be? 4. Review the CASW Code of Ethics and Social Work values. Which ideological approach do you think best fits Social Work values and ethics for this case? Defend your assertion. Which ideological approach (if any) go against Social Work values and ethics? Again, state your evidence. 5.Write a conclusion stating which ideological approach you believe presents the best, most ethical approach to helping the client within your case study. While this may sound like a statement of opinion, it will hold more weight backed up by evidence from your readings. 6. You will need to use both the Mullaly and Chappell texts to write this essay. In addition to these two course texts, cite at least two additional sources that help you determine the best ideological approach for your case. Grading Criteria . Content: /15 • Accurate and clear summary of each ideology. Thorough, thoughtful, and evidence-based examination of case study from each perspective. • Demonstrated critical thinking. Application of values and ethics. Writing ability, APA style, and use of sources: /5 . . Midterm, Reading Quiz & Final Exams The midterm, reading quiz ang ina exams will be released

Introduction

            The promotion of social change, empowerment, cohesion, social development, and liberation of people is embedded in the value and principles presented through the study of social work.  This is a branch of social science that follows social justice principles, collective accountability and responsibility, respect and acknowledgment of diversities, and human rights. Some theories and ideologies underpin social work; some solutions follow these ideologies to restore social consciousness. The most common ideologies are conservatism, liberalism, and social democracy. On many occasions, they help social workers narrow down on factors presented in a given case or incident to establish a workable and sustainable solution to a social problem (Mullaly, 2007).

Conservatism, Liberalism, and Social Democracy

            These three concepts present principles, doctrines, myths, ethical ideals, social class, and other social-symbols, explaining or describing a given society's setup. Conservatism is a social philosophy and political ideals that advance traditional social setups based on culture and civilization. Conservatism is encoded on tradition, authority, and hierarchy as developed in a different culture. This conservative ideology mainly opposes rapid changes in society and instead stands to defend and support the upholding of traditions. Politically this concept was applied in 1818 by François-René de Chateaubriand. Edmund Burke was considered one of the main conservatism theorists in history, especially for his support of the American Revolution.

 It is further known that conservatism is both a philosophy and an attitude with central tenets in conserving hierarchy, tradition, and authority. A society established on conservative principles holds a strong and defendable commitment to traditional values, principles, and ideas and strongly opposing change or innovation. In a simple context, conservatism is a set of doctrines that seek to hold and strongly emphasize the value of traditional institutions and practices. According to this ideology, it is imperative to understand that it presents a society with a setup that comprises of closely related or connected members who are interdependent. This suggests that any change to this setup will destabilize the social setup and principle, leading to disintegration.

Conservatives view this as an unfavorable outcome to their norms and traditions. This is why, through conservatism, there is a manifestation of continuity and stability of a society's norms and traditions. The main distinguishing factor of this ideology from the others is the need to conserve a long-running traditional setup and the constant rejection of the perspective that people can morally advance through social change and sometimes political change. Conservatives hold an almost negative outlook on the forces that drive humans making them prone to violence, corruption, anarchy, irrationality, and selfishness. This is why they see the need to strongly defending longstanding traditions to conserve a positive moral standing.

Basic understanding and definitions indicate that liberalism is a principle or doctrine that capitalizes on the emphasis of personal or individual autonomy, opportunity equality, and individual rights protection. The concept of liberalism is linked to philosophers John Locke and Adam Smith. One stated that societies advance and prosper when people have the freedom to pursue personal interests and needs on a defined system such as social, political, and economic. Liberalism distributes power to establish and sustain diversity and to grow creativity among the people. The goals of liberalism can further be classified in terms of social or classical liberalism.

The core concept of liberalism involves doctrines and principles that enhance and protect an individual's freedom in relation to interests and personal needs, such as social and political (Meiser, 2018). Unlike capitalism, liberalism does not protect a set of traditions that govern a society, but it protects an individual's interests, especially of equal opportunities and freedom of choice of interests. The philosophical, moral basis of liberalism is on liberty basis and equality before the law in political setup. Liberalism sought to replace conservatism by supporting different aspects of society. These aspects include individual rights, internationalism, and freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, racial equality, secularism, gender equality, capitalism, and democracy.

A society thriving on liberalism is constantly seeking to improve itself constant and progressive change and reform. It further considers such principles and arguments that ensure aspects such as the right to life, liberty, and property are the core and most prioritized government goals. While conservatism's main concern is preserving traditions, liberalism's main concern and aim are establishing or developing structures and institutions that focused on protecting the freedom of individuals. Developing such structures ensures that even the present systems such as political systems allow people or states to protect themselves from external or foreign threats without destabilizing or undermining citizen’s liberty.

            The social democratic paradigm is a philosophy and ideology embedded in socialism. This ideology mainly advocates for social and economic interventions that advance social justice. The principles behind this concept include a commitment to representation and participative democracy. Its main motive is to enhance a commitment that fights social evils through a set of policies. These policies are focused on eliminating inequality, oppression of the less privileged individuals, and poverty eradication (Hicks, 2018). Besides this, social democracy seeks to ensure that there are equitable and accessible public services such as elderly care, access to education, medical care, and care for children, and compensation for workers. The origins of social democracy can be traced back to the 1860s socialism linked to orthodox Marxism. These origins paved for the transition from capitalism to socialism through a set of mainly political processes. These processes later advocated for state regulation instead of state ownership, especially of social welfare programs.

            This state regulation was adequate to enhance social growth and economic growth, enabling equitable income for many. The ideological tactics in social democracy make it possible to interact with complex social democratic movements in a particular society. This interaction makes it possible to directly or indirectly influence several aspects of political, economic, and social nature that bring about reforms. It is important to understand that through social democracy, it is now possible to democratize and humanize social, political, and economic systems. It has also promoted social harmony and consensus, especially in highly polarized societies. This fosters peace and helps eliminate marginalization, discrimination, and other social evils such as racism. The benefits further empower international peace that enables economic growth that improves the socio-economic status of different societies regardless of their backgrounds or origins. Social democracy integrates both socialist and capitalist practices but with a strong advocation of a peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism through democratic means.

Case Analysis: Applying Ideology

            In the case presented, a social worker has several factors to consider while viewing this case's dimensions. The most prevalent factor, in this case, is the client's background that appears to be conservative. This is because the region in northern BC is mostly occupied by aboriginal people known for their conservative nature. However, the parents who are survivors of residential schools that were set to teach them Euro-Canadian and Christian ways may have introduced them to some form of liberalism from their highly conservative culture. A social worker should consider the factor of the background that may have influenced the client’s behavior. Based on or from the conservative ideology, a social worker should first understand the impact of the client's values.

            In this case and from conservative ideology, the structural factors that contributed to the problem were the absence of a guiding figure in a close family. From a conservative perspective, society is responsible for upholding and guiding its members to moral uprightness that prevents such problems. In this case, the client would have made a better choice in school. However, the society that this client lives in is no longer conservative. Another major contribution to this problem from an economic perspective is a poor socio-economic background. The client’s father worked in an oil rig, and the mother resorted to depending on welfare programs after the husband abandoned her. This adds up to the feeling of loneliness that pushed Nolan into a drug gang. Any human nature pulled out of its social setting to a different is bound to experience numerous challenges that may lead to poor decisions and problems.  His region's conservative nature influences Nolan's nature and being introduced to a new setup that follows a different social setup contributed to his current issues.

 In consideration of or from a liberal ideology, a social worker should understand that based on the client's background, he may be stated as being partially liberal. It is observed that when he joined high school, he did not accept the other teen's drug tendency, but as the conflict between his former social setup, which was largely conservative, and the new liberal setup escalated, he could not resist anymore. One major structural factor of liberalism is the freedom to accept behavior or a social setup different from yours. It left him open to new ideas of experimenting with recreational drugs that contrary to a conservative nature. Liberalism doctrines mostly protect an individual’s freedom of interests and choices. This leaves the parents, caretakers, or the government responsible for establishing regulations that prevent indigence in damaging social interests like drugs in this case. In this case, the government has a responsibility to such a person in establishing regulations and policies that combat such negative liberal interests.

            Nolan has lived largely in an almost conservative environment. Such human nature may hold strong for a while, especially if some conservative doctrines were too restrictive to freedom of association. In this case, finding the freedom to associate and choose interests freely leads to such issues of drugs, as mentioned in the case study. On the other and from a social democratic ideology, a social worker should have identified that there is a lot of social and economic inequality based on the client's background. Growing up in such an environment with so much inequality may set a preconceived marginalization mindset and a degree of social inferiority. However, none of such character is exhibited by Nolan since he can resist the influence of drugs at first.

            The major structural factors of our society contributing to this problem are specifically grounded in the social and economic inequality of Nolan's background. Most of the people, including his parents, are residential school survivors. These schools only taught students basic skills such as sewing, carpentry, among others. The state of this education left the area marginalized due to poor educational background hence the poor socio-economic status and inequality. Inequality, in this case, is the main cause of poor economy and where it is stated that it was not easy to get a job or space. Such conditions are stressful and may lead one to indulge in unacceptable problems and behaviors like the drug gang. Through social democratic ideology, the government is responsible for enacting policies that fight socials like drug use and social and economic inequalities, as observed in this case. Any human nature subjected to such social problems will always seek a solution, and in many cases, the solution may not always be acceptable. Like it is seen in our client's case, after loneliness overwhelmed him, he resulted in using drugs and contemplating joining the gang.

Conclusion

            The case presented here is complex following the circumstances that ensue in Nolan’s life. However, reviewing the CASW code of ethics and Social work values, they present guiding principles that offer a solution to this problem (Mullaly, 2006). Some of the core values, in this case, are the respect for the inherent dignity and worth of persons, service to humanity, and confidentiality in professional practice. For instance, in this case, if it is required by the law to override some of Nolan's wishes or interests, a social worker needs to recognize and respect the diversity of the client’s social set up. These include differences in families, individuals, groups, communities, and the socio-economic factor.  These will help to factor in such issues as inequality without the violation of human rights. In this case, the social-democratic ideology is the most appropriate in solving the client's issue. This is because it factors in the client's social differences, socio-economic status, and the present problem of drugs in society. In accordance with the ethical values, the guiding value will be the respect for the inherent dignity and worth of persons. This is because it factors in the client’s wishes and understands the family and community they come from and the community's state.

Social Science

Thesis statement: Case Analysis: Social Work

1. Introduction
2. Conservatism, Liberalism, and Social Democracy
3. Case Analysis: Applying Ideology
4. Conclusion