First, the basic concept of power-enhancement
Power-enhancement is closely related to power, powerlessness, and de-powering, and is the core concept of power-enhancement theory. Power in the theory of power-enhancement refers to the capabilities possessed by an individual or a group, and powerlessness, in turn, is opposite to power, which refers to the lack of the various capabilities mentioned above. The cause of powerlessness is depowering, i.e., certain individuals or groups in society are deprived of power or the development of power is hindered and limited. Thus, power-enhancement is the addition of power. The core assumption of empowerment is the belief that everyone has potential even in difficult circumstances, and that an individual's sense of disempowerment can be changed through his or her own efforts and external help. Therefore, empowerment is not about directly empowering the client, but rather about tapping into or stimulating the potential of the client. The goal of empowerment is to fully realize the needs of disadvantaged groups by weakening the personal or social barriers that affect the individual's right to make decisions, and by enhancing the individual's ability to use power and self-confidence, emphasizing self-determination and self-fulfillment.
The application of empowerment theory in social work practice
(A) Introduction to a new immigrant village
A new immigrant village, as part of the planning of the eco-migration project, has now been built as the first village, the second village, the third village, and the fourth village since its relocation in 2013. Although the villagers have been relocated here for two or three years, the provisions of the policy on the allocation of land have not yet been implemented, and there are still problems of small housing areas, livelihood issues, and migrant conflicts occur from time to time. Although the government provides recreational facilities such as jukeboxes and fitness equipment to enrich the cultural and recreational life of the migrants, however, these equipment are not well utilized and are mostly left idle.
Social workers initially did a needs assessment, and based on the reflection of the village committee to understand: the villagers of the new village of immigrants, especially some of the left-behind women, need to set up a square dance team for them, so that in addition to taking care of the elderly and children, they have recreational activities, which can exercise their bodies, but also can promote family harmony.
(2) The use of the theory of empowerment in the formation of a square dance team in a new immigrant village
1. Recruitment and publicity of the square dance team
To form a square dance team, the first thing to do is to determine the members of the square dance team, and after deliberation, the social worker will first draw up a recruitment notice for the square dance team members, and print it out, and paste it in the four villages respectively, and let the village committee of each village inform the villagers on the radio. The social worker first drew up a recruitment notice for square dance members and printed it in the four villages. Soon there were villagers rushing to sign up, which shows that the immigrant villages are still more eager for this demand. The company's main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers," he said.
It can be seen that a small organization can gather so many people to participate, giving them a platform to explore their potential to show themselves, so that they have the courage to challenge themselves to do some things they once did not dare to think of, which is undoubtedly conducive to enhancing their `confidence in life.
2. Fully empowering them in the process of learning square dance, so that they can learn from each other and learn independently
After recruiting members, the social worker will discover the villagers' leaders in the process of teaching square dance, and drive more villagers to participate in the process, so as to achieve the purpose of learning independently without the participation of the social worker. In the process of teaching square dance, there will be some new members joining, of course, there will also be some loss of established members due to family matters or frustration of not being able to dance well enough.
There are a few members who learn fast, at first, they just dance their own with the music; after the social worker's full empowerment, they start to teach other people the movements, and other members will go to the initiative to ask for advice if they have any questions, this small empowerment achieves a very good effect.
3. The meeting of square dance members was held to determine the captain of the square dance team, the time of the activity and the direction of the development of the square dance team
The theory of empowerment tells us that the disadvantaged groups of the society are in a state of disempowerment due to the deprivation of their right to speak. Therefore, if we want to empower them, we should listen to their voices and respect their opinions and decisions. Guided by this professional philosophy, the social worker decided to hold a meeting to allow each member to fully express his or her views, and independently determine the captain of the square dance team, the time of the event, and the direction of the development of the team after the event.
At the beginning of the meeting, they hoped that the social worker would help them to make a decision. And the social worker emphasized again and again: you are the main body of the activity, you are the master. After the initial silence, everyone began to speak, and finally decided that the two best dancers, Auntie Yang and Auntie Tiger, who could keep on dancing, would be the captains of the square dance team. The social worker continued to guide them to clarify the responsibilities of the two captains and the responsibilities of each member of the team in the next period of time. In the process of determining the time, there were some minor disputes. Some members who had to take care of their children thought that the time should be according to when their children went to school, while some members who didn't have to take care of their children hoped that it could be a little later, when the weather was warmer. After further discussion, it was finalized that the time to follow the members who take care of the children would be 8:00 a.m. in the winter mornings and 7:00 a.m. in the summer mornings. For the final development direction of the square dance team, the square dance team members agreed that not only to learn, but also to dance neatly, and hope to have a set of uniform clothing, can ? Going out? to participate in competitions or communicate with each other in outside villages. This is a very ambitious goal, to see each member full of confidence, social workers hope that this wish of theirs can be realized soon.
From the example of the formation of a square dance team in a new immigrant village, it is not that these rural women do not have the ability to do so, but rather that they do not have the right people to organize them, and as long as they are empowered and given the opportunity, they will be able to come up with ways and will analyze the feasibility of these ways as well as their advantages and disadvantages. If we social workers take care of everything and don't let them participate in decision-making, just an ordinary participant, their ability will not be practiced and improved, and the theory of empowerment can do this.
Third, summary and reflection
In the theory of empowerment, the emphasis is on analyzing the problem from a more macroscopic point of view, and this orientation of analyzing the problem is not so much as to put all the blame on the personal ability of the caseworker, but puts the caseworker in a specific situation, so as to be able to analyze the problems of the clients in a more objective way. Of course, the participation of the case owner plays an important role in the effectiveness of the empowerment. At the initial stage of intervention, the participation of the caseworkers is generally low, which requires active encouragement from social workers, who are good at tapping the strengths of the caseworkers and upgrading their self-image, so that the caseworkers can actively participate in the activities. The loss of staff in the square dance team in the case was caused by the social workers' failure to take this into account. At the same time, empowerment is a long intervention process, and the effect of its intervention cannot be seen in a short period of time. Therefore, the use of empowerment methods should also take into account the issue of time.
It can be seen that the theory of empowerment emphasizes the importance of power in social relations, the partnership between workers and caseworkers, the strengths rather than weaknesses of the caseworkers, the dual focus on the individual and his or her social and physical environment, the recognition of the caseworker as an active subject, and the disadvantaged people who are being de-empowering as the object of the work and so on, which all show its uniqueness. In a certain sense, this empowerment orientation constitutes a new perspective in social work theory and practice, and it is inspiring for us to reflect on and improve our previous social work.
References:
[1]Tang Yong. A Review of Research on the Theory of Empowerment in China [J]. Social Scientist, 2009(1):18-20.
[2]Pang Wen, Yu Tingting. On the Educational Enhancement Rights of Persons with Disabilities[J]. China Special Education, 2011(7)(Total 133).
[3]Chen Shuqiang. Empowerment: A New Perspective on Social Work Theory and Practice[J]. Sociological Research, 2005(05)