Kerala Plus Two Social Work (DHSE) cheat sheet

Social work is a practice-based profession and academic discipline promoting social change, empowerment and liberation of people, using theories of human behaviour and social systems.

Historical milestones: 1869 Charity Organisation Society (London) formalised friendly visiting; 1884 Toynbee Hall settlement movement; 1898 first school of social work (New York); 1936 Tata Institute of Social Sciences founded in Bombay, India's first social work school.

Indian roots: guild-based charity, Buddhist sangha relief, Bhakti and Sufi traditions, Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj reform, Gandhian constructive programme, and B. R. Ambedkar's anti-caste social justice work.

Core values: individual worth and dignity, social justice, service to humanity, integrity, competence, confidentiality, and respect for diversity.

Ethical decision rule: when client self-determination conflicts with harm to self or others, the harm-prevention duty (informed consent, legal mandate, consultation) overrides confidentiality.

Goals of social work: enhance problem-solving and coping capacity, link people with resources, promote responsive systems, develop and improve social policy, and advance human rights and economic justice.

Distinguish charity (need-based relief, no structural change) from social work (rights-based, planned change, professional relationship) and from social reform (policy-level change).

Professional boundaries: dual relationships, gifts, bartering and personal disclosure are regulated because they risk exploitation and impair objective judgement.

Social casework: one-to-one planned helping process using study, diagnosis, treatment; key models are psychosocial (Hollis), functional (Rank), problem-solving (Perlman) and crisis intervention.

Casework process stages: intake, study/assessment, diagnosis, intervention/treatment, evaluation, termination and follow-up.

Group work: purposeful use of group process for member growth; Tuckman's stages are forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.

Group work models: social goals (Coyle), remedial, reciprocal, and developmental/social action; group worker roles are enabler, facilitator, broker, educator, mediator.

Community organization: Rothman's three models - locality development, social planning, and social action; blending occurs in practice.

Community organization methods: community study/survey, needs assessment, awareness building, resource mobilisation, leadership development, committee formation and networking.

Social action: organised, often confrontational pressure for structural change (lobbying, campaigns, advocacy, litigation, satyagraha); distinguished from community organisation by conflict orientation and target.

Primary methods (casework, group work, community organisation, social action, research, administration) versus secondary/auxiliary methods (recording, supervision, communication, networking).

Worker-client relationship components: acceptance, empathy, warmth, genuineness, non-judgemental attitude, controlled emotional involvement and confidentiality.

Interviewing skills: open and closed questions, paraphrasing, reflecting feeling, summarising, clarifying, silence and confrontation used purposefully.

Recording types: process recording (verbatim interaction plus worker reflection), summary recording, diagnostic/assessment recording, and time-sampled observation records.

Casework principles: individualisation, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, non-judgemental attitude, client self-determination, confidentiality.

Group development indicators: shifting communication patterns, role emergence (task, maintenance, individual roles), subgroup formation, norm setting and conflict episodes.

Community entry sequence: pre-entry preparation, entry and rapport building, initial contact, problem identification, goal setting, action plan, implementation, evaluation and withdrawal.

Self-determination rule: the worker informs, supports and clarifies consequences but does not coerce; paternalistic override requires documented risk of serious harm.

Termination should be planned, gradual and reviewed; sudden termination risks regression and abandonment feelings, so referral and follow-up are arranged.

Stages: prenatal, infancy (0-2), early childhood (2-6), middle childhood (6-12), adolescence (12-19), young adulthood, middle adulthood and old age (60+).

Piaget's cognitive stages: sensorimotor (0-2), preoperational (2-7), concrete operational (7-11), formal operational (11+); object permanence emerges in sensorimotor stage.

Erikson's psychosocial crises: trust vs mistrust, autonomy vs shame, initiative vs guilt, industry vs inferiority, identity vs role confusion, intimacy vs isolation, generativity vs stagnation, integrity vs despair.

Kohlberg's moral levels: preconventional (punishment, exchange), conventional (approval, law and order), postconventional (social contract, universal principles).

Attachment patterns (Ainsworth): secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-ambivalent/resistant, disorganised; early secure attachment predicts better emotional regulation.

Adolescent development markers: puberty, formal operational thought, identity exploration, peer-group salience, risk-taking and vocational planning.

Ageing theories: disengagement, activity, continuity, and life-course perspectives; ageing involves biological decline plus social role change (retirement, widowhood).

Development is multidimensional (physical, cognitive, emotional, social, moral, spiritual) and shaped by heredity, environment and critical/sensitive periods.

Kerala paradox: high Human Development Index, near-universal literacy (about 94 per cent, 2011 Census) and low infant mortality, yet high suicide rate, alcohol use, and unemployment among educated youth.

Kerala-specific issues: migration (Gulf remittance economy, left-behind elderly and children), ageing population, lifestyle diseases (diabetes, hypertension), dowry and domestic violence, and student suicides.

Kerala disasters: 2018 and 2019 floods and 2024 Wayanad landslides displaced lakhs; disaster social work covers relief, psychosocial first aid and rehabilitation.

Caste and untouchability persist despite legal abolition (Article 17); Dalit and Adivasi communities face land alienation, educational gaps and violence.

Poverty: Tendulkar and multidimensional poverty indices; India's MPI measures health, education and standard of living across 12 indicators.

Gender issues: sex ratio at birth, dowry prohibition (Dowry Prohibition Act 1961), domestic violence (PWDVA 2005), female foeticide (PC-PNDT Act 1994).

Child protection issues: child labour (Child Labour Prohibition Act 1986, amended 2016), child marriage (PCMA 2006), trafficking (ITPA 1956, JJ Act 2015).

Substance abuse, HIV/AIDS stigma, disability exclusion, communalism, unemployment and farmer distress are recurrent national social problems addressed through legislation plus social work intervention.

Administration process (POSDCoRB): planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, budgeting - applied to welfare agencies.

Governance structures: central Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Kerala Department of Social Justice; statutory bodies such as National Commission for Women, NCPCR, NHRC and Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Key Indian legislation: Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, PWDVA 2005, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, Maternity Benefit Act 1961, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007.

Kerala welfare schemes: Karunya Benevolent Fund, LIFE mission housing, Ashraya, Vayomithram elderly care, Snehapoorvam child sponsorship, and Kudumbashree women's neighbourhood groups.

Social policy cycle: agenda setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; policy analysis examines inputs, process, outputs and outcomes.

Programme planning tools: logical framework (objectives, indicators, means of verification, assumptions), PERT/CPM scheduling, and Gantt charts.

Agency registration in India: societies under Societies Registration Act 1860, public trusts, and Section 8 companies under Companies Act 2013; FCRA clearance needed for foreign funds.

Monitoring vs evaluation: monitoring is continuous output tracking; evaluation is periodic judgement of outcomes, efficiency and impact.

Research types: exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, and evaluative; approaches are quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.

Sampling: probability methods (simple random, systematic, stratified, cluster, multistage) versus non-probability methods (purposive, quota, convenience, snowball).

Central tendency: mean (arithmetic average, sensitive to outliers), median (middle value, robust), mode (most frequent); dispersion measures are range, mean deviation, variance and standard deviation.

Correlation coefficient r ranges from -1 to +1; r = 0 means no linear relationship; correlation does not establish causation.

Inferential statistics: null hypothesis, significance level (commonly 0.05), Type I error (rejecting a true null) and Type II error (retaining a false null); tests include t-test, chi-square and ANOVA.

Qualitative tools: in-depth interview, focus group discussion, participant and non-participant observation, case study, life history and content analysis.

Research ethics: informed consent, voluntary participation, anonymity and confidentiality, no harm, and clearance from an institutional ethics committee.

Fieldwork supervision cycle: orientation, concurrent practice, process recording, supervisory conference, mid-placement review and final evaluation against stated learning objectives.

Medical social work roles: psychosocial assessment of patients, discharge planning, counselling on illness and treatment adherence, linking to welfare schemes, and bereavement support.

Psychiatric social work: mental status examination input, family psychoeducation, relapse prevention, rehabilitation and community mental health; governed by the Mental Healthcare Act 2017.

School social work: attendance and dropout prevention, learning and behavioural support, parent-teacher liaison, child protection referrals and career guidance.

Family social work: family assessment (genogram, ecomap), marital and family counselling, family life education, and intervention in domestic violence and dowry disputes.

Child welfare services: adoption regulation under CARA and JJ Act 2015, foster care, sponsorship, crèche and ICDS anganwadi services, and childline (1098) rescue.

Community development: participatory rural appraisal, self-help groups, microfinance, capacity building, and convergence with local self-government (panchayat, municipality) plans.

Correctional social work: probation (Probation of Offenders Act 1958), parole, prison welfare, juvenile justice board dispositions and aftercare.

Industrial and labour welfare work: employee assistance programmes, occupational safety, grievance handling, and statutory welfare officer roles under Factories Act 1948.

Children: JJ Act 2015 distinguishes 'child in conflict with law' from 'child in need of care and protection'; age of childhood is under 18 years.

Child rights framework: UNCRC four principles - non-discrimination, best interests of the child, right to survival and development, and respect for the child's views.

Women: PWDVA 2005 defines domestic violence to include physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse; protection officers and service providers are mandated.

Elderly: Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 provides maintenance tribunals; elder abuse types are physical, emotional, financial, neglect and abandonment.

Disability: RPwD Act 2016 recognises 21 specified disabilities and mandates 4 per cent reservation in government employment and accessible education.

Marginalised communities: constitutional safeguards include Articles 15, 17, 46 and Fifth and Sixth Schedules; SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and Rules 1995 protect against caste atrocities.

Empowerment approach: strengths perspective, participation, capacity building and rights-based advocacy replace dependency-creating charity models.

Vulnerability assessment weighs risk factors (poverty, disability, displacement, violence) against protective factors (family support, education, community networks, access to schemes).