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Development of social worker’s professional culture while formation of deontological readiness of the specialist.

K.M. Kertayeva, A.R. Zhunussova

Psychology and Pedagogics Department,

Pavlodar State University named after S.Toraigyrov

Annotation

The present article deals with the problems of deontological readiness of social worker. The indicators of professional readiness should be represented by comprehensive characteristic, which includes not only knowledge and skills, but its personal features providing the aspect of adequacy in professional activity.

Professional culture is a complicated live organism and complex multidimensional integrity. In accordance with the existing theory any active functioning system requires constant energy feeding. It is of high priority in formation of social worker’s deontological readiness for his/her professional work as one of the major items here relate to psychoemotional components and human communication is represented as the basis of professional work.

For the social worker such feeding first of all implies constant self-improvement as a specialist, his/her reconsideration of knowledge, expansion of professional experience, increase of actual methods and techniques knowledge [1].

Social worker’s activity is focused on change of the human life circumstances which relate to problems of his/her health, abilities, habits, character, mutual relations, lack of something, dependence on something, requirement in something. Sometimes he/she has to apply paternalistic actions when there is intervention into desires or freedom of people under care in order to restrict their pseudo-good aspirations, self-destructive actions [1]. It is a question of social worker’s efforts to protect people under his/her guardianship against themselves, when there is a risk to their security due to their own wrong perception of reality or inadequate decisions. And if during some difficult, extreme situations the people from the majority of jobs focus only on measurement of human personality (doctors deal with physical condition, teachers with intellectual development, psychologists with emotional and mental processes, lawyers with protection of rights, etc.), the social worker’s activity is focused on a person as a whole – his/her biological, psychological, pedagogical, social and emotional condition.

Moreover he/she should not only act on his/her own, but also be an intermediator and coordinator of relations and interactions of clients and representatives of other narrow and specific jobs such as psychologists, physicians, teachers, local administration, law-enforcement authorities’ representatives and others, which also requires special approaches, knowledge, abilities, skills, experience and authority.

As we see the above listed is rather complicated as it completely focuses on multiple-way human mutual relations and as a result it turns out that «the working tool» of a social worker is his/her personal qualities, professional culture, commitment and deontological readiness.

In accordance with this statement it is concluded and confirmed that a deontologically prepared social worker is highly cultured, responsible, multi-skilled, and continuously self -improving professional. If something is missing from this set of personal and professional features then it means we are facing a temporary confusion, accident, a choice mistake and the sooner the mistake is corrected the better it is for a frustrated social worker, and those who is involved into his/her professionalism.

Throughout social worker’s entire activity his/her personal and professional multichannel self-tuning and self-regulation is required taking into account possible changes in the social environment towards humanistic principles and cultural values, development of social, psychological and pedagogical science, i.e. practice.

As per N.Rubakin “Any present education derives from self-education... Everything you do and achieve personally, by your own will and wish, will settle in your mind at its best”. A prominent philosopher Helvetius wrote: «I continue learning; my education has not finished yet. When is it to finish? When I am no longer capable of doing it: after my death. Actually my entire life is the only long-term education» [1]. And we totally agree with their views, because a social worker should continuously contemplate respective professional knowledge and skills from the view of conformance or nonconformance to social and cultural environment requirements, accumulate, evaluate, confirm, select new experience and try to always keep himself/herself up in the “field“ of professional innovations.

Achievement and maintenance of a practicing social worker’s respective level of professional culture requires his/her self-education and orientation to self-improvement, arrangement of acquired new theoretical and practical professional knowledge, acquired experience which improves knowledge of social, psychological and pedagogical techniques, and allows for acknowledgement of their feasibility and specific features.

The system of general technologies which includes diagnostics, preventive measures, adaptation, rehabilitation, correction, social therapy, social examination, forecasting, designing, intermediation, consultancy, social security, social insurance, guardianship, etc. requires thorough analytical understanding, sufficient prolonged time and their continuous utilization throughout the whole professional work period.

Every private technique also demands constant reinforcement practice. That is why, high professional culture of a social worker is impossible without daily social and pedagogical practice [2].

Every stage of professional formation of a specialist has its own tasks and objectives, and no matter who is involved – a teacher, a social worker, a psychologist, a social teacher or a curator, they will be identical, it is only methods, techniques, and their implementation ways that differ:

1) Formation of professional intentions and a conscious selection of a job;

2) Productive mastering of professional knowledge, skills and abilities and interaction between a trainer and a trainee in the course of education;

3) Active introduction to a job;

4) Full individual fulfillment in work.

The first stage implies formation of professional intentions and conscious career choice is related to professional orientation which focuses on familiarization of prospective students with job values, significance of job in the modern society, identification of personal peculiarities of prospective students and their professional orientation as a system of emotional and value relations. Effective professional orientation work in schools, colleges, pre-higher education system is of high importance here.

This period is very important because it is at the very first stage of professional education where motivation for career choice plays an important role. It is important to define what the person is capable of, what he/she likes to do, and if the right choice has been made, then the objectives of the next stage become more concrete.

The second stage implies mastering of professional knowledge and skill and it will pass more effectively if there is motivation to learning the job.

The third stage - active introduction to a job – provides for independent professional and educational activity of students which includes both practical and research activity.

Introduction to a job is a very important stage for a future professional, as practice confirms how much required knowledge and skills a student has, practice allows verification of his/her expectations with the actual professional activity.

And final stage is a full individual fulfillment in work.

Professional formation of a man is a difficult process, and by going through it a person overcomes difficulties, finds a way out of critical situations of age and personal nature and as a result he/she obtains the ability to change his/her own values with support of internal and external environment or he/she is able to render value and spiritual assistance to another person [2].

One important factor of a social worker’s professional culture development during deontological readiness formation of specialists is altruism. Describing the notion of continuous social and pedagogical education it is essential to point out altruistic requirements of a social worker. This requirement is congenial and its expressiveness level varies. An ideal norm to refer to social and pedagogical education is a man with altruistic mood, whose life loses some sense in case if there no any conditions created for his/her unselfish emotions and their implementation [3].

Altruistic emotion is a basis of man’s social orientation and its higher expression is represented in ability to social creativity - to resolution of social issues of a needy person at the highest professional level. This constantly renewable requirement can be considered as a psychological intrapersonal channel of educational process [3]. The man develops himself/herself and helps as much as he can to another man who is in trouble.

Thus, the leading factor stimulating increase education improvement, social worker’s professional culture development in the course of deontological readiness formation is represented in his/her aspiration to more good deeds , charity and mercy.

It should be noted that overall professional activity of a social worker is only possible when independent and creative attitude to implementation of duties is available. Lack of corresponding conditions, restriction in decision-making, spurring, ignoring and other incorrect interventions into social worker’s activities can cause negative professional dynamics, deprofessionalisation of a specialist.

Overall professional work is expressed in the fact that the social worker as the subject of work, is called to define and decide upon professional issues on his/her own and with creative approach, achieve results which are in conformance to standards, and be able to analyze and regulate technological processes etc.

To conclude and summarize arguments on professional and cultural rise of a social worker it should be noted that professional culture is formed as a parallel to his/her acmeogramms (movement and achievement of the highest point of psychophysical development in professional work). Practice shows that internal factors are of special significance here, they are: motives, aspirations, self-appraisal, physical health, psycho-emotional condition and etc.

This can be substantially regulated and formed by a social worker, the one who is mature and corresponding both as a professional and as a person. We have shown how much significant in fulfillment of social and pedagogical activity professional environment, type of professional organization can be. However these factors can also be changed to a favorable direction by the same social work specialist, on condition he/she achieves a respective level of professional culture.

The next important condition for improving the quality of social workers’ deontological preparation is professional individual self-consciousness of those involved in social, psychological and pedagogical activity.

Professional self-consciousness implies not only professional knowledge and special knowledge of how to apply professional knowledge; it is first of all a subjective experience of a man, including his/her professional experience (A.A. Derkach, O.V. Moskalenko, 1999).

In other words, professional self-consciousness is a set of mental processes through which the specialist acknowledges himself/herself as a subject of activity [4].

The problem of quality sustainability and development of professional self-consciousness also depends on how far the job corresponds to a person’s requirements, his/her habits, how deep the person is satisfied with his/her professional work.

Professional quality development indicators are represented in humanistic orientation, understanding of job significance, its value orientations, positive attitude to oneself as a professional, absence of personal deformations.

Improvement of professionalism is also closely connected with the arrangement of innovative process in social, psychological and pedagogical activity. Innovative activity implies not only innovative technologies applications, but also a specialist’s creativity in professional work.

It should be noted that a special feature of a social worker’s deontological improvement implies the availability of special, psychological and pedagogical courses, activities, trainings towards personal growth which ensure overcoming difficulties of professional growth and increasing level of professional self-consciousness.

Thus, we have a chance to point out a self-improving ability of professional culture which can and should take place in formation of social worker’s deontological readiness.

Literature:

1. Slastyonin V. A. A Social Teacher and a Social Worker: a person and a job \\ Theory and Practice of Social Work: Domestic and Foreign Experience: 2 volumes – Moscow - Tula, 1993.

2. Klimov E.A. Psychology of a Professional. Voronezh: NPO "Modak", 1996.

3. Krylov N.B. Formation of Culture of a Future Specialist. - М, 1990.

4. Vocational Training psychology: G. S Nikiforov, A. N.Zinichev, Spb. 1993.