Iconic Social Workers

By NaKara Neely

            The world needs people who care. Thank goodness, we have social workers who have made a large impact on our society. Today I’m going to share with you two iconic people whose work has had a major influence on many lives.

www.biography.com/.image/t_share/MTE1ODA0OTcxNTMzODk1MTgx/jane-addams-9176298-1-402.jpg.

Let’s start off with Jane Addams, the creator of Hull House, a settlement house for the poor.  She was known for being a social work reformer, pacifist, and a feminist during the late 19^th and early 20th centuries. During the 1880’s she didn’t know where her place was in the world. One day, she went on a trip with her friend Ellen Gates Star and they visited the Toynbee Hall in London England, which was a facility created to help the poor. Jane and Ellen were impacted by this so much that they created a similar establishment in Chicago where they lived. In 1889, they opened the first settlement house in the United States and in North America, which was named Hull House. Hull House provided services for immigrants and the poor such as English language tutoring, cooking, sewing, technical skills, and general education. The residents of Hull House formed a group to establish a reform movement. Some of the projects that they created were the Immigrants Protective League, the Juvenile Protective Association, the first juvenile court in the nation, and a Juvenile Psychopathic Clinic. Furthermore, since this group of people worked so hard to make a large impact on society, the Illinois Legislature gave protective legislation for women and children in 1893. The reform movement was also able to get an act called the Federal Children’s Bureau passed in 1912 and also a child labor law called Keating-Owen Act in 1916. Their efforts were now expanded to a national level.

            Jane was also an activist for peace in the nation. In the early 20^th century Jane became a part of the peace movement. During the first World War, she and other women from numerous nations met at the International Congress of Women at The Hague in 1915, in an attempt to end the war. After the U.S entered the war in 1917 she founded the Women’s Peace Treaty, which then became the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in 1918. Jane was their first president. Since Jane Addams worked so hard in world issues, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Four years later, Jane died on May 21, 1935, due to a heart attack.

           

http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Grace-Coyle.jpg

           The next iconic person to be discussed is Grace Coyle who created the concept of social work being group work.  For many years Grace worked in settlement houses with children and adults but being involved in her activities in the Industrial Women’s Department inspired her to explore group work. From 1934-1962 she taught at the School of Applied Social Sciences at Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio. She developed the first group work courses there in 1923. Grace’s book, “Social Process in Organized Groups,” set the bar for group work in the United States in the 1930’s. The book examined the organized group in a social setting, its formation, leadership, evolution, esprit de corps, communication, thinking, and functions. By the end of the mid-1930’s,  the idea of group social work began to grow. In 1937, Grace authored “Studies in Group Behavior.” She brought together five different detailed cases of work with groups of students from Western Reserve University. She hoped that this would contribute to a critical analysis of group leadership. Grace outlined three objectives that govern group leaders:

1.     Provide opportunities to develop both social attitudes and the ability to adjust with others.

2.     Provide the development of new interests, broadening knowledge, and learning new skills.

3.     Provide training and experience in community living and affairs.

With these key objectives, she was able to examine all of the different types of relationships, including those of the group and leader, social interactions, etc.

Grace still remained a supporter of group work’s contribution in democratic life, but her thoughts began to change. There was a movement away from the informal education frame and toward a field more strongly linked to social work. By 1947, she recognized the root of group work in informal education and recreation but claimed that it moved beyond its boundaries. In 1948, Grace wrote a text called, “Group Work with American Youth.” In the text, the group worker was presented with a problem which they could work with other members to deal with. These could be common problems or personal ones. She was also able to explore leadership, structures of groups, and the roles within the group.

To conclude, Grace Coyle felt that group and casework were linked together. In combining the two, it would produce better results for the client.

During my research, I've learned about what Hull-House was and who actually created it. I also learned how important Jane Addams was in our society many years ago. Furthermore, I learned about what group social work is and all the aspects of group social work. I also learned who came up with the idea of group work. Moreover, I learned that group and casework are intertwined to help the client have better results. I have learned all of my information from different texts/sources online. 

“9 Most Influential Women in the History of Social Work.” 9 Most Influential Women in the History of Social Work - Blog | MSW@USC, 31 Mar. 2014, msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/9-most-influential-women-in-the-history-of-social-work/.

“About Jane Addams.” Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, www.hullhousemuseum.org/about-jane-addams/.

“Grace Coyle and Group Work.” Infed.org, 4 Apr. 2013, infed.org/mob/grace-coyle-and-group-work/.