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The complexity of intervention contexts means that the professional practice of social work faces new challenges and ethical problems requiring something beyond the application of methods or techniques. A specific ethical framework is necessary to guide social workers in community projects: it should be constructed through interdisciplinary dialogue between social work and philosophy. Three ethical theories were selected for examination in this article due to their significant contributions to community social work: a) deontological ethics; b) teleological ethics; and c) ethics of care. These theories were used as a basis for proposing four ethical principles that are useful in community intervention contexts: respect, commitment, empowerment and social justice. The proposal presented in this article hence comprises two interrelated elements: the theoretical framework, made up of three ethical theories that contribute to an understanding of the situations that people go through and how they experience them; and a principlism-based approach that involves combining the four ethical principles to respond to the particular features of the contexts where they are going to be applied., Ante la complejidad de los contextos de intervención, la práctica profesional del trabajo social se enfrenta con nuevos desafíos y problemáticas éticas cuyo abordaje requiere de algo más que la aplicación de métodos o técnicas. Se hace necesario un marco ético específico que oriente a las trabajadoras sociales en los proyectos comunitarios, el cual debe ser construido mediante un diálogo interdisciplinar entre el Trabajo social y la Filosofía. Para este artículo se han seleccionado tres teorías éticas por sus significativas aportaciones para el trabajo social comunitario: a) Ética deontológica; b) Ética teleológica; y c) Ética del cuidado. A partir de ellas se proponen cuatro principios éticos que resultan de utilidad en los contextos comunitarios de intervención: Respeto, Compromiso, Empoderamiento y Justicia social. La propuesta que aquí se presenta, por tanto, se compone de dos elementos interrelacionados: el marco teórico, conformado por tres teorías éticas que contribuyen a la comprensión de las situaciones que atraviesan las personas y cómo estas las viven; y una concreción principialista que, mediante la especificación de los cuatro principios éticos, atiende a las particularidades de los contextos donde se van a aplicar.

Debating represents an active teaching–learning method in higher education. Engaging in debates helps to acquire and develop transversal skills, which are essential to successfully function in personal, academic, and professional spheres. In this quantitative, descriptive, and explanatory study, we analyse how attitudes included within transversal competences were acquired through a debate activity conducted as a part of the social work programme at the University of Alicante. A total of 74 students participated, with an average age of 22.34 years, the majority of which were women. The students were divided into two evaluation groups: a peer evaluation group and a teacher evaluation group. Using an ad hoc questionnaire, three categories of variables were studied: sociodemographic variables; organisational and activity evaluation variables; and variables relating to the acquisition of attitudes. The results indicated that debating favoured communication, innovation and entrepreneurship, social commitment, critical thinking, information management, autonomy and self-regulation, as well as teamwork. Variations were also found according to the university admission modality and the evaluation agent. These results highlight not only how useful debating can be as a pedagogical tool, but also the need to consider different contextual factors when implementing debate activities in the context of university studies.

As a central structure of society and a basic right of citizens, housing represents a key element for a dignified life and social integration. The loss of housing therefore signifies a material deprivation and, at the same time, a process of rupture that undermines the stability and health of those who experience it first-hand, who tend to be driven into exclusion. In this context, social work is a suitable and necessary agent for intervention in terms of both the consequences and causes of housing loss. This article reports a case study focusing on an intervention based on individual and community social work methodologies, taking place as part of a mass eviction process in a small settlement in the north of Spain. The article uses this particular experience to reflect on the deficient role that social work is playing in housing matters, following the care-based trend of one-off actions that lack continuity and fail to truly address the roots of the problem. The conclusion is that particularly in the context of eviction process, it is appropriate to set in motion other interventions from a comprehensive and community perspective. There is also a need for critical professional positioning that does not lose sight of the transformative objective of practice., La vivienda, como estructura central de la sociedad y derecho básico de la ciudadanía, representa un elemento clave para una vida digna, así como para la integración social. Su pérdida, por tanto, significa una carencia material y, al mismo tiempo, un proceso de ruptura que socava la estabilidad y la salud de quienes la viven en primera persona para acabar sumiéndolos en la exclusión. En esta coyuntura, el Trabajo Social se presenta como un agente idóneo y necesario para la intervención, no sólo sobre sus consecuencias, sino también sobre sus causas. En este artículo se expone un estudio de caso centrado en una intervención, basada en las metodologías de la profesión a nivel individual y comunitario, desarrollada en un proceso de desahucio colectivo en un pequeño poblado del norte de España. A partir de esta experiencia particular, se reflexiona acerca del papel deficitario que el Trabajo Social está cumpliendo en materia de vivienda, siguiendo la tendencia asistencialista de actuaciones puntuales que carecen de una continuidad e impacto real sobre la raíz del problema. Se concluye, así, la pertinencia de poner en marcha, especialmente al abordar procesos de desahucio, intervenciones desde una perspectiva integral y comunitaria, así como la necesidad de un posicionamiento profesional crítico que no pierda de vista el objetivo transformador de su práctica.

Il contributo presenta un’esperienza di ricerca-azione partecipata che ha attivato innovativi processi emancipatori ed effetti di empowerment dei giovani coinvolti. Dopo un breve inquadramento teorico dei concetti di community social work (CSW) e modelli di ricerca partecipativa, temi chiave connessi all’esperienza descritta, si presenteranno finalità, metodologia e risultati della ricerca condotta all’interno del progetto #YOUthLAB (#YL), offrendo infine alcune riflessioni inerenti ai processi di emancipazione prodotti mediante la ricerca e alle nuove forme di partecipazione allo spazio pubblico da parte dei giovani coinvolti.

The paper presents an innovative community social work project carried out by a social work student during Covid-19 pandemic. The project called «Let’s stay tuned» aims to promote the local community members’ equal access to the formal and informal aid activated in response to the needs created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The project’s features are the involvement and active participation of the members of the community, the participatory planning process and the role of social work student as relational guide. The analysed experience represents an example of how a local community can take care of its most vulnerable members, develop community bonds and promote solidarity

Nel lavoro sociale odierno sempre più si stanno diffondendo progetti a valenza collettiva, siano essi di gruppo o di comunità. Comuni, Aziende consortili, Comunità montane, ma soprattutto Regioni e Fondazioni bancarie infatti cercano di promuovere azioni collettive finanziando diversi attori affinché si mettano in rete per fronteggiare problemi comuni, per prevenire disagi diffusi o per accompagnare grandi cambiamenti sociali sui territori. Talvolta così gli operatori sociali si ritrovano a promuovere un lavoro sociale di comunità senza avere una preparazione specifica: facilitano azioni che coinvolgono più cittadini o più famiglie, senza attuare gli accorgimenti necessari per processi di questo tipo. Altre volte sul territorio sorgono azioni spontanee per libera iniziativa di alcuni cittadini, ma gli operatori sociali non li riconoscono, e così facendo non solo non li valorizzano, ma rischiano talvolta addirittura di soffocare l’esistente proponendo iniziative alternative o calando progetti dall’alto rivolti allo stesso target. Un professionista che voglia facilitare un processo di lavoro sociale di comunità dovrebbe quindi prima di tutto chiedersi quali siano effettivamente gli elementi che lo contraddistinguono e quali caratteristiche dovrebbe avere oggi il lavoro sociale di comunità per essere definito tale. Il presente contributo vuole quindi provare a rispondere a questi obiettivi, accompagnando l’operatore sociale che voglia promuovere processi di community social work nell’orientarsi in questo livello di lavoro. Seguendo le indicazioni operative del metodo Relational Social Work, verranno descritte le fasi metodologiche da seguire per facilitare un progetto sociale di comunità che sia realmente partecipativo e verranno suggeriti alcuni accorgimenti pratici per guidare al meglio il processo.

The protection of children and young people is not the responsibility of some institutions alone, but it is a responsibility of the community as a whole. It is therefore essential to promote, or strengthen where it is already present, the collaboration between parents, educators, teachers, psychologists, social workers and citizens to build a network and better support children in their growth. This is the goal of the Texére project, funded by a local banking foundation from 2017 to 2020, which sees 11 municipalities in the province of Milano engaged in defining new operating ways and methods to stimulate the community to listen to the needs of children, young people and their families. A network of people linked to Social Services, Tertiary Sector Organizations, Schools, Child Neuropsychiatry, voluntary organizations and the local community has accepted the challenge to review their commitment to families in difficulty. Social services are engaged in implementing a new perspective of Community care with the ambition of no longer being just providers of services, but co-creators and co-builders of new forms of help. At the core of this initiative there is a desire for change that needs to be sustained and stimulated not only in the people who turn to services, but also and above all in the practitioners and aid professionals. This paper will highlight the key elements of community social work in the field of child protection according to the Relational Social Work method by presenting the Texére project and its inspiring principles, its goals and its many actions. Besides, it will provide some reflections on the changes necessary at system and service organization level to allow practitioners to act at a community work level.