Political activities of social work membership organizations: An historical study of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
Item
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Title
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Political activities of social work membership organizations: An historical study of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
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Identifier
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AAI9218268
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identifier
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9218268
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Creator
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Schachter, Robert S.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Michael Smith
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Social Work | Sociology, Public and Social Welfare | Political Science, General
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Abstract
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An historical study was conducted of the political activities of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for a 15 year period beginning at the organization's inception in 1955. Building upon the work of interest group theorists who have examined the internal functioning of membership organizations, the author starts from the assumption that social workers need to understand how they can collaborate with one another to be more effective in the political arena. The study's objectives included developing a history of the external political activities of the NASW chapter directed toward influencing policy makers in government. The second objective sought to understand the role of active members and Chapter leaders who participated in the internal development of the organization's political activities.;The study showed the interdependence of the internal and external activities through the development of three case histories focusing on the chapter's priorities addressing public policy: obtaining New York State certification for social workers; pursuing federal civil rights legislation; and developing public welfare policy. Revealed in these efforts was that influencing government decisions often depends on how leaders and active members come together to jointly develop their political agenda and strategy, and then develop the requisite activities that are brought to bear in the policy arena.;A fourth case history addressed another objective of learning what NASW leaders have done to manage conflict within the organization and showed that leaders can choose to ignore dissent or engage in bargaining and compromise. It showed that choices have significant implications for member involvement and achieving organizational goals. Finally, a set of empirically based concepts were drawn from the case histories that could be useful to social workers who are interested in addressing public policy through social work membership organizations such as NASW.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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D.S.W.
