Background and Rationale of the Study

Self-confidence is an expectation or a belief that one can successfully accomplish

task or perform behaviors associated with specified goals. It has strongly indicated that a

major source of gain in the helping process is an increased sense of self-confidence

(Bandura, 1977).

Community field practice is the method by which community workers trained in

social work, help communities identify their needs and problems, mobilize their

resources to meet this needs or solve these problems, and in so doing develop

relationships among groups and individuals that will enable them to work for the

common good. It is concerned with the nature of the processes of change as they affect

social relations of individuals and groups, with the end goal of welfare (Veneracion,

2003).

To sum up, social work students in community field practice proven to have an

elusive task, work toward particular objectives and means of accomplishing appropriately

according to the unique circumstances of each problematic situation in the community.

Confidence is greatly affecting to most of the social work students for it is one of the

most influential motivators and regulators of behavior in everyday life that is a central

mediating construct of achievement. In fact that a Social worker usually works on the

community field and interacts to many different people. Social work students need to be

confident for they also serve to unify the profession and to promote or restore a mutually

beneficial interaction between individuals and society in order to improve the quality of

life for everyone and for a social work student itself.

 Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to determine the level of confidence of Social Work Students for

community field practice.

Specifically, the study would like to:

1. describe the Social Work Students when grouped according to sex, age, family

economic status, and nature of high school graduated;

2. identify the areas which Social Work Students are confident of;

3. determine the level of confidence of Social Work Students when grouped

according to sex, age, family, economic status, and nature of high school

graduated;

4. determine if there is a difference in the level of confidence of Social Work

Students when grouped according to sex, age, family, economic status, and nature

of high school graduated;

 Definition of Terms and Variables

The following terms and variables were provided of their dictionary or references

and operational definitions to make this study clearer among its readers:

Age. It refers to the period of time a person has lived since he/she was born

(David, 2005)

In this study, it refers to the actual age of social work students on his or her last

birthday.

Community Field Practice. It refers to an area of the social work curriculum is

primarily concerned with helping the students learn and apply the knowledge and

principles of social work practice based on the values and ethics of the profession.

(Mendoza, 2000)

In this study, it refers to a social work students taking up community field

practice at Central Philippine University Academic Year 2018-2019.

Confidence. It refers to the term we use to describe how we feel about our own

ability to perform roles, functions and tasks. (Glover, 2016)

In this study, it referred to the knowledge, attitude and skills of social work

students in their own ability to perform roles, functions and tasks.

Grades. It refers to a particular level of rank, quality, proficiency, or value.

(OxfordDictionaries.com)

In this study, it refers to the equivalent performance of social work students in

SocWrk225 or Social Work Practice with Communities (Com. Org. and Com Based

Social Work Practice) subject.

 Sex. It refers to the psychological characteristic assorted with males or females.

(Cardwell, 2003)

In this study, it refers to whether a social work student is either male or female.

Social Work Student. It refers to the person who takes an interest in a professional

discipline within the framework of social welfare programs and services designed to

assist people in enhancing the quality of their lives and their social relationship. (The

New Oxford Dictionary, 2005)

In this study, it refers to all junior social work students enrolled in school year

2018-2019 at Central Philippine University taking community field practice.

Socio-economic Status. It refers to the standing of someone concerning with the

interaction of social economic factors. (The New Oxford American Dictionary, 2002)

In this study, it refers to the average monthly income of the family of a social

work student.
 Review Related Literature

A research has shown that the low self-esteem is related to the variety of

psychological difficulties and personal problems, including depression, loneliness and

substance abuse and academic failures. Much research shows that interpersonal rejection

results in emotional problems, difficulties relating with others and maladaptive efforts to

be accepted, precisely the concomitants’ of low self-esteem. In addition, many personal

problems lower self-esteem because they lead other people to devalue or reject the

individual. Sex and gender also affects self-esteem. It shows a positive correlation

between self-esteem level and attachment to racial or ethnic groups, the more the people

feel committed to and positive about the ethnic groups, the higher their levels of self-

esteem tend to. Those people who are having a negative attitude about their ethnicity,

who are unclear about their identification with a particular racial or ethnic group or who

are uncommitted to their racial or ethnic group tend to have lower level of self-esteem

(Duffy, 2002).

A study suggested that part of everyday language and everyone seems

intuitively to know what self-esteem is. In fact, self-esteem means different things to

different people and term is used in at least three different ways namely; global self-

esteem, feelings of self-worth and self-evaluation (Brown, et al., 2002).

Community welfare as a field of social work practice encompasses a variety of

programs and services which have for their main goal the well-being of entire

communities. Social workers in this field work with individuals, families and small

groups, and their concern is their provision of opportunities that would enable people in
the community to work together towards common goals, particularly those that would

bring about their common upliftment (Mendoza, 2008).

Similarity to other ideas, the area of social work curriculum “Social Work

Practice” is primarily concerned with helping the students learn and apply the knowledge

and principles of social work practice based on the values and ethics of the profession.

Social Work Practice area aims to help the students to understand and appreciate the

philosophical (value) and scientific (knowledge) components of social work practice;

understand the inter-relationship of knowledge, value and skill, and their use in problem-

solving; develop self-awareness and self-discipline; acquire knowledge and skills in the

social work problem-solving process; and understand the different professional roles

performed by social workers in different agencies and organizations engaged in the

provision of social services (Mendoza, 2008).

A study acknowledged that a process of building people’s level of

consciousness and their capability to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate

programs and services in the community is community organizing. It is a process by

which a community identifies its needs or objectives; order or ranks these needs; develop

the confidence and will to work at these needs or objectives; finds the resources the

internal and or external to deal with these needs or objectives; takes action in respect to

them; and in so doing extends and develops the cooperative and collaborative attitudes

and practices in the community. This means that the worker generates from the

community action to address them either by mustering their own personal resources and

that of the community’s, or mobilizing services from outside. This deliberate tapping of

internal and external resources by an organized group of people in the community assures
greater delivery of services to the intended groups particularly those who are far below

the marginalized level. Community-based social services, therefore, seek to provide the

broadening of participation of the mass based, where responses to their needs and

problems come from within-with the social worker acting as a guide or a facilitator in

their journey to achieve growth and wellness (Pangalangan, 2002).

A study has states that the low-esteem damages can do to a person-it can limit

her or his ability to develop and maintain satisfying relationships, to experience career

successes and advancement and to create a generally happy and contented life. But in

recent year, teachers, psychologists, self-help gurus, clergy members, social workers and

even politicians have suggested that many of our social problems stem from our

collective feeling of low-esteem. Our feelings of low self-worth may contribute to our

choosing the wrong partners as well as becoming addicted to drugs, alcohol, and sex and

gambling; experiencing problems with eating and other vital activities; the opting, in too

many eases, for death over life. So we owe it to society, as well as ourselves, to develop

and work to maintain a healthy sense of self-esteem as an integral part of process of

becoming more self-aware. While no simple list of trick can easily transform low self-

esteem into feelings of being valued and appreciated, you can improve how you think

about yourself. One thing is clear about self-esteem. Communication is essential in the

process of building and maintaining self-esteem (Beebe.et.al, 2007).

Moreover, one of the central practice approaches utilized by community psychologists is

the community organizing. An intervention frequently employed by community

psychologists when tackling the diverse social problems that are field addresses; alcohol

and substance abuse, teen pregnancy, domestic violent crime, affordable housing and
many others is the organizing. Though there are many different approaches and varieties

of community organizing, a common thread in these approaches is the engagement of

individuals and communities affected by social problems in the definition, analysis, and

solution to those problems (Beebe.et.al, 2007).

A study has shown that in the field of community organizing, as with all

organizations and institutions in society, is confronting major challenges. Economic

restructuring, globalization and the entrenchment of neoliberal policies represents the

biggest sources of challenge to organizing. In response to this challenge, organizing must

confront the capacity to operate the larger scales (Collura.et.al, 2012).

It was emphasized that an extensive education in the systematic theory of her

discipline provides the professional with a type of knowledge which the layman does not

have. In helping relationship, the professional’s judgement and authority are respected

and accepted by his “client,” unlike in a transaction with a non-professional where the

rule is “the customer is always right.” This authority ascribed to the professional by

reason of her educational background gives the client a sense of security that the

professional has the capacity to help him with his problem. The professional social

worker, like any other professional, should guide or assist her client only along her area

of competence or she would violate the authority of another professional group. In a

professional helping relationship, the assumption is that the client engaged the helping

person or agreed to the relationship on the belief that the professional person is competent

to help him in has the “know-how” to assist the client with his need or problem

(Mendoza, 2008).
 In addition, recognition of professional authority is expressed not only in the

client-professional relationship but also in the professional-community relationship. The

community sanctions a profession’s authority by way of giving it certain powers in

privileges. Among these powers ad privileges are the profession’s control over its

training centers, admission into profession and standards for professional performance. A

profession’s control over its training centers is usually achieved through an accrediting

the process exercised by one of the association within the profession. The power to grant

or withhold accreditation to schools on the basis of their number, location, curriculum

content, and quality of instruction, allows the profession to regulate its training centers.

Speaking about in our country, National Association for Social Work Education Inc.

(NASWEI) of the Philippines, while engaged in certain activities aimed at improving the

quality of social work education such as common projects for curriculum improvement,

sharing teaching materials, etc. that does not have the authority to accredit schools. This

authority is presently being exercised by the government’s Commission for Higher

Education (CHED). Control over admission into the profession has been achieved with

passage in 1965 of a law (R.A. 4373) requiring the completion of a Bachelor of Science

in Social Work (BSSW) degree, the passing of a government board examination, and

then registration, in order to qualify for social work practice. A profession is usually

given the privilege of controlling practice standards on the assumption that the lay

community is not in a position to render judgement over the performance of the members

in a profession since this would involve technical matters. One’s professional peers are

generally considered the best judge of whether one has engaged in malpractice or

unethical behavior. The Board for Social Workers of the Professional Regulation
Commission is a proper body to whom complaints about malpractice can be reported. In

addition, the Philippine Association of Social Workers has a Committee on Standards for

Professional Practice that was created for the same purpose. There are, of course, other

entities which are authorized to impose sanctions on social workers. The Civil Service

Commission and Supreme Court have, through the years, found several government

social workers guilty of the offenses brought to their attention and have given them

corresponding punishment ranging from suspension to dismissal (Mendoza, 2008).

The primary mission of social work is to help clients meet their needs and

enhance their well-being are the helping-relationship. In order to effectively respond to

clients’ needs and demands, professional social workers are equipped with a wide range

of knowledge. However, what constitute social work knowledge base remain a major

concern and a controversial issue (Trevithick, 2008). He espouses that most theories in

social work are taught incorrectly, and are invalid, which may lead to ineffective methods

(Thyer, 1994). In contrast, Simon (1994) insists that it is crucial for social work

practitioners to learn theoretical knowledge because theory can serve as an anchoring

frame and a conceptual screen for case assessment, causal explanation, intervention

planning, and outcome evaluation. Although this kind of expert debate provides a vehicle

for scholars or educators to thoroughly discuss the role of social work theory in practice,

it does not offer an opportunity for the general consumers of the outcome to express their

views, especially students who are required to learn and apply theory in practice.
 Summary

The research shows that low self-esteem varies in emotional problems such as

depression, loneliness, substance of abuse and academic failures. Negative attitude about

ethnicity, interpersonal rejections who are unclear about their identification those who are

not committed to their racial group tend to have a lower self-esteem, while those who

feel committed to their group have a higher level of self-confidence. A social worker with

low self-esteem can limit his or her ability to develop and maintain relationships within

the community. Feeling of low self-worth may contribute to choose the wrong decision in

community organizing. So we owe it to society, as well as ourselves, to develop and work

to maintain healthy sense of self-esteem.

Community welfare as a field of social work practice encompasses a variety of programs

and services which have their main goal the well-being of communities. Social workers

in this field work with individuals, families, and small groups and their concern is the

provision of opportunities that would enable people in the community to walk together

towards common goal. Community organizing, as with all organizations and institutions

in society, is confronting major challenges. The professional social worker, like any other

professionals, should give or assist his or her clients only along his or her area of

competence or she would violate the authority of another professional group. Professional

authority is expressed not only in the client-professional relationship but also in the

professional community relationship. Profession’s control over its training centers,

admission into profession, and standards for profession performance are the privileges

and powers of the community sanctions authority.

 References

Bandura, A. (1977). Lupdag, A.D., Educational Psychology. National Book

Store, Inc. 1984. P. 119

Beebe, S.A., Beebe,S.J.,& Ivy, D.K.(2007). Communication: Principle For A

Lifetime.United States of America: Person Education, Inc.

Brown, J.D.& Marshall, M.A.(2002). Self-Esteem: It’s Not What You Think,

The Nature of Self-Esteem, p.2

Christens, B.D., & Collura, J.J. (2012). Local Community Organizers and

Activist Encountering Globalization.A journal of Social Issue,September 2012

p.592-611.

Genitty, C.G.,(2014). Social Work Theory and Application to Practice: The

Student’s Perspectives. Indiana University 2014. p. 1

Cordero, E.A., Pangalangan, E.A, & Fondevilla, R.L.(2002). Philippine

Encyclopedia of Social Work Community Organization as an Approach to Community

Based Services, p.763-764.

Gumban, L.R., Igbacol, J.R & Odango, R(2015). Self-Confidence and

Communication Skill of Freshmen Social Work Student of Central Philippine University

for SY 2015-2016, p.9

Mendoza, T.L.(2008). Social Welfare and Social Work. Social work profession

“Professional Authority”. Central Book Supply Inc. 927 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City

Philippines 2007, 2008 p. 81-82

 Mendoza, T.L.(2008). Social Welfare and Social Work. Social work profession

“Community Sanction”. Central Book Supply Inc. 927 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City

Philippines 2007, 2008 p. 83

Mendoza, T.L.(2008). Social Welfare and Social Work. The Knowledge

Foundation of Social work “ Social Work Practice”. Central Book Supply Inc. 927

Quezon Avenue, Quezon City Philippines 2007, 2008 p. 161-162

Mendoza, T.L.(2008). Social Welfare and Social Work. The Field of Social

Work. Central Book Supply Inc. 927 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City Philippines 2007,

2008 p. 482-483

Veneracion, M,C.J. (2003). Social Work in the Philippines Tradition and

Profession “Cultural Patterns and Values in Community Organizing”. Philippines 2003,

p. 42
 Methodology

Chapter Three discusses the design of the study. It comprises into five parts,

namely: (1) Purpose of the Study and Research Design, (2) The Respondents of the

Study, (3) The Research Instrument, (4) Data-Collection Procedure, and (5) Data

Analysis.

Part One, Purpose of the Study and Research Design, describes the adapted

research design of the study based on its objectives;

Part Two, The Respondents, describes who the respondents of the study we’re

and how they we’re selected;

Part Three, The Research Instruments, explains the steps and protocol

observed in conducting the study; and,

Part Four, Data-collection Procedure, explain the steps and protocol observed

by the research team in conducting the study; and,

Part Five, Data Analysis, discusses the statistical tool used in analysing the

data and how the data we’re presented.

Purpose of the Study and Research Design

This study aimed to determine the self-confidence of CPU Junior Social Work

students in community field practice. To carry act this purpose, the study was designed as

descriptive quantitative research design.

The Respondents

The respondents of the study were the Junior Social Work students officially

enrolled at Central Philippine University for Academic Year 2018-2019. The total

population of Junior Social Work students was ___. They were identified through simple-

random sampling.

Research Instrument

The study used the Research-made Likert Scale Interview Schedule (Appendix

A) to gather data from the Junior Social Work Students the instrument was formulated by

the research team themselves. It was corrected, modified and validated by a junior in

order to ascertain whether the said instrument really generated the data from the study

would like to gather.

Data-gathering Procedure

The research team asked the Department of Social Work for the master list of

Junior Social Work students officially enrolled for Academic Year 2018-2019. After

obtaining the list, the research team; identified the respondents personally and

approached them to ask their consent as the respondents of the study.

The purpose of the study was clearly explained to them. When they agreed,

they were given the research instrument to be answered. Confidentiality and other

research related matters were clearly discussed.

 Appendix A

Researcher-made Likert Scale Interview Schedule

I. Personal Information

1. Name: _________________________________

2. Age: ____ 3. Sex: ______ 4. Grades in SocWrk225:_______

5. Nature of high school graduated from:

( ) Private

( ) Public

6. Average Family Monthly Income:

( ) Php 5,000 – Php 10,000

( ) Php 11,000 – Php 15,000

( ) Php 16,000 – Php 20,000

( ) Php 21,000 – Php 25,000

( ) Php 26,000 – Php 30,000

( ) Php 31,000 and above

II. A. Knowledge

1. Today it is considered as the most important and useful field of social work practice in

the Philippines because of the elements namely: Organizing, Development, and

Mobilizing the people.

a. casework b. group work c. community organizing

2. What is the first phase in community organizing?

a. planning or consideration of the action to be taken for a community

 b. identifying or recognizing the problem

c. analysing the problem or assessment

3. What should be the last phase in community organizing?

a. termination b. evaluation c. implementation

4. In community organizing they are the desired or expected outcomes of an endeavor.

a. problems b. programs or services c. goals

5. The role of a social worker comprised of individuals and groups who are usually in

position to provide, in one way or another, the resources the worker needs in her work

with clients.

a. enabler b. mobilizer c. counsellor

6. In what community forces does it belong: technology and urbanization?

a. cultural b. social c. economic

7. It is the link between Assessment and Intervention

a. planning b. evaluation c. termination

8. The worker should perform only those activities that are within her competence. This

explains the _____ of the worker.

a. time b. ethics c. skills

9. He or she is a vital person in facilitating the whole community organizing process

a. caseworker b. community organizer c. supervisor

10. It refers to the periodic assessment undertaken within the implementation period to

measure the progress of __________.

a. monitoring b. assessment c. planning

 B. Attitude

Always Sometimes Never

I do look forward on positivity when I feel in trouble.

I allow myself to continue trying to do something even though it is

difficult.

I am motivated and dedicated in community field practice.

I have a passion towards community field setting.

I lose my interest whenever the topic is about community field

practice.

I consider myself responsible in community organizing

I accept criticisms that are given to me

I feel lazy in doing my duties for community setting

I can’t manage difficulties

I practice Mañana Habit.

 C. Skills

Always Sometimes Never

I feel like I’m ready for community field setting practice.

I am appropriate or suited for actual use of something.

I’m always fond of conveying or sharing ideas and feelings to

everyone.

I do interactions and communication with others easily.

I have the quality of being able to adjust in everything.

I can produce an idea or way of solving a problem by holding

a spontaneous group discussion.

I have the mental resistance to doubt or discouragement.

I have the capacity to organize the community.

I can’t handle community group practice.

I am not comfortable being out in the field.