Leadership and Social Work (Journal)
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12 research outputs found
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Application of psychological approaches in community social work to strengthen decision-making and psychosocial interventions in families in marginal urban areas of Guayaquil, Ecuador
No full textThis study analyzed the application of psychological approaches in community social work to strengthen decision-making and psychosocial interventions in families from marginalized urban areas of Guayaquil, Ecuador. A mixed-methods design was used, incorporating in-depth interviews with social workers and focus groups with families (qualitative component), and a pre-test/post-test quasi-experiment with a pilot workshop (quantitative component). The results revealed that the context of scarcity generates chronic stress and "mental bandwidth" depletion, limiting autonomous decision-making. The integration of cognitive-behavioral and positive psychology frameworks in a pilot workshop demonstrated a significant positive impact, with quantitative data showing large effect size improvements in decision-making self-efficacy, family resilience, and coping strategies. Qualitative narratives corroborated these findings, highlighting a transition from reactive to reflective decision-making and the rediscovery of family strengths. The study concludes that the synergy between social work and psychology is essential to move from an assistance-based model to a psycho-socio-educational empowerment model, addressing the psychological underpinnings of poverty and fostering sustainable change
Ethics and professional identity among Ecuadorian social workers:critical reflections on values, responsibilities, and leadership challengesin community contexts
No full textThis qualitative study explores the intersection of professional ethics, identity formation, and leadership challenges among Ecuadorian social workers practicing in diverse community contexts. Using a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach, data was collected through 18 in-depth interviews and 4 focus groups with 20 professionals across indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, urban-marginal, and peasant communities in the Amazon. The analysis, based on Constructivist Grounded Theory, reveals that professional identity is not a static attribute but a dynamic process of ethical negotiation, forged in the tension between the foundational "ethos" of social justice and the structural constraints of practice, such as job precarity and political pressure. The findings identify a prevalent systemic ethical dissonance and characterize a situated ethical leadership model, manifested through dialogical, resilient-adaptive, and socio-political styles. A significant gap was found between the deontological code and daily practice, highlighting the need to move from a normative ethics to a situated and deliberative one. The study concludes that strengthening this ethically negotiated identity and leadership requires academic training connected to complexity, improved labor conditions, and the creation of localized ethical support structures