A qualitative study of international social work challenges in an area affected by conflict : The example of East Jerusalem

• Main Author: Aranki, Sandra
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Ersta Sköndal högskola, Institutionen för socialvetenskap 2014
• Subjects: Social work; Conflict; Occupation
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-4200

The aim of this study is to gain a greater understanding of how the social work with children and adolescents are performed in addition to the challenges social workers face in a context affected by conflict. East Jerusalem is according to international law occupied, the children and adolescents in the area are highly exposed for the consequences of the occupation. The empirical data for this thesis were collected at a center for children in East Jerusalem where I conducted qualitative interviews with the help of a semi-structured interview guide. Based on my interviews I had a result that describes the methods and the challenges of the social work within the work at the selected center which is located in an area highly affected by conflict. The social workers at the certain center assess each patients need for help to resolve psychosocial problems in the families. Their work was conducted by various methods such as for instance: individual- and group therapy, play therapy, outdoor activities, and dance lessons. The social workers expressed that it was important for the outcomes of their assignments to work together with the whole families and then especially the mothers. Many of the social workers pointed out the importance to develop gender issues and worked to increase the equality among boys and girls through mixed group activities among the children. The results of the study shows that the perceived main challenge among the social workers were founded in the political situation although factors as family-relationships, culture and the public schools for Palestinians turned out to be of importance for the progresses in their work. Those aspects were in many cases seen as problematical and arisen as a direct consequence of the occupation in the area. The results also shows that the social workers experienced all of these factors as interdependent. The results are analyzed through the theory: “The ecology of human development” which were created by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979). The last part of the thesis contains conclusions, a discussion of the results and suggestions for new research, it ends with my own reflections of the work performed for this study.