Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article

Social work organizations’ initiatives towards community empowerment among rural migrant workers in Xiamen, China

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Submitted   Jul 1, 2022
Published   Aug 18, 2022
Issue    Vol 4 No 2 (2022)
DOI   10.25082/SWSW.2022.02.002

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Shanshan Hong corresponding author
Department of Sociology, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China

Abstract

Social work organizations (SWOs) are under rapid development in Mainland China, and they are characterized as both non-government organizations (NGOs)' features and Chinese features. This research investigates SWOs' capacity to develop community empowerment through a case study on two SWOs in Xiamen China. The study found that SWOs organized individual activities, family activities, group activities, and community activities; their community empowerment strategies are soft and modified in the Chinese practical environment and political background; SWOs' empowerment approach emphasizes personal empowerment but not organizational or institutional empowerment; SWOs' interventions are not that successful but are still under development towards community empowerment with their path, and their over-dependence on government leads to their sluggish promotion in community empowerment. The study suggests that SWOs in China should change their development strategies, diversify their funding sources, and explore their professional methods to develop equal connections with other organizations, especially governmental departments. It is necessary to re-conceptualize the definition of community empowerment in China. 

Keywords
social work organization, China, community empowerment, rural migrant workers

Article Details

Supporting Agencies
This work was funded by the ``Fujian Innovation Strategy Research Program'' (Social organizations' strategies on cultivating social capital in Fujian rural areas under rural revitalization 2022R0051).
How to Cite
Hong, S. (2022). Social work organizations’ initiatives towards community empowerment among rural migrant workers in Xiamen, China. Social Work and Social Welfare, 4(2), 223-231. https://doi.org/10.25082/SWSW.2022.02.002
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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