Social work has a deeply contextual nature as practitioners work among people and their environments. In addition, social work is engaged in promoting social justice and social change, and therefore, the focus of workers becomes one of changing the environment or aspects of it. In this sense, to understand the profession and the role of applied ethics we must have a clear idea of the context in which social workers practice (Bowles et al., 2006). Although social work has changed since it was first established in Greece, it is important to briefly describe its historical evolution. This is followed by a brief review of its work status in Greece.
When the Second World War started in 1940, Greece was enslaved and the population experienced deprivation. At the end of the war, a civil war began and people continued to suffer from the consequences. During this period, however, the reconstitution of the country started.
The welfare program of Marshal, founded by the American government, undertook the development of public works and community development programs (Stathopoulos,1999).
American consultants and volunteer organisations who had come to Greece to help with the reconstruction of the country argued that the effectiveness of these programs was not good enough. The need for trained staff to deliver the social programs was subsequently identified and the first social work school established by the American College “Pierce” in 1945. Three years later in 1948, the Christian Association of Youth in Greece with the support of the International Christian Association and the support of the “Royal Welfare of Greece”, founded the second social work school. The third school was founded by the “Royal National Institution” and the fourth was founded by the Greek Orthodox Church. In 1950 the Hellenic Association of Social Workers was founded, and in 1959 the first law was passed describing the role of the social work profession. Three years later in 1961, a second law described the settings where social work could be practised.
At this time, leftists were provoking social workers and arguing that since social work schools were funded by Liberals and Royals the ideals of the profession were not democratic and social workers were not close to the working class. In addition, with the church‟s involvement in two schools, social work in Greece was viewed more as an apostolate activity rather than a distinct profession (Stathopoulos, 1999).
There are two committees in Greece for the development of the social work profession. The first was established in 1956 by the Orthodox Church in collaboration with the Unitarian University Service Committee of the US. In the first years of its establishment the committee actively engaged in social work education in Greece. In particular, it financially supported the translation of some of the basic social work texts from the US, organized the first educational seminars for social workers, and developed the curriculum in consultation with social work academics from US universities. Similarly, the second committee was founded by the Orthodox Church in 1979 and supported the development of the profession. Both committees continue their function to date, but with limited activity (Kalinikaki, 1998).
Currently, there are four schools of social work in Greece which can provide a license for practice. All of them are established as Higher Schools of Social Work (HSSW) and they provide a three and a half year training course followed by a six month placement for practical experience. Due to the National Educational System in universities, students enter social work schools at the age of 18 or 20. Older students in social work schools already have a degree from another school. The social work schools are not multicultural as the majority of students are Greeks. Only a small portion of social work students are from Cyprus, and an even smaller portion of students are children of expatriate Greek families who return to Greece for their studies. This is promoted by the Greek government by allowing children of Greek emigrants to enter any university they like so as to support their families on return to their homeland (Pediaditaki, 2003).
There is no official data for the number of the employed social workers. However, Dedoussi et al.
(2004) estimate that over 1000 social workers are employed in the health sector nationwide. In addition, the status of the social workers in health sector is low, as medical services in Greece remain doctor-orientated and the multidisciplinary approach is rare (Dedoussi et al. 2004). In fact, Dedoussi et al. (2004) indicate several factors that determine the low status of the profession.
They state that there are a limited number of vacancies for qualified social workers and, in the private sector, it is rare for employers to offer more than one or two posts for social work. And finally, continued education is not a requirement and is rarely provided by employers.
Dedoussi et al. (2004) describe the profile of the typical social worker in Greece:
A typical social worker in Greece is a middle-aged married or single woman working for the last 10 years in health or social services, who rarely finds the time or the money to attend scientific meetings despite the fact that s/he may have at least one other degree qualification before training in social work. S/he is employed at staff grade and has little or no prospects of promotion. Central policy on social workers is lacking, and the profession is lacking, and the profession is in the early stages of self- organizations (pp. 274).
In addition, results from Georgoussi (2003) survey which explored the nature of the daily work of social workers, indicated that activities were characterized as “first aid” and no work related to planning, research, supervision, or consistent record-keeping. Moreover, Pediadikaki (2003) argues that social work‟s character is very confusing to the majority of the Greek citizens.
To summarize, social work in Greece was deeply influenced by the liberal ideology that prevailed in Greece, by the United States and the Christian Orthodox Church in Greece. In particular, the first social work academics were educated in US and the establishment of the welfare state was funded and formatted by the directions of the US government. Simultaneously, the Christian Orthodox Church with its power to influence and intervene in the political affairs of Greece managed to form the social work identity as a philanthropic activity. Therefore, social workers remained, for many years, uneducated in critical or radical social work practice. And although social work was considered as a moral activity, its purposes remained disconnected with the aims of social change. As social work is mainly practised within the limited welfare organisations founded by the state, it remains a professional with low status. Educational opportunities for social workers are considerably limited, and only those who are able to fund themselves have the opportunity for advanced education in European or American universities (Dedoussi et al., 2004;
Georgoussi, 2003; Stathopoulos, 1999; Kalinikaki, 1998). It is vitally important that social work ethics is understood in relation to the Greek context in which social work is practiced. Although the HASW is currently a member of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the ability and competence of social workers to practice social work ethics are considerably dependent on the diversity of contexts.