Social Action, the Group and Society

Abstract

There is a longstanding commitment to social action in Group Work. This can be traced back to the work of Jane Addams and Grace Coyle and many others with whom they worked and shared ideas. However, as we follow the history of Group Work we find a shift in the meaning of social action. The role of groups in society has changed from that of instrument for social change to that of training ground for democracy. The more recent writing of Lee, Breton, Lewis and others suggests the possibility of restoring the centrality of groups to social action in the context of new social realities and contemporary thinking about society and the state.