Grace Coyle: Pioneer Essay PDF

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1 PIONEER ESSAY

Essay of Social Work Pioneer: Grace Coyle Skyler Lowman, Kristi Biggs, and Jenna Souder February 7, 2020 SOWK 287 James Madison University

2 PIONEER ESSAY Grace Coyle was a social worker, professor, and researcher whose work has had a lasting impact on the social work field and in our everyday lives. She studied Economics and later got her Doctorate in Sociology. In her early life, she worked in settlement houses with immigrants and factory workers and later moved on to work in the Industrial Women’s Department for the YMCA. While working at the YMCA, Coyle began her studies of group work. She soon became a professor in Cleveland where she developed the first group work course to be taught at that university. Meanwhile, she served as president of the National Conference of Social Work and of the American Association of Social Workers (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], n.d.). However, beyond those outstanding accomplishments, she remains known for her development of the scientific approach to group work (Encyclopedia of Social Work, 2013). Her research has become a core method for social work, which is amplified through her many writings and speeches (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], n.d.). Coyle worked to bring group work as a method of intervention in the social work field by pairing case work and group work. She paired the advantages of group workers with the advantages of case workers in order to develop a method most effective for clients in all situations (Coyle, 1962). She believed that this new dynamic could be used for therapeutic purposes as she described in her 1959 paper, Group Work in Psychiatric Settings: Its Roots and Branches. Intersectionality is a very important concept in social work, it “refers to the entirety of a person’s dimensions of difference and social identities” (Cox et al., 2019, p. 8). Coyle’s accomplishments can be greatly associated with this concept of intersectionality. She had the privilege of being highly educated and, we can assume she was from a fairly well-off family due to the fact that during the Great Depression, Coyle was pursuing her Masters and her Doctorate.

3 PIONEER ESSAY Due to these fundamental factors, along with her race and gender, we can see how Coyle’s identities intersected to, overall, benefit her life and lead to her tremendous accomplishments. Grace Coyle embodies the main document of social work, the Code of Ethics, through her multitude of life endeavors. Coyle was an advocate for the poor and fought to expand government services to reduce social problems. She displayed this passion through her work in settlement houses and her work with the YMCA. Her work directly connects with the following core values: service, which the NASW Code of Ethics describes as “Social worker’s primary goal is to help people in need and address social problems”, social justice, “social workers challenge injustices”, and finally valuing the dignity and worth of the person, “social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person” (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2008). She worked to help people in need by addressing social problems, such as the lack of housing and education, while fighting social injustice. Coyle also embodied the Code of Ethics through her research of group work. The research and development of her scientific approach to group work displays the core value of competence written out in the Code of Ethics as, “social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise” (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2008). Dr. Coyle is a prime example of this core value followed by its ethical principle, defined above. She developed a new method for the practice altogether and ultimately changed the field of social work forever through her research. Not only does Coyle embody the Code of Ethics, but she also exemplifies a social worker’s commitment to social justice and human diversity. Social workers value human diversity and Coyle worked in many different situations where she expanded her knowledge about the world through her interactions with diverse groups of people. Social workers work

4 PIONEER ESSAY with and advocate for diverse populations which is “one of the most interesting and rewarding aspects of their career, the ability to expand their knowledge and appreciation of human diversity” (Cox et al., 2019, p. 4). Coyle fought for the social justice, specifically of immigrants and factory workers through her work in settlement housing. While in college, she volunteered her free time to settlement houses in Boston, then later continued this passion in Pennsylvania in a small coal mining region (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], n.d.). The settlement houses she worked in were created to help the community meet their basic needs in order to better acclimate and thrive in their new environment. She helped work to provide adequate and affordable education, healthcare, and childcare for this vulnerable and oppressed population. Her work greatly exemplifies a social worker’s task of overall working towards the empowerment of people that might otherwise be left behind. Grace Coyle introduced a new and very important method to the field of social work. Her work alone is very impressive as she embodied what it means to be a true social worker, however, beyond that, her research changed the practice forever. Her emphasis on integrating social work and group work has led to the development of processes that make interventions more effective in a client or group based work. In addition, her study of group leadership led to a better understanding of how to create and improve communities in order to make them as effective as possible (Alissi, 1980). Overall, I think she is a very important person in the history of social work whose work, on and off the field, has provided us with strategies to improve our practice and even our daily lives. She exemplified to the world the social work is not a one man job, but rather is more effective when taken on by a strong, interdependent group. Lastly, Coyle illustrates the concepts of reliability and strong back, soft front. To be reliable means to do what you say you’ll do, and ensure you keep your competencies up to date

5 PIONEER ESSAY and balance conflicting priorities (Brown, 2019). Coyle displays this through her many speeches and papers, which proves her passion and aptitude for her field. Some of these works including, Social Process in the Community and Group: Significant Areas of Content in a Social Work Curriculum, Current Development in Group Dynamics, and Studies in Group Behavior, all demonstrate her ability to research and further her knowledge about the field of group work and social work. Further, Coyle has accomplished the very thing she wanted, expanding on group work. Around 1946, while presenting a paper in Buffalo to AASGW members, she claims, “My own hope is that the emerging definition of social work may define it as the conscious use of social relations in performing certain community functions, such as child welfare, family welfare, and health services…” (Allisi, 1980, p. 20). This desire to solidify group work is what defines Coyle, proving she can make good on her words and solidifying her as reliable. In addition, she demonstrates the concept of “strong back, soft front”, which essentially means to be stable mentally and emotionally, while being adaptable to any change (Brown, 2019). Coyle, being invested in group work and developing its effectiveness, is by default having to constantly adapt to new environments and people. Her client sessions require her to present different, stable emotions to different individuals respectively, and with each new meeting, she has to adapt to the changing needs of these people. Not only that, but by constantly working on improving the progress of group work, Coyle proves she is flexible on an academic level. Building on her own work requires her to maintain a certain level of knowledge, and as new information is generated, she has to adjust any prior assertions to match new progress. By simply furthering her research, Coyle once again showcases acclimation. Ultimately, Coyle’s work expanded the field of social work while exemplifying the practice’s values and mission.

6 PIONEER ESSAY References: Alissi, A, S. (1980). Perspectives on social group practice. A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. Brown, B. (2017). Braving the wilderness: the quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone. Random House Publishing Group. Cox, L. E., Tice, C. J., Long, D. D. (2019). Introduction to Social Work. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781506394527/ Coyle, G, L. (1962). Concepts relevant to helping the family as a group. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services. Vol 43, issue 7. 347-354. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/104438946204300701. Coyle, G, L. (1959). Group work in psychiatric settings: Its roots and branches. Social Work. Vol 4, 74-81. National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Ethical principles in the code of ethics. Washington, DC. NASW Press. Retrieved February 4, 2020, from https://www.socialworkers.org/about/ethics/code-of ethics/code-of-ethics-english National Association of Social Workers (n.d.). NASW Pioneers Biography Index. NASW. Retrieved February 4, 2020, from https://www.naswfoundation.org/Our-Work/NASWSocial- WorkPioneers/NASW Social-Workers-Pioneers-Bio-Index/id/616 Quam, J, K. (2013). Coyle, Grace Longwell. Encyclopedia of Social Work. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.671...