Social Work Rural Camp

The 10-day rural camp exposes students to working in community and allows them to experience group living.

In the beginning of the semester students should attend 10 days rural camp.

  • Social work camp for 8 to 10 days is compulsory for Students
  • Micro-planning activity and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) activity shall be the part of social work camp.
  • Urban social work camp may also be organized in any town or corporation area.
  • Tribal camp may also be organized in any tribal area.
  • Students should prepare a social work camp report and submit it to College/Dept.

Objectives of the social work camp:

  1. Understand the social system with the dynamics within.
  2. Analysis of the regional social system, the approaches, and the strategies of intervention used by the government and non-government organisations.
  3. Understand the nature of government intervention in relation to various groups (caste, tribe etc.) in the region, and the related structures of decision-making and intervention.
  4. Develop the capacity to critique the interventions of both the voluntary organisations and the government agencies in relation to the specific group.
  5. Through experience in group-living the student should learn to appreciate its value in terms of self-development, interpersonal relationships, sense of organisation, management and taking on responsibility.
  6. Acquire skills in planning, organising, implementing through the camp for example: conscious use of time, communication skills, team spirit, handling relationships, conflicts and differences of opinion, decision making, evaluation, appreciation, sharing of resources, tasks, coping skills in problem situations, cooperation and coordination.
  7. Learners are fully involved in planning, implementing the plans and presenting their experience in a workshop on return from the camp.
  8. The learners should be encouraged to take on concrete tasks towards meeting basic/civic needs of the people.


  1. Living conditions, housing, water supply and other amenities.
  2. Social life-power structure, community life, social norms and social institutions, dominant caste and untouchability.
  3. Marriage and types of families, family life.
  4. Economic life- Occupation, extent of employment, ownership of house, land, average size of holding, proportion of landless labourers, proportion of land held by non-tribals and average size holding (in a tribal area), income and indebtedness, bonded labour.
  5. Exploitation by landlord, moneylender, and traders, extent and areas of exploitation, efforts made to obtain justice and with what effect, conflict, resolution methods.
  6. Political life-dominant politicians in the region and taluka, the bases of their power, their links with other economic exploiters and politicians at different levels, their influence with respect to the police, judiciary, government officials, factional politics that effect development and social justice.
  7. Education-level of education, education facilities and who controls them, suitability of education system, use of education facilities by different castes and class groups.
  8. Conditions of health and nutrition, services available and their use.
  9. Positive local initiatives in the area.

Other problems and issues

  • Analysis of intervention programmes/services approach/strategies, participation of the client system.
  • Gaps and suggestions.
  • Role of the social worker.
  • 10. Guidelines for observation of a voluntary agency in a rural setting:
  1. Objectives
  2. The approach and methods used for achieving objectives.
  3. Organisational structure.
  4. Priorities and programs evolved, participation of people in decisionmaking and in programme implementation, problems encountered in programme implementation.
  5. Impact on the villagers in terms of their problems, social justice, development of leadership, development of an alert and democratic community.
  6. Relationship with Panchayat Raj, Block Development personnel, the magistracy and other government institutions and bodies, difficulties encountered, benefits received.
  • 11. Guidelines for observation of community development organisaitons and Panchayat Raj.
  1. Administrative set up of both the above.
  2. Who are the zilla parishad samiti/panchayat members, their socioeconomic and caste status.
  3. Problems of administrative personnel in working with elected persons at different levels.
  4. Decision making process: type of problems that come before the zilla parishad, panchayat, who initiates projects, process of assessing them. How decisions are made-manipulations, lobbying, pressure tactics used.
  5. Current major programes, budget allocations for the programmes, methods of implementation, participation of people, impact on development and social justice.