UGC NET Social Work Mock Test 2026
Unit 1: Nature and Development of Social Work
About Unit 1: Nature and Development of Social Work
Unit 1 forms the foundation of UGC NET Social Work examination, covering the fundamental concepts, historical evolution, and core principles of social work profession. This unit encompasses the philosophical foundations, value base, and developmental trajectory of social work as a discipline and practice.
This mock test contains 25 carefully curated multiple-choice questions that reflect the latest UGC NET Social Work syllabus for 2026. Each question is designed to test your conceptual understanding and analytical skills required for the examination.
Key Topics Covered: Definition and scope of social work, historical development, philosophical foundations, values and ethics, methods of social work, and contemporary issues in social work practice.
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Correct Answer: B) Mary Richmond
Mary Richmond is widely regarded as the founder of modern social work. She developed the first systematic approach to social casework and authored "Social Diagnosis" (1917), which established the scientific foundation for social work practice.
Correct Answer: B) Social reform and community development
The Settlement House Movement focused on social reform and community development by establishing centers in poor neighborhoods where educated volunteers lived and worked to improve social conditions and advocate for policy changes.
Correct Answer: C) Professional superiority
Professional superiority is not a core value of social work. Social work emphasizes equality, respect, and collaborative relationships rather than hierarchical or superior attitudes toward clients.
Correct Answer: A) Systematic and scientific approach to helping
The Charity Organization Society emphasized a systematic and scientific approach to helping, including thorough investigation of cases, coordination of services, and the use of trained volunteers called "friendly visitors."
Correct Answer: C) Profit maximization
Social work is characterized by service orientation rather than profit maximization. The profession focuses on helping people and addressing social problems, not on generating profits.
Correct Answer: C) Interaction between individual and environment
The person-in-environment perspective recognizes that human behavior results from the dynamic interaction between individuals and their social, cultural, and physical environments.
Correct Answer: C) Social casework
Social casework is considered the oldest method in social work practice, developing from the work of the Charity Organization Society and Mary Richmond's systematic approach to individual helping.
Correct Answer: B) Clients have the right to make their own decisions
Self-determination is a fundamental principle that recognizes clients' right to make their own choices and decisions about their lives, with appropriate support and information from social workers.
Correct Answer: A) Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), established in 1936 in Mumbai, was the first institution to introduce formal social work education in India.
Correct Answer: B) Part of interconnected systems
Systems theory views clients as part of interconnected systems (family, community, society) where changes in one part affect the whole system, emphasizing holistic intervention approaches.
Correct Answer: B) Adaptation between person and environment
The ecological perspective focuses on the adaptive fit between people and their environments, emphasizing the reciprocal relationship and the need for both personal and environmental changes.
Correct Answer: B) Enabling clients to gain control over their lives
Empowerment involves helping clients develop the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to gain control over their lives and make positive changes in their circumstances.
Correct Answer: B) Professional values and ethics
Social work practice is guided by professional values and ethics as outlined in codes of ethics, which provide standards for professional conduct and decision-making.
Correct Answer: B) Integration of multiple intervention approaches
The generalist practice model integrates multiple intervention approaches and methods, allowing social workers to work at various system levels (individual, family, group, community) as needed.
Correct Answer: B) Challenging oppression and discrimination
Social work's commitment to social justice involves actively challenging oppression, discrimination, and inequality while advocating for fair treatment and equal opportunities for all people.
Correct Answer: B) Client capabilities and resources
The strength-based approach emphasizes identifying and building upon client capabilities, resources, and resilience rather than focusing primarily on deficits and problems.
Correct Answer: B) Understanding and respecting diverse cultures
Cultural competence requires social workers to understand, respect, and effectively work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds while being aware of their own cultural biases.
Correct Answer: B) Understanding both dominant and minority perspectives
The dual perspective involves understanding how clients navigate between their own cultural/minority group perspectives and the dominant society's expectations and systems.
Correct Answer: B) Integration of research, practice wisdom, and client values
Evidence-based practice integrates the best available research evidence with practice wisdom and client values to make informed decisions about interventions.
Correct Answer: B) How well people perform their social roles
Social functioning refers to how effectively individuals perform their various social roles and meet the expectations of their social environment, including family, work, and community roles.
Correct Answer: B) Protecting client information with appropriate exceptions
Confidentiality involves protecting client information while recognizing appropriate exceptions such as duty to warn, court orders, and situations involving harm to self or others.
Correct Answer: A) Industrial Revolution and urbanization
Social work's historical roots are primarily traced to the Industrial Revolution and urbanization, which created new social problems and the need for organized responses to poverty and social disorganization.
Correct Answer: B) Simon Patten
Simon Patten, an economist, is credited with first using the term "social work" in the 1890s to describe organized efforts to address social problems.
Correct Answer: B) Social and economic development
Developmental social work focuses on social and economic development, emphasizing capacity building, empowerment, and sustainable development to address structural causes of social problems.
Correct Answer: B) Promotes social change and empowerment
The IFSW defines social work as a profession that promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being.
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