Social Worker Empowerment Scale (SWES)

1.    I enjoy spending time with other people in my profession.
2.    It is helpful to join with others to solve problems.
3.    The workers in my agency all have a common purpose.
4.    I identify strongly with my profession.
5.    I consider myself a joiner.
6.    I enjoy using a team approach.
7.    I have frequent contact with other specialists in my field.
8.    I usually know what response to take to situations that arise at work.
9.    My education prepared me for my job.
10.I have adequate information resources to solve most professional problems.
11.I am aware of all the pertinent issues related to my field of practice.
12.I rarely run into unfamiliar problems at work anymore.
13.I often read professional journals.
14.I attend frequent conferences and training sessions to improve my skills.
15.If l don’t have the answer to a question‚ l always know where to get it.
16.I am frequently told that I am a very knowledgeable worker.
17.I feel that I am important to the people I work with.
18.I feel as competent as anyone else I work with.
19.I feel pretty sure of myself‚ even when people disagree with me.
20.I think I serve a valuable role in my professional capacity.
21.I generally make a good impression with others.
22.I feel self-assured around my superiors.
23.I don’t doubt my self-worth even when I think others do.
24.I am usually able to think through all the relevant issues.
25.I always know who has the power in different situations.
26.My place 1n the world is always very clear to me.
27.I usually know exactly where I stand.
28.My intuitions and hunches prove to be right most of my time.
29.I volunteer to take on extra work in areas of concern or interest to me.
30.When I become aware of activities to address a problem of interest‚ I try to find out how to get involved.
31.I am often the one to initiate responses to problems.
32.I have organized co-workers or others to offer new programs or interventions.
33.One of the things I like in a job is to have multiple involvements in different areas of interest.
34.I would rather take action than to trust that things will work out.
Knowledge and skills‚ Collective identity‚ Critical awareness‚ Self-concept‚ propensity to act
Strongly Agree‚ Agree‚ Uncertain‚ Disagree‚ Strongly Disagree
Knowledge and skills (8-16)‚ Collective identity (1-7)‚ Critical awareness (24-28)‚ Self-concept (17-23)‚ propensity to act (29-34)

This instrument can be found at: Simmons C. A.‚ Lehmann P. (eds). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation‚ New York‚ NY: Springer‚ pp. 376-377. (2013). Google Scholar

Frans‚ D. J. (1993). A scale for measuring social worker empowerment. Research on Social Work Practice‚ 3(3)‚ 312–328.

Frans‚ (1993). The Social Worker Empowerment Scale. In: Simmons C. A.‚ Lehmann P. (eds). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation‚ New York‚ NY: Springer‚ pp. 376-377. (2013). Google Scholar

x