Howard W. Polsky
Howard William Polsky (born April 16, 1928 , † October 19, 2003 in New York ) was an American social work scientist at Columbia University , who researched social systems and who fought against socially based delinquency through youth group analyzes and supported children in care.
Live and act
Polsky of social work was his nickname, because he brought the knowledge of the social sciences into the training of social work / social pedagogy as early as the 1950s and 1960s.
Polsky did his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Chicago in 1949 and later the MSW in group work and the Dr. phil. in social psychology from the University of Wisconsin .
His first book, Cottage Six , was published in 1962 and it was translated into four languages. Polsky explored the structures of delinquent groups in terms of pedagogical and group dynamics and developed his famous "diamond", which optically shows which types of gangs played which hierarchical role. The purpose was - with knowledge of the processes - to use these roles. He was concerned with the relationship between social work and ethnology in the context of youth delinquency.
He worked at Columbia University for 42 years, where he was known as a dedicated, charismatic university professor.
Howard Polsky was married to Roni Berger.
Projects
Of the numerous projects and programs that Polsky either developed himself or accompanied scientifically, the following should be emphasized:
When the Glen Mills Schools , a closed juvenile justice facility near Philadelphia , got a new head in 1975 , Polsky took over the advice and scientific support for the training of all educators in the now open house communities. As a result, he also coached German colleagues interested in the concept, such as Albrecht Müller-Schöll and Manfred Günther .
From 1987 to 1989 he worked for the fire brigade to improve the working atmosphere against the background of the massive gender discrimination at the time .
Polsky was the principal researcher on the US Child Welfare League project based at the Gould Academy in Chestnut Ridge, NY, a facility that housed New York's most difficult teenagers .
Polsky, who came from a Jewish family, also carried out research on ELEM in Israel at intervals on young people from broken families.
Fonts (selection)
- Social system perspectives in residential institutions. Michigan State Univ Pr 1970, ISBN 0-87013-144-3
- Cottage Six: Social system of delinquent boys in residential treatment . Warrior Pub Co; (1962) 1977 ISBN 0-88275-475-0
- (with R. Berger) From custodialism to community: A theory based manual for transforming institutions. University Press Of America 2003, ISBN 0-7618-2645-9
- How I am a Jew: Adventure into my Jewish American Identity , 2002
- Everyday Miracles: The Healing Wisdom of Hasidic Stories , 1994
- The Libido and its Discontents
- The Cultural Separation of Love and Sex
- The Future of Social Work
- Changing delinquent Subcultures in: Children Away from Home: A Sourcebook of Residential Treatment by James Whittaker et al. Albert Trieschman
literature
- German Youth Institute: The Glen Mills Schools, Pennsylvania, USA. A model between school, child and youth welfare and justice? An expertise. Verlag DJI, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-935701-10-1
- Manfred Günther: Alternative concepts for 'non-schoolable' and delinquent young people in the USA In: Sozialpädagogik (23) 1981
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Polsky, Howard W. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Polsky, Howard William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American social work scientist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 16, 1928 |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 19, 2003 |
| Place of death | new York |