The perception of poverty and social welfare policies among undergraduate and graduate social work students in India

Despite the fact that the primary mission of social work profession is to help people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty, numerous scholars have found that social work students are distancing themselves from working with, and on behalf of poor populations. Given this, this study examined 318 Indian undergraduate¹ and graduate² social work students' perceptions toward poverty and social welfare policies in India. The findings suggest that the students' age, gender, socioeconomic and educational status, and area of concentration impact their perceptions of poverty and social welfare policies. Based on these findings several policy, practice and research implications are addressed.