Challenges to Social Work: Europe

Párbeszéd: Szociális munka folyóirat

2014

This paper argues that there are many social works and that it is inappropriate to seek to create and defend a single unified identity for it. Personal and social identities are the characteristics that make someone or something recognisable to others and are connected to the social and cultural meanings and values associated with an identity. Europe has multiple countries and national, linguistic and cultural identities; it is logical to assume that these would create multiple social works. An internationalist view proposed a unified social work as part of a professionalisation project in the twentieth century to institutionalise the status and recognition of social work, but differing practices, occupational groups, contributory disciplines, social institutions incorporating social work and objectives mean that multiple potentialities exist for alternative forms of social work. While social work contains many possibilities, distinctive characteristics include its objectives of con...

Psychologica, 2010

This article considers some of the variations and similarities, as well as possible areas of convergence, in social welfare policies; the organisation of social services; the concerns; and the education and training of social professionals across Europe. It focuses particularly on the European Union as a political bloc within a wider Europe, and identifies some aspects of its role in shaping national policies and practices, including in the fields of migration and higher education. It presumes that global and regional trends and influences, together with international population mobility, indicate that social professionals may find themselves increasingly drawn into 'trans-national' interventions and that they therefore need to be aware of welfare systems and professional policies and practices beyond national borders.

2013

Many universities in Europe are involved in ‘internationalizing ‘ their social work curriculum. This has been realized by a variety of courses with an international profile or by student and teaching mobility. Some of the social work educators regularly meet at international conferences to exchange their experiences, convinced of the importance of cross-border exchange, but other colleagues are rather skeptic about the additional value of internationalization. This paper focuses on the debate about internationalization of the social work curriculum at BA level. We present the first results of an international survey, carried out at different universities in all corners of Europe. The survey intends to answer questions about the current state of internationalization of the BA curricula in Europe; how do we internationalize our curricula, what are the aims and what are the challenges? Do we think that this might lead to better qualified social workers for a practice dominated by a mor...

The aim of this article is to begin a comparison between an emerging ‘science of social work’ in the United States and German-speaking countries (Switzerland, Germany, and Austria), with the intention of moving the discussion forward. It is found that the ‘science of social work’ is more developed in German-speaking Europe than in the United States, but that similar conclusions have been developed in both contexts. However, scholars of the two continents only rarely refer to one another’s work, and the lack of communication between the two groups is hurting the discipline as a whole.

European Journal of Social Work, 2014

Report- General Social Care Council- King's College London, 2011

The purpose of the research, commissioned by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and Skills for Care and Development, is to provide up-to-date and standardised information on the status of the social work profession and its regulation in the European Economic Area. This aims to assist the GSCC in making decisions about the registration of social workers who have qualified in the EEA and are applying for registration in the UK. The research is conducted in partnership with the GSCC and examined data already held by the International Qualifications team in relation to different EEA states. This report provides detailed information on social work regulation, registration process, education and training (including practice placements), fitness to practise and other valuable information for a considerable number of EEA countries. The high level of EEA countries’ engagement with the research process highlights a mutual understanding of the value of information sharing in relation to the social work profession across Europe. This is expected to grow with the increasingly free movement across Europe and the shortages of social workers in some countries including England.

International Social Work, 2000