European social work and their identities

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.

Pedagogika Społeczna Nova, 2023

The article explores the internationalisation of social work from a historical point of view to Indigenous approaches and discusses the concepts of indigenisation, authentication and reconceptualisation. It demonstrates the importance of shifting away from the dominant western perspective on knowledge as well as away from the idea of a universal Social Work and focuses on philosophies and approaches of the Global South. Dialogue as praxis, enablement, and empowerment as well as translation and an ethnological view as methods of internationalisation of Social Work are emphasised. Subsequently, perspectives of Radical as well as Green Social Work and postcolonial feminist approaches within the profession are presented, which can contribute to a desired interwoven, mutually supporting Social Work. The outlook shows the importance of international and cross-cultural exchange between social workers. It emphasizes on sharing of and learning about local methods and practices from other parts of the world, to develop common ideas. In this context self-reflection of the profession and social workers is crucially value.

The study discusses the search for meaning and position of social work in postmodern social context. At present there is talk in social work of crisis and failure of social work, which consists in the blurring of its identity, the fact that social work is carried out by unqualified workers, and loss of social prestige. In the contemporary professional discourse of social work in the Czech Republic the study first identifies three areas from which the loss of meaning and threat to the identity of social work stem (definition of social work, system of social services, real conditions of carrying out social work). Based on reflecting these areas the study states that the discourse concerning the identity and meaning of social work loses sight of the client of social work. That is why it briefly summarizes the conception of social work in Silvia Staub-Bernasconi, who in defining social work emphasizes the question “Who is vulnerable”. On this basis the study then concludes that further defence of the professional interests of social work in public discourse and in the context of social services providers is needed, which as its goal will pursue not a general question of the identity of social work but the good of its client.

Routledge eBooks, 2023

What debates and issues are involved in moves to generalise about social work across the globe? This paper attempts to examine some of these major debates and, in so doing, to suggest some directions for a flexible approach. Crucial to these debates are several tensions around the issues of Westernisation, localisation and indigenisation in social work. It is also important to seek clarity around the complexities of international social work. The political implications involved in these movements are discussed and possible approaches to finding a flexible framework which allows for differences yet provides for accountability, responsiveness and connectivity are suggested.

Social work and society, 2005

The problem-situation In most Western countries, the professional status of social workers is instable and insecure. Of course, most Western countries are themselves instable, ridden with feelings of insecurity and in search of reassurance and promises of control. But social work hardly lends itself as a projection screen for visions of professional control and efficiency in the face of insecurity. On the contrary: within the present cultural and political climate, social work connotes primarily with unpopular social problems, with people unable to cope adequately with the competitiveness and the rate of change of post-industrial societies, that is to say: it connotes more with dependency and helplessness then with autonomy and control. Moreover, whereas public discourse in most Western country is dominated by a neo-liberal perspective and the intricate network of economic, managerial, consumerist and military metaphors connected with it, social work still carries with it a legacy of 'progressive politics' increasingly labeled as outdated and inadequate. Although the values of solidarity and social justice connected with this 'progressive heritage' certainly have not faded away completely, the loudest and most popular voices on the level of public discourse keep underscoring the necessity to adapt to the 'realities' of present-day postindustrial societies and their dependence on economic growth, technological innovation and the dynamics of an ever more competitive worldmarket. This 'unavoidable' adaptation involves both the 'modernization' and progressive diminishment of 'costly' welfare-state arrangements and a radical reorientation of social work as a profession. Instead of furthering the dependency of clients in the name of solidarity, social workers should stimulate them to face their own responsibilities and help them to function more adequately in a world where individual autonomy and economic progress are dominant values. This shift has far-reaching consequences for the organization of the work itself. Efficiency and transparency are the new code words, professional autonomy is dramatically limited and interventions of social workers are increasingly bound to 'objective' standards of success and cost-effectiveness. At first sight, this situation does not provide a very promising horizon for those theorists, researchers and social workers still adhering to the 'progressive' legacy of social work and its central values: solidarity, social justice and empowerment. The notion of historical progress connected with these values seems to have lost its visionary and unifying power, to be replaced by and large by a quite different, neo-liberal view of 'a better future', dominated by the idea of ever increasing consumptive possibilities for autonomous individuals on the basis of unlimited economic growth and technological innovation. This neo-liberal vision of a better future is underpinned by its own version of a just society, wherein every man (!) gets what he deserves on the basis of his own efforts. This vision accomplishes the remarkable feat of trivializing blatant forms of social inequality and exclusion, not only by picturing them as an unavoidable price to be paid 'in the short run' for a better future for all 'in the long run', but also by stressing the individual responsibility of those who are unwilling or unable to face

Párbeszéd: Szociális munka folyóirat

Social Work Education, 2004

What debates and issues are involved in moves to generalise about social work across the globe? This paper attempts to examine some of these major debates and, in so doing, to suggest some directions for a flexible approach. Crucial to these debates are several tensions around the issues of Westernisation, localisation and indigenisation in social work. It is also important to seek clarity around the complexities of international social work. The political implications involved in these movements are discussed and possible approaches in finding a flexible framework which allows for differences yet provides for accountability, responsiveness and connectivity is suggested.

Tiltai, 2015

The paper presents the discourse of the social work professionalization from the viewpoints of practice, research, academic activity, and professional identity, by revealing the expression of social worker competencies in the changing society. By means of evaluating the 20-year-experience of social worker training in Lithuania, the authors reveal the identity of social work at two levels: professional (academisation and practice) and legal (profession and study status). For the purpose, a novel approach to the formation of the social work theory, study methods, and the education of intercultural communication and lifelong learning is employed.