Current problems and opportunities for development of the social work profession and education in Bulgaria

ABSTRACT

The article presents research on challenges and problems of social work profession and education in Bulgaria. The purpose is to establish the impact of policies and legislation on their current condition and the opportunities for changes and development. The methodology includes content analysis and online interview for the study of respondents’ opinion on reforms in social work profession and education. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of content and empirical data confirm the accepted purpose. They reveal that the challenges and problems in the current situation are the result of deficits in legislation, policies, and practices in the management and provision of social services and neglect by the authorities of the need to introduce regulations and standards in the social work profession and social work education. This leads to the formation and dynamism of a tendency to blur the boundaries of social work and its gradual deprofessionalization. The analysis of results presents need for reforms in areas regulations of social work profession and education, quality of professional resources, comparability of social work qualification with European Union countries, and integration of neoliberal, market and humanistic concepts in social services.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work
• profession
• higher education
• regulations
• reforms
• development

Disclosure statement

The author report no declarations of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this manuscript.

Notes on contributors

Sasho Nunev

Sasho Todorov Nunev Professor, DSc of Social Work. Department of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Public Health and Health Care, Angel Kanchev University of Ruse, Ruse, Bulgaria (2012–2020). Department of Management and Social Work, Faculty of Business and Management, Angel Kanchev University of Ruse, Ruse, Bulgaria (2020–2021). Chairman of the Expert Council on Social Work at Angel Kanchev University of Ruse. Founder of professional direction “Social work” in University of Rousse in 2012. One of the first professors (assistant professor, chief assistant professor, associate professor, professor) of social work in Bulgaria since the beginning in 1992–1993. One of the founders of the Bulgarian Association for Education in Social Work. Professor of social work: 1993–1998 at Episkop Konstantin Preslavski University of Shumen (assistant professor, chief assistant professor); 1998–2012 at Chernorizets Hrabar Varna Free University (associate professor); 2012 – to September 2021 Angel Kanchev University of Ruse (associate professor, professor). Ph.D. – St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, Episkop Konstantin Preslavski University of Shumen – 1996. Doctor of Science in Social Work – St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, University of Ruse – 2018. Expert evaluator in the Standing Committee on Social and Legal Sciences and National Security at the National Agency for Assessment and Accreditation for the period 2012–2015. Initiator and implementer of the membership of the University of Ruse in the European Association of Schools of Social Work – EASSW in 2014 (University of Ruse is the first Bulgarian university to be a member of EASSW). Representative of the University of Ruse in EASSW: 2014 – 2021. Individual member of International Association of Schools of Social Work – IASSW (first Bulgarian professor, member of IASSW): 2017–2021 (membership № 416-2-3-BGR Sasho Nunev, Bulgaria). Creator and administrator of the Facebook page “Social activities” (https://www.facebook.com/socialaffairsru) and the website “Social activities” (https://socialaffairsru.weebly.com/) (2014 until this moment). Professor in disciplines: History of Social Work; Theory of Social Work; Methods of Social Work; Social Work with Children at Risk; Social work with individuals with deviant behaviour; Anti-discrimination Social Work; Supervision in social work. Researches and publications (a total of 139) (https://publications.uni-ruse.bg/author/snunev) in the fields of anti-discrimination policy and social work; theory of social work; methods of social work; supervision with social work students and social workers; social work with children at risk; club forms of student activity; foster care and others, etc.