One, not one, or one hundred thousand? Voices of social workers in international comparison

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on features of contemporary professional debates and reactions of social workers to social policy and reforms in five European countries (Italy, Spain, Turkey, Portugal, United Kingdom) and in the five so-called BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). It considers these features as they appear in different national arenas, for instance professional bodies, associations and journals/newsletters specialised in social work. A questionnaire submitted to experts in the ten countries guided both the data collection and the qualitative review of the literature and grey literature (internet, official documents, etc.). The findings highlight the diversity of the countries and the extent to which social work has developed in them as a professional community. There appears to be a link between the formal structure of the profession and the level of the debate undertaken in this occupational group. Some of the so-called BRICS countries have only recently started to define a specific role for social workers in the implementation of social policies. In contrast, the other five countries have a stronger tradition of social work. Four of them are Southern European and Mediterranean (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Turkey), while only the UK represents a different European history and development.

SOMMARIO

Questo articolo descrive le caratteristiche dell’attuale dibattito professionale e delle reazioni degli assistenti sociali in riferimento alle politiche sociali e alle relative riforme in cinque paesi europei (Italia, Spagna, Turchia, Portogallo, Regno Unito) e nei cosiddetti paesi BRICS (Brasile, Russia, India , Cina, Sudafrica). Considera tali caratteristiche come appaiono in diverse arene nazionali, quali ad esempio enti e associazioni professionali, nonché riviste e newsletter specializzate in servizio sociale. Un questionario inviato ad alcuni esperti nei dieci paesi sopra menzionati ha guidato sia la raccolta dei dati che la rassegna della letteratura scientifica e della letteratura grigia (internet, documenti ufficiali, ecc.).

I risultati evidenziano la diversità dei paesi considerati e della misura in cui in ciascuno di essi il servizio sociale si è sviluppato come comunità professionale. Sembra esserci un collegamento tra la struttura formale della professione e il livello del dibattito in corso in questo gruppo di professionisti. Alcuni dei cosiddetti paesi BRICS hanno solo recentemente iniziato a definire un ruolo specifico per gli assistenti sociali nell'attuazione delle politiche sociali. Al contrario, gli altri cinque paesi hanno una tradizione di servizio sociale più forte. Quattro di loro sono nell'Europa meridionale e mediterranea (Portogallo, Spagna, Italia e Turchia), mentre solo il Regno Unito rappresenta in Europa una storia e uno sviluppo diversi.

KEYWORDS:

• BRICS
• neoliberalism
• policy practice
• advocacy

PAROLE CHIAVE:

• BRICS
• neoliberismo
• pratica politica
• advocacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The teams included professors and researchers based at the Social Work Schools/Departments of the following institutions, partners in the CIVIL_SW project: Universidade Federal Do Espirito Santo (Brasil), Sun Yat-Sen University (China), Loyola College (India), Università della Calabria (Italy), Instituto Universitario De Lisboa Iscte (Portugal), Coventry University (United Kingdom), Saint Petersburg State University (Russia), Universidad De Alicante (Spain), Stellenbosch University (South Africa), Kocaeli Universitesi (Turkey).

2 The questionnaire was addressed to the coordinator of the research team in each partner institution, and was formulated as follows:

1. In your opinion, are there a professional debate and reactions to policy proposals and implementation in your country? If so, where/how can they be seen and what are the main contents?

2. Are there professional bodies or associations of social workers in your country? Do they have an official newsletter or website where I can find traces of the above debate and their positions on social policy?

3. In your country what are the main journals/newsletters specialised on social work? Do you have any article to suggest me (and hopefully provide me, thank you very much in advance) where I can find the main lines and positions of the debate above?

Additional information

Funding

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement No. 318938.

Notes on contributors

Alessandro Sicora

Alessandro Sicora, PhD, is Associate professor at the University of Trento (Italy), where he teaches Social Work. He qualified as a social worker in 1989 and has been a social work academic since 2008. Currently he is President of the Italian Society of Social Work

(SocISS) and Secretary of the European Social Work Research Association. His latest book is: Sicora, A. (2017) Reflective practice and learning from mistakes in social work, Bristol: Policy Press. E-mail: [email protected]

Giulio Citroni

Giulio Citroni, PhD, is Associate professor in Political Science at the University of Calabria (Rende, Italy), where he teaches Political science and Public policy analysis. His main publications deal with administrative reforms and local government, public-private partnerships, privatisation, local governance of utilities and social services, comparative public policy.