Contemporary Challenges to Social Work Education in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Social work education in the UK is undergoing considerable changes. It is being shaped by globalization, new government policies, such as devolution, European harmonization, and professional imperatives. In the present paper, I explore the issues these trends raise for the profession and conclude that social work educators, researchers, and practitioners have a considerable agenda to address. Exploring and understanding these changes should be incorporated into social work curricula. This includes theorizing these changes to promote the development of new models of practice that respond to a wide range of social problems. This paper is informed by findings from a research project that colleagues and I have conducted under the aegis of the Centre for International Social and Community Development at the University of Southampton.

Keywords:

• Case Management Social Work Education
• Social Work and Globalization