Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Social Work Curricula

Social work curricula are increasingly subjected to the priorities of governments, requirements of employers and regulations by professional bodies and higher education organisations in many countries. The move towards privatization and managerialism within social welfare services has impacted on the profession. Cuts in the public sector have resulted in reduced welfare services for many people. Social work education is seeing increased academisation of its curricula. At the same time, service users and their organisations’ voices are regarded as valuable in developing the curricula of social work. As we look to the future, how should social work education change?

• What are the moves within curricula to ensure social work values of human rights and social justice are understood and upheld by students?
• What innovations can we introduce to enable students to think creatively about the social work role?
• How should we balance the professional, academic and skills-based nature of social work in our curricula?
• How are service users and carers shaping social work education based on their experiences of social work?