Knowledge, Skills and Values of Social work

The social work profession, from its very beginning, was based on values that contributed not only to its own professional development and to helping different service user groups but also to the development of societies in general. Besides its own disciplinary progress and research-orientation, knowledge and skills that social work is based upon have always been marked by inter- and trans-disciplinarity. Today and in the future social work will be faced with a multiplicity of different challenges. The human rights-based values of social work are currently in an increasingly defensive position in a world ruled by the priorities of neo-liberal economic interests. This pressure also influences social work education: the established knowledge and skills of social workers are being narrowed down towards isolated, de-politicised and mechanical task-performance instead of holistic societal perspectives.

• How can social work education retain and regenerate its key professional values?
• What kind of knowledge and skills will mark the future of social work in order to strengthen its competence to fight the increasing inequality faced by individuals, communities and society?
• How can social work balance between an evidence based approach and the reflective practice required to confront the many unique, unexpected and individual phenomena of people and their communities, including the ecological and economic crises?