Social Work Research on Practice and Education

During the Berlin meeting (September 2003) the European Union Ministers of Education added an action line to the Bologna Process entitled “European Higher Education Area and European Research Area: Two pillars of the knowledge based society”, stressing the importance of research as an integral part of higher education across Europe. Social work research has become a key element in the scientific accreditation process of the discipline in Europe. A fundamental challenge for the future enhancement of social work education and for the increasing and deepening of social work knowledge is the development of a robust social work research base.

• What is the position and impact of research in social work education and practice development?
• What kind of research-based comparative knowledge exists about social work education in different European countries?
• How can social work research inform the link between theory and practice?
• How should social work education promote and utilise research on practice to update its curricula?
• What kind of successful experiences exist at different levels of education (BA, MA, PhD) on how to prepare social workers to practice research and embed research-mindedness in social workers of the future?