Social Work as a Global Profession: Launch of new handbook

A new handbook for social work as a global profession has launched.

The handbook is published by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) in partnership with The Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) in Switzerland.

‘Social Work as a Global Profession: Handbook for Teaching and Learning’ was launched last month at the university and is available now to be download for free online.

The book is based on a successful course run by the social work department at BFH. The programme was designed to introduce students to global social work dynamics, contexts and a variety of practice models from around the world.

As a result, students have consistently reported being introduced to new concepts, ideas, and sources of inspiration that will positively influence their practice, whether in Switzerland or in other cultural, economic, or social contexts.

In the interest of sharing knowledge freely the teaching staff and guest speakers have turned their teaching notes into chapters for others to adapt and use in social work teaching and learning.

Topics covered in the handbook include social work as a global profession: the international definition and ethical principles; global entanglements and postcolonial theories and their relevance for social work; the United Nations, human rights and their importance for social work; concepts of empowerment in the international context; community work as a system of social transformation, and eco-social work. These topics are supplemented by real-life practice examples from across the globe.

“This handbook we hope will be of use to other social work education departments around the world developing people’s understanding of the role of social work as a necessary part of contributing to economic, environment and social harmony, for our shared futures,” Dr Rory Truell, Secretary General of IFSW, said.