Flourishing in the spring? Social work, social work education and field education in China

Abstract

After being abolished for over three decades, the spring of social work in China finally arrived in the early 1990s. Recognizing that the contribution of social work can make for the building of a socialist harmonious society, the Chinese government is dedicated to building a grand team of social workers in China. By 2020, there will be three million social workers to serve society. While celebrating the arrival of this new era for social work, concerned parties dare not underestimate the difficulties they will encounter in this immensely challenging mission. This paper describes the road leading to the arrival of the spring of social work in China with special focus on the challenges that threaten the accomplishment of this mission. A consortium cum collaboration model in which the quadruple-partnership (government, schools of social work, NGOs and other related institutions/individuals) for the promotion of a tri-foci development (service, education and research) in China is proposed as one way of addressing the challenges. With a healthy and balanced development of social work, a harmonious, humane and just society may arrive soon.

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