| Topic: The conception(s) of professional social work |
| Number of credits: 11 ECTS |
| Semester: autumn / spring |
| Form of instruction: 1 + 1 individual consultations / joint meetings |
There are a plethora of views on social work that emphasise the diversity of social reality and the variability of its interpretations (the conceptions of social work). Lorenz (2007) states that the variety of social work conceptions and their separation is long-term. For this reason, it seems essential to devote efforts to their mapping, analysis and possibly also comparison. Musil (2008a, 2008b) drew attention to administrative, philanthropic, activist and professional conceptions of social work, pointing out that social work can be considered outside the professional framework.
In this course, however, we focus more closely on the conception of social work - in the context of the profession (Kaňák, 2019). Navrátilová and Navrátil (2020) defined four fundamental conceptions of social work applied in the context of education of social workers. These are (1) the personal-developmental conception of social work, (2) the evidence-based conception of social work, (3) the competence conception of social work and finally (4) the reflexive conception of social work. We understand this typology as a starting point, which will be further critically developed and revised (Healy 2014).
In this course, we deal with various professional social work conceptions, introduce and critically evaluate multiple conceptions of professional social work, or empirically examine their presence or application in specific social workers' practice.
The seminar is research-oriented. The course aims to deepen the theoretical and empirical understanding of various conceptions (discourses and practices) of professional social work in specific areas of practice.