School Social Work: Current Practice and Research

Abstract

The primary aim of this book is to examine the role of social workers in schools with respect to fostering children’s rights and creating better outcomes for children and young people in seven selected countries or places: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In this edited volume, a number of scholars, researchers and social work practitioners share their insights on school social work service or practice in their respective countries or places, and discuss how school social work service can further be improved to address the needs and problems of children and young people. School social work is a specialized area of youth work around the world. It has been developed for a long time. However, school social work service may take different forms and shapes, thereby affecting how it is delivered. For instance, while some school social workers primarily play the role of a clinical counselor or caseworker, others see themselves as an advocate for the disabled and disadvantaged young people in schools. Therefore, instead of making comparisons among different practices, each chapter aims to introduce salient features of the school social work service of a specific country or place. In addition to examining the historical development of school social work in their regions, each chapter will also explore the views of school social workers regarding their successes and challenges in their day-to-day practices. Each chapter covers the following topics: 1) a brief overview of the development of school social work services (such as from informal to formal development and the contexts for its development); 2) contemporary school social work practice and delivery (such as qualifications of school social workers, role and duties of the school social worker, and general and specific school social work practice, if any), and 3) a selected topic of the contributor’s interest or research area. This edited volume, in many respects, provides readers with first-hand information and innovative ways on how school social workers around the world can improve the quality of their professional work with children and young people. (Imprint: Nova)