Social work in XXI Century St. Challenges for academic and professional training

The book that you hold in your hands or on the screen of any technological device is the result of the effort made by a group of professors with the collaboration of professionals in different universities and study centres in twenty-five countries. It is title is already revealing: Social Work in the 21st Century. It is remarkable the coordination of professors Concepción Nieto-Morales and Monica Solange De Martino Bermúdez for readers to know not only the curriculum of Social Work in each of the countries that appear, but also the profile of the student body and the identification and reflection on the challenges that the 21st century poses to the teaching of the profession, among other elements.

Being a social worker in these times requires a previous awareness before starting the long road that begins with academic training and ends with the daily work linked to people who need help; they need us to help them to conquer their rights. There is something else. Social problems over the years seem not to change their name: homeless; drug addicts, minors… but we must know that the internal dynamics of these marginalized groups evolve over time. We must act according to today’s situation, with today’s schemes, otherwise the essence of social work will disappear.