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• Challenges, Opportunities and Resilience in Contemporary Practice

  Walter Lorenz

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  88

  This paper examines the evolution of social work as a profession within the context of changing socio-political landscapes. Through critical analysis of historical developments and contemporary challenges, it explores how neoliberal ideologies have fundamentally transformed the conceptualization of "the social" and consequently altered the practice and perception of social work. The research investigates the tension between technical-managerial approaches and relationship-based practices in social work, highlighting the profession's struggle to maintain its core values amid political and economic pressures. The paper argues for a re-politicization of social work practice as essential for its continued relevance and effectiveness, proposing a framework that reaffirms social work's commitment to fostering meaningful human connections and addressing structural inequalities. This analysis contributes to ongoing scholarly discourse on the future direction of social work in increasingly complex and polarized societies.

• Trends in social work in the 21st century

  Walter Lorenz

  Views:

  192

  This historical and contemporary overview of key developments in social work’s professionalisation demonstrates its intricate enmeshment with political framework conditions. The current scenario is characterised by stark polarisations as evidenced by the seemingly insurmountable dilemmas over how to overcome wars, epidemics and the economic and climate crises. These polarisations indicate a systematic erosion of the social dimension of societies largely through neoliberal politics which pose a central challenge to social work and its professional social mandate. The experience of social workers in confronting ambiguity and dealing dialectically with the polarising tendencies of modernity in their position as an “in-between profession” therefore offers transformative possibilities for dealing with current global dilemmas through the affirmation of core social work competences, which is illustrated with examples.