Comparative Social Work
- LAST REVIEWED: 10 March 2015
- LAST MODIFIED: 10 March 2015
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0193
- LAST REVIEWED: 10 March 2015
- LAST MODIFIED: 10 March 2015
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0193
Introduction
Taken in an international context, social work is characterized by diversity of country-specific traditions, policies, and practices. Despite this global diversity, the investigation and analysis of social work through comparative research is underdeveloped theoretically and methodologically. In social work the term “comparative research” has generally been used to refer to cross-national studies that involve two or more nation-states. Although, logically, the term “comparative research” could also apply to other forms of comparison, for example, comparison: across different historical epochs, of different perspectives on social work—professionals and public, and of different regions. While there are a large number of articles in journals and anthologies that introduce different aspects of social work and social work education in individual countries, there are a relatively modest number of available publications that have been based on systematic comparisons of two or more countries and that are grounded in empirical study. The authors wish to acknowledge that they are both resident in Europe, one in England, the other in Finland. If that has engendered some bias in the selection of material that has been included, we offer our apologies to the reader. In our defense, this topic is of global reach and spans the full domain of social work—it is not possible to know or be able to access it all. Notwithstanding this reservation we hope that the reader will find this bibliography useful as a starting point from which to explore the nature of comparative social work.
General Overviews
International associations of social work, notably, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), have promoted transnational interactions between social workers and social work academics and have also published varied materials about social work in different countries. Many of these publications are available on their websites IFSW and IASSW AIETS, respectively. Of particular interest is the definition of social work, which is available on the websites and is intended to provide a definition of social work that can be understood and is meaningful in all countries. These long-established organizations (IASSW was founded in 1928; IFSW in 1932) have connections with a number of international organizations. Thus, for example, IFSW has “special consultative status” with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This special status has provided opportunities for the organization to press the interests of social work at a global level. Apart from the work of such bodies, members of the academic community have published works that have sought to collate and classify fragmented information about social work around the globe in a more or less systematic way. Most of these publications consist of several juxtaposed country-specific descriptions that illustrate selected aspects of social work in individual countries. These comparisons have explored both the conditions in which social work takes place and the characteristics of the philosophies, policies, and practices that underpin social work. For example, Anttonen, et al. 2003 compares the systems of social care in different welfare regimes, without commenting on the qualities of social work practice, while Bettman, et al. 2013 concentrates on providing a description of diverse social work practices in various country-specific contexts. Stein and Munro 2008 discusses methodological difficulties associated with comparative social work research. Healy and Thomas 2007 offers an overview of comparative social work by conducting a review of a journal that publishes material about international issues (International Social Work). Some publications focus particularly on questions about how social work is shaped and challenged through globalization and articulate the importance of developing an internationalized approach to social work; one of the earliest books of this type is by Lyons 1999. More recently, Cox and Pawar 2006 investigates the history and the current situation of international social work and social development. See also Hugman 2010.
Anttonen, Anneli, John Baldock, and Jorma Sipilä, eds. 2003. The young, the old and the state: Social care systems in five industrial nations. Globalization and Welfare 4. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
This anthology consists of articles that discuss the systems for social care services in Finland, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States from a comparative point of view by drawing upon theories about welfare regimes.
Bettman, Joanna, Caren Frost, and Gloria Jacques, eds. 2013. International social work practice: Case studies from a global context. London: Routledge.
This anthology introduced the notion of divergence and similarity in forms and practices of social work around the globe through a series of case studies on the following topics: child welfare, intimate partner violence, family conflict and communication, elder care, substance abuse trauma.
Cox, David, and Manohar Pawar. 2006. International social work: Issues, strategies and programs. Thousand Oaks, CA; SAGE.
This many-sided overview of social work explores global social and ecological challenges through an exploration of educational and institutional factors that have influenced the development of international social work.
Healy, Lynne, M., and Rebecca L. Thomas. 2007. International Social Work: A retrospective in the 50th year. International Social Work 50:581–596.
This article presents a history of International Social Work since the journal was founded, a period of fifty years. The articles fall into one of six categories: international social work, global issues, local or regional manifestations of global issues, cross-national comparative studies, country-specific analyses, and articles on more general social work topics.
Hugman, Richard. 2010. Understanding international social work: A critical analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
This book provides an analysis of international social work; included in the chapters are case studies that are centered on practice issues, which have been grounded in various national locations.
Lyons, Karen. 1999. International social work: Themes and perspectives. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.
This is an introductory book that provides an overview of the fundamentals of international social work. There is discussion of the need for the development of both policy and practice as a response to globalization.
Stein, Mike, and Emily M. Munro, eds. 2008. Young people’s transitions from care to adulthood: International research and practice. London: Jessica Kingsley.
This anthology illustrates the epistemological and methodological challenges of comparative research of social work by focusing on the transition of young people in care to adulthood. The approach taken is to compare policies in sixteen selected countries from different parts of the world.
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Article
- Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work
- Abortion
- Adolescent Depression
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Adoption
- Adoption Home Study Assessments
- Adult Protective Services in the United States
- African Americans
- Aging
- Aging out of foster care
- Aging, Physical Health and
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
- Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
- Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Asian Americans
- Asian-American Youth
- Assessment
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Baccalaureate Social Workers
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Social Work Practice
- Bereavement Practice
- Bisexuality
- Brief Therapies in Social Work: Task-Centered Model and So...
- Bullying and Social Work Intervention
- Canadian Social Welfare, History of
- Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
- Central American Migration to the United States
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
- Child Neglect and Emotional Maltreatment
- Child Poverty
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Welfare
- Child Welfare and Child Protection in Europe, History of
- Child Welfare and Parents with Intellectual and/or Develop...
- Child Welfare Effectiveness
- Child Welfare, Immigration and
- Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth and Families
- Children
- Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Christianity and Social Work
- Chronic Illness
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Adult Lesbians
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Males
- Cognitive Behavior Therapies with Diverse and Stressed Pop...
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Community
- Community Development
- Community Policing
- Community-Based Participatory Research
- Community-Needs Assessment
- Comparative Social Work
- Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Soc...
- Conflict Resolution
- Council on Social Work Education
- Counseling Female Offenders
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Interventions
- Cultural Competence and Ethnic Sensitive Practice
- Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
- Dementia Care
- Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
- Depression and Cancer
- Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
- Differential Response in Child Welfare
- Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
- Direct Practice in Social Work
- Disabilities
- Disability and Disability Culture
- Disasters
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
- Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Framework
- Economic Evaluation
- Elder Mistreatment
- End-of-Life Decisions
- Epigenetics for Social Workers
- Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
- Ethics and Values in Social Work
- Ethnicity
- European Institutions and Social Work
- European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Finding Evidence
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
- Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
- Families
- Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
- Family Caregiving
- Family Group Conferencing
- Family Policy
- Family Services
- Family Therapy
- Family Violence
- Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Field Education
- Financial Literacy and Social Work
- Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
- Forensic Social Work
- Foster Care
- Foster care and siblings
- Gay Men
- Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
- Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
- Grounded Theory
- Group Work
- Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
- Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
- Harm Reduction
- Health Care Reform
- Health Disparities
- Health Social Work
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
- History of Social Work from 1980-2014
- History of Social Work in China
- History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
- History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
- History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS and Children
- HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
- Homelessness
- Homelessness: Ending Homelessness as a Grand Challenge
- Homelessness Outside the United States
- Housing
- Human Needs
- Human Trafficking, Victims of
- Immigrant Integration in the United States
- Immigrant Policy in the United States
- Immigrants and Refugees
- Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
- Immigration and Health Disparities
- Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
- Immigration and Poverty
- Immigration and Spirituality
- Immigration and Substance Use
- Immigration and Trauma
- Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice
- Impaired Professionals
- Implementation Science and Practice
- Indigenous Peoples
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
- In-home Child Welfare Services
- Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
- International Human Trafficking
- International Social Welfare
- International Social Work
- International Social Work and Education
- International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
- Internet and Video Game Addiction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy
- Intervention with Traumatized Populations
- Interviewing
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Juvenile Justice
- Kinship Care
- Korean Americans
- Latinos and Latinas
- Law, Social Work and the
- LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
- Life Span
- Mainland European Social Work, History of
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Management and Administration in Social Work
- Maternal Mental Health
- Measurement, Scales, and Indices
- Medical Illness
- Men: Health and Mental Health Care
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
- Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
- Mental Health Services from 1990 to 2023
- Mental Illness: Children
- Mental Illness: Elders
- Meta-analysis
- Microskills
- Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
- Military Social Work
- Mixed Methods Research
- Moral distress and injury in social work
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiculturalism
- Native Americans
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
- Neighborhood Social Cohesion
- Neuroscience and Social Work
- Nicotine Dependence
- Occupational Social Work
- Organizational Development and Change
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
- Pandemics and Social Work
- Parent Training
- Participatory Community Based Research
- Personalization
- Person-in-Environment
- Philosophy of Science and Social Work
- Physical Disabilities
- Podcasts and Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Political Social Work in the United States
- Positive Youth Development
- Postmodernism and Social Work
- Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Poverty
- Practice Interventions and Aging
- Practice Interventions with Adolescents
- Practice Research
- Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
- Productive Engagement of Older Adults
- Profession, Social Work
- Program Development and Grant Writing
- Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychoeducation
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
- Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
- Psychosocial Framework
- Psychosocial Intervention with Women
- Psychotherapy and Social Work
- Qualitative Research
- Race and Racism
- Randomized Controlled Trials in Social Work
- Readmission Policies in Europe
- Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
- Refugee Children, Unaccompanied Immigrant and
- Rehabilitation
- Religiously Affiliated Agencies
- Reproductive Health
- Research
- Research Ethics
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
- Risk Management in Social Work
- Rural Social Work in China
- Rural Social Work Practice
- School Social Work
- School Violence
- School-Based Delinquency Prevention
- Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
- Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
- Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
- Sexual Assault
- Single-System Research Designs
- Social and Economic Impact of US Immigration Policies on U...
- Social Development
- Social Insurance and Social Justice
- Social Intervention Research
- Social Justice and Social Work
- Social Movements
- Social Planning
- Social Policy
- Social Policy in Denmark
- Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
- Social Work and Islam
- Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
- Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
- Social Work Education and Research
- Social Work Leadership
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
- Social Work Practice, Rare and Orphan Diseases and
- Social Work Regulation
- Social Work Research Methods
- Social Work Theory
- Social Work with Interpreters
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strategic Planning
- Strengths Perspective
- Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
- Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
- Technology for Social Work Interventions
- Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
- Technology in Social Work
- Terminal Illness
- Terrorism
- The Impact of Systemic Racism on Latinxs’ Experiences with...
- Transdisciplinary Science
- Translational Science and Social Work
- Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
- Transtheoretical Model of Change
- Trauma
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Triangulation
- Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
- Unions
- United States, History of Social Welfare in the
- Universal Basic Income
- Veteran Services
- Vicarious Trauma and Resilience in Social Work Practice wi...
- Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
- Victim Services
- Violence
- Virtual Reality and Social Work
- Welfare State Reform in France
- Welfare State Theory
- Women and Macro Social Work Practice
- Women's Health Care
- Work and Family in the German Welfare State
- Workfare
- Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
- Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
- Young and Adolescent Lesbians
- Youth at Risk
- Youth Services