History of Social Work in China
- LAST REVIEWED: 30 September 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 30 September 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0198
- LAST REVIEWED: 30 September 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 30 September 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0198
Introduction
The history of social work in China is both long-standing and emerging. It was first introduced in the 1920s when American missionaries established social work in several university-based sociology programs. After the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the new government abolished social work, viewing it as an instrument of Western bourgeois capitalism. The government, however, reestablished social work in the 1980s in response to social problems that accompanied the economic reforms and modernization efforts of the same period. While social work education and professional practice remain nascent, their numbers are increasing at an unprecedented rate. Currently there are over two hundred social work programs, and the central government has established the goal of graduating two million social workers by 2020. This ambitious goal demonstrates China’s commitment to social work as a means of sustaining economic development and actualizing a “harmonious society.” Social work’s reintroduction in 1984 also prompted an emergent literature—in both Chinese and English. Still evolving, the literature is historically self-conscious as to cultural context and seeks to generate an indigenous model of professional practice.
General Overviews
The academic literature on the history of social work in China is young and developing. The early history from the 1920s through 1949 had few observers recording and reflecting on those days. In contrast, interest in the return of social work in the 1990s drew numerous observers curious about what ideology, knowledge, model of education, and practice skills would prevail in China. Leung and Nann 1995 is an invaluable text on how to understand the return of social work to China. One of the more poignant themes is the debate between developing indigenous knowledge versus importing Western forms of social work. A major work that addresses this debate is Tsang, et al. 2004, which skillfully analyzes China’s early and more recent social work beginnings. Yan and Tsang 2005 provides a follow-up snapshot but with more recent insights. And an even more current snapshot is Tsang, et al. 2008. Chi 2005 is a guest editorial that summarizes and contextualizes China’s social work history. The details of this history are organized and clearly laid out in Ngai 1996. A point of contention throughout the literature is to what extent foreign knowledge should be imported or whether social work should be an exclusively indigenous-based profession. Tsang and Yan 2001 outlines a path to move beyond the cumbersome East-West construct. Looking to the future, Xiong and Wang 2007 projects government policy initiatives to modernize how social work is practiced.
Chi, Iris. 2005. Social work in China. International Social Work 48.4: 371–379.
A guest editorial on a “contextualized overview” of social work in China since 1922. The theme of change is noted throughout its history. Insights on China’s political economy and sociocultural dynamics explain the role of government and nongovernmental entities. Special attention is given to social work education and Hong Kong’s impact on China.
Leung, Joe C. B., and Richard C. Nann. 1995. Authority and benevolence: Social welfare in China. Hong Kong: Chinese Univ. Press.
This is an excellent primer text that articulates a framework for exploring the history and cultural context of social work in China. The authors outline in clear terms the ideological shifts, political-economic underpinnings, and development of social work in China since 1922. The book also situates the historical narrative within Chinese thought and sensitivities.
Ngai, Ngan-Pun. 1996. Revival of social work education in China. International Social Work 39 (July).
The historical timeline of social work education in China is detailed. It begins with the introduction of social work in 1922 with the establishment of sociology in Beijing and proceeds to the present. Of note is the role of the international social work community in analyzing how China incorporated and developed social work education.
Tsang, A. Ka Tat, Rick Sin, Cunfu Jia, and Miu Chung Yan. 2008. Another snapshot of social work in China: Capturing multiple positioning and intersecting discourses in rapid movement. Australian Social Work 61.1 (March): 72–87.
DOI: 10.1080/03124070701818740
The history of social work in China has been one of unprecedented change. The article analyzes the changes to understand future possibilities. The analysis weaves through stimulating insights into the role of Chinese identity from a multiperspectival stance.
Tsang, A. Ka Tat, and Miu-Chung Yan. 2001. Chinese corpus, Western application: The Chinese strategy of engagement with Western social work discourse. International Social Work Journal 44.4: 433–454.
DOI: 10.1177/002087280104400404
This is a comparative philosophical analysis of major social work themes in China and the United States. It explains critical differences and areas of common ground to develop an indigenous discourse. The analysis is mindful of China’s dynamic history, culture, and values. Its goal is to move beyond a false East-West dichotomy.
Tsang, A. Ka Tat, Miu Chung Yan, and Wes Shera, eds. 2004. Social work in China: A snapshot of critical issues and emerging ideas; Proceedings of the International Colloquium in Beijing 2000. Toronto: Faculty of Social Work, Univ. of Toronto.
Proceedings of a seminal international conference on social work in China were organized into this major work. Over forty-five authors provide insight, analysis, and ideas on how social work in China could develop.
Xiong, Yuegen, and Sibin Wang. 2007. Development of social work education in China in the context of new policy initiatives: Issues and challenges. Social Work Education 26.6: 560–572.
DOI: 10.1080/02615470701456210
This is an analysis of the relationship between government policy initiatives and social work. In the recent past the government endorsed social work to sustain economic reforms and promote social stability. Future policy initiatives involve curriculum and field placement standards, the role of professional organizations, and tension between Western and indigenous models.
Yan, Miu Chung, and A. Ka Tat Tsang. 2005. A snapshot on the development of social work education in China: A Delphi study. Social Work Education 24.8: 883–901.
DOI: 10.1080/02615470500342314
The first systematic study of China’s social work educators, the findings of which underscore the political and tentative nature of social work. The Delphi method identified organizational dynamics, power differences, and personality issues in the social construction of curriculum and practice models.
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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
- African-Centered Social Work
- 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
- Substance Use Disorders
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
- Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technologies to Improve Social Work Practice and Education
- 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