The control of British social work education: European comparisons

Factors affecting the development of social work and its professionalisation process: the case of Greece

“…In order to attain high levels of professionalism, a certain balance of control is needed over each of the following: practice, planning and administration, teaching and research (Lymbery et al, 2000). In Greece, social workers have never really had either ideological or technical control over their work.…”

“…As prevention is considered to be more important than therapeutic interventions, social services are less stigmatised in Scandinavia than in other European countries. In that context, social workers are well educated, including university and postgraduate studies, have many work opportunities and enjoy a high social standing (Lymbery, Charles, Christopherson & Eadie, 2000).…”

Linguistic affinity and achieved geographic mobility: evidence from the recognition of non-national social work qualifications in Ireland and the UK1

“…Two decades of extremely bad press for social workers, creating a climate which at times may have deserved the label 'hostile', have led to a decline in the number of people with national qualifications joining the profession. Already in 1997, Warwick and Patel (1997, p. 2) noted that 'the recruitment of overseas workers is vigorously pursued by some social services departments in Britain', which may surprise given the presence of one of Europe's most centralised systems of social work education (Lymbery et al, 2000): Lorenz et al (1998, p. 126) found that the 'rather restrictive and prescribed training regulations' were designed to 'emphasise national consistency of standards of competence rather than international compatibility'. [For a more comprehensive discussion of these and other aspects, see Kornbeck (2003b).]…”

W(h)ither the academy? An exploration of the role of university social work in shaping the future of social work in Europe

“…In the UK, it is highly regulated in contrast to most other European countries (Lymbery, Charles, Christopherson, & Eadie, 2000). Social work programmes in England, for example, are required to be approved by the Health and Care Professions Council to permit graduates to register as a social worker and to be endorsed by The College of Social Work to achieve benchmark standards for the profession.…”