SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORKERS’ CONTINUING EDUCATION DEMAND
SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORKERS’ CONTINUING EDUCATION DEMAND

Summary/Abstract: Over the last century, social work has spent a lot of time justifying itself as an independent professional field but the pandemic period has intensified and diversified the social problems and created new vulnerable groups, so that practitioners have had to become more responsive to the community and to its current needs. In this context, social workers need continuing professional development. On the one hand, through high quality academic education – the stimulation of a continuous dialogue with academics staff in order to learn new theory, intervention methods and techniques, and on the other hand through social education - a lifelong process, similar in part to the empowerment because the individual constantly exercises and refines skills, particularly social skills. Given this context, the aim of this study is to identify the range of problems faced by practitioners in the field of practice and also the knowledge that professionals and students need, and last but not least, the set of skills that are needed for the purpose of meeting the demands of employers. Therefore, the present study is based on a theoretical framework and the analysis was carried out through qualitative research methods, using the method of focus group. The group was attended by specialists working in the field of social work, from various institutions in Argeș County, and academics from a Social Work program. This method wanted to stimulate the discussion and exchange of ideas necessary to maintain the connection between theory and field practice, to expand the curriculum according to the interests of specialists in the social welfare system and to support the continuing education. The results of the study reveal that there is a need for more flexibility in social work curriculum in order to meet the current demands of society, the organization of professional development workshops and the provision of continuing education opportunities throughout the career of all social welfare professionals. We also need to create and disseminate innovative forms of social work practice, theory and research so that we can build more types of continuing education opportunities and provide them to practitioners throughout their careers.

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