| Popis: |
The Netherlands can be characterised by its high population density and increasing urbanisation. Dutch society is becoming increasingly heterogeneous, with a large ethnic and religious diversity, and marked by social cultural dividing lines, especially at the level of education and social economic status. Schools for social work which previously were part of Vocational Education and Training (VET) have been transformed over the last 20 years into universities of applied sciences. This led to new concepts, such as academisation, practice-based research, internationalisation and master’s degrees in social work. Aligning developments in society, social policy and social work practice, the core questions for social work education are how to prepare students for new tasks, roles and responsibilities and how to educate reflective professionals who can be critical of policy developments and keep a focus on the needs of service users guided by core values of the profession. At almost all Dutch universities, a broader and more generic concept of social work was translated into new curricula. In this chapter, we outline a number of interrelated developments in Dutch society, the social work profession and social work education. |
