Australian Social Work: Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Abstract

This October 2022 issue of Australian Social Workmarks both endings and beginnings. What unites the nine papers in this Issue is their clear focus on social work education, practice, and policy, and the value of looking backwards, and then critically evaluating the present in order to remain future-focused. Tilbury et al. (2022) review of the history of child protection policy and practice in Queensland in the 1960s and 1970s demonstrates the value in analytically appraising the social policy field during a time of considerable change and upheaval. Their historical gaze invites us to learn from past events in order to understand as best we might, the rapidly evolving and turbulent context of the present. The articles by Harris (2022), and by Jefferies et al. (2022) are both future-focused, using their research into current deficits in social workers’ knowledge of technology and the use of technology and simulation modelling, emphasising the need for social work education in technology. These articles suggest that we thoughtfully consider how both a better understanding and “curating” of technology for social work has become essential if we are to adequately prepare students for contemporary practice, as well as to explore ways in which technology might be developed to benefit service users. Nouman and Azaiza (2022) and Cordoba and Bando (2022) remind us in different ways, that social workers are already active players in an interconnected world, a location that is only likely to increase and become of greater significance. While Nouman and Azaiza (2022) have reported on their research in Israel with Arab-Palestinian social workers, their message about the importance of recognising the status of minority ethnic groups resonates in countries such as Australia, in a world characterised by ongoing (sometimes forced) migration, population dispersal, and diverse populations. These authors have highlighted the importance of support, resources, and training in ensuring that such minority groups have the opportunity to contribute to policy development and thereby to practice and service delivery. Social work engagement with the United Nation’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) was the focus of the article by Cordoba and Bando (2022), who reported on their innovative student placement project, during which students engaged with the SDGs, encouraging them to learn about advocacy, social justice, equality, and climate change within a global context. Such an opportunity will prove indispensable to their current and future practice. Four articles take us “back to basics”, reminding us that at the heart of social work practice and direct service is a human relationship. Morley (2022) has stressed the centrality of relationship building, noting that in a context characterised by economic and technical rationality, recognition of the time and emotional energy required to build and sustain relationships may become compromised and under threat. In such a climate, practitioners require the capacity to “hold onto” this focus, and the support and reinforcement of supervisors and mentors to do so. In this vein, Szeintuch (2022) expanded on the notion of “social love”, arguing that, far from it being at odds with practice identified as professional, it is, in essence, the expression of a vital constituent of relationships in social work practice.