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Worldwide critical social challenges driven by various crises have required global responses, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, climate change, and environmental degradation. These crises pose significant risks at both micro and macro levels. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT), accelerated by the pandemic due to social distancing measures, has become a central part of people's personal and professional lives. However, this shift has also highlighted inequalities, particularly for individuals without internet access or the digital skills needed to use these technologies. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) presents new challenges both for social work education and professional practice. Therefore, understanding the nature of social work practice requires careful consideration of its conceptual foundations, the content of its interventions, the socio-cultural contexts in which it operates, and how its meaning is constructed both locally and globally (O’Leary, Tsui, 2019).
In this context, social work demonstrated, despite uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances, a high level of preparedness and adaptability in responding to the variety and complexity of social needs. Practitioners were required to critically rethink their modes of intervention to continue serving their service-users effectively. The restrictions imposed by the pandemic transformed the ways in which core values and principles of the profession were applied in practice. For example, social worker practitioners encountered complex ethical dilemmas, prompting renewed reflection on self-care, digital practice, and bureaucratic processes (Banks et al., 2024). Besides, the use of ICT in social service delivery raised pressing questions about how to uphold fundamental ethical standards, such as intimacy and confidentiality without causing harm to service-users. At the European Union level, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the provision and accessibility of social services, with severe consequences for individuals in need, further making them more vulnerable in face of social risks (Eurofound, 2023).
Social work education has also re-envisioned its role in shaping the knowledge base and developing the competencies required for future practitioners under the influence of global and local factors. While traditionally emphasizing the value of in-person classroom interactions for fostering student socialization, mentoring, and role modeling between educators and learners (Banks, Faul, 2007), the necessity of social distancing during the pandemic prompted universities to transition to online education through the use of ICT. Consequently, digital poverty created significant barriers due to unequal access between students depending on their age, health condition or place of residence (Pentaris, Hanna, North, 2020).
In recent years, the number of blended or hybrid learning formats of social work programs have increased. For instance, in the United States, while most bachelor’s degree programs in social work continue to be primarily delivered in person, nearly half also offered a hybrid or blended format during the 2022-2023 academic year, according to the Council on Social Work Education (Council on Social Work Education, 2023). At the international level, an emerging trend is the reduction in public funding, which has placed financial constraints on universities; in this economic environment, students are increasingly oriented toward immediate employment rather than being equipped to pursue systemic change (Cox, McKenzie, Powell-Grub, McCafferty, 2021). In addition, the AI usage is necessitating a critical reevaluation of pedagogical approaches and students’ learning processes in order to continue to meet the academic standards.
New research interests have emerged from current real-world and professional practice challenges. The field of social work has not remained indifferent to the climate crisis, leading to the development of literature on green social work (Dominelli, 2018) and eco-social work (International Federation of Social Work, 2022). Social workers are increasingly called upon to integrate eco-social justice into both their professional practice and civic engagement, such as supporting sustainable livelihoods, promoting clean energy use, and advocating for nature-based approaches to mental health (Banks et al., 2024). Concepts such as hope have gained interest in social work practice, highlighting their depth, applicability, and relevance within professional relationships (Boddy, O’Leary, Tsui, Pak, Wang, 2018). The role of time and temporality in social work practice during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, has also explored (Harrikari, 2025).
The current issue of Social Work Review has attracted a significant number of contributions from both academics, PhD students, independent researchers and social work practitioners. The enclosed articles address a wide range of topics, including: (1) national and international perspectives on child protection systems, with particular attention to the role of supervision, interdisciplinary teams, interprofessional collaboration, and service users' perceived well-being; (2) the provision of social services for at-risk groups, such as individuals with substance abuse problems, vulnerable elderly, cancer patients, socially excluded communities, and children affected by bullying in schools; (3) the role of social theories in informing and strengthening practitioners' interventions, alongside the importance of supervision as a key mechanism for supporting social workers in their professional development; and (4) social workers’ involvement in the development of local and global social policies. Two book reviews are included in this issue offering insights into recent publications relevant to social work education, research and practice.
References
Banks, A. C., Faul, A. C. (2007). Reduction of Face‐to‐Face Contact Hours in Foundation Research Courses: Impact on Students’ Knowledge Gained and Course Satisfaction. Social Work Education, 26, 8, 780-793. Routledge.
Banks, S., Bertotti, T., Cairns, L., Shears, J., Shum, M., Sobočan, A. M., Strom, K. (2024). Social work beyond the pandemic: Exploring social work values for a new eco-social world. International Social Work, 67, 4, 890-904.
Boddy, J., O’Leary, P., Tsui, M., Pak, C., Wang, D.-C. (2018). Inspiring hope through social work practice. International Social Work, 61, 4, 587-599. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Council on Social Work Education (2023). The state of social work education in the United States: Summary of the 2022-2023 annual survey of social work programs. Preluat din https://www.cswe.org/research-statistics-0a2756984f2446870db6e935f0e44221/research-briefs-and-publications/the-state-of-social-work-education-in-the-united-states-summary-of-the-2022-2023-annual-survey-o/
Cox, Y., McKenzie, D., Powell-Grub, B., McCafferty, L. (2021). At home: Field education during lockdown. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 33, 2, 114-117.
Dominelli, L. (2018). The Routledge Handbook of Green Social Work (1 ed). Routledge. Preluat în din https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315183213
Eurofound (2023). Social services in Europe: Adapting to a new reality, Publications Office of the European Union. Luxembourg: Office of the European Union. Preluat în iulie 31, 2025, din https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/system/files/2023-08/ef22007en.pdf
Harrikari, T. (2025). Idle time of accelerating wheel? Navigating temporal complexity in social work during the pandemic collapse. European Journal of Social Work, 1-13. Routledge.
International Federation of Social Work (2022). The role of social workers in advancing an eco-social work world. Preluat în iulie 29, 2025, din https://www.ifsw.org/the-role-of-social-workers-in-advancing-a-new-eco-social-world/
O’Leary, P., Tsui, M. (2019). The nature of social work: Reflection over humanistic practice. International Social Work, 62, 2, 481-482.
Pentaris, P., Hanna, S., North, G. (2020). Digital poverty in social work education during COVID-19. Advances in Social Work, 20, 3, X-XII.
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