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In this article, we offer a perspective on the re-emergence of social work in China from the viewpoint of a longstanding and very productive partnership between Chinese and U.S. social work educato...

Social work education, first introduced to the Chinese mainland in the 1920s, was eliminated from all universities in the early 1950s, but was restored to higher education institutions to respond t...

Written by former officers of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (President and Secretary/Vice-President, respectively) and using the IASSW as a case study, the chapter explores the transformative role of international organizations in shaping social work education worldwide. After first summarizing the key components of transformational leadership, the chapter illustrates these with examples of the initiatives that leaders of IASSW have implemented during the past 90 years to transform and develop professional education. The initiatives, touching countries in every region of the world, include advocacy, capacity building, standard setting, and promotion of international research and exchange. The chapter concludes with discussion of the challenges and unrealized potential of IASSW and strategies to further enhance the organization’s transformational leadership in the future.

The relationship between higher education (HE) and the wider society is dynamic but poorly understood. This chapter aims to provide a brief historical account of the development of higher education. In particular, multiple roles and functions are identified to highlight the dynamic interplay between higher education and the societal need and development. Then we examine the changing nature of higher education and the globalization challenges facing contemporary higher education. Drawing on the historical roots of higher education, we summarize key insights based on the current review and propose how the university can maintain its intellectual endeavors while fulfilling its social mission.

Higher Education is facing rapid and enormous change, one of which is the corporatization of higher education. Given the market-driven nature of university education, a natural and reasonable concern is its social responsibility towards the community it serves, particularly when corporate social responsibility is the normative expectation of contemporary organizations by the general public. This is also an intrinsic mission of the university. This chapter aims to outline the importance of University Social Responsibility (USR) and the emergence of such an initiative entitled University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) initiated by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In particular, we pay close attention to the network development of the collective effort, in contrast to the endeavor of a single institution. The rationale, mission, organizational structure and strategy of USRN, as well as the strengths and challenges of this partnership approach, will also be discussed particularly drawing on the lessons learned from other similar and related initiatives. Ideas for the future development of the USRN are also discussed.

In view of the many complex global issues, there is a call to re-think higher education institutions’ relationship with society and their role in improving global quality of life. Universities are now challenged to focus not only on individual institution’s interest, prestige and graduate employment prospects, but also to be socially relevant and responsible by addressing societal needs, both locally and globally. This chapter aims to present and showcase how The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been moving with the times and fulfilling its social responsibilities while coping with the social and economic changes in Hong Kong and the region.

This article argues that the usefulness of action research hinges on a heightened sensitivity towards its relevance and irrelevance to social, economic and cultural environments in which the professional action researchers conduct their research. Its contribution to transforming social situations depends on how well the researchers can bring the different stakeholders of the local community together to learn about themselves and each other, and identify and find ways to address the implicit barriers to the effective use of action research. We also argue that it is this contribution that distinguishes action research from other approaches of social development in China. We draw from the lessons learned during one of our action research projects conducted in China with a focus on seeking effective strategies in dealing with the unemployment problem of middle-aged women workers. The researchers played the role of change agents to encourage participatory negotiation between the local officials and the women.

Drastic economic and social transition, emerging social problems, and emphasis of the Chinese government on social harmony as a national policy have created ample opportunities for the development of social work as a profession in the Chinese mainland1 in recent years. Besides the phenomenal expansion of social work education, the Chinese government announced a series of national policy initiatives in 2006 to professionalize social work and to assess the professional standard of social welfare personnel. But these achievements would never be possible without the commitment, perseverance and active engagement of the social work community during the past two decades to foster the development of social work in China. In this paper, the authors will present the four stages of development which the social work profession has undergone in China, and will discuss the role of human agency in facilitating institutional transformation and structural change in the process. The active agency of members of the social ...

The restructuring of state-owned enterprises since China's economic reform in 1978 has resulted in massive unemployment, especially layoffs of middle-aged women workers. State policies and programmes developed to combat unemployment often disregard the voices of these women and deprive them of opportunities to participate in reemployment solutions. The authors initiated an action research project in Beijing in which researchers facilitated unemployed women to find their own voices and negotiating solutions to their problems through a collaborative-action research process. Contrary to the women's customary approach of depending on the government to solve their problems, action research demanded that they take on active roles in coping with the unemployment crisis and practice reflexivity, collaboration, and community participation. The article recaptures the process through which unemployed women were empowered to gradually develop their voices through the different stages of the collaborative-action research process.

Social work educators often ask what kinds of pedagogy can help develop students' competence in addressing the widening gap between theory and practice. The authors conducted an action experiment in Beijing, exploring the extent to which Schon's reciprocal‐reflection theory inhibited or facilitated post‐graduate students' learning of the art of synthesizing Western social work theories and local knowledge. Schon's theory postulates that the reciprocal‐reflection that occurs between teacher and learner determines the latter's ability to integrate theory with practice. This paper first presents the challenges facing social work practitioners on the Chinese Mainland. Second, it discusses how the students employed reciprocal‐reflection to guide them in making a shift from their applied model approach to a collaborative approach based on action research philosophy. Third, it highlights the lessons learnt from the experimentation of providing the Chinese students with a Western approach to learning and teaching.

Social work, first introduced to China in the 1920s, was eliminated as an academic discipline and profession in the early 1950s, and restored in the late 1980s to respond to a growing demand for social workers to resolve escalating social problems triggered by the open-door economic policy. In 2006, the Chinese government announced the formation of strong social work teams to develop a harmonious society, an initiative reinforced by national policies and plans supporting the profession's development countrywide. The authors highlight the evolution of social work post-1920: the background and events surrounding its reemergence; challenges; opportunities; and prospects for future development.

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study of 15 Chinese women in Hong Kong who experienced marital conflict and family violence. Adopting a narrative approach, the authors found that the women had gradually developed a culture of concealment through a process of social construction. Individual, environmental, and cultural factors had combined to develop and reinforce their tendency to conceal their situation and to remain silent. This culture of concealment was highly oppressive and had a negative impact on the women’s personal, interpersonal, and social well-being. Social work strategies to break this pattern of behavior and to liberate the women from the culture of concealment are explored.

Over 500 students and staff of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University volunteered to participate in an Anti-SARS Project during the SARS crisis in 2003. The Project, which was developed spontaneously through the concerted efforts of the university and the community, included hotlines for SARS patients, medical personnel, and children; community health education programme; friendly calls to elderly people living alone; collecting cards of appreciation for medical personnel; providing consultation and training in crisis management for teachers and parents; and conducting research to understand the coping strategies adopted by vulnerable groups during the SARS crisis. This multifaceted, inter-disciplinary effort did not only contribute to the alleviation of community stress but also enhanced the participants' sense of civic responsibility and their professional competence as human service professionals. This paper examines the impact of the experience on those stude...

Families in China have been relying heavily on their own family networks for support during times of adversity. However, the rapid social and economic changes brought about by the introduction of t...

A qualitative study on the social support networks of the 27 Chinese working mothers in a Beijing neighbourhood was carried out. The networks are communal and different from those of the West. They are characterized by a mutual sharing and holistic provision of support resources among network members; a rigid boundary between “insiders” and “outsiders”; reciprocity throughout the life course; and a common aspiration for harmony among members. The social and cultural forces behind the networks and the implications of the networks for social work intervention are also discussed.