New Dimensions in Casework and Group Work Practice: Implications for Professional Education.

The article examines whether the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for casework and group work practice are so much alike that the present distinctions in education and practice have become outdated. It is opined that both casework and group work draw upon the same body of basic professional knowledge, share the same values and attitudes, direct their helping efforts toward essentially the same social ends. However, there are substantial differences in the range and types of activities carried by group workers, and some of these activities, perhaps, reflect the faces of education and recreation more clearly than the face of social works. The complexity of the group worker's job, which frequently includes in one and the same assignment service to individuals, suggests a combination of learning experiences in the educational program that would have a different configuration and emphasis than those provided for cases workers. In the author's opinion, new dimensions in casework, group work, and community organization practice will inevitably affect the future of social work education.