Development of Social Work Education in China in the Context of New Policy Initiatives: Issues and Challenges

Social work education in China has experienced a very rapid expansion in recent years. Top Chinese leaders have advocated strongly for social work and in 2006, the government launched a series of new social policy initiatives aimed at professionalizing social work. This has provided an opportunity for researchers and educators to think about the possible impact and future challenges confronting the civil affairs sector and social work educators. In this paper, the authors will provide an analysis of the recent development of social work education in China, and also highlight the major challenges that social work educators and the social services sectors will encounter in the context of the professionalization of social work.