This book is about the impact of the eu on social work education, and how within the eu social work education is evolving. It considers the policies and regulation within the eu which impact on the status and content of the professional preparation welfare workers receive: the meta-issues in European social work education. The volume also seeks to explore some of the key comparative trends across European social work education, in relation to both innovations and accumulated experience. It also reflects on how the identity of the social worker is undergoing considerable revision in the 'new' Europe, and the role education has in this process.Written by social work academics from North, South, East andWestern Europe, some offering an analytical picture of their national situations for the first time, the book offers readers the opportunity to examine the pan-European picture in the social work education field from original and innovative perspectives.

Introduction. Educating Social Workers in the Context of Europe by Annamaria Campanini 1. Social Work Education in Europe: The Bologna Process and the Challenges for the Future of Social Work by M. Asunción Martínez-Román 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Differences within the educational systems of higher education, in relation to the European educational convergence process 1.3. Goals of social work education and general regulations 1.4. Curricula 1.5. Teaching-learning methodology 1.6. Conclusions 2. Evaluating Outcomes in Social Work Education by Annamaria Campanini 2.1. Evaluation is a vital issue in social work education and practice 2.2. Evaluation in social work 2.3. Teaching social workers to evaluate 2.4. The state of the art of evaluation in social work: the cases of Italy, Sweden and Spain 2.5. Conclusions Section One Meta-issues in European Social Work Education: Changing Policy and Changing Practice 3. Incorporating Gender Perspectives into Social Work Education: A Comparative Analysis by Tomasa Báñez and Gudrun Ehlert 3.1. Introduction 3.2. The relevance of gender issues for social work education 3.3. The Bologna process and gender in social work curricula 3.4. Feminist projects on gender and social work: developments in Germany and Spain 3.5. Gender within the social work curricula of Germany and Spain 3.6. Four possible ways to integrate gender perspectives within social work curricula 3.7. Discussion. Gender in social work curricula 4. The Role of the Virtual Classroom in Opening Up the European Curriculum by Anne Karin Larsen and Grete Oline Hole 4.1. Introduction 4.2. The overall concept of learning 4.3. The educational programme: social work in Europe 4.4. Research method and material 4.5. What do students express in their reflection on learning' 4.6. Main findings 4.7. Reflections on student reflections on learning 4.8. Why is reflecting upon learning important for social work' 5. Professionalism in Social Work and the Education of Social Workers: A Cross-Cultural Perspective by Carsten Otte and Klas-Göran Olsson 5.1. Introduction 5.2. What does professionalism in social work mean' 5.3. Preconditions for professional social work 5.4. Social work as a profession 5.5. The influence of social work organisations on the professionalisation process Section Two Modes of Learning in European Social Work Education: Harnessing Innovation and Experience 5.6. A loss of plausibility in social work and processes of deprofessionalisation 5.7. Conclusions 6. 'Concept Mapping' and 'Reflection' in Lithuanian Social Work Education by Vilma Zydziunaite, Egle• Katiliu¯te• and Brigita Staniku¯niene• 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Background. Concept maps as an educational technique which help to extract implicit knowledge 6.3. Reflection as an educational technique which helps to extract implicit knowledge 6.4. Research methodology: the research process model 6.5. Conclusions 7. Professional Postgraduate Studies in Social Work: The Finnish Example and European Challenges by Riitta Vornanen, Maritta Törrönen, Sanna Lähteinen and Anneli Pohjola 7.1. Introduction 7.2. The particular characteristics and structure of Finnish social work education 7.3. The professional postgraduate degree in social work 7.4. A new kind of knowledge production in social work 7.5. The European picture. An example 7.6. Conclusions 8. European Identities and Social Work Education by Elizabeth Frost 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Identity as a social construction 8.3. Understanding collective European identities 8.4. European social work identities 8.5. Shared ideologies in European social work Section Three Changing European Social Work Identities 8.6. Social work education developing European social work identity 8.7. Conclusions 9. Exploring the Future of Social Work. Motives and Attitudes among Italian and Swedish Social Work Students by Vincenzo Fortunato, Peter Dellgran and Staffan Höjer 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Earlier research 9.3. Theoretical perspectives 9.4. Methods and material 9.5. Social work students in Italy 9.6. Social work students in Sweden 9.7. Motives and their relation to certain characteristics 9.8. Student preferences regarding work with different groups in Italy and Sweden 9.9. Conclusions and discussion 10. Age, Maturity and Suitability for Social Work Education: European Perspectives by Nick Pike 10.1. The identification of social work as a career for women 10.2. The role of religious organisations 10.3. State recognition of social work as a profession 10.4. The emergence of the Universities of Applied Sciences Authors' Biographical Details