International Social Work

This study examines the evolution of intergenerational solidarity in African societies, highlighting the impact of colonisation, modernity and globalisation on traditional kinship structures. It explores how Western rationality, individualism and economic pragmatism have weakened caregiving roles and disrupted intergenerational relationships. Using the Dialectic of Enlightenment, the article critiques the commodification of care and cultural homogenisation. It advocates for restoring indigenous knowledge systems, eldership in governance and gerontology in social work education. By fostering critical consciousness, social workers can strengthen intergenerational bonds, ensuring enduring well-being and promoting socially transformative policies that balance modern advancements with African values.

This article seeks to contribute to the advancement of macro social work with a focus on evidence-based transnational policy practices. It explores how comparative data research can support these practices. To illustrate this, a study on childcare gap policies is presented. This study examines how comparative data research can be used to influence the European Commission’s policies on reducing childcare gaps within the European Union. This article responds to the calls for macro social workers to collaborate with other disciplines and utilize evidence to inform their practices.

This article explores how Arab social work students in Israel conceptualize solidarity, navigating between ethnic identity, community loyalty, and universal professional ethics. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, 25 in-depth interviews were thematically analyzed. Findings revealed that students view solidarity as a multidimensional phenomenon, including moral value, emotional empathy, daily mutual aid, and professional identity. A distinction emerged between takaful (communal-religious mutual support) and tadamun (moral trans-border solidarity). The study highlights the tension and interplay between identity-based and universal solidarity, offering an indigenous perspective that bridges local cultural values with global ethics in social work practice.

Social work education in Türkiye has experienced a quantitative increase, particularly after the 2000s. This study examines the educational backgrounds of faculty members involved in social work undergraduate programs in Türkiye and their capacity to deliver theoretical and practical courses in social work through content analysis methodology. The research findings indicate that 51.3% of the faculty members teaching field courses in social work programs in Türkiye have not received any education in the field of social work. The study proposes a potential pathway for establishing administrative structures to ensure the implementation of international and national standards in social work education and the design and oversight of a standards-compliant educational process.

Globally, migrant workers often take ‘3-D jobs’ – dirty, dangerous, and demanding. In Norway, they mainly work in construction, manufacturing, and healthcare, often in low-wage positions. However, little is known on the occupational health outcomes of migrant workers. This study utilizes Statistics Norway’s (SSB) Living Conditions and Work Environment Panel Survey 2022, which includes 35,000 respondents, to explore how migrant status affects health. Results show that psychosocial work exposure has a stronger association with mental health symptoms among non-Norwegian workers, while mechanical work hazards are more strongly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms among non-Norwegian workers.

Based on a systematic literature review, this article explores motives for participation in Community Climate Commons and how community work can promote their participation and mobilization. Four motives – social, ecological, economic, political – were identified and related to a community and ecosocial work framework. Motives were driven by community efforts to protect livelihoods, preserve social identity, strengthen democratic engagement, and address climate threats. Community Climate Commons thus function as arenas for participation, collective empowerment and mobilization, linking community well-being with ecosocial sustainability. The study contributes to social work research and practice by deepening understanding of civic community-based climate action.

Eco-social work positions climate change as a core planetary boundary breach. It demands urgent attention from social work, as a profession which centralises social justice within its theory and practice. This article argues that social works’ engagement with climate change needs to be contextualised within broader societal narratives that shape experiences of climate disengagement. Conceptual tools, including societal climate management strategies and climate denial as disavow, are drawn on to illustrate the complexity of climate ambivalence and disengagement. They provide important opportunities to better understand experiences of climate disengagement, including their implications for social work practice.

Social casework is one of the primary methods of social work aimed at helping individuals. Despite its central role in social work, over the years, there have been studies that have questioned its effectiveness. In order to fill this existing gap, the Casework Effectiveness Scale has been developed. The present work highlights the need for the international adoption of this scale through translations and validation studies across various cultures and countries. It is further hoped that the scale will encourage social work practitioners to ensure that their intervention strategies are evidence-based, as encouraged by the International Federation of Social Workers.

This practice paper draws on focus group interviews with Estonian child protection professionals implementing the Out of the Circle model, a restorative, trauma-informed, and child-centred approach to working with at-risk youth. The findings indicate that the model enhances meaningful youth participation by shifting young people’s role from passive recipients to active partners in decision-making, particularly through co-creation of personal plans and trusted-adult relationships. It also strengthens interprofessional collaboration by clarifying roles, improving communication, and fostering shared responsibility across sectors. However, implementation is constrained by limited time, uneven institutional support and inconsistent network engagement. These findings offer transferable insights for international child protection systems seeking more participatory and integrated responses to complex youth cases.