Conference of the European Association of Schools of Social Work from 4 to 7 June 2019 in Madrid
A total of 928 teachers, students and practitioners of social work took part in the conference of the European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW) in Madrid and spent four days discussing current challenges in the study of social work under the guiding theme "Meanings of quality of social work education in a changing Europe". The FAS is a member of this Europe-wide association of universities that offer such courses and was represented at the conference by Prof Dr Lothar Stock (retired).
And what do people from the field of social work do when they sit together and talk to each other? That's right, they drink coffee or tea - exactly 380 litres over these four days. But of course there was also extensive content input in the form of keynotes, symposia, workshops, panel discussions and poster presentations. The necessary local logistics were organised by 70 volunteers, mostly students from the host university, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain's largest university with 70,000 students and 10,000 employees.
In addition to teaching high-quality methodological skills, the immense importance of ethical principles, a humanistic worldview and human rights as a central frame of reference for social work was repeatedly emphasised in the individual courses. However, social work must not be limited to helping individuals or families, but must also always take into account the structures that make professional support for its addressees necessary in the first place or promote this circumstance. In this context, the necessity of teaching "critical thinking" during studies has been emphasised time and again. In contrast, there are empirical findings (e.g. in the UK) that report a new generation of social workers who have long internalised the neoliberal, individualistic imperative for themselves, sometimes even in a more pronounced form than in society as a whole.
Another focal point was the question of how to respond to the increasing right-wing populist and openly right-wing currents in society across Europe within the framework of the degree programme. Most universities are still at the very beginning of their deliberations in this area. However, there were also positive developments to report from practice, e.g. the increasing number of Housing First projects as an innovative response to the problem of an increasingly tightening housing market for people on lower incomes, which can be seen in many European cities, resulting in constantly growing numbers of homeless people.
Teresa Bertotti (Italy) was elected as the new President at the EASSW General Assembly. She succeeds Nino Zganec (Croatia), who was unable to run for the presidency again after two terms in office. Marion Laging (Esslingen University of Applied Sciences) continues to represent Germany on the EASSW board.
Prof. Dr Lothar Stock (retired)
