ABSTRACT
In this introduction, we outline the rationale, context and structure of this book, which brings together a selection of key readings in social work across three sections: The Profession of Social Work; Knowledge and Values for Social Work and Practice in Social Work. We begin by tracing the open, diverse and complex nature of social work as a profession and academic discipline, and the implications of this for reading and doing social work today. From here, we consider the rapidly changing contexts in which social work is situated, as well as the destabilising and transforming effects of recent social, political, economic, technological and environmental changes and crises. We conclude with some reflexive observations about the opportunities and challenges facing social work in the future.
