ABSTRACT
Gary Sigley examines the emergence of social work as a profession in China. New approaches to the governance of social problems have encouraged the establishment of social work as a discipline, the formation of professional social work associations, and the creation of local government jobs for social workers. But the overarching government emphasis on social harmony, combined with the tendency of local government authorities to retain control over ‘social management’, is constraining the development of community-based social work.
