ABSTRACT
Modernisation and industrialisation have had many consequences for human societies. One of its major consequences has been acceleration of urbanisation and of national and international migration, which has, in its turn, created marginalisation and the exclusion of many groups in modern urban areas. Historically, rapid changes destroyed traditional social boundaries and left migrants and marginalised people seeking to find new ways of becoming and being a part of society. It also generated concern about growing social problems in society. Accordingly, since the birth of modern society and its accompanying problems, there have been many professional or voluntary workers committed to working with marginalised groups, by helping poor, disabled and older people, as well as attempting to bring the excluded ‘back into’ society (Tasse and Boucher, 2005). The social work profession developed as a result of the failure or breakdown of traditional systems of support and pre-modern social solidarity, such as the family, the neighbourhood and the local community (Wilensky and Lebeaux, 1965). As was discussed in the introduction to this book, social work, as a human activity for supporting those in need and unprivileged groups, has a long tradition in almost all societies around the world. However, the major activities of pre-modern social work were in the hands of religious institutions and groups; it was considered an act of charity. Modernisation of societies has, however, changed the premises and social structures of solidary activities. The modern institutions of social work developed as a response to the socioeconomic consequences of industrialisation and urbanisation in many Western industrial countries at the end of nineteenth century, and were further developed during the twentieth century.
