Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an educational and practice paradigm that includes a series of predetermined steps aimed at helping practitioners and agency administrators identify, select, and implement efficacious interventions for clients. This entry identifies definitions of EBP and traces the evolution of EBP from its origins in the medical profession to its current application in social work. Essential steps in the process of EBP and challenges associated with applying EBP to social work practice, education, and research are noted.
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Evidence-Based Practice
Jeffrey M. Jenson and Matthew O. Howard
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Ripple, Lillian
Katherine A. Kendall
Lillian Ripple (1911–1993) was a social work educator, scholar, and research specialist. In 1964 she produced a pioneering study of continuance and discontinuance in social treatment. In 1968 she became associate director of the Council on Social Work Education.
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Rothenberg, Elaine Zipes
Florence Z. Segal
Elaine Zipes Rothenberg (1921–1994) was appointed dean of the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1972. Her work in the accreditation process of schools of social work resulted in increasing professionalization and accountability in social work education.
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Salomon, Alice
Lynne M. Healy
Alice Salomon (1872–1948) was a leader in international movements for social work education. She opened the first school of social work in Germany in 1908 and was the first president of the International Association of Schools of Social Work.
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Continuing Education
Kimberly Strom-Gottfried
Continuing education (CE) refers to an array of opportunities by which professionals can augment existing knowledge and skills. CE is essential for professional competence, career development, and compliance with licensing rules and other regulations. CE is offered through a variety of auspices, methods, and venues. Advances in instructional technology and electronic communication have further expanded access to CE opportunities. Ongoing challenges in CE include strategies for assuring quality in CE programming and adequately evaluating skill and knowledge acquisition.
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Council on Social Work Education
Julia M. Watkins and Jessica Holmes
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) provides leadership in social work education through faculty development, research, and accreditation of baccalaureate and master's social work programs. As of February 2012, 689 social work programs were accredited by CSWE. These programs represent an estimated 7,500 faculty members and 82,000 students at the baccalaureate and master's levels. CSWE promotes continued educational innovation and relevancy through setting accreditation standards, which are regularly revised by volunteer representatives from the social work education and practice community and approved by the CSWE Board of Directors.
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Nelson, Kristine E.
Katharine Cahn and Nocona Pewewardy
Dr. Kristine E. Nelson (1943–2012) was a nationally recognized child welfare historian and scholar, as well as a social work educator and administrator. Her early work in child welfare and a deep commitment to social justice informed her scholarship, research, and leadership. Her research focused on family preservation and community-based child welfare practice, with a focus on families entering the child welfare system due to neglect or poverty-related challenges. She was a significant contributor to advancing new frameworks of child welfare practice and had a successful career as a social work educator and administrator, retiring as Dean of the Portland State University School of Social Work in 2011.
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Chunn, Jay Carrington, II
Tanya Smith Brice
Jay Carrington Chunn, II, (1938–2013), was a leader in social work education, a professor, and an author who focused on public health and policy within urban populations.
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Gurin, Helen
Philip Bernstein
Helen Gurin (1918–1991) was a leading teacher, supervisor, and guide for a generation of professionals in social work, psychiatry, psychiatric nursing, psychology, and child care. The Massachusetts chapter of NASW named her Social Worker of the Year in 1983.
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Robinson, Virginia Pollard
Mark Frazier Lloyd
Virginia Pollard Robinson (1883–1977) was a teacher and social worker. She served as Professor of Social Case Work at the University of Pennsylvania and was the leading force and major theoretician behind the functional approach to social work.
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Social Enterprise
Rukshan Fernando
Social enterprise is a management practice that integrates principles of private enterprise with social sector goals and objectives. Social enterprise is a relatively new type of social work macro practice and includes a variety of sustainable economic activities designed to yield social impact for individuals, families, and communities. Despite the increased popularity of social enterprise scholarship, social work is visibly absent from it. Social enterprise is a field that promises to harness the energy and enthusiasm of commercial entrepreneurship combined with macro practice to address many long-standing social issues. Despite being a popular practice phenomenon, empirical research on social enterprise is still quite nascent, indeed: only a few empirical articles on the subject have thus far appeared in academic journals, and even fewer in social work journals. This article provides an overview of social enterprise, and the potential for synergy between social enterprise, the social work profession, and education.
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Lüttichau, Manon
Helle Strauss
Manon Lüttichau (1900–1995), who was born a privileged noblewoman, untraditionally sought education and personal independence. She served as a charity worker for 10 years, then became the first paid social helper in Denmark. She was a pioneer for social workers as important professionals in hospital departments. She became inspired by many tours in Europe and the United States for studies of social work and social work education. ML was initiator of the establishment of the first social school. This happened at a time when economic crises and several social reforms increased the need for a professional social work profession. A group of enthusiastic academics and social workers established a volunteer working committee for foundation of a social school . Here it was discussed whether the school should be independence of religion. The result was an independent curriculum, a schedule, a small faculty, creation of teaching material and organisation of administration and practice placement. Development of social work ethics, holistic perspective, and casework were among the subjects in the professional education. ML became later the initiator of the Association for Educated Social Workers in Denmark and she was also serving in Burma for the UN as a social welfare advisor.
Similarities and differences between the first education, ML’s viewpoints and modern social work education are identified. ML was living independent of class traditions and other people’s presumptions, but not a declared feminist.
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Parker, Norma Alice
Carolyn Noble
Norma Parker (1906–2004) is generally regarded as one of the founders of social work in Australia. In 1925, she completed a BA at the University of Western Australia (UWA), where she was introduced to the idea of social work by the head of psychology at the university. She was instrumental in establishing the national social work association and was involved in setting up the first social work (almoner) departments at several key hospitals as well as inducing the Catholic Archbishop to establish the Catholic Social Service Bureau. She was a key player among a small group of Catholic visionaries keen to develop a professional occupation specializing in helping people with their social functioning, following the upheavals of postwar Australia.
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Glasser, Paul
Raymond Sanchez Mayers and Kathleen J. Pottick
Paul H. Glasser worked tirelessly for more than 50 years as a social worker, social work educator, and social work administrator in schools of social work. He is best known for his writings on social group work while at the University of Michigan where he served as a professor. He helped to develop a theoretical and conceptual framework for group work and saw it as integral to social work itself. He was a dean at two schools of social work where he was able to increase faculty diversity and productivity.
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Howard, Matthew Owen
Eric L. Garland and Jeffrey M. Jenson
The life of Matthew O. Howard, PhD, an internationally recognized scholar whose work significantly impacted social work, psychiatry, psychology, and the addictions, is described. Dr. Howard’s scientific, policy, practice, and educational achievements are noted. His contributions to advancing the science of mindfulness as well as social work research and education over a 30-year career are outlined.
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Spira, Marcia
Susan F. Grossman, Terry B. Northcut, Michael P. Dentato, Christie Mason, Darby J. Morhardt, Robyn L. Golden, Thomas K. Kenemore, and Lauren Spira
Marcia Kornfeld Spira, PhD, LCSW, BCD (1950–2022) was a pioneering social work clinician, scholar, teacher, and leader in the fields of social work with older adults and social work in health settings. Her work with older adults extended the understanding of clinical practice with an aging population and intergenerational work with families. Her focus on health care examined health and aging, challenged myths about that process, and guided practice around end-of-life care. She also considered the impact of health concerns on family relationships. She loved teaching and clinical practice and continued to do both after her retirement from Loyola University Chicago in 2020.
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Social Work and Social Policy in Namibia
Priscilla A. Gibson, Janet Ananias, Rachel Freeman, and Namoonga Chilwalo
Social work and social policy are intertwined in the Republic of Namibia and heavily influenced by its complex colonial sociopolitical history, struggle for human rights, and progress toward social development. These factors inform how the social and human needs of Namibians are being met. A human rights lens was adopted in 1990 by a democratic government that guided the delivery of social services to a diverse ethnic population. Namibia has successfully integrated social work into its society, supported by (a) a social justice mandate, (b) a capacity-building framework, and (c) Vision 2030. Social and human service needs are provided naturally by indigenous families and communities, and formal services are provided by governmental and nongovernmental agencies. This article consists of an overview of the socio-historical and political contexts of social work and social policies in this emerging democracy, along with special attention to four challenging and interrelated areas of social work practice including poverty, language and national identity, intergenerational caregiving and the Coronavirus pandemic.
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Christiansen, Kikkan Ustvedt
Tor Slettebø
As a feminist, social worker, administrator, educator, researcher, writer, and editor Kikkan Ustvedt Christiansen (1932–2020) was one of the pioneers in developing social work as a professional practice into an academic discipline and research field in Norway. Even when she ended her career as a respected researcher in child welfare, she never surrendered her identity as a practitioner and engagement for social justice.
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Hagen, Gerd
Helga Johannesdottir and Michael Seltzer
Gerd Anna Dorothea Hagen (1928–2007) was an eminent social worker, educator, innovator, administrator, and campaigner for children’s rights in Norway. She worked tirelessly her entire professional life pioneering, developing, and promoting educational programs for child protection and social work professionals. Her creativity, enthusiasm, and leadership greatly contributed to establishing Norway’s reputation as a champion of children’s rights and well-being.
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Sand, Rene
Gloria Hegge
Rene Sand (1877–1953), Belgian social worker and physician, was best known in the field of social work for being co-founder of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) in 1928, and serving as its president from 1946 to 1953.
