Educational Challenges in Italian Social Work Between Professionalization and Bureaucratization

The study investigates the main challenges for social work development towards social justice, social change and possible future transformation in the coming decades, in the context of Italian social welfare. It discusses three main controversial features: 1) the history of the educational process; 2) the recent statement of ethical and deontological principles in relationship with social worker practices; 3) the recent regulatory framework for tackling poverty in Italy. The political nature of social work in Italy and the influence of the state, power and politics on social work education are discussed, showing ambiguous trends in professional development. On the one hand, the state had a crucial role in professionalizing social work in Italy. On the other hand, in the last two decades the social work profession has been subject to a process of bureaucratization that is challenging the professional identity of social workers. This calls for further research into this trend towards de-professionalization. The role of advocacy, social action and participation in a social movement currently appears, in this context, diminished in the profession in Italy. This demonstrates conceptual and practical failures in developing social work towards social justice, change and future transformation.