Social Work Education and Practice

Social work education and practice research examines how professionals are trained, supported, and retained within human services systems, with particular attention to the conditions that sustain or erode their effectiveness over time. Burnout, high caseloads, and inadequate supervision are persistent concerns, especially in high-stakes settings like child welfare, where practitioner attrition carries direct consequences for vulnerable populations. Researchers are actively investigating how evidence-based practice frameworks can be implemented without displacing the reflective, relationship-centered skills that define competent social work, and how cultural competence can be meaningfully woven into both training curricula and everyday supervision. Central open questions include what organizational and educational structures most reliably improve job satisfaction and long-term retention, and how the profession can build workforce resilience without simply shifting the burden of systemic problems onto individual practitioners.

Works

85,920

Total citations

550,920

Keywords

RetentionBurnoutEvidence-Based PracticeSupervisionCultural CompetenceJob Satisfaction