Envisioning a professional identity: charting pathways through social work education in India

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of social work as a profession in India, tracing its historical beginnings, philosophical base, dominant practice perspectives, its relevance in the country’s current socioeconomic and politicocultural context and its impact on emerging trends in global practice. It also aims to stimulate discussion on the possible ways through which Social Work education can make significant contributions in the wake of the changing trends in state responsibility towards the poor and marginalised and in doing so carve its professional identity in order to gain its rightful status in Indian society.