Some dilemmas in the development of social work education in Hungary.

Abstract

The research investigates and presents the development and dilemmas confronting social services, social work education schools, social workers, educators, students and employers in Hungary since the 1980s and, in particular, the impact of educational approaches. The aims are to explore the development of social work education, to contribute to the research of the social work education, to the ongoing professionalisation of the social work, vocation and services. in Hungary and to promote the development of the scientific basis of social work, its services and its education. The purpose of this research is to promote the place and role of the social work education in Hungary and to examine the position of Hungarian social work education in European dimension. The research gives an understanding and interpretation of the dilemmas in the framework of social work education, furthermore an outline of the social-societal context of Hungarian social work education. The researcher investigated this theme as a leader and teacher of social work education in Hungary by literature, references and symptoms of social work and social work education practice. The research attempts to implement a multi-method research combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches at the same time whereby the qualitative elements are more dominant. The methods include critical analysis of the literature, observation, analysis of the education curricula and interviewstages. The research presents a comparative analysis of the content of social work curricula in education in Hungary. The research has a critical analysis of social work education in fieldwork research of a sample of Hungarian social workers, educators, students, employers and practice teachers by unstructured, structured, practitioner and focus-group interviews. The research presents findings and conclusions of the research experiences in the context of the research aims, objectives, assumptions and dilemmas investigated, i. e. the main factors and characteristics of the social work education courses, the main important dilemmas of social work education in Hungary and the causes of the educational dilemmas. The research suggests educational and curriculum development as the framework for resolving these dilemmas.