Universität Lüneburg, Fakultät I: Bildungs-, Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften
Modul: 1.1.4 Internationale Arbeitsfelder für Pädagogen
Sommersemester 2006

Differences and similarities –
Social Work in chosen european countries

by: Isabel Chowanietz

Contents

1 Introduction  2

2 The term “welfare state”  4

3 About Germany  6

3.1 Social work education in Germany 6

3.1.1 Short excursus: The German educational system  7

3.2 The main tasks of social work/social pedagogy in Germany  9

4 About Great Britain 11

4.1 Social work education in Great Britain  13

4.1.1 Short excursus: The British educational system  15

4.2 The main tasks of social work/social pedagogy in great Britain 16

5 About France  19

5.1 Social work education in France 20

5.1.1 Short excursus: The French educational system 22

5.2 The main tasks of social work/social pedagogy in France  23

6 Social work in a changing Europe – a critical conclusion 25

7 Bibliography 28

Internet sources  30

1 Introduction

“So you’re studying social pedagogy. Do you think you’ll get a job after receiving your diploma?” I can’t remember how often I’ve been asked this question and I still don’t know, what to answer properly. It’s a classical, often discussed topic and even though the employment statistics are looking quite good, there is still an unsecure feeling which I share with most of my fellow-students, when looking at statistics like those: source: http://www.uni-essen.de/isa/fg_sozial_gesund/sozialwesen/sozialwesen_am_frm.htm This is a statistic concerning „Fachhochschul“-graduates of course, but including those unemployed who received their diploma at university, there is a total amount of 12.496 (2.654 from university) unemployed social workers/pedagogs for the year 2005. That makes a profession-specific unemployment rate of 7,5%, which is above-average for academic professies¹.

This is why the majority of my fellow-students is thinking about the possibility of working in other european countries. Not only the current unemployment rates and the bitter cuts in our welfare system are forcing us future german social pedagogs to become familiar with the thought of leaving our home country. It’s also the fascination and a kind of curiosity of seeing how other countries are dealing with their specific social problems. But which importance does social work have in other european countries? What are the main points concerning the work of social workers in specific european countries? What are the key themes in european social work?

These are the main questions I’d like to answer with this term paper. At first I’d like to define the term “welfare state” as a basic condition for social work. After that I’d like to shortly introduce the countries I’ve chosen for this term paper, also giving an insight into the different educational systems (to clarify the different conditions under which young people are able to receive the vocational training) and afterwards point out the different social work educations. After that I’d like to have a look at social work in a changing europe in general. At the end I’ll try to give a prospectus on the basis of the cognitions I’ve received concerning social work in Europe in general.

2 The term “welfare state”

The term “welfare state” defines a minimum social security by the state for its people. In european countries the meaning of “welfare state” includes elements of social security such as pension- and unemployment insurance, social welfare and also labour legislation, instruments of politics concerning family and active politics concerning the labour market ( cp. Microsoft Encarta). The idea of the "welfare state" means different things in different countries:

• An ideal model. The "welfare state" usually refers to an ideal model of provision, where the state accepts responsibility for the provision of comprehensive and universal welfare for its citizens.
• State welfare. Some commentators use it to mean "welfare provided by the state". This is the main use in the USA.
• Social protection. In many "welfare states", social protection is not delivered by the state at all, but by a combination of independent, voluntary and government services. These countries are still usually thought of as "welfare states".²

There is, without a doubt, a necessity of the existence of a welfare state to provide a basis for social work. The three countries I’ve chosen for this term paper are welfare states. How the term “welfare state” is defined individually, by the states themselves, I’ll explain later on. When talking about welfare states its also important to mention that this system is heavily discussed nowadays, especially when talking about globalisation and its influence on Europe. Adams for example claims that the paradox of the modern welfare state has been exposed as being that whilst its function is to ensure that all people are integrated into society, due to the developments in the global economy, it is evidently less and less capable of achieving this task ( Adams quoting Luhmann 2000:1). He also states that increasingly politicians no longer assume that the full inclusion of all people into society is possible; rather it now falls to citizens themselves, rather than the state, to take responsibility for achieving social integration ( cp. Adams 2000:1).

The german transaltion “Wohlfahrtsstaat” has this negative undertone nowadays. Critics claim that the “Wohlfahrtsstaat” became a demoted „supply- and care-state“, cutting all initiative by the people. The critics also denounce that to keep up the capability of supplying the people and satisfy the increasing requirements, the efficient part of the population is burdened, even nearly exploited ( cp. Microsoft Encarta).

3 About Germany

[...]

1 cp.: http://www.uni-essen.de/isa/fg_sozial_gesund/sozialwesen/sozialwesen_am_frm.htm

2 cp.: http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/wstate.htm