Social work in an information-intensive era: Digitalization in social work practices, expertise, training, and research

Abstract

This article discusses the demands placed on social work by the digitalization of society. Examining social work as a modern professional system in the framework of the structural–functional theory of professions, the challenge of digitalization is mirrored against the background of international professional standards of social work. As a conclusion, it is suggested that the purposeful development of social work as a professional system in the information-intensive era requires the integration of the field into national innovation systems as well as significant contribution from the international research community of social work to the study of the effects and challenges of digitalization.