Journal sections | Trabajo Social Global-Global Social Work

In line with its Focus and scope , this journal specializing in the field of social work-social intervention is organized into several differentiated sections:

This organization expresses the general approaches of Global Social Work, with the aim of offering a product of original and valid scientific documentation for the various audiences to which it is directed: researchers, practicing professionals, managers of welfare services, teachers-trainers and undergraduate and postgraduate students, those responsible for social policies, etc. The inclusion of Social Work studies in universities is a generalized international process, following the training model that began in the first third of the 20th century in two North American countries (the United States and Canada) and one South American country (Chile). This process accelerated internationally – including Europe – from the 1970s-80s. But the entry of this field of theoretical-practical studies, generally with very beneficial effects for the professional consolidation and academic legitimation of social work internationally and in each country, has other less positive effects, mainly in countries with university traditions focused on the development of the natural sciences, the humanities and the social sciences, and less on the training of professions (except the so-called “high professions” such as medicine, law, engineering or architecture).

The weight and institutional influence of consolidated academic knowledge tend to impose its research and publication models on professional fields that have recently been incorporated into higher education. This is clearly observed in the current development of periodical publications in the field of social work in several countries, with excessive differentiation between university publications and publications of professional entities. But in every respect social work, like every theoretical-practical field, every professional field, demands certain research approaches and requires, consequently, specific models of publication and dissemination that contribute to generating the essential relationship between theory and practice, sharing knowledge emanating from pluridisciplinary and interdisciplinary scientific research, knowledge drawn from public practice, knowledge developed in the contexts of professional training (initial and continuing) and knowledge based on reflection on their own practices developed by the social workers’ activities (“reflection in action”/ reflective-action-research ).

In this constant dialogue, not exempt from conflicts and discussions, a discipline of Social Work is developed that simultaneously produces knowledge, action procedures and identification and development of values that guide practices .

Trabajo Social Global-Global Social Work is an editorial project that assumes this conception of social work. For this reason, it adopts a certain organization into sections that permits the publication of different types of texts.