Social Work Education in Taiwan: Toward Professionalism

Over half a century, social work education programmes in Taiwan have grown from one to 26 in number. These integrate influences from the West as well as local social needs and have rapidly developed, particularly in the past two decades. The social work registration system was set up in 2001. Entering the twenty-first century, evaluating the outcomes of social work education programmes has become essential. Following a brief description of the history of social work education in Taiwan, this paper focuses on the programmes, features of the curricula including the degree structure, courses of study, fieldwork internship, skills training, the community laboratory and the prospects for social work education. Finally, issues of social work education in a multi-cultural society will be explored.