Contemporary Social Work Practice: Institutional Context and Graduate Outcomes

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents findings of a Victorian social work graduate survey from social work programs offered in an urban university located in Australia. The survey is part of a broader study exploring how changes in the institutional context of social work shape contemporary practice, as reflected in graduates’ positions and perceptions of their roles. This article presents descriptive information about graduates’ locations in fields of practice. The job titles and duties reported by graduates present a picture of predominantly individualised direct practice and targeted service provision. The findings support the claim that decades of institutional change have limited the scope of social work practice. IMPLICATIONS There is no census of Australian social workers, and existing research offers only limited information about the state of the profession in its fields of practice. Decades of institutional change have complicated both the idea of a “sector” and of “social work” as a distinct occupation. Social work risks becoming invisible in the broader field of human services.