Social Work in Austria

Abstract

Social Work in Austria can be described as an action and profession based science dealing with the dif- ferent forms of social support that help people maintain agency in difficult circumstances and situations in life. At the same time, the field sees itself as a practical form of social policy that undertakes a critical examination of how social problems and risks of exclusion are generated within society. Finally, Social Work pursues its own educational goal based on opportunities for personal realisation and participation. Historically, Social Work in Austria developed along two separate paths, firstly as Sozialarbeit (social work in a narrow sense), administrative practice that is rooted in occupations around youth welfare and healthcare, and secondly as Sozialpädagogik (Social Pedagogy), which arose from social education work in out-of-home care for children and young people. Since the 1970s, the number of tasks and approaches in this context has proliferated, increasingly causing social work and Social Pedagogy to overlap and converge. In recent years, there have been signs of growing professionality and of the field slowly becoming established as an academic discipline. Simultaneously, approaches are becoming more important that are participatory or relate to social spaces and civil society.