What Does Professionalization Mean?—Tracing the Trajectory of Social Work Education in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review the history and recent developments of social work education in Taiwan. The influences from Taiwan's political, economic and social changes as well as the international diffusion of social work have led to the unique development of social work education in Taiwan. In this paper, various factors that are relevant to the status of social work education in Taiwan are discussed, including: (1) the origin of social work education; (2) the subsequent development of social work education; (3) the rapid expansion of social work education; (4) social work curricula before and after the late 1990s; and (5) teaching staff before and after the late 1990s. Finally, reflections on the development of Taiwan's social work education will be presented.