Social Work Practice Education Beyond the Pandemic Comparative Perspectives on Continuities, Adaptations and Innovations

“This book is a practical and forward-looking publication. It provides a comprehensive perspective through international comparisons, helping readers understand the complexity and diversity of social work practice education in different cultural and social contexts, and promoting its globalisation and localisation research. ... this book is worth reading and drawing upon by social workers, educators, and practitioners in related fields to better cope with future opportunities and challenges.” (Juhong Chen, Xinhui, European Journal of Social Work, April 1, 2025)

Riccardo Guidi is Associate Professor in Sociology at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Florence, Italy. He holds a BA/MA in Political Science (Sociology curriculum) and a PhD in History and Sociology of Modernity from the University of Pisa, Italy. In the last ten years he has taught Social Policy and Policy Practice for Helping Professions, Organization of Social Services, Sociology of the Third Sector, Sociology, and Methodology of Applied Social Research. Previously at the University of Pisa, he was Scientific Coordinator of Practice Education activities in BA/MA Social Work Programs of the University of Pisa from 2019 to 2023. He is Co-Convenor (with Prof. Idit Weiss-Gal and Prof. John Gal) of the Special Interest Group "Research on Social Work and Policy Engagement" of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA). In the last years he has been Principal Investigator of the project: "Social Work Practice Education in Times of Pandemic, and Beyond. Continuities, Changes, Innovations in Europe" (co-funded by the EASSW). His investigations are mainly about Social Policy and Social Work, Third Sector, Volunteering and Civic Action.

Christian Spatscheck is Professor for Theories and Methods of Social Work at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Hochschule Bremen, City University of Applied Sciences, Germany. He is a qualified social worker (Dipl.-Soz.-arb. FH, KFH Freiburg) and holds a diploma in pedagogy (Dipl.-Paed., postgraduate level, PH Freiburg) and a PhD in social pedagogy (TU Berlin). He is member of Editorial Board of the European Journal of Social Work and International Editorial Advisory Board of Nordic Social Work Research. He is also an elected member of the Board of Directors of the DGSA  - German Association of Social Work and one of the two Chairpersons of the DGSA. During the last years, he has published several monographs, edited volumes, and articles on theories and methods of social work with a special focus on spatial, systemic and socio-ecological approaches of social work and social pedagogy. He has developed international activities at Lund University, Pisa University, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, UCL Institute of Education, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, and MCI Innsbruck, and has been teaching in many member universities of the European SocNet98 network.