The near global implementation of public sector and social welfare reform as a result of neoliberal economic reform has impacted on social work and social inequality. State strategies to reduce social Corresponding author: Gary Spolander, Charles Ward Building, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK. Email: g.spolander@coventry.ac.uk 524964I SW0010.1177/0020872814524964International Social WorkSpolander et al. research-article2014Article 302 International Social Work 57(4)and economic inequality are being challenged and rolled back. This article uses the reflections from a six-country EU-funded social work research collaboration to promote debate and compare global social work perspectives, to highlight the complexity of research, to explore implications for practice and the Global Agenda. It concludes by highlighting that global comparisons are complex, multifaceted and that political, cultural and economic context is critical to develop effective responses.

The purpose of this article is to examine the major changes Finnish school craft has undergone and explain these changes by using societal, pedagogical and subject-driven determinants. The main sources of this research include committee reports and national curricula. Research data was classified into five periods: craft for home well-being (1866–1911), craft for civic society (1912–1945), craft for independent hard-working citizens (1946–1969), toward equality craft (1970–1993), and unlimited craft (1994–2014). The analysis show that school craft has steadily followed students’, society’s and the subject’s different needs during these periods.

The concept of child well-being has been receiving growing attention within policy, academic research and literature. However, a precise definition of the concept of 'well-being' is problematic and continues to be debated and discussed within various scientific fields. A number of international studies and models have highlighted selected indicators as being necessary in the measuring of well-being in children, and have served as international definitions and standards for child and family policy development. Yet, these models show differences in the indicators, which they recognize as being significant. In this article, the authors will attempt to reflect upon the following questions: What indicators are the dominant international models of child well-being highlighting as important? What type of theoretical approaches do these models represent? Are there gaps between the indicators presented in these models and those raised as important in theory? The aim is to reflect upon and establish a critical dialogue around what are considered to be the most important indicators for measuring child well-being, and whether these indicators represent a holistic and multidimensional approach to child well-being, as outlined in literature. This will be done through an analysis of what the authors deemed as the dominant international models used to measure and define child well-being; the key indicators recognized through these models as being important; and reflections and discussions against a theoretical backdrop.

This article seeks to draw upon the changes and consequences which have been experienced as a result of global neoliberal policy implementation. The use of privatisation and market in the delivery of social welfare services has implications for the transfer of resources, citizen choice and citizen duties away from the state to the citizen (Clarke and Newman 1997). This article is focused on these trends in Finland. In the article the authors illustrate the changes by using examples and cases from Finnish welfare services. The focus of the chapter is especially on children and family services.

This article seeks to reflect on knowledge and experiences gained from an International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES). Challenges and opportunities inherent in the development and Downloaded from 2 International Social Work management of a large-scale international research project in social work are explored. Through a synthesis of conceptual frameworks a process model for international research collaboration is constructed based chiefly on the stages of group development, a conceptual framework for cross-national research, an interdisciplinary teamwork process and collaborative knowledge building. The five stages of the process model, namely forming, norming, storming, performing and adjourning and associated steps are connected by a practice of reflexivity.