The Emergence of Social Work Practice Research in the Peoples’ Republic of China

Abstract

Objective: In China where social work is a fledgling profession, practice research is still a novelty. This article aims to provide an overview of the development of social work practice research in mainland China. Methods: This review analyzes the content of 206 Chinese journal articles published in the Peoples’ Republic of China since 1915 using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, with a focus on the question “who published what?” Results: The first social work practice research was published in 1999 and it has been increasing in recent years in China. They are predominantly conducted by academics and the collaboration between academics and practitioners is rare and can be further promoted. Conclusions: Practice research could be stepped up to build a distinctive professional knowledge base for social work in China considering its unique geographical, cultural, socioeconomic, and political contexts.

East Meets West: Five Decades of Practice Research in Hong Kong

“…Although the social work field in Hong Kong has built up a substantial volume of practice research in relation to youth, the elderly, and social work training in recent years, the contribution of practitioner-led research remains limited, and academic–practitioner partnerships are also wanting, as in mainland China (Sim & Lau, 2017) and regions such as Macau and Taiwan (Sim et al, 2018). Practice research involves the generation of knowledge of direct relevance to professional practice and therefore normally involves knowledge generated from practice itself in a grounded way (The Salisbury Forum Group, 2011).…”

The predicament of social work development and the emergence of social work action/practice research in China

“…In social work, the process of translating knowledge to action is commonly labeled as "practice". With the growth of the social work profession in mainland China and other Chinese societies, the discussion of the development of "practice knowledge" and "indigenization of social work" has become focal in both the Chinese academic world and its social work institutions (Leung, 2007;Sim & Lau, 2017). However, as we stated above, when most of the social work knowledge comes from abroad, the Chinese social work educators, and practitioners, especially since the rapid development of the social work profession in the mid of 1980s, have followed the idea of translating scientific knowledge to action, which has long been understood as "science-informing-practice" model (Nowotny, Scott, & Gibbons, 2001).…”

“…Moreover, there is a growing frustration among practitioners and policymakers with the lack of relevance of conventional-mostly descriptive-research findings. Thus, in recent years, the new discussion of action research practice/ practitioner research that is happening in the western social work profession (Nowotny et al, 2001;Petersen & Olsson, 2015;Salisbury Statement, 2009;Sim & Lau, 2017) is of interest.…”

Post-disaster Psychosocial Capacity Building for Women in a Chinese Rural Village

“…The research design and the corresponding methods (focus groups, surveys, and indepth interviews) used in this study were cost-effective and relatively easy to implement. Social work practitioners in China could consider utilizing them in an adaptive manner, as few are well-trained in conducting research, and, most of all, they lack the skills, support, and time to carry out quasi-experimental designs, randomized controlled trials, or correlation analyses (Sim and Lau 2016).…”