This publication emerged from a lecture series of a university cooperation between India and Germany and presents the work of nine authors on social work education and practice in their respective countries. The authors are highly experienced and practice oriented and their contributions range from clinical social work, indigenous knowledge systems, community-based social work, and institutional models of community engagements to decolonized social work education and practices. Contemporary and emerging concepts, theories, pedagogies, opportunities, innovations and challenges have been presented, giving a comprehensive account of the trends and perspectives of social work education in their countries.
Internationally, social work faces complex forces of globalisation and liberalisation leading to critical evaluation of the relevance of existing approaches and developing models of intervention applicable to a specific context. An exchange of ideas can lead to considering their implications in diverse settings and contribute to addressing structural inequalities collectively in an ethical, critical and conscious manner. An approach, to which this book contributes by giving insights into different backgrounds, understandings, and methods.