History and development of social work education in Spain : from school of social assistants to faculty of social work

Abstract

Social Work education in Spain has a relatively short history (originates from around 1932), and is currently in the process of adaptation to the proposals made by the European Higher Education Area. After the Bologna Plan approved in 1999, Spanish schools of Social Work have had to introduce changes related to achieve a uniform and high quality education system, enabling students from the universities of the 29 European members acquire competences and professional skills required. Throughout this article, we discuss the history and evolution of the training in Social Work in Spain since its birth and in particular we analyze how the Plan established by Bologna has affected it, reflecting on how advantages and disadvantages of this agreement have influenced Social Work degree.