Differences and similarities - Social work in chosen european countries

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Social Work, grade: 1,3, University of Lüneburg (Fakultät I: Bildungs-, Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften), course: Internationale Arbeitsfelder für Pädagogen, language: English, abstract: The majority of my fellow-students is thinking about the possibility of working in other european countries. Not only the current unemployment rates and the bitter cuts in our welfare system are forcing future german social pedagogs to become familiar with the thought of leaving their home country. It's also the fascination and a kind of curiosity of seeing how other countries are dealing with their specific social problems.
Which importance does social work have in other european countries? What are the main points concerning the work of social workers in specific european countries? What are the key themes in european social work?
These are the main questions I'd like to answer with this term paper. At first I'd like to define the term "welfare state" as a basic condition for social work. After that I'd like to shortly introduce the countries I've chosen for this term paper, also giving an insight into the different educational systems (to clarify the different conditions under which young people are able to receive the vocational training) and afterwards point out the different social work educations. After that I'd like to have a look at social work in a changing europe in general. At the end I'll try to give a prospectus on the basis of the cognitions I've received concerning social work in Europe in general.