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Open research questions in Social Work Education and Practice

1,735 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 11,324 Social Work Education and Practice papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The paper identifies the challenge of balancing individual autonomy with the need for support and protection. The study highlights the complexity of capacity assessment, which involves navigating multiple factors and risks. The paper notes the emotional toll of supporting someone's decision to remain in a high-risk environment.

    ‘Gosh, this job is so hard!’: Exploring social workers’ experiences of mental capacity assessment using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of research on social workers' experiences of mental capacity assessment. The paper identifies a gap in understanding the complexities and challenges of capacity assessment. The study highlights the need for further research on the experiences of social workers and the people they assess.

    ‘Gosh, this job is so hard!’: Exploring social workers’ experiences of mental capacity assessment using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) · 2026 · DOI

  • Time constraints and competing priorities emerged as significant challenges for part-time fellows and applicants. Lack of institutional backing and disengagement from middle-managers created barriers to participation and progression. Lengthy and complex ethical approval processes required substantial time and support from academic supervisors and fellows.

    Research and training fellowships as a mechanism for building research capacity in social care: An evaluation of the fellowship component of a capacity-building programme in England · 2026 · DOI

  • Research capacity building in social care remains in its infancy, - Limited infrastructure and lack of organizational understanding, - Lengthy and complex ethical approval processes

    Research and training fellowships as a mechanism for building research capacity in social care: An evaluation of the fellowship component of a capacity-building programme in England · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies the challenge of ensuring student engagement with the learning activity. It also highlights the challenge of addressing the needs of students who may not recognize the value of the learning activity. Another challenge is the potential lack of generalizability of the results due to the limited participation of students.

    An evaluation of a collaborative experiential learning model to develop communication skills in social work education · 2026 · DOI

  • The use of students on a module in one university restricts the range of experiences, - Those who did not respond may include those whose attendance was low, - Personal data was not gathered, - A further significant limitation was the lack of participation of forty percent of students, - Nonparticipation may have impacted on the generalisability of results

    An evaluation of a collaborative experiential learning model to develop communication skills in social work education · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research could explore how social workers construct identity within challenging organizational and political environments, - Research could examine how professional identity is understood and experienced across different career stages and contexts

    Ambivalence and commitment: professional identity among early-career and experienced social workers: Identity across career stages · 2026 · DOI

  • The current approach to reviewing and responding to serious incidents is often punitive and blaming, and there is a need for a more supportive and learning-oriented approach. There is a lack of research on the experiences of staff taking part in a non-punitive, person-centred process to investigate serious incidents. The need for a new approach to reviewing and responding to serious incidents that prioritizes staff well-being and promotes a non-punitive, person-centred approach.

    Reorienting the Way a Community Mental Health Service Responds to Suicide and Other Serious Incidents · 2026 · DOI

  • The use of Delphi panels in social work research is underexplored. There is a need for guidance on the use of Delphi panels in qualitative research. The paper identifies a gap in the literature on the application of Delphi panels in social work.

    Using a Delphi panel in qualitative social work research: From conceptualising consensus and defining expertise to systematic processes and quasi anonymity · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding about how professional identity varies across career stages among social workers. The relationship between professional identity and retention intentions is not well understood. Prior work has not fully explored the complexities of professional identity in social work.

    Ambivalence and commitment: professional identity among early-career and experienced social workers: Identity across career stages · 2026 · DOI

  • Although the professional dimension of community organizing in the United States has been one of its well-established, distinctive features for several decades now, it has remained surprisingly understudied.

    Community Organizing Work as Contradictory Professional Work · 2026 · DOI

  • The recommendations, based on this study are divided into two categories: (1) individual school social workers and (2) schools of social work. First, the individuals must assess their expectations of what they want to accomplish in their roles. A reactive professional stance to the role is likely to result in an overflow of conflicting and ambiguous messages to help children and families. On the other hand, a proactive strategy is likely to begin c1arifying the nature of their roles and provide opportunities for discussion of creative approaches for solving school problems. Table 2. High and Low Creativity by Role Ambiguity and Satisfaction with Work

    Creative School Social Workers and Job Satisfaction · 1987 · DOI

  • Where Do We Want To Be? Society for Hospital Social Work Directors and the American Hospital Association formed a partnership in 1982 to teach hospital staffs and physicians innovative ways to plan for patient discharge and promote social services as the appropriate vehicle for such work. The campaign of the hospitals and social workers is an example of social service marketing to health providers. It seeks to educate them about the need for innovations in discharge planning and to promote hospital based social workers as experts in this field. An analysis of this Downloaded by [University of Washington Libraries] at 16:04 13 March 2015 Madeleine R. Stoner 47 campaign will illustrate how the process of social marketing occurred at each stage. This analysis is based upon the Ayer Plan.

    Marketing of social services gains prominence in practice · 1986 · DOI

  • Thus, the best way to reach school social workers or those in any social work specialty to motivate them to take action on various important issues needs to be studied if advocacy is to be effective.

    Social Workers as Advocates: A Case Example · 1987 · DOI

  • Existing bodies and networks associated with PCSW should initiate discussions on the formulation of standards of practice for PCSW in the Indian context.

    Palliative Care Social Work Standards of Practice – Review of Select International Protocols · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for more research on the impact of AI on social work practice. The current state of research on AI and social work is limited. There is a lack of clear guidelines and regulations for the use of AI in social work.

    Tekoäly sosiaalityössä – kirjallisuuskatsaus · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap between the pace of AI deployment in practice and the development of coherent pedagogical responses in qualifying programmes. The lack of substantive approaches to preparing students to practise in AI-assisted environments.

    A kind of magic? Artificial intelligence-assisted recording: developing principles for an AI-informed social work curriculum · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional approaches to decision-making in social work are often subjective and biased. The increasing amount of data related to clients can be difficult to analyze manually. There is a need for a more efficient and effective approach to decision-making in social work.

    Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Social Worker Decision-Making and Service Delivery: A Practice-Oriented Perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the complex ethical terrain social workers traverse when personal worldviews shape interpretations of client behavior, assessments of need, and decisions about care. The findings suggest that social workers may face challenges in navigating personal beliefs in practice.

    “It sounds horrible to say, but…”: Examination of Professional Ethical Conflicts Divulged by Politically Conservative Social Workers · 2026 · DOI

  • There is limited empirical research exploring how conservative political beliefs influence direct social work practice. The study aims to address this gap by examining the experiences and perspectives of social workers who identify as politically conservative.

    “It sounds horrible to say, but…”: Examination of Professional Ethical Conflicts Divulged by Politically Conservative Social Workers · 2026 · DOI

  • Theoretical and methodological foundations of social work in healthcare remain ambiguous. Expectations on licensed Health Social Workers need to be clarified.

    Advancing Practice among Health Social Workers – How are Theories and Methods in Daily Work Discussed? · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on developing and evaluating effective interventions for socially excluded localities. There is a need for more research on the role of community leadership and digital inclusion in social work interventions.

    Motivation for social work interventions among residents of socially excluded localities · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for more research on the motivational factors and strategies that influence client participation in social work interventions. The study highlights the gap in current knowledge on effective interventions for socially excluded localities.

    Motivation for social work interventions among residents of socially excluded localities · 2026 · DOI

  • Many practices struggle to secure dedicated social work support. Health inequalities persist and are in evidence between groups of people with different characteristics.

    Examining the role of social workers within clinical metabolic genetics care · 2026 · DOI

  • Fragmentation, resource constraints, and competing institutional pressures have limited the profession's unified representation in South Africa. The success of the association depends on active participation and membership uptake.

    Social work associations: Towards unified professional voices · 2026 · DOI

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1,735 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 11,324 Social Work Education and Practice papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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