INTRODUCTION

                                                           Richard J. Estes
                                                 University of Pennsylvania

Social work has a distinguished history of professional involvement in the
international community.  From its earliest years, for example, the
profession: assisted with the resettlement of refugees and other persons
displaced by war; operated emergency field relief services for victims of
natural and man-made disasters; actively advocated for the rights and
protections of disadvantaged and vulnerable population groups; organized
groups of oppressed people into effective political entities; and labored
to extended programs of material and social assistance to population
groups in need of such services.  These activities were undertaken at both
the national and international levels and, always, with a view
toward redressing social injustices where ever they existed in the world. 
Social workers also labored on behalf of world peace, an effort that, in
time, was to earn for Jane Addams the profession's first
 Nobel Prize.

     Since those early years, the profession's international activities
have continued to increase and diversify; today, a variety of formal and
informal structures exist to channel social work's energies at the
international level.  Indicators of the importance that the profession
attaches to its international
 activities include:

 1.  the number, functional diversity, and geographic distribution of
     international social welfare service organizations (Irvin, 1991);

 2.  the extraordinary level of private resources that are committed each
     year in support of international social welfare activities (e.g.,
     from foundations, corporations, community groups, and individuals for
     support of international programs of basic education, health care,
     housing, transportation, and for the development of other
     welfare-relevant infrastructures);

 3.  the range and specialized nature of our major international
     organizations and professional associations, including the
     International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), the International
     Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the International
     Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), and the Inter-University
     Consortium for International Social Development (IUCISD);

 4.  the number and diversity of our specialized journals in international
     social work, including International Social Work, the Journal of
     International and Comparative Social Welfare, and Social Development
     Issues;

 5.  as reflected in the size of this volume, the extraordinary body of
     published materials authored by social workers on international
     topics of relevance to the profession;

 6.  the number, frequency, and location of the profession's international
     meetings and congresses; 
 
 7.  the existence in many of our national organizations and their local
     chapters of energetic and forward looking international committees
     (e.g. in the National Association of Social Workers and the Council
     on Social Work Education); and

 8.  the important leadership roles carried by social workers in national
     and international social development programs.

     The richness of the profession's past and current contributions to
advancing human welfare throughout the world is suggestive of the
leadership role that the profession will carry as we finish the present
century and move toward the beginning of the next--a century in which
profound social transformations are expected in virtually all sectors of
society, including in social welfare.



Steps Toward A "Global" Century

Most specialists in social development, including social workers engaged
in international development, believe that the 21st century will be a
"global century," i.e., a century in which the most critical issues on the
world agenda will emanate for global rather than national forces.  The
impact of these worldwide forces on all societal institutions is expected
to be enormous and long-lasting.  They are expected to result in a
significant reshaping of national and international affairs as we know
them today.

     Among the most dramatic international events that are reshaping our
"social futures" are those which are occupying our attention as the
present century begins to draw to a close.  More than at any other time in
human history significant international events are making clear the
extraordinary degree of social inter-dependence that exists between people
and nations everywhere. 

 1.  The end of the Cold War and, with it, the opportunity to redirect
     more of the world's resources to life-giving rather than life-taking
     activity

 2.  The signing of joint agreements between the United States and the
     Soviet Union on nuclear and conventional weapons disarmament  

 3.  In response to economic bankruptcy brought on by the arms race and
     the failure of its central political institutions, the collapse of
     Communism in the Soviet Union

 4.  In the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin's successful effort to rebuff a
     conservative political coup that sought to restore totalitarianism to
     that country

 5.  Political independence for the Baltic States
     
 6.  Political independence and economic autonomy for the nations of
     Eastern Europe

 7.  A reunited Germany

 8.  The economic unification of Europe and, in time, increased social
     unification as well--especially on welfare issues of special
     interest to social workers

 9.  In response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, a revitalization of the
     United Nation's peace keeping and peace promotion functions

 10. The restoration of democracy to the majority of states in Central and
     South America
     
 11. The beginnings of an Arab-Israeli dialogue on peace 

 12. Earnest efforts on the part of the United States, Russia, and other
     member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States to centralize
     and, ultimately, to destroy entire classes of nuclear, biological,
     and chemical weapons

 13. The probable reunification of North and South Korea in the near-term


     The magnitude of these global events is impressive; they will almost
certainly impact on human affairs for decades to come.  Their
significance, and the rapid pace at which such profound changes are taking
place add considerable urgency to international efforts to establish a
"new world order," i.e., to work toward the establishment of a new system
of international relationships guided by the quest for world peace,
increased social justice, the universal satisfaction of basic human needs,
and
 for the protection of the planet's fragile eco-system.



Social Work and Social Welfare in the Global Century

Though less visible than recent international political and economic
events, profound international social changes are also occurring as the
present century draws to a close.  These changes can be expected to have
at least as significant an impact on future world affairs as have recent
political and economic changes.  Indeed, because of their direct
consequences on the daily lives of people, contemporary social trends may
prove more long-lasting than those of either a political or economic
nature.  In either case, significant international social forces already
are at work that will profoundly alter patterns of human service delivery
in the next century (1).  

 1.  Worldwide population growth will continue to accelerate until the
     year 2025 at which time the global population is expected to
     stabilize at between 10-12 billion persons.

 2.  Ninety percent of worldwide population growth will continue to occur
     in the impoverished developing countries of Asia, Latin America, and
     Africa.

 3.  Current global demographic trends are expected to continue until at
     least the year 2025.  These trends will result in patterns that will
     have a profound impact on social provision worldwide: (a) population
     aging will remain the dominant feature in economically
     developed countries; and, (b) high fertility levels in combination
     with population aging will occur in developing countries.  In
     developing countries, this latter pattern will be eve more dominant
     in the poorest countries, i.e., in those that can least afford
     increasing numbers of age-dependent persons.

 4.  Dramatic increases are expected to continue in global urbanization
     patterns.  These trends will result in the emergence of: (a) larger
     numbers of "urban agglomerations" with populations greater than 10
     million persons; (b) further assaults on the quality of urban living;
     (c) comparative neglect and under-development of critical rural
     infrastructure, especially in developing countries; and (d) the
     further "ghetto-ization" of vulnerable populations in remote
     geographic areas where the human service infrastructure is likely to
     remain inadequate (e.g., the aged, dependent children, disabled
     persons, abandoned women, etc.) .

 5.  Enormous changes are expected to continue with respect to the nature,
     form, composition, and functions of families.  In the main, families
     of the 21st century are likely to be: (a) smaller; (b) more
     economically vulnerable; (c) characterized by weaker kinship and
     community ties; and, (d) to have diminished responsibility for the
     care, socialization, even "social control" of their young.

 6.  Population mobility--including that of refugees--is likely to remain
     high, esp. in response to deteriorating economic and or political
     conditions in deeply impoverished countries

 7.  Worldwide poverty, despite the major international initiatives of the
     last three decades, is likely to increase substantially and to become
     even more concentrated in the poorest countries of East and South
     Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and selected sub-regions of Latin America
     and the Caribbean

 8.  Within developing countries, the income and social opportunity gap
     between rich and poor sectors is likely widen in response to
     deteriorating economic conditions.  This trend, in turn, can be
     expected to contribute to increased social and political instabilities
     within the poorest countries, some of which may "spill over" into
     regional or international armed conflicts.

 9.  The number of persons infected with the HIV virus is expected to
     accelerate such that, by the year 2000, more than 40 million persons
     will have been infected; the majority of these persons will die from
     AIDS within five years of having been exposed to the virus.

 10. In addition to resulting in tens of millions of premature deaths, by
     the end of the present century millions more persons, especially age
     dependent children, will be left either homeless or without parents. 
     The social and fiscal crises that result from the global AIDS epidemic
     are likely to cause the collapse of many systems of care under the
     press for service on the part of people who, in the end, are likely
     to die.

 11. Other communicable diseases, including life-threatening diseases for
     which effective vaccines already exist, are expected to continue to
     take the lives of 40,000 children living in impoverished countries
     each and every day.

 12. The rate of drug abuse, while expected to slow by the end of the
     century, will continue to engulf large numbers of people.  The cost
     to human service systems for the care of drug-dependent persons is
     likely to drain resources from many systems for programs for urgently
     needed prevention services.

 13. Inter-group conflicts between religious, racial and ethnic
     minorities--owing to worsening economic and social conditions in some
     regions of the world--are likely to spread to other subregions. 
     Some of these conflicts are likely to grow into major international
     problems as well.

 14. The nature, meaning, and organization of work--owing to worldwide
     problems of unemployment and underemployment--will be restructured
     in the 21st century.

 15. Continuing assaults on the global environment are likely to produce
     new health and social challenges on a scale not currently anticipated
     (i.e., the incidence and prevalence of chronic and debilitating
     diseases resulting from exposure to toxins, ultra-violet radiation,
     global warming, etc.).

 16. In the presence of growing poverty, especially in the poorest
     countries, crime is likely to increase beyond the control capacity of
     existing policing authorities.

     Because of the far-reaching nature of these trends, social welfare
systems can be expected to confront a series of challenges unlike those
encountered in the past; comparatively few of our existing systems are
likely to prove adequate to the task.  As a result, governments are likely
to seek new approaches for dealing with the human services needs of the
next century.  The need for such approaches will be felt most acutely by
welfare leaders in those developing countries in which population growth
exceeds their capacity to satisfy even basic needs.  

     Ultimately, acting in cooperation with their governments, social
welfare specialists will need to give leadership to the development of new
public/private partnerships in the provision of human services.  These
partnerships will need to include both traditional providers of human
services as well as new actors in the welfare enterprise.  In general,
social welfare partnerships of the future will almost certainly reflect
significantly enlarged roles for "non-governmental organizations," business
and other commercial enterprises, community organizations, religious
institutions, volunteers, mutual aid societies, self-help groups, unions,
consumer protection associations, colleges and universities, in addition
to representatives of mass communications media.  Significantly expanded
systems of special support for families, family systems, and age-dependent
persons living outside of families will also need to be major components
of any reorganized social welfare system.

     The social work profession--because of its unique history, knowledge,
value, and skill base--is particularly qualified to provide leadership on
these critical international issues.  Certainly, social workers of the
future will continue to occupy significant national and international
leadership positions.  Their task, as was that of past generations, will
be to find innovative solutions to the social welfare problems that
confront their generation.  Subtitled "A Guide to Resources For a New
Century," this book is dedicated to those emerging social work leaders on
whose shoulders fall the
 responsibility of preparing for a new century.



Organization of This Volume

This volume attempts to address many of the most central issues that
confront social work educators as we prepare students for the professional
leadership roles in the next century.  The volume is far-reaching in its
orientation and, as such, attempts to deal with a broad range of issues
rooted in social work, social welfare, and social development.  The volume
is divided into seven parts and consists
 of 52 chapters.

     The four chapters of Part I focus on what is meant by the terms
"international," "internationalize," and "internationalization" in social
work education.  Chapter 2 identifies three models of international
education that can be used in social work education.  Chapter 3
discusses a variety of issues related to the degree, or intensity, with
which international content might be incorporated into the curricula of
various programs.  In Chapter 4, Dorothy van Soest discusses the
curriculum development possibilities associated with the adoption of
"peace" and "social justice" as the unifying concepts of social work
education.

     Part II offers a broad range of curricular suggestions for including
international content in each of social work's five sequence areas, i.e.,
social policy, social work research, social work practice, human behavior
and social environment, and social work with diverse populations. 
Chapters 5 and 6 describe particular models of teaching comparative social
policy and comparative social research, respectively. In Chapter 7, Lynne
Healy describes the essential features of practice educatio for
international social work; she illustrates these principles with the
example of practice education for managerial roles in international social
work.  Chapter 8 contains a rich assortment of international resource
materials related to the practice, human behavior and social environment,
and diverse
 populations sequences.

     Part III of the volume focuses on the international dimensions of
social work in specialized fields of practice (e.g., aging, child welfare,
community development, crime and delinquency, etc.).  Each of the 14
chapters contained in this part, identifies bibliographic, audio-visual,
and other international curriculum development materials that should be of
relevance to educators teaching in particular fields of social work
practice.  The chapters also contain the names and locations of national
and international social work, social welfare, and social development
organizations that are engaged in research, policy development, or the
provision of personal services in these specialized
 fields of practice. 

     Part IV contains five chapters and focuses on the international
dimensions of social work practice with particular population groups,
i.e., on services to children and youth, disabled persons, the poor,
refugees, and women.  A special commitment to these population groups is
shared by social workers all over the world; in all, these "special"
populations constitute more than 70 percent of the world's total population.

     Parts V and VI of the volume are very far-reaching.  The content of
the 24 chapters contained in these sections focus on a broad range of
issues of concern to social workers practicing in the international
community.  The topics covered by these chapters range from theoretical
discussions of what is meant by concepts such as "worlds of development"
and "North-South relations" to more practical considerations of the
implications for social work of such profound global problems as
population and development, AIDS, child survival, hunger, third-world
debt, and deforestation.  These discussions reflect the multi-disciplinary
and cross-sectoral nature of practice in international social
development.

     All of the resource chapters contained in Part VI were written by
undergraduate students; their essays reflect the urgency that they, and
others, feel regarding the need for more innovative approaches
to the profound social problems that affect all of humanity.  The idealism
that is sometimes expressed in these chapters is like that which sustains
social workers around the world in their efforts to resolve seemingly
unsolvable social injustices.

     Part VII contains a student's guide to career planning in
international social work.  In preparing the chapter, Ann Glusker drew
both on her international social work experiences and those of a career
planner and advisor to American and international students seeking
international human service
 careers.


                           RESOURCES RELATED TO
                             THE 21st CENTURY

Boulding, Kenneth. 1985. The World As a Total System. (Newbury Park CA:
Sage).

Brown, Lester R. 1992. State of the World, 1992. (New York: Norton).

Coates, J. E. and J. J. 1989. What Futurists Believe. (Bethesda MD: World
Future Society).

Estes, Richard J. 1988. Trends in World Social Development. (New York:
Praeger).

Estes, Richard J. 1992. At the Crossroads: Dilemmas in Development Toward
the Year 2000 and
 Beyond. (New York: Praeger).

Falk, Richard. 1972. This Endangered Planet: Prospects and Proposals for
Human Survival. (New
 York: Vintage Books).

Falk, Richard et al. 1982. Toward A Just World Order. (Boulder: Westview
Press).

Falk, Richard A. (Editor). 1992. Global Civilization. (New York: World
Order Models Project).

Ferrarotti, Franco. 1986. Five Scenarios for the Year 2000. (Greenwood
Press).

Henderson, Hazel. 1991. Paradigms in Progress: Life Beyond Economics.
(Indianapolis: Knowledge
 Systems).

Independent Commission on International Development Issues. 1981.
North-South: A Program for
 Survival. (Cambridge: MIT Press).

Irvin, Linda (Editor). 1991. Encyclopedia of Associations: International
Organizations. 25th Edition.
 (Detroit: Gale Research Inc.).

Kidder, Rushworth M. 1988. An Agenda for the 21st Century. (Cambridge MA:
MIT Press).

Korten, David C. 1990. Getting To the 21st Century: Voluntary Action and
the Global Agenda. (West
 Hartford CT: Kumarian Press).

Lorie, P. and S. Murray-Clark. 1989. History of the Future: A Chronology.
(New York: Doubleday).

Naisbitt, J. and P. Aburdene. 1990. Megatrends 2000: Ten Directions for
the 1990s. (Morrow).

Thomas, Daniel C. and Michael T. Klare (Editors). 1989. Peace and World
Order Studies: A Curriculum Guide. (Boulder: Westview Press).

World Commission on Environment and Development. 1987. Our Common Future.
(New York:
 Oxford University Press).


-------------------
(1) For a fuller discussion of the anticipated impact of these trends on
the future of social welfare see
 Estes, 1988; 1992).

-------------------
Excerpted from Richard J. Estes (1992) _Internationalizing Social Work
Education:  A Guide to Resources For a New Century_ (Philadelphia: 
University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work).

Permission is granted to disseinate this document so long as proper credit
has been given to the source.