The thematic issue of the ERIS Journal of Summer 2021 targets “Histories of Social Work”.

The journal’s issue contains nine academic texts from the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Austria, and Slovakia. The articles give an insight in the different and own traditions in these countries, from wich the diverse practice of social work is derived. My article takes a different stance and presents the history of ideas as a valuable perspective for social work science to advance the connectivity of the discipline’s knowledge base and improve its use for practice. I conclude that the use of existing knowledge is limited to guide practice under uncertainty because it lacks an independent momentum for profession-oriented decision-making. To close that gap, I identify the history of ideas of the profession as a valuable research perspective for social work research.

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