Focusing on what students really need to know, this book breaks down all of the key social work theory covered across a students' training, demystifying complex concepts by demonstrating their application to real-life practice.

It is essential that social work students have a clear grasp of the history and the evolution of social work practice and this classic text explores the fundamental questions: What is social work? How has social work been defined over the years? What does social work look like now? And what is to come?