Higher education in social work has not had a long tradition in Slovakia. The beginnings of creating a separate field can be traced back to 1992, when an independent department of social work was established at the Faculty of Education of Comenius University in Bratislava. During further development in education, Slovakia followed its own specific path, especially because unlike other countries, it ignored the study of social work in the system of higher vocational education. The field of study was gradually formed at universities and colleges at various faculties, e.g. the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Health and Social Work. Interest in studying exceeded the capacity offered by public higher education institutions, and so social work education was gradually also provided at private universities. This made it possible for applicants who worked in the social sector, as well as those employed in sectors such as education, interior, justice, and even healthcare, to access studies. In all these places, it was possible to seek practical application and use the field’s orientation. Increased interest in studying, especially in the sector of public administration, was also supported by the Civil Service Act, which required second-cycle tertiary education for positions in state employment and posts in public-interest employment. It was required only as a level of education, not by field of expertise (unfortunately this requirement was also defined in occupational activity catalogs in the same way). This factor also contributed to the high number of social work graduates in Slovakia.

A concurrent feature of the acceleration in higher education was also the improvement of educational content, the establishment of minimum curriculum standards, the delineation of social work in relation to other social science disciplines, the refinement of social work theory, social work methods, and their application to concrete activities in social work practice. This process led to a significant strengthening of social work as an independent social science discipline and as an independent professional area of practice.

The high number of graduates and the gradual formation of the social work field required legislative prerequisites for carrying out specific activities in social work, which was partly achieved in the 2005 Social and Legal Protection Act, in which a requirement was set for completion of second-cycle university education in social work for practice in social-legal protection and social curatelles. This singular shift in the employment of social work graduates, however, did not address other professional positions of social workers. Moreover, there was no pressure from the professionals themselves, since Slovakia has so far lacked the activity of a professional organization of social workers. Likewise, the ministry of labour had not created a coherent lifelong learning system for social workers to ensure the gradual advancement of expertise and to create opportunities for specialization in this field.

Based on these circumstances, a platform for discussion was gradually created between the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter only MPSVR SR) and educators in social work, who perceived the need to ensure competence for the performance of social work activities by experts—professionals who are graduates of social work. The first discussions were held under the auspices of MPSVR SR in 2011, and a significant step was the adoption of the statement “Ensure the creation of conditions for the professionalization of social work” in the Program Statement of the Government of the Slovak Republic in 2012. In doing so, a political will was also presented to carry out substantial changes in the employment of social workers in the labour market, to strengthen the status of the social worker, to create conditions for lifelong learning and professional advancement, and at the same time to create a professional organization on the principle of a professional chamber.

These efforts were completed by the adoption on 9.7.2014 by the National Council of the Slovak Republic of the law titled: “The Act on Social Work and on the conditions for the exercise of certain professional activities in the field of social affairs and family” (hereinafter referred to as the SP Act).

In what concrete ways can we see positive changes and what does the adoption of this law bring? First of all, it defines the conditions for the exercise of social work within professional competence, which means that social work can be practiced by a graduate of social work with completed second-cycle university education (while respecting the principle of non-retroactivity, which in practice means that graduates who perform social work activities and have completed second-cycle university education in a different field of study may continue to perform this work, but cannot use the professional title “social worker”). Graduates of first-cycle university study in social work become social work assistants. The SP Act also allows social work activities to be carried out through independent social work practice, while permission to carry out this activity is issued by the chamber of social workers after the statutory conditions have been met.

The SP Act also creates space for lifelong learning through completion of an accredited specialized educational program that will be established for the relevant specialized field of social work. The set of these specialized fields of social work will be established by decree of the Government of the Slovak Republic. Lifelong learning also includes education for the performance of certain “advanced professional activities” in the field of social affairs and family; eligibility for these advanced professional activities will be conditioned on completion of the relevant accredited educational program. The accreditation commission of MPSVR SR, which will be appointed by the minister, will supervise the quality of education programs with regard to content, teaching team, professional guarantor, and technical conditions for education.

In its second part, the SP Act deals with the establishment of the chamber of social workers as a professional organization. The chamber is a legal entity that brings together social workers and social work assistants on a voluntary basis. Membership in the chamber is voluntary; conditions are professional competence for the practice of social work, actual performance of social work and an application for registration in the chamber. The chamber may grant a natural person the status of guest member or honorary member. The bodies of the chamber are the chamber assembly as the supreme body, the chamber board, the chamber supervisory board, the professional council, and the chamber disciplinary board. A guest member may also be a member of the chamber’s professional council, but cannot be elected as chair or vice-chair of the professional council. The professional council, among other things, issues the ethical code, recommends and supports the improvement of continuous education in social work, submits a proposal to initiate disciplinary proceedings against a chamber member, and proposes representatives of the chamber to the MPSVR SR accreditation commission for the field of education. The chamber, among other things, protects the interests and rights of its members, keeps its membership register, issues permits for independent social work practice, issues opinions on ethical questions concerning the practice of social work, and acts in matters of proposals, initiatives and complaints of its members. In this part, the SP Act also delineates through transitional and final provisions the procedure for starting chamber activity and setting up a preparatory committee and member base. The chamber of social workers is therefore a reality; the long-standing aspirations and expectations of many social workers have been fulfilled, who had a natural need to identify with their profession through an estate organization.

The adoption of the SP Act is an important milestone in securing the professionalism of social workers and a major shift in affirming social work as a separate profession and social science discipline. It should be understood that for the initiators of the law, experts from practice, and educators in social work, space is being created for essential cooperation. We have the chance to give the field of study and profession of social work, at the same time, legitimate standing within social science disciplines both in theory and especially in professional practice. It would be very unfortunate if this opportunity in mutual cooperation among the stakeholders were not used.

Author: prof. PaedDr. Milan Schavel, PhD. The author works as a university lecturer at Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety v Bratislave