• 

I had visited Greece in May 2019. It was a brief visit to Athens and Crete but helped me to map three Schools of Social Work:

GRE The Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Athens Department of Social Work   http://www.teiath.gr/seyp/socialwork/index.php?lang=en

GRE Democritus University of Thrace Department of Social Administration and Political Science   https://socadm.duth.gr/en/the-department/welcome/

GRE The Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Crete Department of Social Work   https://teicrete.gr/en/tke/10822

It was difficult to identify Schools for a number of reasons. I do not speak Greek and when I visited The Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Athens Department of Social Work, the building was closed, and I was unable to find any person in the area who was able to locate the department. I was more fortunate in Heraklion, Crete and connected with Gloria from the International Relations Office at The Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Crete. Gloria is a social worker and shared with me about new developments in social work education in Greece. The TEI in Crete was just abolished (May 2019) but a new university was founded in Heraklion:  Hellenic Mediterranean University. I will keep building connections and learning more about social work in Greece anf hope more partnership opportunities will be created between Canada and Greece Schools of Social Work.

Literature review helped me to learn more about social work education in Greece during the current crises of the welfare state. Social work is a relatively new profession in Greece.  The first school for the training of social workers in Greece commenced operation in 1937. However, it was not until 1959 that legislation was passed concerning the legal definition of social work. (Dedoussi, Gregory, Georgoussi, & Kyriopoulos, 2004).  Karagkounis (2017, 2019) from Democritus University of Thrace Department of Social Administration and Political Science provides a detailed overview of current challenges for social work education in Greece in the time of austerity. There are multiple articles of current concerns in social work education written by Papadaki from The TEI in Crete. The full list of reviewed literature can be found below.

Bibliography

Dedotsi, S., Young, A., & Broadhurst, K. (2016). Social work education in a time of national crisis in Greece: Educating the workforce to combat inequalities. European Journal of Social Work, 19(3-4), 368-384.

Dedoussi, A. A., Gregory, S., Georgoussi, E., & Kyriopoulos, J. (2004). Social workers in Greece: Who they are and where they work. International Social Work, 47(2), 259-274.

Georgoussi, E. (2003). Research note social workers in Greece: How they spend their working hours. European Journal of Social Work, 6(1), 65-71.

Ioakimidis, V., Santos, C. C., & Herrero, I. M. (2014). Reconceptualizing social work in times of crisis: An examination of the cases of Greece, Spain and Portugal. International Social Work, 57(4), 285-300.

Kandylaki, A. (2005). Social work practice in multicultural settings: A pilot study in Thrace, Greece: ‘Research Directions’ is an occasional series presenting initial findings from research in progress. For previous articles in the series, see SESP, vol. 5, nos 1 and 3. South European Society and Politics, 10(3), 433-451.

Karagkounis, V. (2017). Social work in Greece in the time of austerity: Challenges and prospects. European Journal of Social Work, 20(5), 651-665.

Karagkounis, V. (2019). Implications and challenges for social work education in Greece in the time of austerity. Social Work Education, 38(3), 330-346.

Koukouli, S., Papadaki, E., & Philalithis, A. (2008). Factors affecting the development of social work and its professionalisation process: the case of Greece. International journal of social welfare, 17(3), 216-224.

Papadaki, E., & Papadaki, V. (2008). Ethically difficult situations related to organizational conditions: Social workers’ experiences in Crete, Greece. Journal of Social Work, 8(2), 163-180.

Papadaki, E., Plotnikof, K., & Papadaki, V. (2012). Self-reported ageism in students and academic staff—the case of the Social Work Department in Crete, Greece. European Journal of Social Work, 15(5), 696-711.

Papadaki, V. (2001). Studying social work: choice or compromise? Students’ views in a social work school in Greece. Social Work Education, 20(1), 137-147.

Papadaki, V., & Nygren, L. (2006). ‘I’ll carry this experience with me throughout my studies and future career’: Practice tutorials and students’ views on social work in Iraklio, Greece. Social Work Education, 25(7), 710-722.

Papadaki, V., & Papadaki, E. (2006). Job satisfaction in social services in Crete, Greece: Social workers’ views. European Journal of Social Work, 9(4), 479-495.

Papadaki, V., Plotnikof, K., & Papadaki, E. (2013). Social work students’ attitudes towards lesbians and gay men: The case of the Social Work Department in Crete, Greece. Social Work Education, 32(4), 453-467.

Pentaraki, M. (2019). Practising social work in a context of austerity: Experiences of public sector social workers in Greece. European Journal of Social Work, 22(3), 376-387.

Symeonidou, H. (1996). Social protection in contemporary Greece. South European Society and Politics, 1(3), 67-86.