The Professionalization and Contemporary Landscape of Social Work in Iran

The Professionalization and Contemporary Landscape of Social Work in Iran: An Analysis Based on the Iranian Social Workers Media Perspective

Introduction

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the social work profession in Iran, synthesizing information available from the English-language website of the Iranian Social Workers Media (ISW).1 The objective is to transform disparate facts and data points into a coherent, expert-level document that outlines the profession’s historical trajectory, its contemporary scope, the role of a key organizational voice, and its future challenges. The analysis is structured to reveal deeper insights and thematic connections that extend beyond a simple restatement of the source material.

All content and analysis in this report are derived exclusively from the provided research sources, which are based on a single organizational entity’s perspective. The findings, therefore, reflect the viewpoint and priorities of the Iranian Social Workers Media, which is a crucial point of context for all subsequent discussions. This perspective offers a unique and valuable lens through which to examine the profession’s development and its current state.

Historical Foundations and Academic Evolution of Social Work in Iran

The history of social work in Iran is presented as a deliberate and structured process initiated by a singular visionary individual. The pivotal role of Sattareh Farmanfarmaian, a social worker with experience from the United Nations, is foundational to the profession’s development. In 1958, Farmanfarmaian established the first social work school in Tehran with a cohort of 20 students.1 The initial program was pragmatic and functional, offering a two-year training course that emphasized a balance between theoretical instruction and essential fieldwork. This dual focus on academic learning and practical application from the very outset established a robust educational foundation for the discipline.1

The school’s rapid growth and formalization demonstrate the early recognition of social work’s importance within the national landscape. Just two years after its founding, the institution gained international recognition by becoming a member of the International Organization of Social Work Schools in 1960.1 The program quickly expanded its academic offerings, extending the training into a four-year Bachelor’s degree within seven years. This was followed by the introduction of a Master’s degree course in 1970 for social workers seeking to pursue further studies.1 This chronological expansion reflects a clear trajectory of professional maturation and academic deepening. Following the revolution in Iran, institutional continuity was maintained through the merger of various educational institutes into a single entity called Allameh Tabatabaeie.1 Subsequently, in 1992, in direct response to a “significant demand for trained social workers,” the government founded the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences.1 This historical arc culminates with the current state of the profession, where numerous public and private universities across Iran train social workers at different degree levels, suggesting that social work has become a deeply integrated and widespread academic discipline within the country’s higher education system.1

The history, as presented, details a transition from a pioneering, individual-led initiative to a fully institutionalized, academic-centric model. The profession’s growth was consistently driven by educational institutions, often with government support, such as the establishment of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences. This top-down, academically-focused model is foundational to understanding the contemporary landscape. The profession’s historical reliance on universities and state entities for its growth provides a crucial backdrop for the current call for an independent, self-governing professional body. The “unfinished” aspect of the profession’s development, a theme explicitly mentioned by the source, does not refer to a lack of training or a weak academic base; rather, it speaks to the absence of the final, critical component of professional autonomy. The profession has a strong academic foundation but lacks the separate, independent self-governance that is a hallmark of a fully professionalized discipline.

A chronological overview of the profession’s institutional development is presented in the following table.

Year	Event	Significance
1958	First social work school established in Tehran by Sattareh Farmanfarmaian.	This event marks the official beginning of social work as a formal discipline in Iran.
1960	The school becomes a member of the International Organization of Social Work Schools.	Gaining international recognition validates the program’s quality and standards.
1965	The two-year training course is expanded into a four-year Bachelor’s degree.	This change signifies the profession’s academic maturation and increasing rigor.
1970	A Master’s degree course is introduced.	This milestone indicates a deepening of the academic curriculum, allowing for advanced professional studies.
Post-Revolution	Social work educational institutes are merged into Allameh Tabatabaeie.	This move ensured institutional continuity and consolidation of educational resources.
1992	The University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences is founded.	This government-funded establishment was a direct response to a high demand for trained social workers, further cementing the profession’s institutional standing.

The Scope of Practice: Roles and Functions of Professional Social Workers

The roles of professional social workers in Iran are presented as both extensive and highly specialized, engaging with a wide range of social issues and populations.1 A central and repeatedly emphasized area of focus is addiction, which is described as a “social problem with global scope”.1 The specific mention of “The role of social workers in individual support with recovered addicts” highlights a practical, direct-intervention approach, suggesting that the profession is deeply involved in micro-level, one-on-one therapeutic and support work.1 The statement, “Today human being needs to be supported more by the social workers,” contextualizes this focus within a broader sense of increasing societal need for professional intervention.1 This particular emphasis on a singular issue like addiction suggests it is not merely one item on a list, but a major contemporary social problem that is a focal point for the profession.

Beyond this specific focus, the report details a vast and diverse scope of professional application, indicating that social work in Iran is not confined to a single domain but is actively engaged in a multi-faceted approach to societal challenges.1 The explicit list of specialized fields reveals a profession with a dual nature, encompassing both broad, community-level roles and highly specific, individual-focused ones. This comprehensive list includes:

• Health-Related: Clinical, psychiatric, pediatric, medical, hospice & palliative care social work.
• Justice and Public Service: Forensic (criminal justice), military, and school social work.
• Community and Social Development: Work in the industrial sector, child labor reduction, and with homeless populations.

The presence of both macro-level engagements, such as reducing child labor, and micro-level interventions, such as hospice and palliative care, demonstrates the maturity and versatility of the profession. This dual model of practice—addressing systemic social issues while also providing detailed, specialized, one-on-one support—is a key hallmark of a developed social work discipline. The information provided by the ISW seems to value both the big-picture societal impact and the one-on-one professional support, reflecting the comprehensive nature of the field.

A systematic categorization of the diverse fields of social work practice is provided in the following table.

Field of Practice	Description/Focus	Categorization
Clinical	Provides counseling and support in clinical settings.	Healthcare
Gerontological	Focuses on the needs of the elderly population.	Healthcare/Community
Psychiatric	Works with individuals with mental health issues.	Healthcare
Pediatric	Supports children and their families in medical settings.	Healthcare
Medical	Provides assistance and counseling in hospitals and medical centers.	Healthcare
Hospice & Palliative Care	Offers support to terminally ill patients and their families.	Healthcare
Military	Addresses the unique challenges of military personnel and their families.	Public Service
Forensic (Criminal Justice)	Operates within the criminal justice system to support offenders and victims.	Justice
School Social Work	Supports students, teachers, and parents in educational environments.	Education
Industrial Sector	Addresses workplace issues and employee well-being.	Community/Labor
Child Labor Reduction	Works to combat and reduce the prevalence of child labor.	Community/Advocacy
Homeless People	Provides services and support to homeless populations.	Community

The Institutional Voice: The Role and Activities of the Iranian Social Workers Media (ISW)

A critical distinction must be made between the social work profession in Iran and the organization that serves as its institutional voice. The Iranian Social Workers Media (ISW) is not a professional association but a media entity with a clear and distinct mission: to “promote the essence of social justice and community support”.1 Its organizational structure is defined by three subsets: ISW Announcements, ISW Virtual Magazine, and the ISW English website. A key defining characteristic of this organization is its explicit independence from both governmental and non-governmental organizations, a position it claims allows its content to remain focused on the “real issues social workers face without external pressures or biases”.1

The ISW has developed a unique and innovative strategy for disseminating its content. Beyond its digital presence, the content of its English website is “annually published as a book,” a practice it claims is unique globally.1 Over a decade, it has published six such books, titled “The Book of the Year,” which are rooted in “real-world media campaigns”.1 This act of converting ephemeral digital content into a permanent, physical format is a deliberate strategy to solidify its message and broaden its reach, inviting international collaboration.1 This is a powerful act of legitimation. While digital media is transient, a physical book possesses permanence and scholarly weight. This move is a strategic attempt to elevate the ISW’s content from a mere blog or news site to a citable, academic resource, thereby solidifying its status as a serious and authoritative voice in the professional community.

This model demonstrates that the ISW is not merely a passive reporting entity; it is a strategic actor. Its independence allows it to function as an independent professional voice and advocate. Its mission to promote social justice and focus on “real issues” indicates a clear advocacy role, manifested through “real-world media campaigns”.1 The organization’s activities are linked to key figures, such as Dr. Javad Taleshchi Yekta, founder of Iran’s Resilience Media, which places the ISW’s work within a wider media and research ecosystem.1 The ISW sees itself not as a passive observer, but as a change agent, building its authority and influence by creating a direct line of communication for its professional agenda.

The Future of the Profession: The Call for Unified Governance

A central and forward-looking element of the profession’s contemporary landscape is the explicitly stated need for a new model of professional governance.1 The ISW’s public advocacy for this change is a key finding that connects the profession’s historical trajectory to its current state. The overarching theme is the “unfinished professionalization” of social work in Iran.1

The proposed solution is the establishment of an “overarching and independent body” to govern the profession. This body, the proposal specifies, must “respect the autonomy of different professional groups”.1 This nuanced approach suggests a desire to create a unified professional authority without stifling the diverse, specialized fields of practice mentioned in a previous section of this report. The proposal signifies a fundamental move toward professional self-regulation, a common and critical stage in the maturation of a discipline. It seeks to formalize the profession’s authority and standards outside of a purely academic or state-sanctioned framework.

This proposal represents a direct and natural evolution from the profession’s academically-driven historical foundation. As detailed in the historical section, the profession was built from the ground up by academic institutions, many of which were government-funded or sanctioned. The contemporary call for an “independent” governance body represents a desire to shift authority from these academic and state-sponsored entities to a self-governing professional body. This is a crucial tension that underpins the current state of social work in Iran, and it addresses the historical lack of a self-governing body, thereby completing the “professionalization” process.

Given the ISW’s mission, its independence, and its clear advocacy role, it is highly probable that the call for this new governance model is a central pillar of its media campaigns. The organization’s focus on “real issues” and its unique method of disseminating its content suggest it is not merely reporting on this idea but actively advocating for it. The ISW positions itself as a key voice in the “unfinished professionalization” of the field, filling the vacuum for an independent professional voice until such a body is formally established. The ISW, therefore, functions as a catalyst for this change, aiming to steer the profession toward greater autonomy and self-regulation.

Conclusion

The analysis of the social work profession in Iran, based on the perspective of the Iranian Social Workers Media, reveals a discipline that has undergone a rapid and deliberate institutionalization, moving from a single pioneering individual to a widespread, academically grounded field. This historical trajectory, however, has laid the groundwork for a key contemporary tension: the relationship between the profession’s academic and state-centric origins and its current push for professional autonomy.

The scope of social work practice is shown to be both broad and highly specialized, engaging in a dual model of macro-level community interventions and micro-level individual support. The consistent and specific emphasis on addiction highlights its particular significance as a major, contemporary social issue that the profession has identified as a focal point.

Finally, the Iranian Social Workers Media emerges as a significant and strategic actor in this ongoing professionalization process. It is a media organization that has deliberately positioned itself as an independent advocate for the profession. Through its unique strategy of transforming its digital content into a permanent, physical format, the ISW has sought to legitimize its professional voice and build authority, all while actively championing the need for a new, independent governance body. The ISW, in its unique capacity, is a powerful catalyst for change, acting as a de facto advocate for the profession’s future governance and autonomy, a final and crucial step in its continued maturation.

Iranian Social Workers,، https://en.iraniansocialworkers.ir