History of National School Social Work Week
School social work is a specialized subdivision of the social work field, and its history is not complete without exploring how social work became a profession in the United States. Social work is itself rooted in charity, which grew out of the actions of various religious organizations. The first factual and organized works of charity date back to the fourth century, when Roman Emperor Constantine I endorsed Christianity.
With the support of the Roman Empire, the church established funeral societies, hospices, homes for the aged, orphanages, hospitals and shelters in the cities of ancient Rome. These continued into the 17th century, with the Christian church stepping in to provide relief and charitable activities on a large scale, as European governments at the time had no capacity for such ventures.
The Industrial Revolution shifted charitable activities from the responsibility of church and family to that of the state, leading to the creation of social welfare services and professional social workers. However, since poverty was the targeted social problem, early social work was still tied to charity work. The early 20th century broadened the scope of social work by adopting a more professional and scientific approach.
Around this period, from 1907 to 1908, school social work began in the United States. It started with teacher visits and involvement in improving student attendance and building strong home-school relationships. The “visiting teacher movement” grew in the 1920s when proponents saw the need to combat rising juvenile delinquency and social maladjustment.
The growing number of visiting teachers led to the creation of the National Association of Visiting Teachers, which later became the American Association of School Social Workers in 1945, and then the National Association of Social Workers in 1955. In 1994, the government included workers in the American Education Act. In July of that year, the School Social Work Association of America was founded by 64 school social workers across the United States.
