This article deals with the conceptions/definitions of social work from a theoretical and historical perspective, taking into account its context and presuppositions. The objective is a critical analysis of the discursive enunciations about the social work profession without any evolutional or exhaustive aim. The research method was a bibliography consultation of recognized authors, as well as of professional organizations. The results show that there is a diversity of positions from functionalism and marxism and from social movements and institutional practice.
Social work; Social work definition; Reconceptualization
