Optimistic but Confused: Perceptions about the Mission and Core Values of Social Work in Vietnam by Vietnamese Policy-makers, Social Work Faculty and Practitioners

In 2010, the Vietnamese government officially recognized social work as a profession. This study explores whether key stakeholders in the development of social work in Vietnam (i.e. policy-makers, pioneering educators, and practitioners) had reached a shared understanding about the mission and core values of Vietnamese social work by the end of 2015. An exploratory survey was conducted with 65 participants representing key stakeholders of social work in Vietnam. Participants had a shared but rather generic, at times vague, and overly optimistic view of the mission of Vietnamese social work as a “helping profession” that would be able to solve every social problem and present in all areas. There was a strong, unanimous desire for Vietnamese social work to focus on human dignity, social justice, and individuals’ rights, mixed with the preservation of Vietnam's collective, community-based culture under the central guiding role of the state.