DEMOCRACY, CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK

The article begins with some reflections on the current situation of democracy and participation, marked by the systemic crisis in which we live. In the second part we deal with the relationships that exist between the profession and university training in social work, and between those and citizen participation programs run from social services. Professional social work practice in local services has reduced community development projects and participative projects, though, hopefully, the new Degree in Social Work reinstates these issues between the skills required future graduates. In a third section we try to define and differentiate the concepts that are often used when these topics: representative/participatory democracy and social/civic participation, ending with the description and analysis of the different levels and forms of participation that are re-produced in democratic societies.