Innovation, Justice, and Care: Emerging Trends in Social Work Research
A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2026 | Viewed by 100
Special Issue Editors
Interests: youth justice; criminal justice reform; teaching and learning sciences; mentoring sciences; miscarriages of justice
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The fields of social work and social welfare are at a critical juncture—rapid social change, widening inequities, and global challenges such as migration, climate disruption, mental health and public health crises are reshaping the contexts in which social workers practice. At the same time, new theoretical frameworks, innovative interventions, and cross-disciplinary collaborations are pushing the profession forward. Research at the intersection of social work, sociology, education, criminal justice reform, and social policy is generating fresh insights into the ways individuals, families, and communities can be supported, and how systems of care can be made more equitable and responsive.
This Special Issue, “Innovation, Justice, and Care: Emerging Trends in Social Work Research”, seeks to highlight cutting-edge research that reflects the evolving needs of the profession and the communities it serves. By bringing together empirical studies, theoretical contributions, and practice-based innovations, the Special Issue will provide a platform for scholarship that bridges theory and practice, advances justice-oriented approaches, and informs policy and pedagogy.
Suggested themes: Innovation in Practice and Policy; Justice, Equity, and Cultural Responsiveness; Theory to Impact; Intersections of Social Work and Sociology; Workforce Development and Social Work Education; Global and Comparative Perspectives; Emerging Issues.
Contributions should follow one of the three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper, or review) of the journal and address the topic of the Special Issue.
Dr. Karen Miner-Romanoff
Dr. Jessica Greenawalt
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- social work research
- sociology
- justice and care
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