Summary
This international study is comprised of eight chapters.  Chapter 1 sets out to define and explain the international context of CPD.  It looks in particular at its emergence within social work and considers the implications for social work education and practice in a number of countries across the world.  Chapter 2 sets CPD within contemporary international debates about social work education.  Chapter 3 analyses the results of a national study of Irish social workers in the context of their expressed needs for CPD and preferences in terms of course choices, ranging from popular therapeutic and counselling, through significant interest in management and administration down to empowerment and social justice, which is very much a minority interest.  The important contextual issue of barriers to participation is taken up in chapter 4, where the opinions of practitioners and managers are represented. Chapter 5 explores the complex issue of supervision, which is much the most common experience of CPD for social work practitioners, but maybe does not always meet the professed needs of the supervisee.  The relationship between learning and reflection is addressed in chapter 6 as an overarching theme.  Chapter 7 to considerations of the wider policy and epistemological issues that frame CPD.  Finally, chapter 8 maps out the futurescapes of social work practice. The book sets out to make a valuable and challenging contribution to the debate about CPD in social work.