Analysis of competences and knowledge in attention to the dependence in Social Work in Spain

Abstract

The article presents the results of an investigation aimed at identifying, describing and analyzing the skills and knowledge in care of people in a situation of reliance that integrates higher education of degree in Social Work in Spain. The article presents a study of the universe of degrees in Social Work that is taught in 39 Spanish universities. This approach allows identifying the 32 university centers that integrate the subject of dependency in their curricular, analyzing the specific competences that establish each one of the subjects. Likewise, the 43 subjects related to dependency and the 216 specific competences have been identified and analyzed, through the teaching guides. The analysis of content has entailed the identification and final description of 93 competences integrated in typologies according to the professional functions. The results obtained allow to have a knowledge about the general coverage of the Degree in Social Work in Spain, the structure and teaching organization of the subjects linked directly to the dependency and the competences that establish the specific subjects of reliance relating them to the professional activity. From the analysis we can see, among other results, that most of the subjects of reliance identify very generic competences, the existence of evident divergences in the treatment of the teaching of the dependency in the different Spanish universities and the necessity of a greater adaptation/update. Of the teaching of the dependency to the professional needs and of the working environment.