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38 Int'l Soc. Work 5 (1995)

handle is hein.journals/intsocwk38 and id is 1 raw text is: Editorial At a recent social work social event I was approached by a colleague who wanted to talk about International Social Work. This colleague is a well- known and ardent supporter of the international component of our profes- sion and has contributed much to this area. His opening remarks were very positive about our journal and its progress; however, he added that he wanted me to hear some concerns that had recently been conveyed to him at, I believe, a meeting of other internationally oriented colleagues. The concerns that were being voiced about our journal related to the overall content of the articles of recent issues. It was suggested that, good as the last few volumes have been, overall the journal is becoming too 'academic' and 'theoretical'. In this way it seems to be less and less relevant for our colleagues in the 'front lines'. In the hustle and bustle of the social event I noted my friend's comments with little concern and moved on to other topics and other conversations. However, this type of conversational interchange has the uncomfortable habit of returning to mind. Without completing a quantitative distribution of articles submitted (a task our Editorial Policy Committee might under- take) there is no doubt that the observations my colleague reported are accurate. We clearly have many more articles submitted from academic sources than from line practitioners. It is not difficult to understand why. First, traditionally and perhaps unfortunately, ours has been a profession that is more skilled in verbal communication than in the written word. For example, our accustomed way of educating new colleagues for our profes- sion has been to devote close to half of the time in the 'practicum'. Much of our teaching of direct practice takes place through verbal interactions in either one-to-one supervision or through various types of group or team interaction. Our skills in working with people are highly dependent on our verbal abilities. Second, most of the situations in which our colleagues in direct practice function - situations of critical interest and importance to our readers - are highly demanding and highly focused. Thus the likelihood of our col- leagues being either willing or able to take the time and expend the effort of writing an article for a professional journal is remote. Third, it has long been my observation that many of our practising col- leagues around the world are not aware that what they are doing in their individual practice settings would be of considerable interest and relevance to many other parts of the world. On the other hand, for those of us in the world of academe, the situation International Social Work (SAGE, London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi), Vol. 38 (1995), 5-6.

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