Social work
Social work is a discipline, profession and practice aimed at transforming oppressive social conditions and enhancing wellbeing and healthy relationships. Social work promotes human rights, social, economic, racial, gender and environmental justice and seeks to challenge the structural conditions that contribute to marginalisation and social exclusion. Social work engages with people and systems through public welfare institutions as well as voluntary and service users’ organisations. It develops research-based knowledge for sustainable welfare.

Social work education, practice and research draw from the ethical principles of social work.
Research profile

The discipline of social work at the University of Helsinki is a multilingual research environment for critical and creative research and pedagogy. It builds on national and international collaboration with universities and stakeholders in the Nordic countries and across the world.

A specific emphasis of the discipline is practice research which incorporates the development of social services, producing new knowledge and supporting robust academic teaching. Practice research produces knowledge and methodological skills that benefit society and have practical relevance for work in the social services sector by creating research processes that combine research, social work practical expertise and service user involvement and collaboration. Located within the discipline of social work at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki Practice Research Centre (HPRC) aims to produce practice relevant social work research together with various stakeholders and to support the use of research in practice.

Currently research in the discipline focuses on themes such as

  • the Finnish social and healthcare reform and its implementation
  • social work documentation
  • treatment barriers to social and health care services
  • social work with substance users
  • the provision of services for children, youth and families
  • mental health among youth
  • migration and families
  • intersectionality
  • multi-lingual practices in social work
  • anti-racist and decolonial social work
  • gerontological social work
  • financial social work
  • structural social work
  • urban social work
  • post-anthropocentric social work
  • arts-based approaches in social work practice, education and research.
Research projects

Below you can find a collection of ongoing research projects in which members of social work staff are currently doing research (all project researchers are listed together with their affiliations).

All research projects, including finished projects, can be found in the research portal. There you can also find information on publications and other activities.

  • AIKUMETOD - Aikuissosiaalityön menetelmien vaikuttavuus (2021–2022). Research group: Aalto, Anu (JY/KYC), Kivipelto, Minna (THL), Kuorelahti, Marianne (JY/KYC), Kuorikoski, Tuija (JY/KYC), PI Matthies, Aila-Leena (JY/KYC), Päivinen, Kaarina (JY/KYC), Turtiainen, Kati (JY/KYC), Viitasalo, Katri (HY). Funding: State Research Funding, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
  • GERIT - Gerontologinen sosiaalityö erityisen tuen tarpeisiin vastaamassa (2021–2022). Research group: Hirvonen, Jenna (UEF), Kinni, Riitta-Liisa (UEF), Korpelainen, Anne (LY), Niemi, Mia (HY), Pietilä, Ilkka (HY), Rossi, Eeva (LY), Ruotsalainen, Suvi (UEF), PI Seppänen, Marjaana (HY), Skaffari, Pia (LY), Soukiala, Tiina (HY), Tiilikainen, Elisa (UEF), Zechner, Minna (HY). Funding: State Research Funding, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
  • Lastensuojelu lapsen etuna? Lapsen hyvinvoinnin arviointi lastensuojelussa ja sen rajapinnoilla (2021–2022). Research group: Aaltio, Elina (Socca), Aarnio, Noora (TUNI), Heino, Eveliina (HY/TUNI), Jaakola, Anne-Mari (TUNI), Jäppinen, Maija (HY), Lamponen, Tuuli (TUNI), PI Pösö, Tarja (TUNI), Repo, Jenni (TUNI), Veistilä, Minna (TUNI). Funding: State Research Funding, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
  • Monikielisyys sosiaalityön tutkimuksessa [Multilingual social work research] (2020–). Research group: Heino, Eveliina (HY/TUNI), Jäppinen, Maija (HY), Kara, Hanna (HY/ÅAU), Söderström, Inka (HY). Funding: No external funding.
  • Nuoret Ajassa/Unga i tiden (2014–2023). Research group: PI Aapola-Kari, Sinikka (Nuorisotutkimusverkosto/HY), Armila, Päivi (UEF), Kiilakoski, Tomi (NTV), Kivijärvi, Antti (NTV/HY), Käyhkö, Mari (UEF), Pöysä, Ville (UEF), Tolonen, Tarja (HY), Vehkalahti, Kaisa (OY), Wrede-Jäntti, Matilda (HY), Lahtinen, Jenni (NTV). Funding: Ministry of Education and Culture.
  • MigraFam - Ordering the "Migrant Family": Power Asym­met­ries and Cit­izen­iz­a­tion in Re­struc­tur­ing Wel­fare Bur­eau­cra­cies (2017–2023). Jäppinen, Maija (HY), Kara, Hanna (HY/ÅA), PI Nordberg, Camilla (ÅA), Riitaoja, Anna-Leena (HY). Funding: Academy of Finland.
  • Interpreting in Social Services: Professional expertise in the multilingual landscape of welfare service work in Finland (2021–2022). Research group: Kara, Hanna (HY/ÅA), PI Nordberg, Camilla (ÅA). Funding: Högskolestiftelsen i Österbotten.
  • SOSKIELI - Monikielisyys ja kielellinen haavoittuvuus sosiaalityön digitalisoituvilla kentillä [Language diversity and vulnerability in social work in the era of digitalisation] (2022–2023). Research group: Granholm, Camilla (HY), Heino, Eveliina (HY/TUNI), Kara, Hanna (HY/ÅA), Kulmala, Meri (HY), Lassila, Anni-Mari (HY), PI Nordberg, Camilla (ÅA), Olakivi, Antero (HY). Funding: State Research Funding, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
  • SOSTYÖ-TERVA - Evidencing the Effectiveness of Health Social Work Assessment and Interventions (2021-2023). Research group: PI Janet Anand (UEF), Enkhjargal Batbaatar (UEF), Lynette Joubert (University of Melbourne), Maija Jäppinen (HY), Anna Metteri (TUNI), Tomi Mäki-Opas (UEF), Leena Männistö (HUS/Socca), Ulla-Maija Kauppinen-Perttula (TAYS), Sointu Riekkinen-Tuovinen (UEF), Sofia Rönkkö (UEF), Heli Tiirola (UEF). Funding: State Research Funding, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
  • SustAgeable - Economic and social sustainability across time and space in an ageing society (2021–2024). Research group: Maria Vaalavuo, Tuukka Holster, Timo Kauppinen, Joonas Ollonqvist, Paula Saikkonen, Jussi Tervola (THL); Ismo Linnosmaa, Mika Linden, Terhi Auvinen, Minna Kaarakainen, Mieke Rijken, Olli Salmensuu (UEF); Tiina Sihto, Minna Zechner (HY); Tomi Kyyrä, Teemu Lyytikäinen, Tuomas Matikka, Tuuli Paukkeri, Hanna Pesola, Sander Ramboer, Terhi Ravaska  (VATT); Ilari Ilmakunnas, Noora Järnefelt, Ohto Kanninen, Kati Kuitto, Aart-Jan Riekhoff  (ETK); Toni Juuti, Hannu Karhunen (Labore); Marjo Honkaranta, Anssi Kumpula, Kaisa Lähteenmäki-Smith, Iina Tunkkari (MDI). Funding: SRC/Academy of Finland.
  • Taide! Kaunokirjallisuus sosiaalityön opetuksessa [Art! The use of literary works of fiction in social work education] (2019–). Research group: Heino, Eveliina (HY/TUNI), Kara, Hanna (HY/ÅA), Tapola-Haapala, Maria (HY), Tarkiainen, Laura (TUNI). Funding: No external funding.
  • Taloussosiaalityö lapsiperheissä: Lapsiperheiden talousosaamisen ja taloudellisen toimintakyvyn vahvistaminen (2021–2023). Research group: PI Hakovirta, Mia (UTU), Kaittila, Anniina (UTU), Raijas, Anu (Suomen Pankki), Viitasalo, Katri (HY). Funding: State Research Funding, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
  • The Glocal Turn in Social Work: Theories, Practices and Writings in a Post-Anthropocentric World (2020–2023). Research group: Livholts, Mona (HY). Funding: No external funding.
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People

For more information about research and grant-funded researchers, see the University of Helsinki research portal.

Discipline coordinator: Senior University Lecturer Elina Virokannas
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00014 University of Helsinki

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