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The Origin of Social Work in Latin America: The Case of Chile and its Choice between European Influence and the U.S. Model (to 1925)
Authors
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Estefanía Palacios Pizarro
Boston College
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3496-6925
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Abstract
This article aims to provide a critical historical-comparative analysis of the foundational models of social work in Chile and the United States (US) up to 1925. This key year marks the creation of the first Latin American school of the discipline in Santiago, contrasting with the already diversified training network in the U.S. The central conceptual problem investigates the sociopolitical, cultural, and institutional factors explaining why Chile favored a European influence (the Belgian health-oriented model of René Sand) over the consolidated US models—Charity Organization Societies (COS) and Settlement Houses—despite the latter’s relevance. Additionally, it explores the causes for the asynchronous institutionalization and differing disciplinary development of social work between both regions by that date, considering contexts with comparable critical social issues.
The fundamental thesis posits that the Chilean choice responded to a complex constellation of contextual, ideological, and strategic factors. The argumentative development reconstructs U.S. professionalization (detailing its COS branch, focused on casework, and Settlements, oriented toward community reform); analyzes the inaugural Chilean model marked by its technical-sanitary orientation; and explores the determining factors for Chile’s option, such as the state hygienist project, the influence of Europeanized elites, and the coloniality of knowledge that prioritized European knowledge.
It is concluded that these divergent foundational choices generated profoundly differentiated professional trajectories: a pluralistic one linked to social reform in the
United States, versus a technical, state-led one oriented towards social control in Chile. These differences had lasting implications for the professional identity, disciplinary autonomy, and emancipatory potential of Latin American social work—legacies and tensions that continue to be subjects of critical debate and reflection within the regional
discipline.
Keywords:
social work , history of social work , professional models , Chile– United States , coloniality of knowledgeReferences
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