Call for Submissions: SWSD 2026 Special Issue

Social Work Education: The International Journal

Harambee, for Sustainable Shared Futures: New Directions for Social Work, Education, and Social Development

Social Work Education: The International Journal invites delegates of the 2026 Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development (SWSD 2026) in Nairobi, Kenya, to submit their conference papers for consideration in a Special Issue highlighting the scholarly contributions of the conference.

The Special Issue will feature selected contributions presented and discussed at SWSD 2026 and will explore how social work education, research and practice can respond to pressing global challenges and contribute to sustainable, inclusive and rights-based futures.

Potential Topics

Contributions may address themes including:

• Reclaiming and reimagining social work practice
• Social work education, pedagogy and research
• Social work and families across the lifespan
• Social work and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Clinical social work, health and wellbeing
• Social work practice in the face of complex global challenges
• Social movements, political social work and building democratic societies
• Digital social work, technology and artificial intelligence

Key Dates

• Call for Abstracts: October–November 2026
• Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 November 2026
• Authors Notified: January 2027
• Full Manuscript Submission: 30 June 2027
• Reviews and Revised Manuscripts: October 2027–January 2028
• Final Manuscript Submission: February 2028
• Target Publication: October 2028

Submission

Interested SWSD 2026 delegates should submit:

• A 200-word abstract
• List of authors and affiliations
• A short biography of each author (maximum 100 words)

Submissions should be sent by email to swsd2026specialissue@gmail.com by 30 November 2026.

Selected authors will subsequently be invited to submit full manuscripts for double-blind peer review.

Authors should follow the formatting, referencing, ethical and word-count requirements of Social Work Education: The International Journal. Journal submission guidelines

For full details, including the complete list of topics, submission guidelines and information about the Guest Editors, please see the attached brochure.

Guest Editors

Prof. Antonio López Peláez
Executive Director, International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW)
Professor, National University of Distance Education, Spain

Prof. David Androff
Global Coordinator, SWSD 2026
Professor, Arizona State University, United States