Core Competencies of Digital Social Work in China: Essential Elements and Development Strategies

The digital transformation of contemporary social work has become an irreversible trend; however, the development of core competencies among digital social workers still lacks systematic theoretical foundations. Based on an examination of the current conditions and challenges of digital social work capacity development in China, this study builds upon and extends classical competency perspectives in social work and develops a three-dimensional framework of digital social work competencies encompassing values, knowledge, and digital skills. At the level of core values, three key principles—digital justice, digital subjectivity, and digital collaboration—should be cultivated to facilitate the contextual adaptation and critical engagement of traditional social work values within digital environments. At the level of core knowledge, digital social workers should acquire professional knowledge in three areas: human behavior in the digital age, digital environments, and social work practice in digital contexts, thereby developing a critical understanding of the socio-technical nature of digital society. At the level of core skills, digital social workers should develop four capabilities: digital profiling, digital modeling, digital empowerment, and digital advocacy, forming an integrated practice cycle of assessment, planning, intervention, and advocacy. These competencies should follow an internal logic in which values provide guidance, knowledge serves as the foundation, and digital skills enable practical implementation. Based on this competency framework, the study proposes that future development should involve coordinated efforts among professional education, vocational training, and policy support to cultivate value orientations and knowledge systems, strengthen the integration of digital skills with professional values, and improve institutional mechanisms for competency development. Through innovation in local practice, social work theories and practices of professional competency development should be further advanced, ultimately contributing to the formation of a Chinese-contextualized knowledge system for digital social work.