Literature on teamwork

ABSTRACT

Teamwork is not a new topic in social work. In a bid to further advance the field, this paper has three aims: to identify the factors most relevant to the definition of teamwork in social work, to define a team in social work and propose a definition of teamwork in social work, and to provide a typology that accounts for important aspects of teamwork in social work. The focused review (relying on certain aspects of a scoping study and systematic review) of 84 papers revealed four main factors of relevance to the definition of teamwork and team in social work: size, composition, aim (purpose) and the role (participation) of users. Definitions are given of team and teamwork in social work that are in harmony with contemporary concepts of social work like a working relationship (co-creation). A typology entailing three of four identified important factors is proposed while four types of teamwork in social work are illustrated with examples from a small European country.

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