Knowledge and competencies for social work with older peopleTomašević, Suzana (Avtor) Mali, Jana (Mentor) procedural competenciesmeta-competenciessocial work methodscommunicationsocial work rolescritical approachBased on the most recent data, by 2050, one in six people in the world will be older people, and by 2100, the projection is that 61% of the world population will be older people. Social work as a profession seeks answers to the needs of older people and endeavors to create a bridge between older people, services and the community in which they live. An overview of the relevant literature reveals a categorization of competencies as procedural, which relate to direct work with users, and meta-competencies that create the conditions for realizing procedural competencies. Social work competencies and methods should be viewed holistically—complementing and connecting with each other. Social workers should possess a complete knowledge base on how and why to apply a certain method and how, in terms of implementation, to present procedural competencies and meta-competencies. The goal of research in the doctoral dissertation is to identify the competencies of social workers in working with older people and the methods of working with older people, in order to define knowledge of social work with older people and to gain insight into the specific field of social work. In line with the research goal which encompasses three areas—competencies, knowledge and methods of social work—four topics are defined, and for each thesis, a research question is posed. The research was conducted in several phases: in the first phase, 24 interviews were held with social workers; this was followed by the collection and analysis of 15 individual plans; in the final phase, three focus groups were conducted. The contribution of the doctoral dissertation is seen in the importance of including older people in the process of creating new knowledge in social work with older people. The development of new knowledge and methods of work opportunities creates new lifelong learning programs that will contribute to the development of social worker competencies in working with older people.[S. Tomašević]20252026-05-05 09:00:06Doktorsko delo/naloga182240sl