On May 30, 2026, the First Jiangsu Provincial Symposium on Professional Development of School Social Work was grandly held at the Suiyuan Campus of Nanjing Normal University. Hosted by Nanjing Normal University, co-organized by the Ginling College of Nanjing Normal University and the Professional Training Network for Family Education, and co-sponsored by the Jiangsu Sociological Society, the symposium attracted around 200 on-site delegates from provincial education administrative departments, primary and secondary schools, universities, social work institutions and social service sectors, with over 2,600 online viewers. Centered on the core theme “What School-Based Social Workers Can and Should Achieve in the Collaborative Education Ecosystem”, participants engaged in in-depth exchanges integrating theoretical ideas and practical experience.

The opening ceremony

It was presided over by Zhou Hong, the Party Secretary of Ginling College, Nanjing Normal University.

Zhang Lianhong, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Nanjing Normal University, delivered an address at the opening ceremony. He stated that school social work constitutes an indispensable professional force within the modern education governance system. Rather than a mere supplement to school moral education, school-based social workers act as a vital bond linking schools, families and communities for collaborative education, and serve as a key professional force to remedy deficiencies in campus mental health services and safeguard the sound growth of adolescents.

Xia Chundi, Deputy Director of the Institute of Moral Education and Mental Health Education at Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Educational Science and Deputy Director of the Special Working Group Office for the "Runxin (Heart Nurturing)" Initiative under the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, emphasized that school-based social workers serve as an indispensable "flexible connector" in the collaborative education mechanism integrating schools, families and communities. She put forward expectations from three dimensions: professional orientation, collaborative mindset and localized exploration, and called for solutions to practical challenges including post setup and professional supervision.

Expert Presentations

Five scholars delivered thematic presentations focusing on school-based social workers. Huang Chenxi from East China Normal University proposed that school-based social workers should function as a connecting node for collaborative education among schools, families and communities. Hua Juxiang from Nanjing Normal University pointed out that the sustainable development of school social work requires coordinated advancement of four pillars: policy guarantee, post setup, talent cultivation and supervision evaluation. Tong Wenying of Nanjing Normal University interpreted the core competency requirements for school-based social work posts. Yin Fei, also from Nanjing Normal University, elaborated practical pathways for introducing social workers and defining their roles. Shi Yan from Nanjing Xiaozhuang University put forward optimization strategies for school-community cooperation covering institutional mechanisms, cross-party coordination and resource integration.

Experience Sharing Session

During the experience sharing session, Sun Lijuan, Director of the Moral Education Division of Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Education, introduced the city’s comprehensive development of school-based social work, which originated in 2011 and was incorporated into local livelihood projects in 2024. She summarized the existing achievements and proposed three follow-up improvement initiatives to build a new collaborative education framework involving schools, families, government and communities. Huang Peili, Party Secretary of Suzhou Tianjiabing Experimental Junior High School — Jiangsu’s first pilot school for school-based social work — shared practical insights from a school administrator’s perspective. She noted that school-based social workers serve as a bridge in psychological intervention, support for disadvantaged students, family education guidance and campus conflict mediation, representing an internal driving force for schools’ collaborative education.

Roundtable Dialogue

In the roundtable dialogue, guests held discussions on “Daily Practice and Breakthroughs of School-Based Social Workers”. They addressed institutional barriers and practical challenges at the grassroots level, and finally reached a consensus on development featuring “administrative promotion, school leadership, professional empowerment and social collaboration”.

Project Launch

A certification and training program for senior school-based social workers was unveiled at the symposium. Tailored to frontline practical demands, the program offers multi-module courses and adopts immersive teaching combining theoretical lectures, case analysis, hands-on practice and professional supervision. It also establishes a full-cycle closed-loop system covering “academic guidance, professional training, talent pool registration, institutional assignment and whole-process supervision” to tackle pain points including disjointed talent training, lacking service standards and inadequate supervision coordination. Trainees who pass assessments will be admitted to the talent pool and receive supportive services such as job referrals and unified assignment by social work institutions, realizing integrated talent cultivation and employment.

Closing Remarks

At the closing ceremony, Zhou Hong, Party Secretary of Ginling College ,Nanjing Normal University, delivered a concluding speech. She clarified that school-based social workers hold independent professional value instead of acting as a makeshift fix for campus problems, and joint efforts from all parties are needed to scale up school-based social work from pilot projects to institutionalized, high-quality services. This symposium has built a professional exchange platform. Drawing on Suzhou’s practical experience and the newly launched training program, a complete talent development pathway has been formed. It will help continuously improve the school-based social work system and the collaborative education mechanism of schools, families and communities to protect adolescents’ growth, and provide a Jiangsu model for the high-quality development of school social work nationwide.