Exploring social capital as a strategy for social work practice in China: A qualitative inquiry

This qualitative study explores social capital strategies employed by social workers in Guangzhou, China, focusing on Social Work Service Stations. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 social workers, and an analysis of 101 evaluation reports from 14 Social Work Service Stations, two key strategies—associativity and mobilization are explored. This study highlights three themes: strengthening bonding networks, broadening bridging networks and mobilizing resources in response to service users’ needs. The findings contribute to social work practice by providing a framework that integrates these strategies, offering practical insights for social workers to enhance frontline services in the Chinese context.