Abstract: There is an issue of “same language but different meanings” in both the academic and practice communities of social work in China. A comparative analysis of the concept of “social work” in a reference frame can deepen our understanding of the profession. The concepts of “big social work” and “small social work” not only refer to the differences in the size, content, and external boundaries of social work but also contain the artistic conception of differences in levels of professionalization between each other. Professional social work and non-professional social work reflect the diversity and complexity of social work in terms of knowledge, value, and skills, as well as the differences in the field of social work services. Social work as a practice method and social work as a profession, respectively, highlight their skill attributes and domain attributes. They are closely related to the external boundaries of the objects and content of social work. To use the term of “social work as a practice method” and “social work as a profession” may alleviate the conflict between the external boundaries of “big” and “small” social work in expression, as well as the contradiction between the advantages and disadvantages of “professional” and “non-professional” social work.

Key words: social work, connotation and extension, Society Work Department of the CPC Central Committee