解決社會問題一直是社會工作者的重要使命，也是社會工作專業工作者在就業及服務過程中，所須面臨與處理的課題。因此，為了要讓實務工作能夠更貼近案主的需求，更能透過專業職能及服務計畫設計，增進個案及其家庭，乃至整個社會的福祉，有必要仔細瞭解台灣主要社會問題的現象、成因、類型，甚至是可行的解決方法等，此為本課程授課之主要目標及內涵。

Solving social problems has always been an important mission of social workers, and it is also an issue that social work professionals must face and deal with in the process of employment and service. Therefore, in order to make practical work closer to the needs of clients, and to enhance the well-being of clients, their families, and even society as a whole through professional functions and service plan design, it is necessary to carefully understand the phenomena, causes, types, and even feasible solutions to Taiwan's major social problems. This is the main goal and connotation of this course.

社會問題的本質是「社會的」，也是「問題的」，本課程從鉅視面思考，希望能協助學生懂得如何對台灣社會問題有「事實瞭解」，基於理論有「原因分析」，並且偏重社會工作部分「實際面對」。
課程看重結構性的社會問題，掌握這一點是進行社會問題認識和分析的第一個起點。本課程對於「社會問題」的部分有四個核心問題需要討論：第一，什麼是社會問題？第二，是什麼將一個問題變成「社會(性)問題」？第三，社會問題的成因是什麼？第四，針對社會問題，人們可以有何作為？社會工作則是著重在瞭解社會問題之後如何應用社會工作知能和方法於各個實務工作場域。
因此，培養學生敏銳觀察分析社會問題的能力及學習將之運用於社會工作實務上，是本課程的期許和目標。

The essence of social problems is "social" and "problematic." This course thinks from a macro perspective and hopes to help students understand how to have a "factual understanding" of Taiwan's social problems, conduct "cause analysis" based on theory, and focus on the "practical confrontation" part of social work.
The course focuses on structural social issues, and mastering this is the first starting point for understanding and analyzing social issues. There are four core issues that need to be discussed in the "Social Issues" part of this course: First, what are social issues? Second, what turns a problem into a "social (sexual) problem"? Third, what are the causes of social problems? Fourth, what can people do to address social problems? Social work focuses on how to apply social work knowledge and methods to various practical work fields after understanding social problems.
Therefore, it is the expectation and goal of this course to cultivate students' ability to keenly observe and analyze social problems and learn to apply them in social work practice.

彭懷真（2015）。社會問題。台北：洪葉。

Peng Huaizhen (2015). social issues. Taipei: Hongye.