Constant changes and multiple pressures within the social and political, and technological environments and higher education challenge the fulfillment of the mission of social work. Such challenges pose as a threat, yet provide opportunity to explore the future and expand the vision. To learn lessons from the past history, this article reviews briefly the early history of social work education in the U.S, the development and the expansion of social work programs, and the characteristics of social work education demonstrated in curriculums. It also discusses briefly evaluative standards related to program assessment and the mission of field education. Field education is uniquely positioned between the academy and the community and has the opportunity, indeed the responsibility, to educate the students further enhance their practice skills suitable to diverse and complex human needs. In this article 10 tips for successful field education are suggested. Research has been an important element of social work since the inception of the profession. Through the history of social work there has been a gap between research and application of research findings to practice. This article examines sources of the gap from the historical perspectives and discusses the current trend that research in social work must be practice relevant. Evidence-based social work practice and internet-based education have emerged as the most powerful issues leading to the future direction. Evidence-based practice is a new paradigm that promotes more effective social work interventions by encouraging the conscientious and explicit use of the best available scientific evidence in professional decision-making. Pedagogically, evidence-based practice involves teaching students the values and skills they need to identify, critically appraise, and apply practice-relevant scientific evidence over the course of their professional careers. This article argues that interactivity and responsibility integral to internet-learning are significant capabilities that can facilitate the kind of students-centered learning in social work. Internet-based education is largely considered a positive and enabling experience by students and will continue to expand its influence over the course of social work education.