Religion and spirituality as a core module in social work education in Nigeria: perspectives of social work educators

Abstract

Religion and spirituality are central to everyday life in Nigeria. Social work educators recognize that learning cannot be separated from the influence of context, including religion and spirituality. This study presents the first empirical inquiry into religion and spirituality in social work education in Nigeria. The qualitative study explored the inclusion of religion and spirituality on Nigerian social work programs from the viewpoints of social work educators; adopting phenomenological approach. Data from key informants' semi-structured interviews with 12 purposively sampled social work educators based at three Nigerian universities

Social work education in Nigeria and the search for enhanced local relevance: perspectives from social work academics

“…There is growing awareness and interest in the need for culturally relevant and sensitive social work research, education, teaching and practice (Forkuor et al, 2018;Spitzer, Twikireze & Wairere, 2014;Okoye, 2014). Scholars have described this type of social work as part of cultural competence (Sousa & Almeida, 2016); anti-oppressive social work (Dominelli, 2002); non-imperialist social work (Midgley, 1999); and spiritually-sensitive social work (Agbowodikeizu, Levy, Ekoh & Chukwu, 2022;Payne, 2011;Canda & Furman, 2010). Common to these scholars is their questioning of the relevance of the continued use of Western theories and methods to address non-Western social problems/challenges (Gray, 2016).…”