Retraining in Social Work for Arab Academic Women: Motivation and Integration into the Field

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been an increased rate of higher education among Arab women in Israel that has been accompanied by an increase in their integration into various forms of employment. However, the employability options of academic Arab women graduates are limited due to the under-development of employment zones in Arab localities in the periphery of Israel. This policy has led to persistent deterioration in the quality of jobs and a high prevalence of underemployment. To examine how these women cope with underemployment, the present study focused on Arab academic women retraining in social work. This qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with 27 graduate Arab women who have not found employment suitable for their original training. The article examined their motives to retrain in social work (intrinsic-extrinsic factors), learning process and integration into the field, their social-family context, and the way it determines their coping mechanism. The findings reveal their path of retraining in social work in their attempt to overcome barriers and factors such as culture, family, and employment opportunities that contribute to the selection of this coping mechanism that resulted in new employment trends among them and obtaining quality jobs.

The Specifics of Teaching Social Work at Universities in Arab Countries

“…As the findings of the study show, a number of aspects of the training of social workers, which are normative for Western universities, are poorly represented in the Arab countries. This observation is consistent with other researchers (Alkaabi et al, 2020;Al-Makhamreh et al, 2016;Mahajne & Meler, 2022;Sarhan & Tedam, 2020).…”

“…Nevertheless, the development of professional social work in Arab countries is closely related to globalization processes and the influence of Western educational standards. In Arab countries, Western-style professional associations are being created, such as the Jordan Association of Social Workers, which is designed to promote the training and education of social workers, the development of their abilities, social and practical professional skills and promote the activation of social work and social roles in Jordanian society in all areas of social work (Al-Makhamreh et al, 2016;Mahajne & Meler, 2022). The profession of a social worker is traditionally defined as providing services to improve life opportunities in pursuit of social justice for individuals, groups, communities, and society as a whole (Brown, 2020).…”

“…There is significantly less literature on teaching social work in Arab communities than about other countries. Still, there are many descriptions of the social problems that social workers have to work on within Arab communities (Mahajne & Meler, 2022;Sarhan & Tedam, 2020). First of all, a priority area of research is the relationship between social workers and clients of different nationalities in the Middle East countries (Sarhan et al, 2021).…”

“…Documentation is time-consuming, but it is an integral part of the professional work of a social worker, as it is necessary for the assessment of a client and the quality of service. Appropriate practices and documentation techniques should be an important part of university social workers' education (Mahajne & Meler, 2022;Sarhan & Tedam, 2020).…”

“…This is mainly true for female Palestinian social workers. Arab social workers learn strategies through social work training and from social workers who practice community service in Israel ed (Hardal-Zreik & Blit-Cohen, 2019;Mahajne & Meler, 2022).…”