The challenges in developing cross-national social work curricula

Abstract

Increasing expectations that social work education incorporate international perspectives and prepare graduates to work in cross-national contexts is resulting in schools of social work in different countries collaborating in curriculum development. This article reports on one such collaboration involving four Australian and four European schools of social work which struggled to develop elements of curriculum that could be used by all partners, and identifies issues that international collaborations need to take account of in the planning and implementing of shared curriculum.

Competencias de investigación en estudiantes y estudios Universitarios de Trabajo Social en España

“…En la línea de los hallazgos de Botija y Navarro (2015) esto ayudaría a comprender y mejorar la práctica, serviría además para teorizar, generalizar y extraer enseñanzas para poder compartirlas en diferentes planos y momentos. Coincidiendo con Crisp (2015), la sistematización permite reflexionar sobre el desarrollo de la práctica profesional y mejorar las experiencias de aprendizaje curricular en el Grado en Trabajo Social.…”

Teaching International Social Work in a Global Classroom

“…Increased global communication elucidates the similarities of social challenges faced by nations throughout the world and improves access, literacy, empathy, and responsibility internationally. Social work professionals are expected to be literate in the global interconnectedness of oppression, social and economic injustices, social welfare policy, and social service delivery, specifically between social work practice, social development, and empowerment (Hawkins & Knox, 2014;Crisp, 2015). As social work and social welfare models used in mainstream western countries represent only a subset of the large number of possible intervention strategies available to respond to the diverse needs of communities and societies, online technology, facilitated by faculty members via a "global classroom," provided a platform for social work students to explore the historical, environmental, cultural, religious, political and economic factors that impact social welfare policies and the delivery of human services in different regions of the world.…”

“…The cultural competence espoused by social workers is of paramount importance and, unsurprisingly, research evidence links improved skills for cross-cultural communication and enhancement of cultural competence with international social work education and placement (Nadan, 2017;Wehbi, 2009). International social work provides social workers the opportunity to broaden their "cultural horizons," and adoption of a constructivist view can lead to more ethical, anti-oppressive international social work (Wehbi, 2009;Crisp, 2015). Research data endorse necessity of, complexity of, and "global connections between social work practice, social development, and human empowerment," encouraging the adoption of a global citizenship framework and believing global issues are our problems here rather than their problems there (Hawkins & Knox, 2014, p.249).…”

The Sustainability of Public Social Services: A Qualitative Study

“…Various authors have drawn attention to the erosion and even collapse of the so-called welfare states due to changes in public social policies [9][10][11]. The problems generated by these measures cause welfare states to face high rates of poverty and inequality [12][13][14].…”