Understanding Globalization through Short-Term International Field Experiences

Abstract

The process of globalization is contested terrain across the globe. Social work practice is affected by this process, since globalization has led to a widening of the gap between rich and poor and has increased the number of people living in poverty. Social workers must understand economic globalization in order to be able to contest its effects on our personal and professional lives. This article examines the process of economic globalization. It offers a case example of a short-term international field program, the Sin Fronteras Chile Project, which shows how social work education in the United States can help prepare social workers to be actors in a world affected by economic globalization. It also offers recommendations for strengthening undergraduate social work education, based on students' experiences with Sin Fronteras.

An Exploration of Human Rights and Social Work Education in the United States

“…Twenty-two of the 32 articles contains suggestions for how to integrate human rights into social work education (Acquaye & Crewe, 2012;Barbera, 2006;Chiarelli-Helminiak et al, 2018;Davis & Reber, 2016;Gammonley et al, 2013;Gardella, 2000;Hawkins & Knox, 2014;Hodge, 2007Hodge, , 2010Kaiser et al, 2015;Lewis et al, 2016;McPherson & Cheatham, 2015;McPherson & Mazza, 2014;Melekis & Woodhouse, 2015;Nesmith & Smyth, 2015;Patterson, 2004;Reichert, 2011b;Richards-Desai et al, 2018;Steen & Mathiesen, 2005;Steen et al, 2017;Witkin, 1994Witkin, , 1999. Many of the articles provided examples or case studies where a human rights integration model was used.…”

“…With field education designated as the signature pedagogy for social work, field placements also provide an ideal opportunity for students to contextualize their work at agencies through a human rights framework (Barbera, 2006;Davis & Reber, 2016;Lewis et al, 2016;Steen et al, 2017). In this context, students can hear of the experience of practicing social workers, gain professional skills, and begin to apply human rights concepts to practice settings.…”

Advancing Human Rights and Social and Economic Justice: Developing Competence in Field Education

“…Recent examples include helping BSW students use a human rights framework to understand female marriage immigrants in Taiwan (Chen et al 2013) and devising study abroad opportunities and international field experiences that focus on human rights in the host country (Barbera 2006). Gammonley et al (2013) described a violence-against-women delegation to Guatemala, in which BSW students Bimplement[ed] awareness campaigns, educational interventions, policy advocacy, and the documentation of human rights testimony^(p. 620).…”

Lessons from the First International Conference on Social Work

“…The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), in its 2001 standards, emphasized that students should ‘recognize the global context of social work practice’. The global nature of the profession is tied to globalization, which is itself a contested reality within social work (Barbera, 2006; Midgley, 2001; Sewpaul, 2006). At the same time, many would argue that it has, without a doubt, encouraged the internationalization of social work and social work education (Estes, 1992; Johnson, 2004; Midgley, 1990; Rotabi et al, 2007; Tesoriero and Rajaratnam, 2001).…”