This study attempts to cross-compare social work education, curriculum, research, fieldwork, and professional social work practices across India and Australia. It reviews the development of social work education along with its best practices in both these countries. In doing so, it aims to understand the policies related to social work and social welfare in both the countries. In India, the social work training began in the year 1936 whereas in Australia, it started in 1940 with its launch in the University of Sydney. In Australia, the professional association called Australian Association for Social Work (AASW) accredits course work authority while in India it is the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC). Social work education in Australian universities is generic and its aim is to produce graduates with a broad range of skills in a considerable range of practice settings. India offers both generic and specialised course works. Interestingly, to date, social work in none of the countries has a registration in compliance with any state or federal agency. However, self-regulation alongside continued professional development, and peer supervisions are encouraged and followed. In Australia, the practice standards are maintained by the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) who also regulate and guide curriculum development for social work programs in Australia. Fieldwork placement of social and community work students are dependent on the voluntary good will of the managers of social service agencies to support and resource.

Social work is contextual yet increasingly internationalized. The development of Global Agenda in 2012 by the IASSW, ICSW and IFSW gave educators and practitioners an opportunity to reflect on challenges of social work education and the profession in their respective countries. The current article discusses the key factors that confront and influence social work education and practice in the Asian region. The article brings out deep-rooted perceptions amongst educators in the region. The authors endeavour to present select views of social work educators from South Asian countries and suggest possible steps to realize the four goals of Global Agenda in the context of those countries.

Strengths-based approaches in social work have been introduced in the West in a number of social work settings including schools. As part of a research study, the authors investigated the overall reception of students, parents and school counsellors to a strengths-based approach in one-to-one counselling in a school setting. We have utilised a grounded theory approach, allowing the data to drive the research process and the findings to naturally emerge. As a result, the outcomes that unfolded at various stages in our research made us unpack the traditional core expectations of school social work, gaining an insight into the role and expectations of social work roles in a predominantly alien working population living in an Arab country. While the school social work literature is predominantly Western, school social work and its counselling component sit well within the cultures that we grappled with. Despite, this, we have cautiously considered the context of social work and the impacts of the application of strengths-based principles in nonWestern environments. Implications for improving student engagement within schools; scope of social work counselling in schools and further research that explores social work methodologies in culturally diverse contexts along with the limitations of this study are discussed in this article.

No abstract

The concept of patriarchy is prominent when we wish to capture the pervasiveness of gender inequality in south Asia. In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, women encounter patriarchy both in public and private domain of life and continue to have a lower social, economic and political status in comparison to men. Women are fifty three percent of national population and a great majority of them are living below the poverty line (Saeed, 2013). This paper is based on an empirical study of fifty two women living in seven women's shelters of the Punjab, Pakistan. The paper examines how poverty contributes to violent gender-power relations in Pakistani society and how patriarchal structure utilizes violence as a tool to control women and their sexuality, particularly in low income families. It also exposes women's resistance, resilience and coping strategies against poverty and violence. The paper raises concerns that are central to social work, including rights for women, poverty alleviation in faith based societies, while discussing resultant poverty. The analysis utilises select narratives.