Contextual social work and internationalizing social work education: Two sides of the same story?

Abstract

Social work is contextual; some may argue that there is a contradiction between advocating more internationalization in social work education and emphasizing the importance of contextual social work. This article starts with a review of some core concepts, followed by a discussion of results from an inquiry into social work around the world. The professors were asked to define and reflect upon the achievements, dilemmas and pitfalls related to the concepts of international, comparative and contextual social work. Together with some relevant literature, their reflections and understandings form the basis for this article.Findings: The discussion of findings concerns a discourse about how useful global principles, values and ethics may be in approaching dilemmas in social work practices. It is concluded that there is no contradiction between advocating more internationalization in social work education, while at the same time emphasizing the importance of contextual social work. More internationalization by use of comparative social work is very useful, though it is necessary to be aware of the pitfalls and reflect upon how social work ethics can be applied in different contexts.Applications: Having fellow students and scholars pose unexpected questions and representing new perspectives in the analysis of academic and professional issues is possible to do without diminishing the relevance of local research, education and practice, and will be productive for the learning process.

Rethinking ‘cultural competence’ in international social work

“…Context is not a new concept to social work, and there seems to be a consensus that 'good' social work is inevitably contextual (Lyngstad, 2012). Recently, the term 'contextinformed' was suggested (Roer-Strier and Sands, 2014) to describe an approach that takes into account the effects of history, politics, hegemonic power relations, oppression, globalization, and other conditions.…”

“…Contextuality refers to the diverse and changing realities of the local and global cultural, social and political environments, and to the ways in which context shapes people’s experiences and the meanings given to them. Context is not a new concept to social work, and there seems to be a consensus that ‘good’ social work is inevitably contextual (Lyngstad, 2012). Recently, the term ‘context-informed’ was suggested (Roer-Strier and Sands, 2014) to describe an approach that takes into account the effects of history, politics, hegemonic power relations, oppression, globalization, and other conditions.…”

Different Welfare System—Same Values? How Social Work Educators in Norway, Chile and Argentina Comprehend Core Social Work and Social Policy Issues

“…Within social work discourses, these questions must be related to core professional values like social justice, equality, diversity and human rights as well as commitment, empowerment and responsiveness. Concurrently, it is possible to argue that good social work must be contextual [10] and professional discretion at the local level is a necessary prerequisite to success. Thus, current discourses related to the controversial relationship between the central and local levels of decision making and how it might affect democratic ideals and professional social work as well as users of welfare services are some of the most interesting issues in contemporary social work discourses in the Nordic countries and elsewhere.…”

“…Therefore, they advocate more public responsibility in addressing welfare issues. The Norwegians refer to a well-established and successful welfare state, and prefer a comprehensive welfare state for the future, even though some political trends may indicate a downsizing of public responsibility 10 . This reveals a somewhat paradoxical situation: a small welfare state requests more public responsibility, while a big welfare state focuses a need to downsize the public sector.…”

International Encounters: Experiences of Visitors and Hosts in a Cross-Cultural Program

“…To alleviate that problem, Lyngstad (2012) proposed a gradual perspective, which relates to diversity as well as to similarities between the West and the East in an attempt to contend with the above criticism. According to this perspective, international research and field practice should be learned through "comparative social work," which "represents social work research, using comparative methodologies to analyze both differences and similarities between different contextsmostly between different countries" (p. 14).…”