Human rights and social justice in social work education: a critical realist comparative study of England and Spain

Abstract

The history of social work as a profession and academic discipline is inextricably linked with principles of human rights (HR) and social justice (SJ). The Global Standards for social work education promote HR and SJ as unifying themes, yet there is little understanding of how these themes are embedded in social work education in specific national contexts. This article, based on empirical research in England and Spain, explores social work educators' understandings of, and strategies used in learning and teaching about, HR and SJ. Using a critical realist framework, a web survey was followed by qualitative interviews with educators in each country to identify opportunities and challenges in stimulating students' theoretical understanding of HR and SJ, and their application in practice. Findings show that prevailing neoliberal ideology has pervaded social work in both countries (more strongly in England) placing pressure on social work educators to convey narrow understandings of HR and SJ and to adopt increasingly bureaucratic and distant relationships with students. Identifying a range of factors informing educators' understandings of HR and SJ, the research identifies spaces for strengthening the focus on HR and SJ in social work education. The article argues that while university-based social work education remains a fertile site for the deconstruction of neoliberal ideology that threatens the HR and SJ foundations of social work globally, social work and social work education require the development of a distinct, alternative, HR and SJ-based ideology.

Same game, same players, different fields: Social work and teacher education in crisis

“…Graduates of these programmes have been particularly effective in pursuing careers that place them in influential policymaking positions. This is borne out by our network mapping project, which as noted above shows that Teach First and Frontline are the most connected and therefore arguably the most influential organizations within their respective fields (Hanley et al, 2021). This serves to further consolidate the power of elite groups while also ensuring that these schemes continue to be favoured by the government of the day.…”

“…In this way they constitute a shared policy network, consisting of shared connections between individuals and organizations, but also (frequently overlapping) historical, personal and ideological connections. While education policy network connections have been explored for some time (Ball, 2008(Ball, , 2009, interest in the influence these connections have in social work is relatively more recent (Jones, 2019;Tunstill, 2019), and work exploring the shared network connections across these two professions remains particularly limited, with some notable exceptions (Purcell, 2020;Hanley et al, 2021). These network connections tend to privilege ideological compatibility and shared assumptions over professional experience or background, or even meaningful engagement with the subject professions (McGrath-Brookes et al, 2021).…”

“…A key rebuttal by critics of the network mapping we have previously been involved in (Hanley et al, 2021) has been to ask, in various ways, the essential question: What is so wrong with like-minded people and organizations coalescing around ideas and policy moves that stand to benefit people? This is often attended by claims that these ideas and moves are supported by evidence, which, as set out above, are at least questionable, if not downright spurious, alongside emotive appeals to the notion that those involved are motivated only by a desire to do the right thing by children and families.…”

Social Work Educators’ Perceptions of the Importance and Relevance of Environmental Social Work

“…The two fundamental values which are at the heart of the social work profession are human rights and social justice (Gilliomee & Lombard, 2020;Herrero & Charnley, 2019). It is believed that a third fundamental value has been added to what the social work professions should advocate for in the light of the definition of ESW, and that is environmental justice (Dominelli, 2014).…”

Sosyal Hi̇zmet Öğrenci̇leri̇ni̇n İnsan Haklari Eği̇ti̇mi̇ne Yöneli̇k Tutumlarinin İncelenmesi̇: Hacettepe Üni̇versi̇tesi̇ Örneği̇

“…Sosyal hizmet hem insan hakları eğitimini içeren hem de insan haklarının gerçekleştirilmesi ve korunmasında aktif bir biçimde faaliyet yürüten bir disiplindir. İnsan hakları ve sosyal adalet, sosyal hizmetin temel değerlerindendir (Herrero & Charnley, 2019). Sosyal hizmet alanında faaliyet yürüten uluslararası kuruluşlar, insan haklarını sosyal hizmet eğitimi ve uygulamasının tanım ve standartlarının temel bir parçası olarak kabul etmektedir (Gabel & Mapp, 2020) Katılımcıların tutum cümlelerine katılıp katılmadıklarını puanlamak için ölçekte 5'li likert tipi seçenekler hazırlanmıştır.…”