‘I Respect You but I Am Not Willing to Be You’: Critical Reflections of Western Teaching of Social Work to Students in China—What Can be Learned Both Ways?

Abstract

Staff from a Western University annually travel to China to teach social work students at a Chinese University, providing a rich opportunity to share ideas and knowledge about values and practices in social work. One common point of tension that arises each year is how to teach critical reflection whilst considering differences between Eastern and Western ways of knowing and doing. This article is based on email conversations between one Australian lecturer and one Chinese student, containing their discussions on not just critical reflection but also of various key social work topics in China such as social worker’s salary, social work as a profession and using empathy. The student questioned social work in an authentic and practical manner; while the lecturer responded with examples and reflections as a role model of critical reflective thinking and practice in the Chinese context. While such letters of exchange only reflect the particular points of view of the lecturer and the student, much can still be learned about current issues and debates in both countries. The insights given raise many questions about the implications and benefits for sensitively teaching social work across East/West contexts whilst trying to develop anti-colonial social work educational approaches.

Supervision of Chinese social work students during field practice: Harmonising a student-focused, egalitarian approach with traditional teaching and learning

“…Similarly, some students felt more confused and were at a loss when they did not receive adequate guidance about professional development. This difficulty, viewed from both student and supervisor perspectives, may be a distinctive feature of social work education in China, where a significant number of students on a social work programme may initially have little commitment to a career in social work (Gallagher et al, 2019). The need to provide both emotional support and practical advice to aid students' professional development has been voiced in previous studies by both supervisors (Mo and O'Donoghue, 2019) and students (Chen et al, 2018).…”

“…First, poor recognition of social work as a profession and limited career prospects have discouraged young people in China from entering this emerging profession (Wu et al, 2016). Second, a significant proportion of students who study social work (about 70% according to Liu, 2013) do so to obtain a university degree and have no intention, at the point of admission to university, of becoming social workers (Gallagher et al, 2019). Third is a lack of educational and professional infrastructure, for example, an inadequate supply of social work educators with social work practice experience to supervise and teach professional practice (Li et al, 2012) and insufficient quality placements in social work agencies (Wang et al, 2019; Wu et al, 2016), required to develop their skills and knowledge for social work practice (Cai et al, 2018).…”