International field training in social work education: beyond colonial divides

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of and need for a critical and global-oriented social work education on students' learning and developments in the context of international field training. The study uses mixed methods strategy of web survey, focus groups and document review of field reports. Participants in the study are social work students from social work programs in Norway and Sweden who have conducted their international field training in the Global South. The results of the study show that in order to obtain a critical and postcolonial understanding of global inequalities and the role of social work, students need to be truly prepared for international field training by critical and postcolonial knowledge, which will challenge many students' West-centric perspectives and facilitate them by a self-reflective positioning throughout their field training. The imagination of traveling to and 'learning about the others' should be then replaced by a move beyond 'us-and-them' divides in line with the ethical principles and values of social work.

Exploring subjective experiences of international social workers in Asia: Content analysis of Japanese field reports

“…In others, their activities had become detached from the local needs because they worked unilaterally. These findings suggest that international social workers must conduct reflective practice in cooperation with local stakeholders in the field, while understanding sociocultural differences and various communication styles (Jönsson & Flem, 2018; Okabe et al., 2017; Onuki, 2018; Thampi, 2017). This indicates that without these perspectives, a new colonized social work system curated by developed countries, including the imposition of the nation's own values, could be conducted in developing countries.…”

‘All social work takes place in a macro context’: The gap between international social work training and practice

“…Claiborne (2004) argues that one of the challenges for social workers seeking employment in NGOs is the lack of opportunities to gain educational practice experience in international social work. Results from this study suggest that generalist training should consider inclusion of macro skill development sorely missing from current social work curricula and thus limiting social work graduates' employability (Austin et al, 2016;Gingrich and Ansell, 2012;Jönsson and Flem, 2018;Kahn and Sussman, 2015;Netting et al, 2016;Reisch, 2016;Sims et al, 2014). Second, to address barriers to offering specialized international training such as funding limitations and additional demands on schools of social work, supplemental exposure to internationally focused skills and knowledge could be created by partnering with other faculties that provide these technical skills.…”

Rustad för morgondagen?

“…Hurley och Akin (2019) menar att nuvarande kritiska utbildningsinslag för socialarbetare misslyckas med att hantera vad de menar är skillnaden mellan att å ena sidan identifiera strukturella ojämlikheter och å andra sidan fatta beslut kring vad som bör göras i det faktiska mötet med klienter. På ett liknande sätt argumenterar Flem et al (2017) för nödvändigheten att överbrygga uppdelningen mellan utbildning och praxis genom att integrera globala och maktkritiska perspektiv i socialarbetares utbildning och färdighetsträning (se även Jönsson & Flem 2018, 2020. Att ge studenter tillgång till kritiska och radikala teoretiska perspektiv inom ramen för sin utbildning fyller en viktig funktion om socialt arbete ska kunna utvecklas till att bli den aktiva kraft för social förändring och rättvisa som den skulle kunna vara (se t.ex.…”