Social work education in the Middle East and North Africa: Students’ perspectives at 13 universities in 10 countries

Abstract

Social work education in the Middle East and North Africa: Students' perspectives at 13 universities in 10 countries AbstractEfforts for improving social work education (SWE) in the Middle East and North Africa aim to address complex development issues. Using quantitative and qualitative approaches, this paper examines students' perceptions of SWE, surveying 810 students in 13 universities in 10 countries: Egypt,

Dementia care in gerontological social work: emerging issues and challenges in Saudi Arabia

“…Furthermore, social work education programs in the universities do not offer foundational courses to train students who want to focus on serving and caring for senior populations, particularly those with chronic illnesses like dementia. Furthermore, there are not enough graduate students specializing in gerontology and dementia care research in Saudi Arabia because there are not enough academic mentors in the field ( 34 ). To fill the urgent market demand for gerontological social workers and researchers, it is crucial to hire faculty members from other countries with expertise in geriatric social work while also intending to increase the number of faculty members with gerontological social work specialization in Saudi Arabia.…”

“…First, few public and private health/social institutions are eager to offer social work students internship opportunities due to the unfounded concern that they will interfere with these organizations’ principal missions and expose ethical misbehavior and negligence. The lack of field practicum programs in social work education programs that outline student and agency obligations, offer high-quality supervision, and establish a connection between theoretical knowledge, field practicum, and market needs complicates the situation ( 34 ). Development of field practicum programs in the social work education programs in Saudi Arabia that gives high priority to field practicum as part of the academic curriculum and addresses the issues related to field practicum education is significant to increase the number of trained and highly skilled gerontological social workers, including those who are specialized in providing care for older adults with dementia and their family caregivers.…”