Social Work in Ghana: A Participatory Action Research Project Looking at Culturally Appropriate Training and Practice

Abstract

Social work emerged in the western world, particularly in the USA and the United Kingdom, at the turn of the twentieth century. Western social welfare systems were introduced to other countries through the colonial empires of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and social work training reflected these systems. However, many of these countries have revised their curricula to make them more culturally appropriate while others are still in this process. This article highlights issues concerning social work education and training in Ghana, West Africa through a Participatory Action Research project. Themes emerging concerning the present curriculum, the professional association and social work in Ghana are presented. Action plans instigated from this project are described, ending with a future challenge for social work in Africa.

From walls to homes: Child care reform and deinstitutionalisation in Ghana

“…telephones or transportation) or manpower to enable the identification and provision of support to families who need such services (Laird, 2008). A cap on the recruitment of social workers as a result of structural adjustment programmes means that only 1,315 2 social workers cater for 24 million people (Kreitzer, Abukari, Antonio, Mensah, & Affram, 2009). As a result, several districts in the country do not have the full complement of social workers (Laird, 2002).…”

Social work in Africa: exploring culturally relevant education and practice in Ghana

“…I also asked them to give their comments on the role of the queen mother in the group process for an article concerning the topic of social work and traditional authority (Kreitzer, 2004b). The article has now been published (Kreitzer et al, 2009).…”

“…We agreed that any member of the group who wanted to participate in writing an article about the research could do so. In 2009, an article was submitted and accepted for publication with multiple authors from the group Kreitzer et al, 2009).…”

“…At the end of ten months, action plans were initiated that have played an important part in changing certain aspects of social work education in Ghana. For more details of this project, see Kreitzer (2004a), and Kreitzer, Abukari, Antonio, Mensah & Kwaku (2009).…”

Ghanaian BSW Students' Perceptions of Poverty and Social Welfare Policies in Ghana

“…Unfortunately, due to the growing mass of people leaving rural areas to urban areas, growing incongruity between the human capital of the population and the economic and social development initiatives of the state, increasing decision-making imbalance between the GOG and non-government organizations, and the GOG's decreasing political and monetary support of the public social sector, these initiatives have largely failed to achieve what they were intended to do, decrease the rate of poverty and deprivation among millions of Ghanaians (Adema, Gray & Kahl, 2003;Armah, 2009;Aryeetey & Goldstein, 2000;Avendal, 2011;Kreitzer, Abukari, Antonio, Mensah, & Kwaku, 2009), increase the rate of health insurance coverage among Ghanaians (Sultan & Schrofer, 2008), and decrease gender disparities in the labor, educational, and government sectors of Ghana (Amu, 2006;Apt, 2007;Heintz, 2005; International Fund for Agricultural Development [IFAD], 2011; Kimani & Kombo, 2010;Owusu & Abdulai, 2009).…”