The International Exchange Program

Abstract

This commentary presents personal reflections on the Social Work Leadership Enhancement Program in the Department of Social Work Services at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. The value of the program, not only for the participants from other countries, but also the value of the exposure of social workers from other countries to the department staff is recognized. The international influence is unequalled. How if affects and nurtures global social work thinking, its impact on those taking part in the program, as well as the ever-expanding influence of the program on a growing network of social workers is noted.

Strategies for critical reflection in international contexts for social work students

“…International sites enable immersion in another culture (Boyle et al, 1999), discovery of the self (Lam et al, 2007) and a new understanding of theory and practice that can be reintegrated in local realities (Cheung and Liu, 2004; Cornelius and Greif, 2005; Heron, 2005). Reflection is constant in international contexts (Cincotta et al, 2006; Tresario, 2006) and by physically positioning students in another country, outside of their local professional practice, they are exposed to and challenged by different ways of thinking and knowing (Fook, 2002). In the process, they learn to tolerate uncertainty, unravel personal assumptions and reinterpret reality.…”