Policy Press

Internationalizing Social Work Education

Insights From Leading Figures Across the Globe

By Gurid Aga Askeland and Malcolm Payne

Published

Jul 5, 2017

Page count

224 pages

ISBN

978-1447328704

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Jul 5, 2017

Page count

224 pages

ISBN

978-1447335276

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Jul 5, 2017

Page count

224 pages

ISBN

978-1447335283

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
Internationalizing Social Work Education

Social work education has developed internationally over the past 50 years as part of wider processes of economic and cultural globalization. Diverse political and social events across the world have shaped social work and its education, leading to aims and methods that are shared and contested.

This book brings together, through 13 interviews and biographies, the lives, experiences and contributions of leading social work educators from Comoros, the Caribbean, India, Mexico, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom. Their receipt of IASSW’s Katherine Kendall Award recognized that they were at the forefront of establishing and securing social work education during this period of internationalization.

Exploring the aims and priorities of these leading social work educators, Askeland and Payne draw out a historical and contextual account of how social work education became widely adopted in different national and cultural environments. The Awardees’ diverse lives and professional experiences reveal the issues they faced, the paths they travelled and the prospects and threats confronting social work and its education more widely.

"I was struck by the importance for social work of challenging policy at national and international levels and also of seeking innovation in practice by asking ourselves continuously how social problems are addressed elsewhere. The text reminds us that social work can and should operate not only at the level of individual support, but across community and activist spheres and in statutory, non-governmental and grassroots organisations. What the book conveys perhaps most strikingly is the power of alliances between academia, practitioners and those who need protection, empowerment or support." The British Journal of Social Work

"This is an enthralling and stimulating read." Steve Rogowski, Professional Social Work Magazine

“Offers concrete examples of how knowledge from – and solidarity with – those seeking to further develop social work around the world ahs enabled social work to challenge ‘the way things are’ and to propose meaningful change.” Jem Price, University of Brighton, British Journal of Social Work

"This important book reminds social work education that it has a history, with its own heroes who spearheaded the international development of the profession through a commitment to social justice and academic rigour." Steve Myers, University of Salford

“The contributors to this book speak passionately and eloquently about the role of the social work profession and education providers from a myriad of contexts… the voices of the academics and practitioners contained within serve to remind us of the crucial role that social work can have and the complexities inherent in sharing knowledge across boundaries.” Critical and Radical Social Work

Gurid Aga Askeland is social work professor emerita at Diakonhjemmet University College, now VID Specialized University, Norway.

Malcolm Payne is a leading international social work writer and educator, with professorial roles at Manchester Metropolitan University and Kingston University, UK.

Part 1: International social work education: past and future

The changing contexts for international social work education

The awardees’ contribution reviewed

Issues for the future of international social work education

Part 2: International social work education: notable figures

Katherine A. Kendall (1910-2010): a brief biography

Armaity S. Desai, 1992

Herman D. Stein, 1994

Robin Huws Jones, 1996

Maria del Carmen Mendoza Rangel, 1998

Harriet Jakobsson, 2000

John Maxwell, 2002

Terry Hokenstad, 2004

Sven Hessle, 2006

Shulamit Ramon, 2008

Silvia M. Staub-Bernasconi, 2010

Lena Dominelli, 2012

Lynne Healy, 2014

Abye Tasse, 2016