The art of not-knowing: Valuing diversity and intercultural competences in international social work education

The article focuses on how international social work education can enable students to become culturally competent social workers. It follows the idea that the vital aspect of internationalizing social work education is not about structural prerequisites. Rather, it is in the specific role of intercultural perspectives and how these perspectives can be integrated into structural frameworks for internationalizing social work education. It is highlighted that the acceptance of not-knowing and not-understanding provides the basis of cultural awareness or global mindedness. Therefore, a model for the development of intercultural competence in social work is presented.

Formulating and teaching a course in international social work: Some curriculum and pedagogical insights from the Indian context

This article engages with International Social Work education. The subject is new, and in many countries, especially in India, content for teaching has only begun to be formulated. While many attempts are being made across the world to provide international social work with a sound theoretical base, these efforts are only beginning to take shape in India. This article traverses the thinking, experience, and insights of a social work educator who has engaged in such a process – the development and teaching of a course on international social work for postgraduate students of an institute in Mumbai.

Mapping Social Work Field Education in the 21st Century: A National Survey of the Australian Context

Field education is a key curriculum component in social work programmes and students identify their placement as central to their transition to practice. Globally, changes in higher education, increasing the complexity of practice and an increasingly diverse student body, are challenging field education programmes to meet these professional and resource challenges. This article reports on Australian research which surveyed social work field education programmes in relation to staffing, supervision and other developments shaping social work field education. Twenty-four field education coordinators of thirty social work programmes completed the survey and the findings highlighted worrying trends including increasing student to staff ratio, insufficient social worker supervised placements, increased placements with external (off-site) supervision and employment of casual staff to undertake core tasks such as supervision and liaison. The results provide important benchmarking evidence which will resonate with the wider international social work education context.