A Faculty Development Program in Cuba for American Social Work Academics

Abstract

This article describes a faculty development program for American social work academics that was organized by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and held in Havana, Cuba, in June 2012 and repeated again in 2013. Data for this article come from the author’s experience in leading these visits. The article discusses why participants attended this program, what they learned, and how they viewed Cuban social work. It shows that participants had a positive reaction to the information they received about Cuba’s postrevolutionary, progressive, social policy. Social workers in the United States might benefit from learning about social work in Cuba, even though it may not serve as a role model for them.

Keywords:

• Cuba
• Council on Social Work Education
• social work
• United States
• faculty development program
• social policy
• social work models
• social and economic problems

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to thank the Council on Social Work Education, its Council on Global Learning, Research and Practice, and its Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work for their support of the Cuban faculty development programs, which this article discusses.