Contextualized Social Work Education: A Critical Understanding of the Local

ABSTRACT

Because dominant social work is mismatched to many contexts, alternative practice and educational approaches have emerged. To highlight educational examples, this phenomenological study explores the experience of 28 Canadian and South African educators teaching alternative social work. These educators conceptualized a multidimensional, integrated, contextualized framework that attends to power and resistance, and extends critical social work education by its focus on the local context. Their pedagogy included experiential, intentional, relational, reciprocal, and participatory, dialogical, land-based, reflective, and reflexive aspects. Their accounts illuminate the importance of developing personal intent, appropriate policy environments, adequate resourcing, and an activist social work body toward entrenching contextualized social work education. Considerations for implementing contextualized social work education in other contexts are discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg [Internal funding]; Vancouver Island University [Internal grant].

Notes on contributors

Jeanette Schmid

Jeanette Schmid is Principal Investigator and Research Fellow at University of Johannesburg and Faculty at Vancouver Island University. Marina Morgenshtern is Faculty at Trent University. Yasmin (Jessie) Turton is Lecturer at University of Johannesburg.