Addressing global social relationships in transnational social work research processes and institutions

ABSTRACT

In the last two decades, scholars and practitioners have adopted the term ‘transnational social work’ to capture the complexity of cross-border flows and their effects on people. This paper pursues the idea of transnational social work research (TSWR), specifically seeking research practices that are promising for promoting social justice in the face of global challenges. We argue that when powerful institutions set research priorities, they may obscure local concerns and reproduce unequal social relations and global inequalities. We begin by describing how transnational social work bodies have understood ‘social justice’ and the theoretical underpinnings that support it. We then propose a definition of TSWR and discuss what populations and topics comprise the transnational sphere as well as the analytical commitments signalled by the term ‘transnational.’ We illustrate how TSWR can play a transformative role by discussing challenges that we have faced to our social justice commitments as researchers in the transnational sphere. Finally, we propose promising strategies for conducting TSWR that address power imbalances within social work research and the transnational arena.

RESUMEN

En las últimas dos décadas, los académicos y profesionales han adoptado el término ‘trabajo social transnacional’ para capturar la complejidad de los flujos transfronterizos y sus efectos sobre las personas. Este artículo tiene como objetivo la idea de la investigación transnacional del trabajo social (TSWR), buscando específicamente prácticas de investigación prometedoras para promover la justicia social frente a los desafíos globales. Argumentamos que cuando las instituciones poderosas establecen prioridades de investigación, pueden ocultar las preocupaciones locales y reproducir las relaciones sociales desiguales y las desigualdades globales. Comenzamos describiendo cómo los estudios transnacionales de trabajo social han entendido la ‘justicia social’ y los fundamentos teóricos que la sustentan. Luego proponemos una definición de TSWR y discutimos qué poblaciones y temas se comprenden en el campo transnacional, así como los compromisos analíticos señalados por el término ‘transnacional.’ Ilustramos cómo en TSWR se puede desempeñar un rol transformador al discutir los desafíos que enfrentamos con nuestros compromisos a la justicia social como investigadoras en el campo transnacional. Finalmente, proponemos estrategias prometedoras para llevar a cabo TSWR que aborden los desequilibrios de poder dentro de la investigación del trabajo social y la arena transnacional.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work research
• transnational social work
• international social work
• social justice

PALABRAS CLAVES:

• transnacional
• global
• justicia social
• investigación de trabajo social

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Claire Willey-Sthapit (MSSW) is a doctoral student at the University of Washington School of Social Work. Prior to attending the doctoral programme Claire worked as a couples’ counsellor in the U.S. and then for nearly four years as a psychosocial counselling trainer and supervisor with a Nepali non-governmental organisation that works on issues related to human rights and mental health of marginalised women and children. Claire is interested in community-based strategies to address domestic violence as well as the roles that international development and human rights institutions play to influence both local practice in – and global knowledge about – Nepal.

Miriam G. Valdovinos is an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Her areas of specialisation include intimate partner violence experiences in Latina/o communities and healing practices. A focal point of her research is to develop multi-pronged (e.g. micro and macro) culturally responsive prevention and intervention programmes that address health and mental health effects of family violence on Latina/o immigrant families while considering systemic constraints such as institutional racism, poverty and income disparities. Her research continues to incorporate how Latina/o immigrants continue to negotiate transnational familial ties.

Ciwang Teyra is an Assistant Professor at the National Taiwan University Department of Social Work. As an indigenous woman of Taiwan, Ciwang’s research focuses on indigenous health, well-being and resilience. Through the development of culturally relevant psychometric measurement, she examines the influence of historical trauma on health risk behaviours and wellbeing. She also investigates cultural practices as health-protective factors that can buffer against adversity and promote community resilience.

Sharon Borja is an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston. Her research focuses on intergenerational experiences of adversity and their pathways toward the early life outcomes of children varying across race and ethnicity using longitudinal cohort data in the U.S. Her goal is to bring into the forefront the transnational context of adverse experiences and resilience, especially among immigrant families and families in the Global South who are at the intersections of economic and health disparities and experiencing multiple layers of marginalisation.