Overview: This paper provides insights into the issues and challenges of implementation and professional development of social work education and practice. Major difference in social work education and practice between the East and the West is that micro practice is not recognized as profession in most of the Eastern countries.Proposal text: Background and Objectives This paper analyses the issues and challenges of social work education and practice in eastern countries as well as differences between the East and the West. There are two main objectives of this paper; 1) to understand the human rights issues and challenges of social work education and practice in Eastern countries i.e., Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, and 2) to draw a comparative analysis of similarities and differences between the East and the West.
Methods The paper is mainly the outcome of a systematic literature review of human rights issues and challenges of social work education and practice in the East and the West. To incorporate the gaps in the contemporary social work studies, this paper is also based on the authors’ lived experience for more than 4 decades in Eastern countries like Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
Results Systematic literature review as well as authors’ lived experience revealed that social work education and practice in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan started in the 1960s. Also, social work education and practice are almost similar in these three countries and facing common challenges i.e., social work is not yet recognized as a profession in this region.
In Bangladesh, social work originated its journey with the slogan ‘a new profession for a new nation in a new age’ (Sultana, 2011). However, it is not recognized as a profession yet (Hossain & Mathbor, 2014). Macro practice with organizations, communities, and society is the main component of social work practice here (Reza & Ahmmed, 2008). In India, social work education faces challenges of ensuring standards of quality social work as well as struggle to get recognition as a profession in the society and the state (Nadkarni & Sinha, 2016). Also, employment opportunities are limited in the government sectors and most social workers are employed in the non-government sectors (Baikady et al., 2018). In Pakistan, social work education in universities started in 1954 and its aim is to provide trained social workers equipped with the basic knowledge and skills to assist government and private agencies in the development and implementation of social welfare programs (Shah, 2018). This challenge of lack of local literature and theories are making a lingering doubt within the mind of social work educators and trained social worker as well (Browne et al., 2016).
Social work education is different from the western and the United States in the Eastern countries, especially in the Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan sub-continent. This sub-continent has its own culture, civilization, history, and local approaches. It is important to develop own literature, practice, and theories rather than borrowed from other countries (Haynes, 2015).
Conclusions The history of social work education in the Eastern countries is comparatively new to the West especially the US. Social work micro practice failed to attract policymakers and public interest in the Eastern region. Also, due to the emergence of NGOs, traditional social work charity, services and reform have become less attractive than in the West.
Learning Objectives:
to understand the human rights issues and challenges of social work education and practice in Eastern countries i.e., Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
to draw a comparative analysis of similarities and differences of social work education and practice between the East and the West.
