Cultivating Cultural Awareness and Global Consciousness through Internationalization and Decolonization of Social Work Curriculum

Overview: This workshop internationalizes social work curriculum by sharing four case studies representing people from the global south. Strategies to ameliorate human and civil rights violations focus on refugee assistance, child protection, medical and behavioral health, and school social work. Case components detail goals, theories, application, and application of soft skills.Proposal text: Social work has always been concerned with the health and wellbeing of people in communities and environments within which they live (Jones, 2018). However, faculty and students interested in global social work often have limited knowledge and experience working with diverse cultural groups, especially with regard to the global south (Africa, India, and Asia), other than theoretical and ideological classroom discussions. People in these countries, assigned by law to the bottom of an emerging caste system (Wilkerson, 2020), need particular concentration so students transfer their learning about international populations from the classroom to the workforce. Because dominant cultures, institutions, and structures maintain power through the persistent acceptance of cultural and societal norms supported by the ruling hegemony, investigation of these norms is essential within the complex context of class, race, ethnicity, gender, and other differences of the human experience (Payne, 2014; Rexhepi & Torres, 2011). Social work departments must ground international social work learning into tangible learning experiences for students, faculty, and field supervisors to participate in learning communities about non-traditional international clients with whom they will inevitably serve. Having a professional toolbox that considers perspectives of international people and communities is important because every aspect of our society is transcontinental and interconnected and social work students, faculty, and field supervisors who are able to successfully navigate global challenges and opportunities will be in higher demand in an ever-changing work environment that increasingly includes clients representing a global society.

This interactive workshop addresses traditional classroom and field practicum deficits related to internationalizing social work curriculum by presenting and sharing four case studies representing people from the global south. The case studies will include human and civil rights violations and focus on the following social work areas: refugee assistance, child protection/foster care, medical/hospital, behavioral health, or school social work. Each case study will include four components, in addition to detailed instructions: (1) goals and objectives, (2) application of two out of three theories, (3) application of core social work skills, and (4) and application of soft skills. Augmented experimental learning activities (virtual tours) paired with the case studies offer participants a bird’s eye view into the lived experiences of international clients through a digital exploration of their community and neighborhood.