Julie Drolet

Feminist Perspectives in Development: Implications for Women and Microcredit

This article critically explores how feminist theories continue to affect development paradigms and discourses by focusing on women’s experiences in microcredit programs. It locates the ideological roots of key concepts in development theories and feminist thinking about women’s role in development and improving women’s status. Over the past three decades, feminist theories and perspectives have influenced the debates on development across disciplines. Learning from the historical trajectory of development theories and feminist perspectives allows social workers to consider the centrality of gender in shaping every aspect of social life.

Women rebuilding lives post-disaster: innovative community practices for building resilience and promoting sustainable development

Disasters result in devastating human, economic, and environmental effects. The paper highlights womens active participation in community-based disaster recovery efforts drawing from the results of the ‘Rebuilding Lives Post-disaster: Innovative Community Practices for Sustainable Development’ by an international research partnership. Two case studies are presented from Pakistan and the USA to demonstrate how women contribute to building resilience and promoting sustainable development in diverse post-disaster contexts. The policy and practice implications are relevant for discussions regarding the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and framework.

Women, micro credit and empowerment in Cairo, Egypt

This article explores how micro credit programs can better address women’s aspirations by focusing on more holistic approaches to meet women’s gendered needs.Women’s experiences in a micro credit project are analysed using women’s triple roles, practical and strategic gender needs and notions of women’s empowerment. To examine the relationship between micro credit and empowerment of women, the author interviewed and conducted focus groups with 69 micro credit participants, including women borrowers and staff members from the Group Guaranteed Lending and Savings (GGLS) micro credit program in Cairo, Egypt.

Climate change, food security, and sustainable development: a study on community-based responses and adaptations in British Columbia, Canada

This article examines the responses and adaptations of community members living in small cities and rural communities. Research from British Columbia, Canada, suggests peoples environments influence their ability to respond and adapt to the challenges of climate change. A sample of 121 participants, including community leaders, government officials, practitioners, activists, policy makers, First Nations’, and women leaders, was drawn from the interior and northern regions of the province. Research findings demonstrate the importance of food security and climate change at the community level. The article highlights that community actions to implement practical solutions are already being made, but there is a need to support long-term sustainable development in collaboration with other social, economic, gender, and health considerations to promote adaptation, mitigation, and community resilience.

Melq'ilwiye: coming together--intersections of identity, culture, and health for urban Aboriginal youth.

The goal of this exploratory community-based participatory action research project was twofold: to determine how urban Aboriginal youth identify their health needs within a culturally centred model of health and wellness, and to create new knowledge and research capacity by and with urban Aboriginal youth and urban Aboriginal health-care providers. A mixed-method approach was employed to examine these experiences using talking circles and a survey. The study contributes to anticolonial research in that it resists narratives of dis(ease) put forth through neocolonial research paradigms.A key focus was the development of strategies that address the aspirations of urban Aboriginal youth, laying foundations upon which their potential in health and wellness can be nurtured, supported, and realized. The study contributes to a new narrative of the health of urban Aboriginal youth within a culturally centred and culturally safe framework that acknowledges their strong connection to their Indigenous lands, languages, and traditions while also recognizing the spaces between which they move.

The role of self-help groups in post-tsunami rehabilitation:

This article provides an analysis of the importance of self-help groups for women in post-tsunami rehabilitation efforts in Tamil Nadu, India. The finding is one of eight key themes identified in a larger study of the long-term social, economic and gender implications of post-tsunami rehabilitation work. While self-help groups were reported as having provided women with a measure of new social and economic opportunities, status and power, little evidence existed for a substantial reduction of poverty levels or a change in the prevailing patriarchal attitudes. The authors suggest that multiple long-term sustainable approaches to post-disaster reconstruction are needed to provide fundamental social and economic change for women.

Field education in crisis: experiences of field education coordinators in Canada

Abstract Significant multi-layered challenges with delivering quality practicum experiences to social work students have led field education coordinators to release a joint statement that social work field education in Canada is in a state of crisis. This article presents the results of a two-year mixed methods study that sought to investigate and describe the challenges in order to enhance understanding of the crisis from the perspective of Canadian social work field education coordinators. The results indicate that social work education programs in Canada face four key challenges in regard to field education that can be further divided into two sections: (a) the social work practice field and (b) social work field education administration. The two key challenges associated with the social work practice field are: (a) social work practice contexts and realities and (b) practicum shortages and saturation. The two key challenges associated with social work field education administration are: (a) practicum procurement and field instructor recruitment and retention; and (b) expectations and workloads of field education coordinators. To address these challenges, collaborative development of a multi-level strategy aimed at moving beyond the current state of crisis toward a sustainable model of social work field education in Canada is recommended.

Addressing climate change from a social development approach: Small cities and rural communities’ adaptation and response to climate change in British Columbia, Canada

Climate change is having a very real impact, affecting not only ecosystems but also the socio-economic systems of small cities and rural communities. Globally, climate change is a consequential concern, since it is contributing to an increase in global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, raising sea levels, and natural hazards. Locally, the effects of climate change vary, depending upon the region, with communities experiencing the impacts of climate change differently and at various degrees. This article presents research findings from a study on climate change, disasters, and sustainable development that provide insight into the diverse perspectives of community members on climate change in six communities in the Interior and Northern regions of British Columbia, Western Canada. A common denominator between these six communities is how social development is being applied to address climate change. The concept of social development encompasses social and economic well-being. The social development approach involves processes, activities, and institutions working together to develop the social and economic capacities of individuals and communities. In particular, for social workers working with individuals, families, and communities impacted by climate change, the social development approach is effective in addressing social and economic needs. This article will examine the differing perspectives and attitudes of affected community members and the role of social development with respect to climate change adaptation and response. It will also provide suggestions on how social workers can support and apply the social development approach in communities experiencing the impacts of climate change.

Social Work and Sustainable Social Development: Teaching and Learning Strategies for ‘Green Social Work’ Curriculum

It is increasingly recognized that social work has a vital role to play in shaping effective responses to environmental degradation, climate change and disasters. Innovative teaching and learning strategies can be used to facilitate understanding of complex, interrelated and systemic social, economic and environmental challenges. This article shares the development and design of a new social work course entitled ‘Social work and sustainable social development’. Teaching methods and strategies are provided including individual and group mind maps, case studies and presentations, guest speakers and evaluation methods. Implications for social work education and the profession are discussed in order to build capacity to address environmental justice and sustainability.

Adaptive Social Protection

Adaptive social protection is a term used to better understand how social protection can reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and disasters. Climate change and disasters present many challenges to sustainable social and economic development. Adaptive social protection instruments can enhance individual, household, and community resilience; reduce poverty and promote human development; and can be delivered on a large scale in support of disaster risk reduction and management. This chapter provides an overview of climate change and disasters, adaptation and mitigation, environmental change, social protection and sustainable adaptation, the concept of sustainable development, and a risk-adjusted social protection floor.