Lynne M. Healy

ENDING THE INTERNATIONAL-DOMESTIC DICHOTOMY: NEW APPROACHES TO A GLOBAL CURRICULUM FOR THE MILLENNIUM

This article calls for social work educators to abandon the conceptual separation of domestic and international content and move toward a curriculum with a truly global perspective. After reviewing the history and current state of the profession’s global-mindedness, the authors present three strategies for achieving a curriculum to meet students’ needs in the global environment of the millennium: the interim step of internationalizing the curriculum, then revising the profession’s value base, and adopting three unifying frameworks that offer channels for international dialogue and encourage a global outlook.

The international dimension in social work education: current efforts, future challenges

Lynne M. Healy, PhD, is associate professor of social work at the University of Connecticut. While relatively few among the world’s social workers will practise in other countries, nearly all will practise in domestic contexts increasingly affected by internationally generated problems, such as refugee infiux, immigration disputes, rising oil prices, and prospects of nuclear war and its emotional fallout. Many social workers in Africa, parts of Asia, the USA, and, increasingly, Europe will practise in multi-cultural and multi-lingual environments. Thus, as professionals and as citizens, social workers will encounter the complexities of global interdependence. The importance of educating social workers to be sensitive to international issues has been addressed by many authors, and the word ’international’ will be used as a general term in this paper, as in the

Curriculum Building in International Social Work: Toward Preparing Professionals for the Global Age

Abstract How can social workers be better prepared to practice and make other professional contributions in an increasingly interdependent world? This article reports the results of a study of expert opinion on the rationale for and optimal approaches to internationalizing social work education. Learning objectives and content areas for the general graduate curriculum and for specializations are discussed. Curriculum recommendations are presented to address three identified arenas for professional contribution: Enhanced domestic practice; professional exchange and action; and international practice and research.

Educating for the Global Agenda: Internationally relevant conceptual frameworks and knowledge for social work education

In this article, we discuss the capacity of social work educational programs to prepare graduates to contribute to the human, social and environmental challenges outlined in the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development. The educational sector must play a lead role through training and research. Using examples from Kenya and the United States, we argue more curriculum emphasis on such areas as social and economic development, human rights, and social integration is required. The article concludes with recommendations for strengthening curriculum and dialogue on the globally relevant concepts identified in the Global Agenda.

Situating social work within the post-2015 Global Agenda

ABSTRACT The launch of the post-2015 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN) initiates a new set of global priorities to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Over a three-year process, governments and civil society representatives at the UN planned and negotiated the post-2015 Agenda and a set of SDGs and targets. Unlike the MDGs which focused almost entirely on developing countries, the new agenda is intended to be universal and therefore applicable to Europe and North America. The goals address a wide range of issues including poverty and inequality, health, international trade, climate change and gender, with a strong emphasis on the environment. This article will provide an overview of the post-2015 process and explore the implications of this agenda for social work globally and locally. It will highlight areas of particular interest to the profession, especially prospects for addressing growing global inequality within and between countries, and concerns over the role of human rights protection. The advantages and limitations of linking social work’s global agenda to the new UN priorities will be assessed.

No Longer Welcome: Migration Policy and Challenges for Social Work

The implications of the new regime of harsher migration and refugee policies are explored and viewed in historical context. Fear of terrorism is cited as the reason for current proposals for exclusion of migrants from Muslim-majority countries, but this fear is tainted by political manipulation and exaggeration. Social workers face a number of challenges raised by the new policies. Roles for social work include advocacy at all levels from direct service provision to national policy advocacy, the responsibility to advocate for truth and combat demagoguery, and most importantly, to uphold ethical codes that prohibit the violation of migrants’ confidentiality.

Book Reviews : Schindler, Ruben and Edward Allan Brawley (1987) Social Care at the Front Lines: a Worldwide Study of Paraprofessionals. London: Tavistock Publications. 297 pp. £25.00

Schindler and Brawley’s newly published study on paraprofessionals should interest anyone concerned with the deployment and training of human service personnel. While focusing on paraprofessionals, the book also contains information about the organization and status of the profession of social work and social work training in the four countries studied in depth (Britain, India, Israel and the USA). In defining what is meant by paraprofessional, the authors discuss complexities in arriving at a suitable definition. In their study, the term is used to refer to a broad range of paid front line social welfare and social development personnel who have received limited or no training for their jobs. The intention of the study was to obtain a picture of patterns of use of paraprofessionals worldwide, to identify and analyse critical issues and to recommend improvement in deployment and training. The authors identified five critical themes to guide their analysis: ( 1 ) factors contributing to the use of paraprofessionals; (2) roles and functions; (3) professional-paraprofessional relationships; (4) training; and (5) career advancement. The methodology included a mail questionnaire to International Association of Schools of Social Work member schools and other experts on paraprofessionals, and supplementary interviews. While some data were received from forty-five countries, the authors limit reporting to countries with three or more complete responses, reducing the sample of countries discussed in the book to thirteen. A single chapter gives an overview of paraprofessional use in the thirteen countries (Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, USA and West Germany). The remainder of the volume presents an in-depth comparison of the four countries mentioned above. One question permeates the discussion: is use of paraprofessionals an interim