Samantha Wehbi

Deconstructing motivations: Challenging international social work placements

English This article proposes that a critical examination of international placements is crucial in fostering the internationalization of social work without reproducing oppressive power relations. It presents a discussion of some of the reasons underlying students’ choice to undertake international placements as well as implications for research and teaching. French Cet article émet l’idée qu’un examen critique des placements internationaux est essentiel pour stimuler l’internationalisation du travail social sans reproduire les rapports de pouvoir oppressifs. Il présente en discussion certaines des raisons à l’origine des choix des étudiants d’entreprendre des stages à l’international ainsi que les implications pour la recherche et l’enseignement. Spanish Se propone que un examen crítico de los lugares de prácticas internacionales es crítico para fomentar la internacionalización del trabajo social sin reproducir relaciones opresivas de poder. Se examinan algunas de las razones que hay por debajo de la decisión de los estudiantes al elegir prácticas internacionales, así como algunas implicaciones para la investigación y la enseñanza.

The challenges of inclusive education in Lebanon

This article reports on a study conducted in Lebanon by four non‐governmental organizations, primarily on the topic of inclusion of people with disabilities in education, with a secondary focus on inclusion in employment. This article reports on some of the findings of the assessment process that was four months in duration and aimed, through interviews and focus groups, to identify available information, current policies and legislation, main stakeholders and existing programmes. Findings of the assessment generated themes that are unique to each of the two groups: parents and children, and educators. However, there are some common themes, such as a perceived need for raising awareness on disability issues and a perceived lack of adequate teacher training. The article concludes by arguing for change efforts on various levels to support inclusion: awareness‐raising; policy change; capacity‐building; and community‐building.

The employment situation of people with disabilities in Lebanon: challenges and opportunities

This article presents the findings of a study on the employment situation of people with disabilities in a rural region in Lebanon. The study was conducted as one of the activities of a community development project that saw the establishment of a job centre for people with disabilities. The majority of the study’s 200 paricipants were unemployed, and many had never been employed. Other participants were mostly self‐employed, with many of them working from home. The article discusses obstacles to finding and keeping a job and ends with recommendations for change at the level of community intervention, policy and research.

Immigration and disability: Ableismin the policies of the Canadian state

In this article, we discuss how the current immigration selection policy in Canada impacts people with disabilities. Using anti-oppressive and anti-colonial theoretical frameworks we analyze a recent example and demonstrate how the selection process to determine immigration eligibility disadvantages people with disabilities. Implications for social work are discussed.

Reclaiming Our Agency in Academia: Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching in Social Work

In this paper, I argue that as academics we need to engage in self reflection on our own practice as educators. Among many things, this means looking at ourselves and challenging our own unhelpful arguments that work to rob us of our agency in terms of our scholarship. While beginning with an acknowledgement of broader realities, such as neoliberal agendas, that impact on our experiences of tenure and promotion, I wish to push the discussion further by arguing that one form of resistance to these unjust conditions is to reclaim our agency by revaluing our practice as educators. Hence, this paper begins with a challenge to some of our unhelpful arguments and proceeds to a discussion of several ideas that could be helpful in furthering our scholarship within a climate where quantity supersedes quality and where ‘productivity’ is the defining feature of success. My hope in writing this article is to offer my reflections and experiences as a way for other young academics to enhance their own scholarship. As such, this paper discusses the importance of writing for publication from an untenured academics point of view and provides ideas that could assist specifically in engaging in the scholarship of teaching.

Reflections on Experiential Teaching Methods: Linking the Classroom to Practice

This article explores the use of experiential teaching methods in social work education. The literature demonstrates that relying on experiential teaching methods in the classroom can have overwhelmingly positive learning outcomes; however, not much is known about the possible effect of these classroom methods on practice. On the basis of reflections from 3 courses, the author focuses on the potential effect of in-class methods on practice. The author argues that there are at least 3 ways in which these methods can affect practice: by extending learning beyond the confines of the course, by modeling skills and attitudes useful in practice, and by allowing students to experience events that might later be confronted in practice.

Revaluing Student Knowledge through Reflective Practice on Involvement in Social Justice Efforts

Based on our experience as social work educators teaching a practice seminar, we describe an activity to revalue student knowledge and to reaffirm the importance of reflective practice for knowledge building and for social transformation. We focus on an activity that sought to engage students in a reflection on the barriers that impede them from becoming or remaining engaged in social change efforts and the facilitative factors that could help them to overcome such barriers. Throughout the paper, we argue that participatory reflection activities revalue student knowledge and favour their active involvement in the educational process. We highlight the communal nature of the activity and student feedback about their participation in this educational experience. We conclude by suggesting future directions for research and teaching.

Crossing boundaries: foreign funding and disability rights activism in a context of war

Focusing on a case example of disability rights activism in the context of war, I discuss the impact of foreign funding crossing boundaries. Specifically, I report on the findings of a study conducted with 28 activists who are part of a grassroots organization in Lebanon. I will suggest that while foreign funding brings necessary supports, it can hold negative impacts for the work of disability rights activism; specifically, I will argue that the strategies, approaches and conditions imposed through foreign funding are often problematic because they reinforce neocolonial discourses that lead to the exclusion and marginalization of disabled people.

Women With Disabilities in Lebanon: From Marginalization to Resistance

This article explores the intersections of gender and disability in Lebanon, with a particular focus on education and employment. On the basis of a recent study on education and employment in Bekaa, a rural region of Lebanon, as well as practice experience, the authors highlight the main findings and discuss the role of social work in addressing the marginalization of women with disabilities. Throughout the discussion, the authors adopt a feminist critical-disability theoretical perspective that steers clear of conceptions of women with disabilities as passive victims of oppressive social conditions. The article ends with two examples of grassroots activist efforts to address the marginalization of women with disabilities.

Going home: Social work across and about borders

This article explores the idea of returning home to the South to practise social work. Through our experiences as members of diasporic communities living in the North, we examine how we are implicated in the tensions that surround social work practice and research as efforts to internationalize continue to grow. Specifically, we explore the following themes: the neo-managerial underpinnings of the internationalization of social work; neocolonialism embedded in occupying the role of the reluctant expert; and what we carry with us to help us negotiate the tensions that we experience in navigating our practices across borders.