Sara Ashencaen Crabtree

Family responses to the social inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in the United Arab Emirates

This paper focuses on findings from a qualitative study of care‐giving Arab Muslim families of children with developmental disabilities in the United Arab Emirates. The perceptions of mothers in relation to family acceptance and social inclusion issues are explored. Parental views of existing provision are also considered with regard to existing services for children with special needs in the region. Findings indicate that, in common with other Middle Eastern countries, social stigma is prevalent and this impacts upon the disabled child as well as the mother. However, this is in turn ameliorated by the influences of religion, which constitute an example of family resilience, in addition to the strides made in social development in this region.

Islamic perspectives in social work education: Implications for teaching and practice

In the field of further education, social work is beginning to be accepted as an academic and vocational discipline in many countries across the world. Indigenous practice has greatly contributed to a plurality of perspectives adding to diversity of social work knowledge and adding new facets to traditional social work values and interventions. The authors predict that the current dearth of academic material on Islamic perspectives in social work will be more fully addressed in the near future. In the meantime, a personal viewpoint of the dilemmas and ambiguity in social work education in the Islamic context of Malaysia is offered.

Dilemmas in International Social Work Education in the United Arab Emirates: Islam, Localization and Social Need

This paper discusses emerging dilemmas in social work education and practice in the United Arab Emirates. Here social work education is primarily based on Westernized curricula; however localized cultural sensitivities require that some mainstream issues, particularly in relation to issues of abuse, are not engaged with. Nevertheless research findings show that social problems such as these are clearly present in UAE society. Therefore it is argued that what is required is an accountable, effective social work education that retains cultural congruity whilst empowering practitioners with the knowledge needed to engage with contemporary social problems. Finally, to contextualize the dichotomy between local culture and the wider community of Islam in relation to social work, some comparisons are drawn with other Muslim nations, specifically Malaysia.This paper discusses emerging dilemmas in social work education and practice in the United Arab Emirates. Here social work education is primarily based on Westernized curricula; however localized cultural sensitivities require that some mainstream issues, particularly in relation to issues of abuse, are not engaged with. Nevertheless research findings show that social problems such as these are clearly present in UAE society. Therefore it is argued that what is required is an accountable, effective social work education that retains cultural congruity whilst empowering practitioners with the knowledge needed to engage with contemporary social problems. Finally, to contextualize the dichotomy between local culture and the wider community of Islam in relation to social work, some comparisons are drawn with other Muslim nations, specifically Malaysia.

Epiphanies and learning in a postcolonial Malaysian context: A preliminary evaluation of international social work placements

This article discusses preliminary findings from a study of international placement learning of British social work students in social welfare settings in Malaysia. Research data generated focuses on the learning processes experienced by the students placed in an unfamiliar, postcolonial context with an emphasis on issues relating to diversity and developing critical cultural competence. Future sustainability and benefits of such placements are also reviewed.

Engaging Students from the United Arab Emirates in Culturally Responsive Education.

The liberal arts education is one that is increasingly being adopted in regions far removed from the USA, such as the United Arab Emirates. The importing of this American educational model is, however, associated with the inexorable influences of dominant cultural forms through the effects of globalisation. However, at the same time international teaching also requires that curricula are culturally empathic to the needs of students in ethnically diverse regions. This paper explores the author’s development of teaching material designed to engage deep learning activities with students from the United Arab Emirates in relation to achieving culturally responsive teaching practice.The liberal arts education is one that is increasingly being adopted in regions far removed from the USA, such as the United Arab Emirates. The importing of this American educational model is, however, associated with the inexorable influences of dominant cultural forms through the effects of globalisation. However, at the same time international teaching also requires that curricula are culturally empathic to the needs of students in ethnically diverse regions. This paper explores the author’s development of teaching material designed to engage deep learning activities with students from the United Arab Emirates in relation to achieving culturally responsive teaching practice.

Teaching anti-discriminatory practice in Malaysia

Social work education in Malaysia is at a developmental stage with few courses covering theoretical models of oppression and discrimination. Findings from focus group discussions are considered in relation to the issue of anti-discriminatory practice as taught to social work students at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

Research Ethics and the Moral Enterprise of Ethnography: Conjunctions and Contradictions

This paper explores the perceptions and experiences of four doctoral researchers to examine how research ethics committee (REC) processes have shaped and influenced specific health-based ethnographic studies. This paper considers how a universal tightening of ethical REC scrutiny at university level, as well as those governing the health and social care sector in the United Kingdom, impacts upon social research involving the inclusion of participants from certain groups. Increased restrictions in ethics scrutiny is justified as protecting vulnerable people from intrusive research and is embedded in legislation, specifically the UK Mental Capacity Act 2005. The general international trend towards greater ethical scrutiny is heralded as an uncontested social good, yet this unquestioned assumption is tested in relation to qualitative social research methodologies that seek to explore the experiences of ‘vulnerable’ individuals. It is consequently argued that ethics review restrictions are in danger of disenf...This paper explores the perceptions and experiences of four doctoral researchers to examine how research ethics committee (REC) processes have shaped and influenced specific health-based ethnographic studies. This paper considers how a universal tightening of ethical REC scrutiny at university level, as well as those governing the health and social care sector in the United Kingdom, impacts upon social research involving the inclusion of participants from certain groups. Increased restrictions in ethics scrutiny is justified as protecting vulnerable people from intrusive research and is embedded in legislation, specifically the UK Mental Capacity Act 2005. The general international trend towards greater ethical scrutiny is heralded as an uncontested social good, yet this unquestioned assumption is tested in relation to qualitative social research methodologies that seek to explore the experiences of ‘vulnerable’ individuals. It is consequently argued that ethics review restrictions are in danger of disenfranchising sectors of the community, excluding them from engaging in social research activities that would serve to highlight their experiential and lived conditions. The enhanced bureaucratic control of the doctoral process in conjunction with the REC is also discussed as inhibiting proposed studies.

Gendered discourses of coping strategies and perceived cultural challenges for low-income Pakistani families in Hong Kong, SAR

This paper discusses findings from a small scale qualitative study of low-income Pakistani families resident in Hong Kong, SAR. The greatest assistance for most families was access to the state social security benefit system. Yet, this was also viewed in ambivalent terms when interpreted within a traditional and gendered discourse revolving around challenges to patriarchal authority. State benefits were viewed as an attractive, if subversive resource for women seeking greater autonomy, particularly in cases of domestic violence. Life in Hong Kong was regarded as contributing to a perceived erosion of Pakistani cultural and religious attitudes that could lead to family dysfunction.

Problematising international placements as a site of intercultural learning

This paper theorises some of the learning outcomes of a three-year project concerning student learning in international social work placements in Malaysia. The problematic issue of promoting cultural and intercultural competence through such placements is examined, where overlapping hegemonies are discussed in terms of isomorphism of social work models, that of the nation state, together with those relating to professional values and knowledge, and the tyrannies of received ideas. A critical discussion of cultural competence as the rationale for international placements is discussed in terms of the development of the graduating social worker as a self-reflexive practitioner. The development of sustainable international partnerships able to support student placement and the issue of non-symmetrical reciprocation, typical of wide socio-economic differentials across global regions, is additionally discussed.

Ethical implications for research into inclusive education in Arab societies: Reflections on the politicization of the personalized research experience

Inclusive education in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab societies is at a developmental stage with a paucity of research data recording this process. To clarify an obscure topic an online survey was conducted targeting 48 agencies in the GCC offering rehabilitation for children with disabilities and their families. Although the response rate was statistically disappointing, the outcome of the study nevertheless offers insights into the changing perceptions towards disability and education in Arab societies. However, crucially the study also generated an in-depth exploration of the ethical and geopolitical dimensions underpinning research initiatives in this region.