The U.S. globalization of social work education: The impact and implications on practice in a developing country

Abstract

The focus of this banded dissertation, is the examination of the impact of a U.S. Social Work Education Curriculum on the practice of social work globally. Globalization of social work education is explored through the lens of cultural hegemony; the author then uses the principles of critical pedagogy to address the imbalances uncovered and to promote educational liberation especially in developing countries. The Banded Dissertation is comprised of three products, two of which will be research papers and the third, an overview of a peer-reviewed conference presentation. The preparations or lack thereof, for international students who come to study social work in the U.S. is explored in the first section of this dissertation. An in-depth exploration of a U.S. globalization of social work education is presented which highlights the need for intentional preparation for culturally informed re-entry of international students to their country of origin. A conceptual model for the training of International and American students, pursuing an interest in international social work, is developed and introduced. The second section, explores the impact of a U.S. model of social work education that was adapted to support the development of social work education curriculum in Belize. The Government of Belize is the largest employer of social workers that graduate from the University of Belize’s Social Work Program. The author describes the relationship, a sample of social workers in Belize had with their training and their perception of its effectiveness in assisting them to practice within the Belizean context. Concerns are highlighted and recommendations are made for a full indigenization of the social work curriculum. The final section offers highlights from peer-reviewed poster presentations done at two conferences. The presentations were used to seek support for the development of the conceptual model described in the first section at an international social work conference. Later the final conceptual model was introduced at the CSWE’s Annual Program Meeting in Orlando Florida, November 2018. This Banded Dissertation asserts that as the Global Social Work Community seek to address a Global Agenda collectively, that social issues, although similar in many ways, are inherently different. These differences require that countries’ support such as that of the U.S., when sought, either in the form of education or technical assistance, should be reciprocated with the utmost care and attention to the indigenized needs of the particular community.