Towards a pragmatic approach: a critical examination of two assumptions of indigenization discourse

The current discourse of indigenization has been dominated by a normative approach that puts culture and social work values at the centre of discussions of social work's transference ‘from the West to the rest’. Taking a social constructionist perspective, this article argues that we need to critically examine some underlying assumptions of this normative approach, which may have led to misunderstandings of indigenization. The pragmatic approach, which I suggest as an alternative, views indigenization as a process in which various actors with various cultural lenses select the components of Western social work that can be integrated with, or replace, existing local social care practices. The purpose of this integration and replacement is to better serve the needs of the receiving society and its people.     

The African-Centred Worldview: Developing a Paradigm for Social Work

Correspondence to Mekada J. Graham, c/o 97 Acton Lane, London NW10 8UT, UK. E-mail: mekadag{at}yahoo.com Summary This article raises concerns about the ethnocentric nature ofexisting paradigms within the social sciences that form thebasis for social work theory and practice with black familiesand children. In addition, it highlights the theoretical deficitswithin existing social work models that do not reflect the worldviewsof diverse communities in British society. Can existing socialwork models continue to express ethnocentric value systems asthe universal way to explain human behaviour in the light ofgrowing demands for pluralism not only between groups but alsobetween epistemologies and worldviews? The author argues foran alternative paradigm that is grounded in the cultural andhistorical reality of the black experience. A broad base of information and discussion of the African-centredworldview and the development of African-centred perspectivesin social work is explored. African-centred perspectives insocial work challenge the profession to express its core principlesof equality, social justice and self-determination in embracingalternative worldviews and paradigms as legitimate and validbases for social work theory and practice.     

Conjuncture and cultural reproduction in the process of embedding: social work practice in the context of government purchase of services in China

This paper focuses on the Chinese government’s policy of purchasing social services and discusses how relevant organisations provide social work and develop it within local socio-political and cultural contexts. An ethnographic research method was adopted for the study by the first author while participating in social work development in Q City. We argue that the policy of purchasing social services succeeded in achieving “embedded development” but also created a “conjuncture structure” in cultural reproduction. However, due toprofessional social workers in China have, in practice, passively responded to the conjuncture there has been a failure to reproduce professional values of social work in the Chinese cultural context. Therefore, further development of social work in China needs to strengthen cultural reflection in practical actions, focus on the exploration of cultural connections between social work practice and local communities, and enhance the cultural capacity of social workers in the local cultural context.     

探索新颖的研究视角:基于社会工作本土化的文献综述

社会工作诞生于西方的社会环境中,其理念、理论、原则、实务模式和技巧都体现了西方的宗教理念、福利国家思想等,这种具有西方色彩的助人模式被引入中国后,要经历全方面和漫长的本土化过程。学界对于社会工作的本土化问题也作过不少的探索。本文对前者有关社会工作本土化的研究进行文献综述,通过这种方式对于以往研究社会工作的视角进行一定的整合,进而寻求一种更为新颖的视角去探索社会工作在中国的本土化问题。     

社会工作对社区矫正的推动作用研究

目前社区矫正在许多西方国家已得到普遍认可,并广为推行。而事实表明,社会工作应用于社区矫正实践中具有其他学科所没有的优越性。然而,在我国无论是社区矫正还是社会工作都刚刚起步,社会工作在运用于社区矫正实践中还存在一定的限制因素。本文从阐述社会矫正中引用社会工作的必要性入手,分析了社会工作对社区矫正的作用,同时指出了社会工作在社区矫正运用中所面临的限制因素,并对其完善措施提出了建议。     

Social work in Hong Kong – Western practice in a Chinese context

This article narrates the development of social work practice in Hong Kong during the last more than half a century. As in other British colonies, social work was first known as a profession in Hong Kong when Western international relief organizations established offices here after the end of World War II. While social work has always been seen as a Western introduction, both overseas and locally trained social workers in Hong Kong are conscious that they are practicing in a society with a strong tradition of Chinese culture and there is also a different view towards the concept of welfare. Other than examining how social workers in Hong Kong have adapted Western developed theories to the solution of local problems in a Chinese society, this article concludes with a discussion of the influence that social workers and social work educators in Hong Kong have made on the development of social work in mainland China.

本文叙述了半个多世纪前社会工作在香港的发展。 如同在其它英国殖民地一样， 当第二次世界大战结束后西方国际援助组织在香港成立办事处， 社会工作在香港才首度被视为一个专业。 社会工作通常被看作为由西方引进的产物， 在本地或海外受训的香港社会工作者均意识到他们在社区从事社会工作时， 有着强烈的中国文化传统， 同时对福利概念有着不同的观点。 除了研究香港社会工作者如何适用西方的成熟理论， 以解决在中国社会发生的本土问题外， 本文还讨论了香港社会工作者及社会工作教育工作者如何影响中国内地社会工作的发展。     

A response to the debates between Hutchings and Taylor and Jia on the Global Standards in China

This article is in response to Hutchings and Taylor's, and Jia's, debate on the Global Standards for social work education and training and the development of social work in China. It is argued in the article that: (i) we should examine the Global Standards and their applicability to China from a dialectical and historical perspective, and not deny the relevance of the application of the Global Standards to China solely from the point of view of 'Western social work standards', nor to accept uncritically the applicability of the Global Standards to China; and (ii) with this perspective, neither Western scholars nor Chinese scholars are more suitable than the other for judging whether or not the Global Standards are applicable to China. The most important factor in making this judgement is the presence of an adequate and unprejudiced discussion and communication between and among Chinese and Western scholars.     

Fuzzy epistemology: Decolonizing the social sciences

This article first argues that the social sciences need to be decolonized, as the current epistemologies and research methodologies are too narrowly based on the European and North American experiences and hence unable to adequately capture non-European experiences and realities. I then argue that decolonizing dominant social science epistemology means freeing it from its Aristotelian foundation. The next step undertaken is to discuss five non-Western epistemologies from West Africa, China, Melanesia, India, and South America. Building on the work of Jimi Adesina (2002), I find that all five share a fuzzy perception of reality, allowing for statements that are non-exclusive, non-discrete, and hence fuzzy. I propose an operationalization of these fuzzy epistemologies by applying Charles Ragin's Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fscqa).     

探索新颖的研究视角:基于社会工作本土化的文献综述

社会工作诞生于西方的社会环境中,其理念、理论、原则、实务模式和技巧都体现了西方的宗教理念、福利国家思想等,这种具有西方色彩的助人模式被引入中国后,要经历全方面和漫长的本土化过程。学界对于社会工作的本土化问题也作过不少的探索。本文对前者有关社会工作本土化的研究进行文献综述,通过这种方式对于以往研究社会工作的视角进行一定的整合,进而寻求一种更为新颖的视角去探索社会工作在中国的本土化问题。     

学校社会工作的本土化研究

在西方国家以及我国港台地区,教育界和社会福利部门均要求政府加强学校社会工作的服务,学校社会工作已在预防、补救和遏止青少年问题上起到了不可替代的作用。而在内地,学校社会工作的实务及研究尚处于开拓阶段,迫切需要探讨出一种切合实际的本土化的发展模式。     

Professionalization of Social-work Practice in the People's Republic of China A Tri-tensional Analysis

Social work has gradually developed and regained its formal recognition since the 1980s in the People's Republic of China. Because of its unique social, cultural, and political contexts, the professionalization of social work in China has to struggle within tensions from three domains: the professional domain, the political domain, and the market domain. Tensions within these three domains interact with one another dynamically in shaping the current and future development of social work in China.     

An 'Ecospiritual' Perspective: Finally, a Place for Indigenous Approaches

Despite holding significant roles in providing social servicesto First Nations or indigenous communities, social work hasbeen reluctant to accept indigenous perspectives and traditionalforms of helping and healing. Most often, social workers haveoperated within the dominant paradigms that, despite effortsto the contrary, have primarily imposed Western social workbeliefs and practices which have been unable to effectivelyaccommodate diversity. This paper argues that the recent attentionto the importance of the environment and spirituality, and theparadigmatic shift that such issues require, has created a welcomingspace for indigenous voices. Such acceptance has opened theopportunity for the profession to benefit not only from a genuineexchange among cultures, but also from a re-thinking of thefoundational beliefs of the social work profession.     

Social Exclusion, Inequality and Social Work

This paper sets out the environment of inequality in which social work and the poor have recently operated. It explores pragmatic and idealist arguments concerning whether or not the poor need social work. Finally, policy solutions developed in consultation with social service users and carers are suggested in relation to poverty and social exclusion. Social exclusion can be linked to relative poverty as exclusion from economic and social norms. However, there is a wider brief in our own government’s publications and those of Europe, of examining how people are excluded from actions and policies of agencies who are there to support them. This paper will retain the concepts of poverty as lack of material income, and inequality as the gap between the rich and the poor, while being aware of the policy implications for social service users and carers of the more comprehensive process of being shut out partially or fully from social, economic, political and cultural systems. The debates around social work, social exclusion and inequality that follow establish: that some of the poor do need social work; that the poverty of social service users is related to policies that have restructured welfare in Britain; that the reason for individuals approaching or being referred to social services are complex but are likely to include financial deprivation as a key contributory factor; that if the poor do need social work, advocacy is essential rather than social work being seen as concerned only with social control—taking children into care, mentally ill people into hospitals, and advising the DSS on the suitability of claimants for benefits. Finally, the discussion turns to new policy agendas on social exclusion instigated by the Labour government. What positive difference can such policies make for social service users, their carers and social workers?.     

从“助人自助”看社会工作实务开展的文化背景问题

“助人自助”的社会工作信念强凋个人发展重于个人被动的需求,它植根于人的自由、平等以及人格的尊严、个人的存在价值等西方传统文化要素;中国文化传统中的助人理念本质上缺乏基于普遍的人的尊严和个体独立人格的观念,助人的目标是维护社会稳定和秩序,给与者与受助者之间形成了一种恩赐和被动接受的心理定势,他们之间缺乏真实的平等。在中国社会工作实务开展的进程中,两种不同的文化背景导致对社会工作价值信念理解上的差异．造成了诸如价值观选择的困惑、信念与现实的困境以及文化认同的矛盾。针对社会工作的文化背景问题,社会工作实务的开展应在文化能力的培养、价值观的选择以及自我意识的训练上寻求突破。     

Social Work Development in Japan

With the enactment of the Certified Social Workers and Care Workers Act in 1987, Japanese social work would seem at last to have achieved social recognition and a secure position in Japanese society. However, when one examines the roles, working conditions, education and training of social workers, there are significant differences to be observed from the norms of western social work. In this paper the author sets out the unique characteristics of social work in Japan and reviews the pattern of its development in historical, cultural and political terms.     

过渡治理情境下的中国社会服务困境:基于Z市社会工作服务的研究

社会工作近十年来在创新社会治理的推动下发展迅速。本文将重点关注于社会服务组织的服务供给过程及其导致的社会服务困境。通过对治理情境的拓展分析,引入过渡治理情境概念,分析我国社会服务供给。在此情境下,本文以Z市家庭综合服务中心为例,围绕自由裁量权这一概念讨论社会服务组织的服务供给策略及其所导致的服务困境。在过渡治理情境中,消极的自由裁量权与社会工作的半专业化发展结合在一起,社会服务组织选择了“活动化”和“指标化”的服务供给,令社会服务处于创新和碎片化之间,而导致社会服务陷入困境。社会服务困境根源的解决在于建立合作的治理情境、强化本土化社工专业力量以及充分发挥第三方的社会服务供给效力。     

Spare the rod and spoil the child: Samoan perspectives on responsible parenting

Abstract

Cultural groups hold different beliefs, values and understandings that shape the way people parent. From a Samoan perspective, raising children as good citizens involves ensuring that children know how to behave appropriately. If necessary, there is a place for reasonable physical discipline. Moreover, many believe that the way western parents and teachers relate to children is socially irresponsible. This paper explores Samoan understandings of responsible parenting. It argues the case for cultural difference in approaches to parenting, and for the emergence of a ‘third space’ in which cultural groups negotiate the globalizing pressures of Western values. The paper draws on an emerging research literature and interviews with students, teachers and parents in Samoa. The study has implications for educators, social workers and policy makers in New Zealand and other Pacific Rim countries where Samoans form a significant proportion of a rapidly growing Pacific population.     

A comparison of social work education across South Africa and Japan in relation to the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training

Sakaguchi H, Sewpaul V. A comparison of social work education across South Africa and Japan in relation to the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 192–202 © 2009 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article draws on a one‐year study visit to the University of KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa, interviews with field supervisors and students in Japan and reviews of the national frameworks of education in Japan and in South Africa. In doing so, the authors identify the similarities and differences in social work education across the two countries and they explore some of the historical and socio‐cultural factors that might account for the differences. There are some identifiable peculiarities in social work education in Japan, especially with the coalescing of care work and social work education. The lack of differentiation between care work and social work makes it difficult to narrow the scope of social work education and practice. National social work standards have been approved in South Africa and regulatory frameworks for social work education and practice have been long accepted, thus rendering ‘social work’ a protected title and a profession that is more entrenched compared with social work in Japan. The codes of ethics in Japan and South Africa are discussed with specific reference to their control functions in South Africa. The article concludes by discussing these comparisons in relation to the Global Standards for Social Work Education.     

分组教学在《社区工作》课程中的应用研究

《社区工作》课程是社会工作专业的十大主干课程之一,如何上好本门课程,笔者进行了很多探索,本文在实验的基础上,主要分析了分组教学在《社区工作》课程教学中的意义,希望对其他课程的教学改革有所启发.     

End-of-Life Care and Social Work Education

Summary

Social workers are major service providers to people who are facing end-of-life issues including the terminally ill and their families. Yet, exemplary models for social work education and intervention methods are limited in rural states. A statewide survey conducted in Kentucky found only two social work courses dedicated to end-of-life care currently being offered by accredited undergraduate and graduate institutions. Another statewide survey found that many hospice social workers are relatively inexperienced and have a need and desire for more education on death, dying and loss. Also, unique cultural, economic and geographic areas, such as Appalachia are enigmas when it comes to the provision of end-of-life care. This partnership provides a varied perspective on delivery of end-of-life care services with an emphasis on social work interventions and education.