SWIPE Conference, Sheffield UK, September 2006

SOCIAL WORK IN A CROSSNATIONAL CONTEXT INTERNATIONALISING THE PRACTICE LEARNING

CURRICULUM FOR SOCIAL WORKERS

This presentation will cover:

1. The European Context : Socrates Erasmus: 2. SWIPE

– Who we are – Aims and Outcomes – How we worked together– Achievements

3. Globalisation and internationalising the Social Work Curriculum?

4. Evaluation and some questions

1. Socrates - Erasmus

• Higher Education Institutions are supported, through the Socrates-Erasmus Action, to meet European Union social and economic objectives:– Social cohesion (Maastricht Treaty 1992) – Prepare citizens to be competitive in a

globalised economy (Lisbon Strategy).

Socrates

• ‘The Socrates-Erasmus Action encourages co-operation between universities across Europe and supports mobility of students and staff in higher education, the development of joint programmes, courses and the development of thematic networks.’

European collaboration

• Convergence of educational systems ‘Bologna Agreement’ and European Credit Transfer (ECTs) – modules and courses can be used across Europe.

2. SWIPE

Six European universities

OUTPUTS 2 year curriculum development project.

• Audit of practice learning in each country• A Common Module – framework for delivering

learning and teaching• Curriculum and menu of learning teaching

assessment materials - college and 'on site'• Bibliography• Dissemination – locally, nationally and

internationally • Web site http://shu.ac.uk/research/hsc/swipe• Conference.

Funded Activities include:

• Staff time; each partner- tutor and practice educator (administrator, technicians)

• Regular local network meetings

• Four meetings of all partners

• Briefing Visits (2) to Brussels• Conference

• Translation costs

• Tartu 3rd meeting

Vilnius 2nd meeting

Module Focus: Globalisation

• The movement of people, capital and ideas and their social and economic impact: the implications for social work practice.– Policy context, international, national and

regional, how do these affect the people concerned?

– Social work responses, policy and practice (what works elsewhere and why?)

• Learning from other social work traditions– and learning about being comparative

• Communicating across cultures at local and international level

• What does empowering practice mean in these contexts?

• Recognise and celebrate difference.

The module is based on:

• Learning outcomes - at the end of the module successful students will be able to:– Reflect upon and understand personal, professional

and cultural values– Identify cross-national social problems– Make cross national comparisons (learning from

others)– Identify processes of cross national and cultural

communication– Engage in empowering practice with marginalised

groups.

Different developments towards the module

• Oslo – cross cultural communication with students about to go on international practice– Using learning outcomes

Lund-Sweden

Utrecht and Vilnius

The Audit

This is how it can be used

Is this enough?• I

Is social work an international activity?

• Do we have a role as social workers in international affairs?

• Is there a community of ‘social work’ that can speak with one voice in international affairs?

• Do our differences and commonalities divide or unite us?

Why Internationalise the curriculum?

• EU agenda• National requirements for social work?• Shaking ethnocentric/Eurocentric focus through

learning from other societies• Challenging parochial ideas of evidence• Critical engagement with personal and

professional assumptions (hegemony)• Global employment and global problems.

How do we know it is a good thing?

Healy (1990) identifies four reasons to support international content:

• The educated person's perspective• The increasing level of global inter-dependence

and its effects on local social work practice• The use of international knowledge to deal with

domestic social work problems• The opportunity to contribute professional

experience to global issues.

Evaluation

• Healy's reasons for action provide a template for evaluation which goes beyond student experience

• At present evaluation focuses on the educated person as the student

• There is a need to include the service user and the educator

• Does SWIPE go beyond creating an educated person?

• Do international initiatives make a difference and for whom? (Caragata and Sanchez 2002:236).

Has SWIPE delivered?

• Different answers from different partners:– Module developed, piloted and incorporated in SW programmes– E-learning project (see poster presentation Gevorgianienė, V. Jakutienė, V. Hendriks, P, Kloppenburg, R.)– Raised the significance of globalisation within local and national

social work networks– Partners’ process of collaboration/comparative work mirroring

and guiding our understanding of student learning processes (academy and on-site)

– Combined academic and practice learning and produced shared learning materials- available on line.