The Experience of Female Academics Teaching Social Work in the Global South
Date
2013-01-23
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Abstract
This study made use of postcolonial theory and the in depth interview to explore the teaching experience of Global North and Global South female social work instructors. Through active interviews from 2008 – 2010, 13 female academics; eight from the Global North and five from the Global South responded to the research question; What is the experience of teaching social work in the Global South?
Participants report on the ways they teach and engage in community and cultural learning within their host/home country, providing information on their teaching practice, and use of educational resources. For many, this was their first opportunity for reflecting and sharing professional teaching experience and insights in a structured manner.
This research offers three contributions. First, major findings reinforce that colonization continues to influence the delivery of social work education in the Global South. Second, despite this reality, there is also a movement toward collaboration and engagement among academics from the South and North that facilitates adaption and creation of culturally relevant curricula to suit the local context. Third, as one of few studies exploring the teaching experience of Global South and North academics, this scholarship provides some practical recommendations to dismantle the influence of postcolonialism on social work education. These recommendations include preparation training for internationally mobile social work academics, a community of practice for South and North academics, and a call for academic activism by individuals and institutions from both the Global North and South to foster mutual respect and develop inclusive educational partnerships.
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Education--Adult and Continuing
Citation
Dean, Y. (2013). The Experience of Female Academics Teaching Social Work in the Global South (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28144