Training to Change: Implications for International Social Work Education

Background and Purpose: This study examined what international social work educators imagine as the next steps for international social work training and education. In an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, a social work skill set is well-suited to address major transnational issues impacting our world. As such, the Council for Social Work Education (CSWE) has called for the integration of international content into the curricula of social work programs, and, accordingly, many schools of social work are offering various international social work opportunities. The literature suggests that social work students looking to do globally-focused work would benefit from greater knowledge of global issues, targeted skill development, and opportunities for greater field experience and exposure. However, to date, the literature does not provide a consolidated analysis of the education and training received by international social work students in the United States, so as to imagine the next steps for this work.

Methods: This study employed a phenomenological qualitative approach with a purposive, snowball sample of university faculty and staff representing eight public and private social work institutions. Study participation required experience in an international social work education role (e.g. teaching courses, concentration/certificate programs, servi­­­­­ce learning, research, or study abroad). Fourteen individual interviews, ranging from 30 to 60 minutes, were conducted in person and via phone. A semi-structured interview guide was used to understand how the discipline of social work is currently approaching the education and training of international social workers and what the future holds for this work. Recorded interviews were transcribed and coded using initial, descriptive, and holistic methods to reveal themes across interviews.                                                     

Results: Analysis of the interviews revealed four themes that capture what participants envisioned as the next level of international social work education. The first theme, Developing Hard Skills, addressed the need to educate students on hard skills in addition to the currently soft-skills-focused training approach. The second theme, Troubling the Waters, called for the demystification of international social work, promoting a next level dialogue with students around the complexities and conundrums involved in international work. The third theme, Creating Mutually Beneficial Exchanges, prioritized the perspective of communities on the receiving end of international social work to ensure mutually beneficial exchanges. Finally, the fourth theme, Becoming Multidisciplinary Collaborators, imagined re-conceptualizing the international social worker’s role beyond national borders to a more interconnected, ecological plane of interdisciplinary collaboration and partnership.

Conclusions and Implications: Building upon the current foundation of international social work education in the United States, this study identifies areas for advancing the depth and reach of this work with social work students. If the field of social work truly understands and values the intersection between social work and global forces, then schools must be ready to elevate expectations on learning, commitment to resources, and ownership of a more global identity. International social work can no longer be treated as a niche competency of the discipline – the discipline is in and of itself global and effective social workers need to be trained accordingly.