School Social Work in Rosario Argentina: Promoting Social Justice and Human Rights

Purpose: This research project focuses on the roles of school social workers in Rosario, Argentina.  Social workers in this area are advocating for legislation that would require schools in Rosario to hire school social workers. It is the hope that this research will provide continued support for the grassroots efforts of social workers in Rosario to promote school social work and continue their professional development in this area of specialization. This research focuses on the roles of school social workers in Argentina, as well as understanding how the foundatonal knowledge can be a useful contribution to training of school social workers in the U.S.

Methods: This qualitative study uses the extended case method.  The Extended Case Method (ECM), allows for multiple sources of knowledge, both in terms of data sources and theoretical approaches, and works to expand and re-work existing theory (Burawoy, 1998; Eliasoph & Lichtermman, 1999; Samuels, 2009). The use of theory and subsequent re-working or extending theory is an important distinction between the ECM method and other methodologies in their “purest” sense.  In this case, we use the ECM to extend both concepts and theories that are the foundation of social work practice in schools as well as the School Social Work Model developed by SSWAA.  Data were collected from two sources.  The primary author maintained field notes as she interacted with and learned from school social workers in Argentina.  In addition, field notes included the larger social and political context and how that frames the understanding of social work theories and practice in Latin America.  It is important to note that social work has developed in a context of lost decades due to brutal military regimes, a recent history of deepening radical economic injustices created by neoliberal policies exported by the U.S., and social movements and uprisings intended to fight this oppression.  The second data source was collected during the workshops.  School social workers had an assignment with questions realted to their defintion of school social work, their roles, beliefs about priorities, and challenges they face. There were 22 participants in the workshop, and 12 responded to the questions.  The questions were qualitatively analyzed for themes and conceptual categories. 

Results and Conclusions: School social workers in Rosario struggle with similar challenges to U.S. school social workers such as complex and varied roles and limited resources. Areas of strengths that could contribute to school social work in the U.S.  include the framing of school social work explicitly as a human rights profession, an emphasis on parental and children's access to rights, specific attention to structural oppression, no dichotmoy between micro and macro; and defining their role as having a basic responsiblity to faciliate social change, developing a critical consciousness through reflexive practice about structural forms of oppression and privilege.  Lessons that could influence the learning or professional development of school social workers include challenges to neo-liberal policies including privatizaton, a foundation in critical theory, and an amphasis on community practice and link between micro and macro.