Globalising Social Work Education - Transporting Social Work Education to Asia
The Social Work Department at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, has recently begun offering the Bachelor of Social Work in Singapore. This project is one of the first attempts to transport Australian social work education into Asia and has been undertaken in response to requests from a number of government and voluntary agencies in Singapore. Similar requests are currently being made from other countries including Hong Kong and Malaysia and a number of universities are examining the potential of providing social work education in Asia. This paper discusses the issues involved in offering Australian social work education in a very different cultural setting, one with very different mores from Australia.
How does a social work course developed in one country accommodate a culture where the approaches that are being taught within the social work degree may be regarded as provocative? To what extent for example is Social Work's role in advocacy and social change, in promoting social justice and in developing and influencing social policy, compatible with the expectations of students and the social services agencies in Singapore? The paper addresses these issues and some of the practical impediments to developing the new program. It will be of interest to other schools of social work who are considering internationalising their programs.