Abstract
As the professional agenda of social work continues to spread globally, certain voices are privileged in the construction of what constitutes valid social work practice and education. Within the South Pacific Islands, the ongoing colonial legacy, engagement with foreign aid, and influence of globalization contribute to an environment where Western models of social work may supersede or drown out efforts to integrate models of Western and non-Western practice. Despite the trend to adopt Western models of practice, the neo-liberal prerogative underpinning many such approaches fails to address issues of social and ecological injustice. In response, Pacific constructions of social work encourage a more relational and collaborative model of practice with a focus on social connection rather than ‘outcome'. Ultimately, in the context of increasing globalization, the social work profession should foster a rich and diverse understanding of social work practice by embracing indigenous and localized understandings of research, education, and practice.
TopIntroduction
In today’s globalized context, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW, 2020) claims to represent over 3 million social workers globally. This large transnational membership suggests that there is some shared commonality to social work, or at least espoused sense of collective values (Nikku, 2015). Others intimate that a unified position of social work is unlikely, given the diverse cultural landscapes and contexts in which practice occurs (Morales et al, 2010; Dominelli, 2010b). It is within the global efforts to name, define, standardize and articulate social work that certain voices become privileged in constructions of what it is to do, or be a social worker (Staub-Bernasconi, 2017; Ravulo, 2016; Dominelli, 2014) This chapter presents specific examples of these tensions within the South Pacific context. It also highlights the role of colonial and neo-liberal forces in maintaining power and privilege within social work research, practice, policy and education. By providing lessons learned from Pacific approaches to social work, this chapter draws on a decolonizing position to examine ways in which practice can be recontextualized among the global community. Such recontextualizations, with an emphasis on relational interactions with self, environment and society, offer exciting possibilities for the ways in which social work can be constructed.