Across the globe, social work continues to encounter complex and multidimensional disciplinary and real-world challenges. Responding to structural injustices and ethical dilemmas requires creative strategies for integrating local and international social work with sustainable development. With the help of local and global community partners, field professionals, and academic collaborators, our team developed a new graduate certificate and curriculum model for an online Masters of Social Work (MSW) specialization on International Social Development at the University of Calgary, Canada. Grounded in the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, and social work’s ethical frameworks, human rights and liberatory pedagogy, this curriculum analyzes social development theories and practice models from anti-colonial and historical perspectives. The curriculum includes four courses that apply a social work lens to policies, practices and advance ethical approaches to working with diverse populations in global and local contexts. Teaching methods and strategies include mentorship from journey guides, case studies, experiential learning, digital storytelling, community participation/action and international social work practicum. Centralizing a community-oriented curriculum, critical theories and global social justice approaches blended with creative pedagogical methods, this framework can be contextualized and applied to other regions outside Canada. Reflections and insights will be shared and broader implications for social work, social development, and sustainable development offered.
Reference
Jamal, A., Lorenzetti, L., Drolet, J., El-Lahib, Y., & Khatiwada, K. (2022). Rethinking and redesigning the MSW international social development specialization. Social Work Education. 41(7), 1441–1459. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2022.2090538
