Globalization challenges social work with constant social change, making a social worker's job and the task of social work education more complex and uncertain. Post-modern thinking suggests that social workers must learn to cope with complexity in ways that are in tension with the increasingly managerialist organization of the social services. The authors explore and question the concepts of 'postmodern', 'international' and 'global' in light of growing interest in international social work in the early 21st century. Emphasizing the importance of critical reflection, they argue that...

How can mainstream Western social work learn from and in turn help advance indigenous practice? This volume brings together prominent international scholars involved in both Western and indigenous social work across the globe a including James Midgley, Linda Briskman, Alean Al-Krenawi and John R. Graham a to discuss some of the most significant global trends and issues relating to indigenous and cross-cultural social work. The contributors identify ways in which indigenization is shaping professional social work practice and education, and examine how social work can better address diversity...

Social work increasingly finds itself at the frontline of issues pertaining to immigrant and refugee settlement and integration. In this timely book, Kathleen Valtonen provides the first book-length study on the challenges these issues create for the profession. Drawing on a wide range of research in migration which is not widely available to social workers or included in social work literature, she offers readers an opportunity to explore the capacity of the profession to take a primary role in the course and outcome of settlement. The book fills a gap in the social work literature by...

Multiculturalism in Western countries continues to grow, but responsiveness to it with culturally sensitive research, policy and practice has been slower to develop. This lag could be accused of enabling institutional racism that is, culturally insensitive practices and policies can cause or perpetuate harm to non-mainstream children and families, the very thing that child protection systems are set up to address. Thus, it is critical that the field has a resource that clearly and comprehensively outlines the characteristics of cultural competency in the child protection system when working...

Multiculturalism in Western countries continues to grow, but responsiveness to it with culturally sensitive research, policy and practice has been slower to develop. This lag could be accused of enabling institutional racism that is, culturally insensitive practices and policies can cause or perpetuate harm to non-mainstream children and families, the very thing that child protection systems are set up to address. Thus, it is critical that the field has a resource that clearly and comprehensively outlines the characteristics of cultural competency in the child protection system when working...