This document discusses current trends and future needs in educating social work students to be globally competent. It summarizes findings from a survey of social work programs. Currently, many programs offer some international content and activities, but these tend to depend on individual faculty interests rather than a coordinated approach. To better prepare students, the field needs consensus on core global content, ways to make this content relevant, increased collaboration between programs, and a stronger sense of community among educators in international social work.

1. Educating for Global Competence among Social Workers: Current trends & Future Needs Goutham M. Menon University of Texas at San Antonio [email_address] 2 nd International Social Work Conference Boston June 6-8, 2008

2. Overview of Presentation Today’s graduates must be globally competent to succeed Current Trends in US Approaches to defining global competence Instilling global competence – 4 C’s: Content, Context, Collaboration, Community

3. Program Responses Statement Response Count Response Percent Undergraduate Social Work Program only 56 23.1% Graduate Social Work Program only 54 22.3% Undergraduate and Graduate Social Work Program 118 48.8% Other (please specify) 14 5.8%

4. Total number of years as a Social Work Educator Statement Response Count Response Percent 1-5 years 43 17.7% 6-10 years 35 14.4% 11-15 years 48 19.8% 16-20 years 35 14.4% Over 20 years 82 33.7%

5. Total number of years working in the area of International Social Work Statement Response Count Response Percent 1-5 years 84 37.8% 6-10 years 61 27.5% 11-15 years 28 12.6% 16-20 years 19 8.6% Over 20 years 30 13.5%

6. Which of the following activities does your program offer? Statement Yes No Internationalization/globalization priority mentioned in mission statement of your program 129 (51.8%) 99 (39.8%) International content in undergraduate courses 143 (57.9%) 42 (17%) International content in graduate courses 155 (63.8%) 27 (11.1%) Specific international theme elective courses 150 (60.7) 81 (32.8%) Student awareness of international opportunities through advising 190 (77.6%) 29 (11.8%) International internships 120 (48.2%) 114 (45.8%) International students from other countries in your program 199 (79.9%) 40 (16.1%) Study Abroad Program 153 (63.2%) 71 (29.3)

7. Which of the following activities does your program offer? Statement Yes No Scholarships/fellowships to support international activities of students 96 (40.0%) 110 (45.8%) Scholarships/fellowships specifically for international students 110 (45.1%) 98 (40.2%) Grants for faculty research on international topics 110 (45.1 %) 98 (40.2%) Grants for faculty for international travel (conferences and/or research) 182 (73.4%) 48 (19.4%) Opportunities for international faculty/researchers to collaborate with your program 175 (71.7%) 44 (18.0%) Offer entire degree program in other countries 13 (5.3%) 210 (86.4%) Offer course modules in other countries (not distance education) 51 (20.9%) 169 (69.3%)

8. Have you undertaken the following during the last three years? Statement Yes No Infused international/globalization content in the courses that you teach 206 (85.5%) 35 (14.5%) Developed or taught a course entirely dealing with international issues 81 (33.5%) 161 (66.5%) Conducted/taken part in a “study abroad” program 106 (44.2%) 134 (55.8%) Developed an international field placement program and/or placed students in international settings 94 (38.8%) 148 (61.2%) Used guest speakers for international issues in the classroom 160 (66.1%) 82 (33.9%) Was a visiting professor/instructor at a foreign university 82 (33.7%) 161 (66.3%) Was host to a visiting professor/instructor from outside your country 107 (44.6%) 133 (55.4%)

9. Have you undertaken the following during the last three years? Statement Yes No Conducted research on international topics 143 (58.8%) 100 (41.2%) Collaborated with researchers from another country 124 (51.0%) 199 (49%) Developed service/education projects in another country 101 (41.6%) 142 (58.4%) Was consulted in projects in another country 95 (39.3%) 147 (60.7%) Participated in activities/committees of international organizations 133 (55.0%) 109 (45.0%) Attended international conferences outside your country 149 (61.1%) 95 (38.9%)

10. To be a successful educator and researcher in a global setting, I will need to have: Statement Not Important Somewhat Important Important Very Important Access to institutions and researchers who share my interests 2 (0.8%) 13 (5.5%) 56 (23.7%) 165 (69.9%) The ability to communicate and share ideas with colleagues around the world easily 3 (1.3%) 4 (1.7%) 58 (25.1%) 166 (71.9%) Information about and access to financial resources (grants, fellowships) 3 (1.3%) 20 (8.6%) 59 (25.4%) 149 (64.2%) The ability to expose my students and myself to educators and students from other parts of the world electronically 5 (2.2%) 23 (9.9%) 72 (31.0%) 130 (56.0%) Learn about global issues through study abroad 6 (2.6%) 26 (11.3%) 76 (32.9%) 120 (51.9%)

11. To be a successful educator and researcher in a global setting, I will need to have: Statement Not Important Somewhat Important Important Very Important Access to video/DVD resources from other countries/regions 8 (3.4%) 47 (20.3%) 83 (35.8%) 93 (40.1%) Access to syllabi, teaching resources developed by experts in international social work 7 (3.0%) 34 (14.6%) 76 (32.6%) 113 (48.5%) Information about educators and their projects in international settings 2 (0.9%) 21 (9.0%) 89 (38.2%) 120 (51.5%)

12. Current Trends - Courses Range of courses reported Majority are Policy, Macro Practice courses Stand alone courses are a mixed bunch going with faculty expertise/interest

13. Current Trends – Study Abroad – 47 Countries Albania Argentina Armenia Austria Australia Bangladesh Belize Canada China Costa Rica Cuba Czech Republic Ecuador Finland France Ghana Guadeloupe Guatemala Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary India Ireland Italy Jamaica Japan Kenya Korea Latvia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Northern Ireland Poland Romania Russia Scotland Slovenia South Africa Spain St. Lucia Thailand Trinidad Turks and Caicos Ukraine United Kingdom Zimbabwe

14. Current Trends – Field Placements – 66 Countries Albania American Samoa Argentina Armenia Australia Bangladesh Barbados Belize Brazil British Virgin Islands Canada Chile China Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvadore Estonia Fiji Finland France Germany Ghana Great Britain Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Hong Kong India Ireland Israel Jamaica Japan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea Latvia Lithuania Marshall Islands Mexico Nepal New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Northern Ireland Norway Panama Peru Philippines Romania Russia Singapore South Africa Spain St. Kitts St. Lucia St. Vincent Switzerland Thailand Tonga Trinidad Turks and Caicos Uganda Ukraine Zimbabwe

15. Defining competence: Three types of competencies required Knowledge – Basic facts, concepts, ideas Skills – behaviors and practices acquired through experience – not knowledge but ability to put knowledge into practice Attitudes & beliefs – Opinions and feelings that affect behavior and interpersonal interactions

16. Global Knowledge How the modern world works – global economics, international relations, comparative politics Information about specific world regions/nations How “social work” is approached in different cultures

17. Global Skills Language proficiency Adaptability to, and comfort with, different cultures Ability to practice social workin other cultures (going beyond knowledge ). Familiarity with cultural differences in disciplinary thinking and practice.

18. Global Attitudes/Beliefs Appreciation for other cultures Tolerance for cultural differences Willingness to try culturally different approaches Appreciation for differences in approach to problems and issues across cultures Interest in learning about other cultures “Home culture” not always the best practice approach

19. Future Needs: CONTENT International content seems to be “faculty-interest” oriented Few programs have stand alone courses – not feasible in many cases Often disjointed, without clear purpose Is there a consensus on what needs to be included in courses? And in what courses should it be infused?

20. Future Needs: CONTEXT Why should a student who may never leave a region/city be exposed to international content? What is the purpose? How do we make it relevant to the student? San Antonio – Poverty, immigration, human trafficking, etc

21. Future Needs: COLLABORATION Very few institutions have faculty “experts” in the global context of social work How do we develop 20-30 minute presentations on regions /topics /problems and be willing to share that to other institutions? This is a critical area for sustaining activities

22. Future Needs: COMMUNITY The global context of social work is a community affair Reciprocal relationships for student/faculty exchange, development of course modules etc need to be emphasized Sharing of knowledge and the development of programs collaboratively will bode well for the field.

23. Comments?