Preface

The journey towards initiating and ultimately writing this book (my PhD research) did not begin with my first visit to Ghana in 1994. It began as a young child watching slides of my father’s visits to Africa. My own courage and confidence to travel came from my parents, who throughout their lives travelled the world, making it a normal part of life’s experience. My own travels outside my country of the United States began in 1972 with a backpacking trip with my sister at the young age of 17. In 1981, I moved to London, England, where I experienced my first cross-cultural living experience. I learned what it was like to be a privileged immigrant and to live and work in a different culture. During the thirteen years I lived in England, I took advantage of the opportunities to travel to many parts of the world in order to experience and learn about other cultures. This interest in other cultures paralleled my training and practice in social work and led naturally to an interest in combining my two passions. In particular I was drawn to learning how social work had developed and was currently manifested in other countries, particularly non-western countries.1 Specifically, I discovered and learned how other cultures provided social supports for people at the individual, group, and community level. I was interested in knowing if social workers (or their equivalents) were present in other countries, what social and professional role they filled, and what education they received in their country. In the past twenty-two years, this journey has included lengthy times spent in Britain, Ghana, Armenia, Canada, and a Liberian refugee camp.

From 1994 to 1996, I taught social work at the University of Ghana, Legon, in the Social Work Unit through the British non-government organization Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). At the same time I was reading James Midgley’s (1981) book Professional imperialism: Social work in the Third World. As I taught western social work theory and methods to African students in Ghana I became uncomfortably aware that I too was part of this professional imperialism. Over the past ten years I have questioned why I was needed in Ghana to teach social work and why ‘western knowledge’ was so revered. I wanted to know if western-style social work theory and practice was appropriate in all countries of the world, and, if not, what alternatives have been created in order for the curriculum to be more culturally relevant.

To further educate myself in regards to the above questions, in 2000, I became involved with the International Federation of Social Workers and the International Association of Schools of Social Work and have attended their conferences at the international and African regional level. I continue to be interested in social work in other parts of the world. I see that it continues to flourish in some places and continues to struggle in others, including Africa. At its best, social work reflects the society in which it is operating. It should be a dynamic profession, changing and evolving with the needs of the people of the country and continent. However, this evolution can be both positive and challenging, particularly when countries are politically, socially, and economically unstable. It is my impression that western social work curriculua (theories, values, and practice) are still transferred to other countries in a top-down fashion instead of evolving naturally from a grassroots base. Why is this so? Why is it that 90 per cent of books in the social work library in Africa are western? This forces students to adapt western textbooks to their own situation when they should be having textbooks of their own. How far can one push adaptation to a point where it stifles learning? These and other questions will be part of the contents of this book.

On a more personal level, in combining my interest of international work and social work I have had to come to terms with my own place in this world, one in which I am a privileged white western woman who was socialized to believe in a certain way about the world. My journey has included challenging these worldview assumptions and challenging the profession of social work as a white, western professional entity. I have also been challenged by my own racism, particularly concerning Africans. Over the years I have been privileged to work with many Africans that have helped me reduce this irrational prejudice. I have endeared myself to Africa and its people and wish to continue this connection at both a personal and a professional level.

Many people, places, animals, spirits, and objects were part of this journey. First and foremost, I am grateful to my PhD research group in Ghana for giving their time, knowledge, and experience to be part of the 2002/2003 research project that provided the impetus for this book. The research group included: Ziblim Abukari, Adu-Gyamfi Jones, Kwaku Afram, Joanna Mensah, Salima Imoro, Patience Antonio, George Dah, Nana Boatema Afrakoma II, and Comfort Sackey. My thanks also go to Dr. Maureen Wilson, Dr. Timothy Pyrch, and Dr. Donald Ray for their encouragement over the years. My thanks also extend to the great people of Ghana at the Department of Social Work and their helpfulness while I was there on my various visits. I am grateful particularly to Prof. Nana Araba Apt, whose friendship and encouragement has been exceptional. I want to thank Prof. Lengwe Mwansa at the University of Botswana for his insight into the Association for Social Work Education in Africa. Finally, I thank both the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) for giving me the opportunities to present at their conferences as part of my process of thinking and learning about social work in Africa. This has allowed me to develop my thoughts from a thesis to a book. Finally, I thank Steve Brechtel for his loving support and editorial help during this process of writing. To all of you, thank you from the deepest part of my heart.