PROFESSIONALISM, POSTMODERN ETHICS AND THE GLOBAL STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AND TRAINING
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15270/46-3-156Abstract
The Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training (hereafter referred to as “thedocument”) that was adopted by the General Assemblies of the International Association of
Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)
in October 2004 was born out of several small and big compromises. As Chair of the Global
Standards Committee, I remain ambivalent about some of the processes and the product. As
pointed out previously (Williams & Sewpaul, 2004), despite the best attempts at consultation
and ensuring representation of different voices, they remained flawed, especially when working
on a document that is supposed to cover worldwide processes and representation. On being
asked to Chair the Global Standards Committee my reaction was that it was a preposterous and
over-ambitious goal, with my biggest fear being that it would reinforce a Western hegemony
and reproduce Western professional imperialism in social work education and practice. I was
informed that because I understood the sensitivities and complexities of such an endeavour, I
would be suited to lead the process.
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