**3. Social work education in university curricula**

#### **3.1 The curricula in universities**

Many Social Work degrees that are recognized locally and internationally are offered by the tertiary educational institutes of the country. In many countries of the world, there is an authoritative body to accredit these social work programs [6]. The international associations are there to design the global standards as to how the entire world can practice the discipline in a uniformed way [1, 6, 8]. The curricula are designed by the particular institute and then get the approval of the necessary accreditation body(ies)—regional or professional—of the country [8] while in some countries there are none [6, 12]. Highly qualified professionals are there to deliver the content to train the young minds who are interested in this field. At the preliminary level, there are foundation, certificate, diploma, and advanced diploma programs. But the popular programs are BA in Social Work, BSc. in Social Work, MA in Social Work, M.Sc. in Social Work, M.Phil. in Social Work, and Ph.D. in Social Work or Doctor of Social Work. The advanced programs have field work placements and research to prove the candidate whether s/he has the capacity to practice what s/he has learnt.

One of the basic issues is that the structure of the Social Work degree. To be eligible for the undergraduate degree, a university entrance requirement or any other similar qualification is sufficient. Most of the Bachelor's degrees are of 3 years or 4 years. There are no common curricula even though all these universities or institutes

adhere to the global standards. Most of the curricula promote a generalist practice with a limited time period for a professional training [12]. In the Master's level also the curriculum is different from institute to institute, and no uniformity in the specializations they offer. Many individuals prefer to follow Social Work degree at the Master's level after completing a Bachelor's degree in any discipline. It has been found out that the Western-oriented Social Work theories, methods, and practices have been included in the curricula of the non-Western educational institutes as well [6, 12].

Due to this in 1992, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) decided to formulate a common curriculum for all the social work programs to follow [2]. The field work component too differs significantly. Even though there cannot be a uniformity due to each institute's unique identity, the job market has not got adjusted to the youth who are leaving universities after completing their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees [6]. The newly passed out Social Work graduates have no options other than working in NGOs and many other similar organizations. Lack of proper employment for Social Work graduates is a sheer waste of national economy as the social workers cannot extend their services to the society at large [5].

All the universities or any other educational institute that offers a Social Work study program should adhere to the global standards to maintain uniformity throughout the world [11]. Ginsberg (2005) mentions eight standards based on the 2003 version issued by the Commission on accreditation of CSWE [8]. Even though all these are equally important, the second, fifth, and the eighth standards are crucial in relation to the topic that is discussed here. The second standard is curriculum. The curriculum should adhere to the program specifications and the expectations. It should be in line with the country's educational policy, social welfare policy, social work practices, and all forms of development indices. So from one program to the next, the specializations and the relevance to the society's needs and wants should be met.

Baikady et al. are of the opinion that most of the global South curricula have not got upgraded according to the local requirements but rather rely on or heavily influenced by the Western traditions [6]. It is interesting to note that both global North and South societies are getting unprecedently diversified and fragmented, but the nature of the issues and the outcomes are totally dissimilar. Therefore, the challenge of the social work curriculum or syllabus is to cater to those pressing needs of the local communities [5]. The local universities and the relevant governmental authorities have to be ahead of the times predicting the nature of Social Work services the country needs in future.

The fifth standard is the professional development of the student who steps into the world of social work. The student who gets enrolled to any social work study program should be convinced that s/he has the necessary environment to enjoy the benefits of a CPD program structure. As we are in need of professionally sound social workers, the SWE structure of the country should ensure that guarantee. The eighth standard is about the assessment of the study programs. There should be timely revisions to the curriculum, proper assessment structure, accreditation, and licensing [6, 7].

Sewpaul and Jones have mentioned nine global standards for SWE and Training and the article, though 1 year before than Ginsberg, offer a detailed and informative discussion of the agreed standards of the collaborative effort between the IASSW and the IFSW [20]. The CSWE has introduced nine social work competencies, program mission and goals, accreditation standards for the generalist and specialist practice, implicit and explicit curriculum, faculty, administrative and governance structure,

#### *Perspective Chapter: Social Work Education in University Curricula for Sustainable Development DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106246*

and student evaluations in its guidelines [21]. All these provide the necessary platform for any university to design their study programs.

Ioakimidis and Sookraj who discuss the final document adopted by the IASSW and the IFSW in 2020 organize the global standards for SWE and Training under three distinctive domains: the school, the people, and the profession [16]. In this discussion of preparing the future leaders for tomorrow, SWE could immensely help to address the global sustainability issues. The schools considered in this context are the universities, tertiary educational institutes, and any other academic institute that offer SWE programs. According to the common agreement, the curriculum should be common, consistent, and regularly reviewed. The social workers should have a balance in theoretical knowledge and the on-field training. The main functions of the Social Work schools and other institutions are to empower the new social workers to enhance critical thinking skills, rational approaches to problem-solving, and a commitment to CPD. They should be given a thorough training on the ethical guidelines of the social work practice in all the possible fields of practice where they would have to serve in future [4]. Even though there could be many universal elements that can be shared in both global North and South, the contexts, peoples, and issues may not be the same. So, having a broader and in-depth knowledge in relation to context-specific, people-specific, and issue-specific is vital.

The people are the different stakeholders who are a part of the SWE. They can be the students, the teachers, the administrators, clients, and/or any other individual, group, or community that contributes toward the quality enhancement of the social work profession. The educators should have a sound knowledge and a wealth of knowledge on theory and practice. Social work schools produce the professionals to fill the dearth of professional social workers in the society. These professionals extend their services from the subnational, national, regional, to global levels [2]. The profession serves the society in two ways. While it gives an opportunity to the social workers to engage in practices, simultaneously it allows the victims or clients to find solutions for their issues. The social workers, whether they are veterans or novices, could utilize social work practices to integrate the global standards with local requirements.
