Global Standards and the realities of multiculturalism in social work curricula

Abstract

This study highlights social work’s response to socio-cultural diversity by investigating the reality of multiculturalism in social work curricula vis-a-vis the Global Standards debates. Content analysis technique is used from a transcendental perspective to explore the attributes of multiculturalism in social work curricula via the online directory of the International Association of Schools of Social Work. Each curriculum reflects relative attributes of multiculturalism, identifiable as tenets of the Global Standards – a tool for modeling social work education across cultures. A new theory and a practice model for international social work also emerged from the study, and are proposed for testing.