Published on : August 27, 2020
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) today announced the grantees for the fifth cycle of the Katherine A. Kendall Institute for International Social Work Education grant program. Grantees were selected based on their innovative projects that demonstrated sustainability, transferability, and potential to advance the field of international social work education.
“We are proud to extend grants to these programs so that they can help to fulfill Dr. Kendall’s desire to bring global experiences and context into classrooms in social work programs across the country. We have seen this year a pandemic that does not pay heed to country borders, underscoring the importance that all social workers be prepared to work with individuals and communities around the globe,” said Darla Spence Coffey, PhD, MSW, president and CEO of CSWE.
The following programs demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating international social work into curricula despite travel restrictions and limited in-person interactions brought on by the pandemic. These programs will prepare future social workers and researchers to practice in an increasingly interdependent and interconnected global community.
Loyola University Chicago—A Curriculum and Internship Model for Socioemotional Care and Mental Health Services in Migration Crisis Situations
Project lead: Maria Vidal de Haymes
This project will develop, pilot, evaluate, and disseminate a professional internship model and curriculum designed to prepare social work students for interprofessional practice in migration crisis situations. The project will serve asylum seekers confined to the U.S. Mexican border due to the recent implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocol policy of the U.S. government.
Seattle University—Development of an Open Access Platform of Case Studies for Global Social Work Educators
Project lead: Hye-Kyung Kang
This project builds on CSWE’s Teaching International Social Work: Online Modules by developing a case study structure for teaching international social work with an online case study platform where educators can access materials and add their own content to be shared.
Touro College—Infectious Diseases and the Social Determinants of Health: A Web-based Course for Social Work Students
Project lead: Jennifer Zelnick
This project will develop an international public health curriculum centered on three infectious disease case studies that compare experiences and interventions in the United States and South Africa in the HIV epidemic, drug-resistant tuberculosis/HIV syndemic, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
University at Buffalo—Focus on Haiti: Turning the Lens on Media Advocacy and Global Human Rights Perspectives
Project lead: Laura Lewis
This project employs an interdisciplinary pedagogical model that brings together social work and journalism students in three universities in the United States and Haiti to work collaboratively using digital media to educate and advocate for global human rights in ways that are multidimensional and grounded in local perspectives.
University of Michigan—Brazil Theater Exchange: Innovation for Social Work Education
Project lead: Rogério Meireles Pinto
This project uses self-referential drama techniques to prepare social workers to overcome service barriers and enhance advocacy by developing and evaluating theater methods for social work education.