Decolonising African Social Work – Selected Abstracts and Texts

Text in this blog was cited verbatim from the original sources, and details or link of the original source or a weblink provided.

Inappropriateness of Western Social Work and Western Philosophy

There is some consensus that colonial white western social work which centers on western philosophy,  theory and epistemologies is inappropriate, irrelevant for African contexts. The need to create a culturally appropriate and locally relevant social work has been echoed for decades now with social workers proposing various approaches including indigenisation and decolonisation. I have found the interchangeable use of indigenisation and decolonisation in social work literature rather confusing, leaving me with unanswered questions about what the terms mean and when or how to use these terms. While it may be true that indigenisation and decolonisation are interrelated or inextricably tied because they were brought about by the need to address colonisation in social work where the western model of social work was imposed in other diverse contexts as a universal model that transcends all cultures, it has also been argued that indigenisation and decolonisation are different processes conveying different ideas (Tusasiirwe, S. (2022). Is it indigenisation or decolonisation of social work in Africa? A focus on Uganda. African Journal of Social Work, 12(1), 1-11.) Full article also available from African Journals Online (AJOL) database which is the largest database of journals published in Africa.

Social Work and the ‘Missionary Zeal to Whip the Heathen Along the Path of Righteousness’

“Ever since Western forms of social work were first imported to Africa, a serious debate has been raging on whether they fit the African context Most of this debate has concentrated, however, on the techniques of Western social work as opposed to the ends to which they are put, which, being underpinned by Western values, are essentially alien to African culture. Applying Western social work in Africa can be viewed, therefore, as continuing the work of the missionaries who sought to remake Africans in their own image. Following a summary of the arguments why Africa might require a form of social work of its own, this article explores the chances of such indigenization and concludes that it might be nigh impossible unless research involving reflective learning by African social workers with their clients is placed at the centre of social work practice. ARNON BAR-ON, Social Work and the ‘Missionary Zeal to Whip the Heathen Along the Path of Righteousness’, The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 29, Issue 1, February 1999, Pages 5–26, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjsw.a011440

Missionaries’s Colonising Legacy

“Social work education was adopted to facilitate the civilisation and improvement of the living conditions of the natives … and to take control of as many territories as possible for the economic advancement of the colonial powers …. As part of the colonising process, missionaries played a critical role in spreading social work to the developing countries. In addition to preaching and converting the ‘heathens’, they were involved in exploration of minerals and sent information to the colonial powers. Further, they were instrumental in developing rudimentary formal basic social services, such as primary schools, health clinics, hospitals, and social welfare institutions” (Osei-Hwedie and Rankopo 2012, 725).

Social Work Education in Africa: Whence and Whither?

This article discusses the origin of social work education in Africa as an export of colonial powers. Social work or social work education has not been the product of a progressive social metamorphosis but rather that of foreign methodologies imposed on African societies. Consequently, the essence of social work education lacks relevance in terms of its philosophical, value and ideological base. Thus students who graduate from such a system of education tend to remain, to some extent, unfamiliar with indigenous knowledge systems and lack adequate knowledge in working with the people. The paper further argues that, while the origin of social work education is well known, its future direction, development and focus on the continent remain unknown, at worst haphazard, ad hoc and undirected with serious implications for the mission and vision of the profession. Social work in Africa has been without a platform to foster discourse on its nature, character and direction. Lengwe-Katembula Mwansa (2011) Social Work Education in Africa: Whence and Whither?, Social Work Education, 30:1, 4-16, DOI: 10.1080/02615471003753148

Culturally Sensitive Social Work Practice: Lessons From Social Work Practitioners And Educators in Ghana

“It has been argued that to be able to practice in a culturally sensitive manner, social workers in Ghana have to adopt strategies that are relevant for their socio-cultural context. Nonetheless, it remains unclear how social workers are implementing culturally sensitive social work approaches. This research investigated the various strategies that social workers have used in implementing culturally sensitive social work approaches. It has been revealed that in a bid to make their practice and education culturally sensitive, social work educators make use of local wise sayings, cases and examples, while practitioners were found to rely a lot on family dispute resolution strategies as well as the traditional authority system as part of practice techniques. This research argues that the emphasis of a culturally sensitive social work approach must be on teaching practitioners and educators how to negotiate the demands of culture, social work values, ethics and constitutional law and secondly, for educators to develop an understanding of their context and to use that understanding to explain social work concepts in a way that students can identify with”. Forkuor, J. B., Ofori-Dua, K., Forkuor, D., & Obeng, B. (2019). Culturally sensitive social work practice: Lessons from social work practitioners and educators in Ghana. Qualitative Social Work, 18(5), 852–867. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325018766712

Afrocentric Social Work: Implications for Practice Issues

“The Afrocentric paradigm has identical principles with Ubuntu which in Africa exemplifies African values and ethics in the service of humanity. While social work theories make western theories and philosophies their reference point, the Afrocentric paradigm is based on traditional African philosophies, history, culture, values and ethics. There are also common grounds with social work values and ethics in upholding human rights and focusing on service to alleviate human suffering. For the African people to cope with modern challenges it is important for them to seek strength in the foundations of their indigenous cultures. African cultures value collectivity, reciprocity, spirituality and interconnectedness of all beings. Much of these values have been eroded by modernity and market forces. The popular symbol of the Akan people of Ghana called Sankofa is a bird lookingback but going forward and means that it important to reflect on the past to build a prosperous future. The concept of Sankofa therefore advocates revisiting the past to find what is forgotten in order to build a strong and resilient future, noting that the past, present and future are all interconnected. The focus of this paper is to demonstrate how these values can address the challenges of social development in our time. Mungai, N.W. (2015). Afrocentric social work: implications for practice issues.” Some Aspects of Community Empowerment (Editors: Venkat Pulla and Bharath Mamidi), New Delhi.

Decolonising The Social Work Curriculum

“Ugiagbe (2015) explains that the relevance of indigenising education in social work lies in the need for social workers to be adequately prepared to work with a diverse range of indigenous peoples, and emphasises that education and practices pertaining to social work should incorporate local sociocultural practices. According to Tamburo (2013), the decolonising of education in social work would enable the perspectives of indigenous, non-Western people and their world views to find expression, thereby transforming the field of social work by developing effective services in partnership with indigenous peoples. Razack (2009) envisages a continuous, permanent, transformative and internalised means of ensuring accountability in social work, through the decolonising of pedagogy. Each of the writers who have been cited in this section advocates social work practices that are able to overcome the specific problems of indigenous peoples through the adoption of approaches and methods that have been developed in indigenous contexts. As Western approaches to social work are culturally relevant to Western societies but not generally relevant to other cultures, the case for the indigenisation of social work becomes compelling……In relation to the curricula of universities, decolonisation often refers to the replacement of European works with those of local theorists and African authors, and the making of substantial adjustments to curricula shaped by colonial rule (Tuck and Yang, 2012). Quinn and Vorster (2016: 4) enumerates the essential components of curricula as comprising what is taught, how it is taught and assessed, and also who the teachers and the students are, and maintains that it is both necessary and possible to take contextual factors into consideration in the designing of a curriculum. The aim of decolonising curricula in universities has been to end the era of African universities being mere extensions of the institutions in the countries of their former colonisers upon which they had been modelled. Decolonising knowledge in universities entails both a deep sense of, and an ability to recognise, the dangers inherent in the blind adoption of colonial approaches to knowledge, research methodologies and pedagogical strategies (McLaughlin and Whatman, 2007). Smith (2014) advocates the decolonisation of methodologies by means of a revolution, not in a political sense, but rather to provoke revolutionary thinking concerning the roles that knowledge, the production of knowledge and knowledge hierarchies play in decolonisation and social transformation. Manomano, T., Nyanhoto, R., & Gutura, P. (2020). Prospects for and factors that militate against decolonising education in social work in South Africa.”, Critical and Radical Social Work, 8(3), 357-370. Retrieved Apr 25, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.1332/204986020X16019188814624

‘West is Best’ Syndrome

“…Social work is a Western invention and the ‘west is best’ rationality permeates those societies in which it is practised. Even today, African social work students want a Western social work education and qualification and universities in Africa want to attract international students” (Gray et al., 2008, Osei-Hwedie and Rankopo, 2008, 2012).

Why Social Work Lacks Recognition in Africa?

“The lack of respect for and understanding of social work’s role in African countries by other professionals and the government is partly due to the profession’s failure to decolonize and to adapt and respond to country-specific needs and problems. Western social work practice just does not fit Africa’s cultures or the widespread poverty and urgent need for social development.” (Kreitzer, L. (2016). Decolonising Social Work Eduication in Africa – A Historical perspective in Gray et al, Decolonizing Social Work, page 201.

Memunka’s Statement

In my opinion the time has come for serious and critical re-examination of social work training in Africa … Twentieth century Africa expects social work to be creative and revolutionary. In the context of the inter-disciplinary approach I see the profession of social work as a catalyst for the polarization of all shades of opinion relating to rural development. By virtue of their training, social workers should be able to make a positive contribution as members of inter-disciplinary development teams … However, it is again necessary to reiterate my earlier concern that unless the profession of social work is prepared to take a new path,

Association of Social Work Education in Africa (ASWEA) (1976) Realities and aspirations of social work education in Africa, Doc. 11. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication. page 32.

The Colonising Role of The United Nations (UN)

“Importantly for later discussions, the values, beliefs, and theoretical underpinnings of social work were informed by Western understandings, which were shot through with racial prejudice and ideologies of cultural superiority, assumed to be eminently transferable to these new, non-western contexts (Kendall 1995; Midgley 1981). The United Nations (1969, 1971) pushed colonial administrators to import social work education and practice to Africa, and Western professionals were commissioned to conduct needs assessments and advise colonial administrations on the development of essential services”. (Gray, M., Kreitzer, L., Mupedziswa, R. (2014) ‘The Enduring Relevance of Indigenization in African Social Work: A Critical Reflection on ASWEA’s Legacy’, Ethics and Social Welfare 8(2): 101–16.)

ASWEA’s Shortcoming Was Not to Provide Many Alternatives

“The Association of Social Work Education in Africa (ASWEA) operated from 1973-1989. It championed decolonisation. ‘ASWEA’s records showed that, for its members, Africanisation was a positive move yet they provided very little concrete information on exactly what an Africentric curriculum designed to counter the effects of colonialism might constitute…Prior to its demise, ASWEA had achieved observer status at the Organisation for African Unity (OAU). Two reasons are often cited to explain its demise: Cash- flow problems and a lack of seriousness of purpose and vision in its leadership.‘ (Gray, M., Kreitzer, L., Mupedziswa, R. (2014) ‘The Enduring Relevance of Indigenization in African Social Work: A Critical Reflection on ASWEA’s Legacy’, Ethics and Social Welfare 8(2): 101–16.)

Colonial Ethics Still in Africa’s Codes of Ethics!

“Perhaps the most prolific writer on indigenisation in Africa, Osei-Hwedie (1996b) argues that finding relevant solutions to Africa’s particular challenges ‘involves understanding and articulating local indigenous resources, relationships, and problem-solving networks; and the underlying ideas, rationale, philosophies or values’ (Osei-Hwedie 1996b, 351). Yet many African social work associations are still guided by Western social work codes of ethics without any overt statements about ‘relevance to national cultures’ or ‘indigenisation’ of education or practice.” (Gray, M., Kreitzer, L., Mupedziswa, R. (2014) ‘The Enduring Relevance of Indigenization in African Social Work: A Critical Reflection on ASWEA’s Legacy’, Ethics and Social Welfare 8(2): 101–16.)

The Example of Ghana – Not a Good One

“Kreitzer’s (2012) finding that the Ghanaian social work curriculum continues to draw on European philosophy with little attention to Africentric perspectives or local African cultures illustrates the extent to which this remains a matter of continuing urgency. Just as ASWEA reported some 30 years ago, the Ghanaian research group recommended the curriculum be indigenised by including a greater emphasis on holistic community development; critiques of the impact of broader (neoliberal) development economics and structural adjustment pro- grammes on African social development; refugee issues; culturally appropriate language in course titles; and more African material and local research. This essentially was the crux of the indigenisation debate, which began in earnest in 1972 with the publication of Shawky’s seminal work questioning the relevance of colonising social work education in Africa. Shawky (1972) cautioned against modification-based approaches that involved ‘adapting imported ideas to fit local needs’ (Shawky 1972, 3). He and others criticised the overuse of US textbooks, inappropriate casework models, disregard for local cultures, and lack of indigenous education and practice (Brigham 1982; Midgley 1981) ((Gray, M., Kreitzer, L., Mupedziswa, R. (2014) ‘The Enduring Relevance of Indigenization in African Social Work: A Critical Reflection on ASWEA’s Legacy’, Ethics and Social Welfare 8(2): 101–16.)

Ajayi’s Model of Decolonising Higher Education

• Educate people to uphold and respect traditional systems instead of training elites to uphold colonial administrations and in return exploiting their own people;
• Deliver African-centred curricula that address the needs of the country instead of keeping European curricula that don’t address the needs of the developing country;
• Reduce the hierarchy of the university structures and manage- ment instead of keeping university structures and management as replicas of European universities;
• Provide education for all Africans instead of just the elites.

Ajayi, J. E. A., Lameck, K. H., Goma, G., & Ampah, J. (1996). The African Experience with Higher Education. Accra: Association of African Universities.

Develop Models That Rely on Afro-centric Systems of Indigenous Knowledge, Community-based Interventions, and Local Values and Practices

“If social work is to be appreciated, recognized and able to attain its full status, it has to mediate between people and their environments. Social work education and training in Africa have to abandon their total dependence upon Western frameworks, philosophies, values and knowledge and develop models that rely on Afro-centric systems of indigenous knowledge, community-based interventions, and local values and practices. At the same time there has to be acknowledgement of the ongoing development of African communities and the evolution of a culture defined by an admixture of North and South. ASSWA has to play a pivotal role in the contextualization of social work education and training and establish a direction to develop professional competence in the theatre of practice. A guiding force is necessary to lead the transformation of social work in Africa. The absence of a well founded organization supported by all stakeholders will only spell doom for the continent and the ‘whither’ of social work!” (Mwansa, L.-K. (2011). Social Work Education in Africa: Whence and Whither? Social Work Education, 30(1), 4–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615471003753148)

Final Message – Adequate Action is Lacking But What Should Be Done is Very Clear

Discussions in 2022 during the first Africa Day Indaba came up with 10 key points, while discussions during the 2023 Africa day Indaba suggested 10 action points as shown in the short videos below.