Remembering ASWEA – the Association of Social Work Education in Africa – 1971 to 1989

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As we approach Africa Day, we do a sankofa of the Association of Social Work Education in Africa (ASWEA). The pan-Africa ASWEA was formed in 1965 during a meeting in Alexandria, Egypt, and operated between 1971 and 1989, a period of 18 years. It was a non-profit organisation dedicated to social work education and social development in Africa. Its members included schools of social work and individual working in community, agricultural and rural development workers training. By 1978, ASWEA had OAU observer status, 50 social work and development training institutions and 100 individual academics from 50 countries. The objectives of ASWEA were to:

  • Address issues related to social work education, including dominance of Western social work curricula
  • Provide opportunities for  member  schools  to  meet  regularly  to  discuss  social  work’s  role  in  national  development  planning

The ASWEA Model

The ASWEA model of social work in Africa can be summarised as follows:

Shortcomings of social work in AfricaSolutions
Dominance of Western social work curriculaChange the curricula
Inadequacy of western models of social servicesChange the services
Dissatisfaction with the Christian approaches to servicesCentre social work on Africa’s religion
Western centred teaching and education focused on lectures and examinationsDevelop and promote African centered pedagogy, content and approaches, for example, more oral and participatory approaches or using African case studies, roles plays and groupwork. Another example is making education interdisciplinary or integrated.
Eurocentric knowledgeDevelop, through research, a body of social work knowledge that would meet the needs of Africans
Focused on remedial, curative or maintenance approachesMove to a social developmental or developmental social work approaches that are preventative
Focused on individual problemsRedefine social work to focus more on national  development  planning and policy
Culturally opposing social workDevelop culturally relevant social work
Lack of professional identity and defined area of competenceRedefine social work to make it more suitable for African problems and solutions and form professional associations
Urban-focused and elitistFocus on the majority of the people who are poor and residing in rural areas e.g. having a rural research unit, a rural fieldwork unit, rural placements and rural case studies.
Focused on social issues without economic issuesFocus on income, self-sufficiency and growth
ASWEA model

Case Studies Project

The ASWEA created and published about 87 case studies to be used for social work and social development education and training in Afica. The case studies were on community development and groupwork suitable for lectures, group discussions, and role-plays. Volume 1 has 66 cases from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda and Volume 2 has 21 cases from Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Togo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Ghana.

Directories

Two directories of social work training curricula in Africa were produced. The first in 1974 focusing on assessing ‘social, developmental and practical content and the second 1982 which was more comparative of the institutions.

Conferences and Seminars

The Association organsied conferences and seminars. One such conference is described in aU Archives here.

Courses Developed

The ASWEA developed courses and training material.

Surveys

The ASWEA led surveys to improve social work education.

Publications

Journal for Social Work Education in Africa. We currently do not have any of the published articles and we ask for copies if anyone has any.

Uhuru Archives

Through out its 18 year old history, the association produced written documents. We have termed these the Uhuru Archives because of their focus on decolonising and liberating social work in Africa. The Uhuru Archives consist of 3500 pages of communication, minutes, reports, conference proceedings, reports and case studies. The archiving and digitisation was facilitated by Linda Kreitzer with funding from IASSW and are currently housed at the Historical Papers Archive at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Access the Archive

Recommendations for African Social Work Based on ASWEA Archives

Recommendations from Gray, Kreitzer and Mupedziswa, 2014

  • Develop teaching material for African social work in the classroom, based on local and regional case studies, so as to develop African curriculum content.
  • Engage in the development of social development policies to confront contemporary challenges facing social work in Africa.
  • Formulate an African code of ethics for social work in Africa, involving multiple stakeholders across the African continent.
  • Strengthen national professional associations to speak out on national issues from a social work perspective.
  • Hold regular pan-African conferences, workshops, and symposia.
  • Publish ‘indigenous’ teaching models and materials, with reflections on evolving practice approaches in different contexts engaging with the specific challenges of the social work profession in Africa.

Barriers ASWEA Encountered

ASWEA had a good model, however, several reasons impacted progress, until today. According to Kreitzer (2013) these problems are (i)  the  colonial  legacy;  (ii)  gap  between  educated Africans and the majority of Africans; (iii) social work’s absence from national development planning; (iv) need for trained human resources for national development; (v) institutional changes following structural adjustment; (vi) lack of Indigenous teaching materials; (vii) inappropriate teaching styles; (viii) better use of social research; (ix) reorientation from social services to development and aid; (x) the establishment of a strong professional identity and powerful professional associations; and (xi) the tensions between social development and social welfare practice.

ASWEA was closed in 1989 due to a shortage of finances but also other reasons that followed. The leaders of ASWEA never intended to close it forever, they were hoping to open when conditions improved. The organisation did well by encouraging grassroots membership, expanding African social work to include development and taking a pan-African approach that supported liberation and decolonisation. However, it seems, they relied more on funding from outside, although they also had funding from AU.

ASWEA successors

East and Southern Association of Schools of Social Work (ESASS)

The East and Southern Association of Schools of Social Work (ESASS) was formed in 1994, to succeed ASWEA but it was ineffective from the start and folded immediately. One reason ESASS did not live long was because it could not attract members from all parts of the continent. As the name suggested, it started with East and Southern Africa.

Association of Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA)

After several years without a regional social work education association, in 2005, the Association of Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA) was formed. The ASSWA promotes the interests of social work education in African region. The objectives of the association include providing opportunities for consultation and exchange of ideas, educational resources, faculty and students, serving as a body for channeling resources to social work educational institutions in the region, promoting inter-regional, regional and international co-operation in social work education. The association strives to uphold the social work values, principles and human rights of all people and social justice. The composition of ASSWA includes schools of social work, other tertiary level social work educational programmes, and social work educators. By 2022, the ASSWA had 22 school members out of a possible 300 schools on the continent. This low membership could be a result of them failing to take a pan-African focus but there could be other results including limited resources.

How Useful is ASWEA’s Work Today? How Can it be Used in Teaching, Learning, Research and Management of Social Work?

  • The ASWEA model forms the basis for decolonising and indigenising social work in Africa, and should therefore inform current efforts.
  • The Uhuru Archives should be used to teach history of social work in Africa.
  • The case studies should be used to teach different contextual methods and techniques of social work.
  • The Archives should be analysed and researched to gain deeper insights into managing organisations in Africa, teaching and fieldwork.
  • The pan-African objectives of the ASWEA are as relevant now than before, and African social workers should revive them. In its work, the ASWEA worked with the African Union and had consultative status.
  • The courses developed then should guide current courses and help stop a trend where social work courses in Africa copy those from the West or East.
  • Sankofa – look back to inform the future.

ASWEA will be remembered for its pan-African direction and its focus on moving to developmental social work or social developed as opposed to imitating the western social work model. We hope by sharing this information, it will inspire libraries of social work to have copies of ASWEA publications including the Six Volumes Linda Kreitzer created and motivate social workers to use the ASWEA history, model and archives for education, training, learning and research.

Acknowledgements

Kreitzer, L. (2023). Decolonizing Social Work Education in Africa: A Historical Perspective Gray, M., Coates, J., Hetherington, T., & Yellow Bird, M. (2013). Decolonizing social work. Burlington: Ashgate.

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

Book: Social Work In Africa: Exploring Culturally Relevant Education And Practice In Ghana by Linda Kreitzer

Some of the Archived Documents

How to Reference Each Document

ASWEA. (n.d.). An Effort in Community Development in the Lakota Sub-prefecture, Doc. 1. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1972a). Community Services, Lakota Project Methodology, Doc. 2. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1972b). The Important Role of Supervision in Social Welfare Organizations, Doc. 3. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1972c). The Use of Films in Social Development Education, Doc. 4. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1973a). Case Studies of Social Development in Africa, Vol. 1. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1973b). Guidelines for Making Contact with Young People in Informal Groups in Urban Areas, Doc. 5. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1974a). Relationship between Social Work Education and National Social Development Planning, Doc. 6. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWSEA. (1974b). Curricula of Schools of Social Work and Community Development Training Centres in Africa, Doc. 7. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1974c). Case Studies of Social Development in Africa, vol. 2. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1975a). Directory of Social Welfare Activities in Africa (3rd edn). Doc. 8.Addis Ababa, ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1975b). Report of ASWEA’s Workshop on Techniques of Teaching and Methods of Field Work Evaluations, Doc. 9. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

Decolonizing Social Work Education in Africa203

ASWEA. (1976a). Techniques d’ Enseignement et methodes d’Evaluation des Travaux Pratiques, Doc. 10. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.A

SWEA. (1976b). Realities and aspirations of social work education in Africa, Doc. 11. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1977). The Role of Social Development Education in Africa’s Struggle for Political and Economic Independence, Doc. 12. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1978a). The Development of a Training Curriculum in Family Welfare, Doc. 13. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1978b). L’Elaboration d’ un programme de formation en benêtre familial, Doc. 14. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1979a).Guidelines for the Development of a Training Curriculum in Family Welfare, Doc. 15.Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1979b). Principes directeurs pour l’establissement d’un programme d’etude destine a la formation aux disciplines de la protection de la famille, Doc. 16. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1981). Social Development Training in Africa: Experiences of the 1970s and Emerging Trends of the 1980s, Doc. 17. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1982a). Survey of Curricula of Social Development Training Institutions in Africa, Doc. 18. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1982b). Seminar on the organization and delivery of social services to rural areas in Africa, Doc. 19. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1985). Training for Social Development: Methods of Intervention to Improve People’s Participation in Rural Transformation in Africa with Special Emphasis on Women, Doc. 20. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication.

ASWEA. (1986). Association for Social Work Education in Africa. Addis Ababa: ASWEA publication

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