All Our Futures: Principles and Resources for Social Work Practice in a Global Era

All Our Futures: Principles and Resources for Social Work Practice in a Global Era

Chathapuram S. Ramanathan & Rosemary J. Link Editors Boston: Brooks/Cole, 1999.

Reviewed by John R. Graham

AS WITH MOST ASPECTS of contemporary life, the forces of an increasingly globalized world are manifestly transforming social work. The people with whom professionals will interact, the problems confronted, and the places where they will practice may be different from past or present expectations. But as the foreword to this readable work points out, our profession has tended to remain strongly referenced to the norms of a particular country, rather than to international concerns.

A small but robust group of scholars has been diligently committed to social work's international orientation, and many are represented in the book's 13 chapters: Doreen Elliott, Richard Estes, Karen Lyons, Nazneen Mayadas, and James Midgley, among others. Lynne Healy's chapter on history briefly considers some pre-war themes, but concentrates on the post-1945 period, particularly the contemporary scene. It reminds the reader of the global impact of North American and European approaches to social work, and of the longstanding resistance to that hegemony within and outside the South [developing world]. Remaining entries analyze international social work in relation to human behavior, social work practice, values and ethics, social policy, information tools, ethnic diversity conflict, social justice, social development, and field practice. A penultimate chapter considers student and practitioner professional growth, and a conclusion provides insights into how to become more globally oriented, despite the significant barriers to that goal.

The book is edited to ensure accessibility to students. Each chapter is accompanied by several case studies, and condudes with a list of student activities. There is good use of international data ranging from the Grameen Bank in India, to community development work in Mexico, to working with Hansen's disease patients in Madras, to other countries and issues. Both editors and all but two contributors have an American affiliation. A number of case studies refer to the United States, and readers should be forewarned that most comparative points of reference are also to this country. In one chapter, for example, we are told that "comparative social policy analysis has the advantage of starting where most faculty are-with an understanding of U.S. legislative initiatives and federal/state programs" (p. 208). Curriculum matters, in like manner, are often assumed to involve the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Most chapters are well written, but the occasionally awkward phrasing appears. To cite one example: it is probably sufficient to use one verb in describing social workers "vocalizing and discussing African American history with youth" (p. 35).

One of the book's strengths is to remind the reader that insight may be transferable from South to North [developed world]. In India, for example, for each factory employing more than 150 people, a social worker must be on the payroll. Where more than 50 women are employed, day care must be provided by child care workers (p. 99). Another strength is that noninternational specialists may dip into a particular chapter, be it direct practice, ethics, social policy, or another, with beneficial application to their domestic work. Most readers with interests in international social work will find more than enough to apply to their own research and teaching. The chapter on informational tools for social workers is extremely hands-on; I intend to use it in teaching undergraduate and graduate international social work next year. The chapter on field practice provides much good advice, such as the need for a contingency plan, the depth and breadth of advisable preparatory work and planning, study abroad liability, and models of institutional arrangements.

A final strength-and I would stress it as such-is the book's explicit targeting of a student and faculty readership. Those of us in universities and interested in international practice are aware of the benefits of faculty exchanges, recruiting offshore undergraduate and graduate students, or being up-to-date on current international issues. Many of these goals require support that is internal and external to a faculty member's department. At this juncture in the profession's history, one of the more immediate means of perpetuating international curriculum and research leading to it, is to expose faculty, students, and practitioners to international phenomena. Travel is especially broadening; but it is rarely cost-free. Similarly, students studying from another country may need certain institutional supports, and most that I work with have benefited greatly from scholarships or fee reductions, or both. Here again, money may need to be made available. Ironically, precisely because of our era of globalization, where zero-sum gain, retrenchment, and cost-reductions prevail, social workers face a potentially uphill struggle for those resources that facilitate an international consciousness. Thankfully, All Our Futures is one of a growing number of publications that sheds insight into the profession's worldwide role. Here, indeed, is a book that is recommended to all social workers intending to gain greater insight into practice and policy in a global era.

John R. Graham

Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work

University of Calgary Calgary, Canada

Copyright Families in Society Jan/Feb 2002
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