Decolonising and Reimagining Social Work in Africa: Alternative Epistemologies and Practice Models

This book explores contemporary debates on decolonisation and indigenisation of social work in Africa and provides readers with alternative models,values,and epistemologies for reimagining social work practice and education. It examines how indigenisation without decolonisation is tokenistic and calls for dismantling colonialism and colonial thinking to create central space for indigenous social work as mainstream social work. It also addresses the question of decolonising research methodologies and highlights some of the methods embedded in African indigenous perspectives for adoption when researching African social work.

Format: Hardback
Length: 136 pages
Publication date: 07 July 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the ongoing discussions surrounding decolonisation and indigenisation of social work in Africa, offering readers a range of alternative models, values, and epistemologies for reimagining social work practice and education. It critically examines the notion of indigenisation without decolonisation, highlighting its limitations as it primarily involves adapting or modifying Western models to suit local contexts or creating local models that are still largely irrelevant and culturally inappropriate within the predominantly Western social work framework in Africa. By exploring decolonisation, which entails dismantling colonialism and colonial thinking to establish a central space for indigenous social work as a mainstream practice, particularly in Africa, the book goes beyond mere tokenistic decolonisation to articulate indigenous social work practice and social policy models, values, ethics, and oral epistemologies that should take centre stage as locally relevant and culturally appropriate social work in the region. Furthermore, it addresses the critical issue of decolonising research methodologies, showcasing some of the methods embedded in African indigenous perspectives that can be adopted for research on African social work.

Written with both the coloniser and the colonised in mind, this book appeals to a wide audience, including social work academics, students, practitioners, and anyone interested in gaining insights into the ongoing impacts of colonisation in social work and the need to disrupt it. It serves as a valuable resource for those seeking to understand the complexities of decolonisation and indigenisation in social work and to develop more inclusive and culturally sensitive approaches to practice and education.

Weight: 440g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032202600