Full Description
This book addresses a recurrent gap in social work literature by examining Ubuntu as an Indigenous African philosophy that informs social work beyond the largely residual and individualistic conceptualisation of social work that currently prevails in many contexts. Owing to the lack of social work theories, models and generally, literature that is locally and contextually relevant, most social work lecturers based in African context, struggle to access learning materials and texts that centre local indigenous voices and worldviews.
It is within this context that the ubuntu philosophy has gained traction. There is increasing consensus that Ubuntu as an African philosophy and way of life, has the potential to be used as a decolonising framework for social work education and practice. Theorising from Ubuntu can influence and be the foundation for African social work theory and knowledge, social work values and ethics, social work research and policy, and Ubuntu informing different fields of social work practice like social work with older people, children and young people, ubuntu and poverty alleviation, ubuntu and the environment, among others.
Drawing together social workers engaged in education, research, policy, practice, to theorise Ubuntu and its tenets, philosophies, and values, this book shows how it can be a foundation for a decolonised, more relevant social work education and practice in African contexts.
Contents
Part I: Theoretical Perspectives - Ubuntu and Decolonising Social Work. 1.Decolonising social work fields of practice: An introduction. 2.Ubuntu: an overview. 3.Ubuntu in international social work. Part II: Ubuntu and Decolonising Social Work Ethics and Fieldwork. 4.Ubuntu and decolonising Biestek's (1957) seven principles of the casework relationship. 5.Ubuntu principles: unethically ethical? Decolonising social work values and ethics in Social Work practice and research. 6.Decolonizing Social Work Fieldwork Education in Africa: Approaches, Challenges, and Prospects. Part III: Ubuntu and Social Work with Families. 7.Ubuntu Social Work with Individuals and Families: A Process Model. 8.Collective Child Rearing in Igboland as a Panacea to Juvenile Delinquency: A Philosophical Analysis. 9.Ubuntu in Gerontological Social Work: A community-led care model. 10.Community solidarity and intergenerational relationships in the care of older people in Africa. 11.Philosophies guiding the model of care for older adults in the traditional Igbo society, southeast Nigeria: A guide for social work decolonization agenda. Part IV: Ubuntu and Environmental Social Work. 12.The Efficacy of Ubuntu on Environmental Social Work in Africa. 13.Leveraging Ubuntu philosophy as a vehicle for promoting environmental justice in Zimbabwe. 14.Enhancing Environmental Conditions of Slum Settlement Dwellers in Africa: Putting Ubuntu and Community Social Work into Perspective. 15.Ubuntu and social work in emergencies: Opportunities for community-based disaster risk management in Zimbabwe. Part V: Ubuntu and Other Fields of Practice. 16.Ubuntu-informed approaches for addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV): Scope, rationale, and implications for Social Work. 17.Towards Decolonisation of Social Work Practice in Response to the Drug Abuse Problem in Africa. 18.Ubuntu philosophy and sexual behaviours in Zimbabwe: Implications for social work. 19."Agbajo Owo La Fin Soya Ajeji Owo Kan Ko Gbe Eru De Ori": A Social Work Perspective on the Collective Action of the End SARS Protest in Nigeria. Part VI: Looking Ahead. 20.Ubuntu inspired tools and models to decolonise social work practice. 21.Conclusions: Furthering decolonising social work in Africa.
