Professional Social Work in SE Asia: Education and Qualification What Social Work Do We Want? Towards the third stage of social work Tatsuru Akimoto, DSW Asian Center for Social Welfare Research, Shukutoku University Immediate Past President, APASWE 22 July 2015 Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Outline 1. Congratulations—Success of the conference 2. “From now on”—Harvesting Committee 3. What social work do you want? 4.E.g. Professionalization? (1) Yes—e.g. Difference of roles & functions (2) No—Broader policy choice 5. Don’t just copy 6.Asian Colleagues have started constructing their own social work 7.The social work world map has changed 8.Expectation to Cambodian Colleagues: Make SW that of the world—the 3 rd Stage of SW

Congratulations on the success of the conference Your goal and objectives were achieved. Excellent presentations Creative ideas Usable proposals Each participant leaned.

Important is “from now on” Harvest Committee The wheat ripened. It is the time to harvest. Organize Harvest Committee? for policy formulation, program design, curriculum improvement and strategy & tactic development, at levels of the conference organizer, the government, the professional association, and the university. Cf. Numerous conferences were held, and what remained?

On your designing a policy and developing your curriculum, a question is: What Social Work Do you Want? Till today we have been learning, parroting and chasing the only social work—Western- born Professional Social Work (WPSW). Your Iives and society differ from theirs, politically, economically, socially, & culturally. Social work is born and exist based on lives of people in the society. Lives and societies differ, social work differs.

E.g. “Professionalization!” —Wherever we go, we hear the same voice. Is Professionalization the Way We take? Maybe, Yes. Because Social work must be professional and a profession (Social work=Professional social work). It is a common sense in the world. Services delivered by social workers must be high in quality, and the quality must be socially assured through education and registration/ license.

However, Your “professionalization” may be different from theirs (WPSW). Because Your lives—culture, tradition, religion, even value, the degree of industrialization, or industry distribution, job ramification, employment, labor market, % of higher education, etc.—all are different.

Just an example, take a look at Percentage of university students 50~100 % in some countries vs. a few % in others To be called “professionals”, bachelor degrees, at least, hopefully master degrees, are necessary according to the international standard. College students are elite in latter societies and graduates won’t work in the field. ⇒ The position and role, or job content and function, of professional social workers must be different from societies with high % of college students.Cf. Cadre

Is Professionalization the Way We take? Supposedly let’s us answer, No. Because There are few or not enough professional social workers in the field under the Professionalization model. But our people have various difficulties and problems of lives and have waited for social work services and help.

Who would take care of people in difficulties? Should we: 1. Produce professional social workers, imme- diately and enormous number? →impossible ２． Import professional social workers from “developed” countries? →Social work colonialism What should we do? Don’t worry. Some entities of the society have been serving the similar function as PSWers. Otherwise the society could not sustain itself.

If you Free yourself from the equation of social work=professional social work, And Accept the inequality of Social work > Professional social work, Many entities in a society (×para-professional) Your policy, program, curriculum, strategy & tactic choices would be widened. Our mission is to alleviate and solve problems and difficulties of people’s lives. Social work is social work. Football is football. It can be played by professional players but also played by various people in a society. Social Work could also be played by various people.

Anyway, Don’t Just Copy. Copy and Missionary Social work was born and matured based on lives and societies in Europe and the North America. Till today, we have been busy copying it and international SW associations disseminating it as missionaries. (cf. APASWE Internationalization Research & Historical Review Research) It was not the matter of good or bad. There was only model and not any other models.

Indigenization “No. We have been making efforts of indigenization.” E.g. textbooks & quoted cases But What does “indigenization” mean? From our side, we indigenize for ours to be accepted as authentic social work by them. From their side, they indigenize for theirs to be accepted by us to disseminate theirs. Anyway, the scale or standards are theirs. i.e. the conformity to the WPSW. （ APASWE Internationalization and Indigenization Research)

Recently Asian colleagues have started Constructing our own social work, which is different from WPSW. Vietnam-Japan Universities questioned: “What are lacking in the WPSW?” e.g. inner factors Sri Lankan Buddhist Monks found: “We have been doing similar things over 2500 years while WPSW 150 years.” “Professional SW could never be acceptable. For job, money or livelihood!?” 6 country researchers reviewed: “The present state of Buddhist ‘social work’ and the reason why Buddhist temples and monks/nuns have been engaged in ‘social work’.” “BSW is very different from WPSW.” A 5 country research started: “Islam and Social Work”.

Now social work is heading for the third stage of SW, or that of the world Not copying, not disseminating the stage I & II social works, but Having these various “social work”s, including WPSW, we could inductively construct the social work (concept) which is acceptable and applicable in the whole world.

SW World Map Has Changed IASSW Census: Schools of SW(July 2012 IA BM) Total ２１１０ (100.0%) Asia & the Pacific ６３２ (26.4%) [1000-? (1/3-40%?)] Europe ５５８ North America & Caribbean ５８６ Latin America ２８０ Africa ５４

Distribution of IASSW school members by regions (N of schools, %) 1967 (N= 341) 2015 (N= 366)

Today in order to understand SW, Looking at and learning about only European and the North American SW is not enough. We have to look at and learn about “social work” based on lives of people in countries and regions where present social work (WPSW) was not born and grew up.

We look forward to learning about “What social work Cambodian colleagues want?” Social work was born in Europe (Stage I), and grew up in North America (Stage II), based on lives of people and societies in those countries and regions. Social Work of the world (Stage III) must also base on lives of people in countries and regions where social work was not born and did not mature. Thank you very much