Global Social Work

The essential skills-based guide for navigating global social work and ethical practice.

A comprehensive guide for global practitioners, this text challenges unfettered adaptations of Eurocentric approaches and equips social workers with essential skills for effective context specific global practice throughout the lifespan. Integrating insights from both the Global South and North, it fosters a robust knowledge base, emphasizing using self to promote the wellbeing of the populations that social workers work with. This book is a crucial resource for both classroom learning and fieldwork.

The text covers competencies, practice methods, theory, and research for global social work with diverse populations. It encourages observation and modeling of roles at micro, mezzo, and macro levels, preparing students to implement locally driven solutions and amplify marginalized voices. Addressing sustainability in resource-limited contexts, it provides strategies for stakeholder engagement and cross-sectoral approaches. Learning is reinforced through review questions, skills-related exercises, and application challenges throughout the chapters. Spotlight boxes, toolkits, and case studies also strengthen understanding of global social work and navigating ethical challenges. Purchase includes online access via most mobile devices or computers.

Key Features:

• Defines the parameters of global social work.


• Explores cultural participatory methods to engage diverse populations.


• Tackles theories, ethical dilemmas, and reflexivity in global social work.


• Evaluates theoretical frameworks from both Global North and Global South perspectives.


• Develops a toolkit for culturally competent practice.


• Provides frameworks for self-awareness, cultural competence, locally driven development, capacity building, and cross-sectoral social work.


• Builds competencies for navigating ethical tensions related to poverty, oppression, discrimination, social justice, and diversity.