ABSTRACT

This article reports on a theoretical and empirical study exploring the nature and extent of human rights coverage in the curriculum in schools of social work at universities in Southern and East Africa. In a mixed methods research approach, quantitative data were gathered using an online survey, and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews and document study. The findings indicate that countries’ socio-political contexts influence the freedom of their higher education institutions to discuss human rights and speak out about human rights abuses. Educators’ personal viewpoints, training, and experiences influence the human rights content that they present in the curriculum. Students are not involved in curriculum design in the schools surveyed. The study recommends that a new path for cultivating human rights education for schools of social work in Africa be followed where a decolonial human rights-infused social work curriculum and locally relevant pedagogy are adopted. It calls for training for social work educators to deliver and research a human rights-based curriculum to be pursued from a decolonial perspective.

摘要

本文报告了一项理论和实证研究，该研究探讨了南非和东非大学社会工作学校课程中人权覆盖的性质和范围。在混合方法研究方法中，使用在线调查收集定量数据，使用半结构化访谈和文件研究收集定性数据。调查结果表明，国家的社会政治背景会影响其高等教育机构讨论人权和公开谈论侵犯人权行为的自由。教育工作者的个人观点、培训和经验会影响他们在课程中呈现的人权内容。在接受调查的学校中，学生不参与课程设计。该研究建议采用新的方式为非洲社会工作学校培养人权教育，采用非殖民化人权社会工作课程和与当地相关的教学法。它呼吁对社会工作教育工作者进行培训，以便从非殖民化的角度提供和研究以人权为基础的课程。